FAVORITE TEAMS

What a week of chaos. Upsets swirled across the college football nation and only a few ranked teams weathered the storm. Texas, Notre Dame, Miami, Washington State, Missouri, and Fresno State couldn’t avoid it. October is the month where upsets happen more often. Teams must wake up at the right time to avoid the inevitable. Georgia and maybe Michigan are the only teams (in the Top 2) that might have escaped to safe haven for the rest of the month, but let’s see if it’s guaranteed when they run into rivals Florida and Michigan State in the last game of October. Here are the Top 10 matchups that likely puts ranked teams, undefeated teams, and one-loss teams at risk for an upset. Oregon and Washington are the only Top 10 ranked teams battling for the top spot in the Pac-12. Also, I’m giving the Mountain West and MAC some love too. Let’s go!

10) UNLV AT NEVADA

2PM PT/5PM ET

Nevada’s winless and is one of the worst offenses and passing offenses in the country. The backup quarterback AJ Bianco threw more touchdowns (2) than the starter Brendon Lewis (0). Well, this is the Silver State Rivalry and the battle for the Fremont Cannon. While UNLV is 4-1, they’re in Reno this weekend. If UNR’s smart, start Bianco and give this team a damn chance to improve their offense and win the damn Cannon back. GO PACK!!!!

MY PICK: NEVADA

9) MIAMI (OH) AT WESTERN MICHIGAN

12:30PM PT/3:30PM ET [ESPN+]

Miami (OH) is heading in the right direction this season. They might be on track to one of their best seasons in over a decade. However, they have a tall task against Western Michigan. They lost the last eight games (last win: 2004) and must end this skid to compete for the East division title. Don’t let Western Michigan’s record fool you, they are a hard out in the conference. Miami will do what they did to Cincinnati and end that skid to continue their special run.

MY PICK: MIAMI (OH)

8) #23 KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE

12:30PM PT/3:30PM ET [FOX SPORTS 1]

Everyone knows about Kansas and what a job coach Lance Liepold has done. Whether it’s Jalon Daniels or Jason Bean at quarterback, the offense is electric. However, who’s Oklahoma State? They were suddenly an enigma from the college football world that even Don Brown’s UMass team was recognized over the Pokes. I underestimated Ok State after they upset Kansas State at home last week. Is it possible the Cowboys can end Kansas’ hopes for a Big 12 title opportunity? Probably, but until I see the results, Kansas likely ends their six-game losing streak at Stillwater.

MY PICK: KANSAS

7) GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT JAMES MADISON

9AM PT/12PM ET [ESPN2]

The Dukes are rolling along in their second season in the FBS and the Sun Belt conference with little to no issue. Coach Curt Cignetti (a lot of C’s) and quarterback Jordan McCloud are making noise which hopefully convinces the NCAA to change their mind and either give them a postseason or play in the Sun Belt title game if they stand. Georgia Southern will be a hard out with how well they played against good Sun Belt teams. Quarterback Davis Brin gave Georgia Southern some life in the offense after playing par last season. I’m riding the James Madison bandwagon until I see otherwise. If you haven’t seen JMU yet, please tune in.

MY PICK: JAMES MADISON

6) #25 MIAMI AT #12 UNC

4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET [ABC]

This should be a primetime game to watch…but I fear it may not be as exciting. One question: who’s Miami??? They became relevant all of a sudden after upsetting Texas A&M with a second half performance. They have gone on to steamroll their next two opponents, but then were exposed against a middling Georgia Tech team. Forget about the third down play that should’ve been a kneel down instead of running it. That was a coaching error that unexpectedly gone wrong. The Hurricanes committed five turnovers (4 in the 2nd half), which was a major reason Ga Tech stayed alive which led to Miami’s loss. It’s likely they’ll bounce back against UNC, but they lost the last four meetings ever since Mack Brown returned to coach in North Carolina. It’s possible the game will be close, but the Tarheels will eventually put Miami away.

MY PICK: NORTH CAROLINA

5) #23 UCLA AT #15 OREGON STATE

5PM PT/8PM ET [FOX]

For anybody not familiar with Pac-12 teams playing enough physical football, you’re in for a treat. Chip Kelly built UCLA’s offense to ground and pound opponents for minutes on end. Defense has improved to keep games close for most opponents they collide with. That’s what led to the upset over Washington State last week after putting pressure on Cam Ward and company. Oregon State’s been known for that but adding DJ Uiagalelei adds a new dimension to this already physical offense with his big body. Oregon State was in a battle with Cal, which that team was also known for playing physical on offense and bogging down opponents on defense. What won the Beavers the game was winning the turnover battle. We’re expecting a similar matchup, but Oregon State plays their second straight game against UCLA’s physical team. UCLA travels to a hostile environment in Corvallis where freshmen quarterback Dante Moore will be tested again. He didn’t fare well last time at Utah and has already thrown two pick 6’s in the last two games. Not sure if it’ll happen again, but Oregon State won’t make life easy for him.

MY PICK: OREGON STATE

4) IOWA AT WISCONSIN

1PM PT/4PM ET [FOX]

This matchup might be self-explanatory. This matchup has borderline defenses and special teams playing for the Heartland Trophy, which currently belongs to Iowa after last year’s victory. Last year, Wisconsin was knocked out of the West division contention after Iowa’s do-it all defender Cooper DeJean punished the Badgers with a pick six and special team plays. Iowa’s offense can’t do much, but with a 6’4 258 quarterback, maybe utilize his size for certain situations. Wisconsin has a much better offense, but their execution, completion, and conversion will be mightily tested against the Ball Hawking Hawkeyes. Iowa hasn’t won in Madison since 2015 and that drought likely continues.

MY PICK: WISCONSIN

3) WYOMING AT AIR FORCE

4PM PT/7PM ET [CBS SPORTS NETWORK]

Wyoming looks like a team to compete for the Mountain division title and the championship. This is a tough, gritty team led by quarterback Andrew Peasley, who has become a Godsend all of a sudden after a par season. Him and Northern Illinois running back transfer Harrison Waylee are key reasons for Wyoming’s success. But don’t forget that their defense played an impact last week after shutting down Fresno State. Air Force is quietly having an undefeated season thanks to their defense and a slightly improved passing game led by Zac Larrier, which heavily complimented their infamous triple-option offense. They bogged down Utah State, San Jose State, and San Diego State to prove they’re a threat for the Mountain West title. Both teams will pound each other for 60 minutes, which should make for some great old school Mountain division football. Wyoming will keep the game close, but Air Force has homefield advantage, a better defense, and will eventually run away from the Cowboys.

MY PICK: AIR FORCE

T-1) #8 OREGON AT #7 WASHINGTON

12:30PM PT/3:30PM ET [ABC]

Oregon vs. Washington. The Matchup for the Ages, the Century, and Pac-12 History in their 110th all-time meeting between rivals. The Pacific Coast Conference, Athletic Association of Western University, Pac-8, Pac-10, and Pac-12 rivals play their last game in the conference before they move to the Big Ten along with USC and UCLA next season. Last season, Oregon and Washington went back-and-forth until a key turnover and a key stop by Washington on Oregon’s own line led to Washington’s game-winning field goal. By assumption, Washington’s favored based on the betting line favoring them at -3 as a type this. In the past 18 meetings, Oregon dominated 15 of them. 11 were by double-digits without a response. Washington won the next two by double-digits before Oregon won the next three of the last four, but all four were decided by 10 points or less. Last year, Oregon lost on downs in their own backfield instead of punting that could’ve forced overtime. Oregon won a lot of recent matchups whether they were ranked alone or alongside Washington. Outside of Texas Tech, Oregon’s destroying opponents in their wake. I expect a shootout that ends with Oregon clutching in hostile territory in Seattle.

MY PICK: OREGON

T-1) #10 USC AT #21 NOTRE DAME

4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET [NBC]

USC escapes Arizona’s clutches in three overtimes while Notre Dame’s run for the playoffs ends in agony at Louisville. Quarterback Caleb Williams continues carrying this squad until the brakes finally come off. Him and the offense were in a first half stranglehold by Zona’s defense and USC’s defense continues struggling with fundamental football that led to a three-overtime thriller. Notre Dame’s offense struggled for the majority of the game and Sam Hartman threw three interceptions while the defense eventually collapsed in the eyes of Louisville’s Jawhar Jordan’s 143 rushing yard track meet. Notre Dame endured three straight ranked teams and came out of the smoke at 1-2. Unfortunately, they dive back into the fire at home while awaiting the Trojans’ arrival. Notre Dame has nothing to lose while USC’s playing with so much on the line with a very maligned defense. I’m assuming you know where I’m going with this. I did a preview post on USC before the season and said that they can afford ONE loss this season because of how deep and strong the Pac-12 is, and it could be this game. I just don’t see USC’s defense impacting Notre Dame as well as Louisville, Duke, and Ohio State’s defense did.

MY PICK: NOTRE DAME

WEEK 5 RESULTS: 5-5

TOTAL RESULTS: 25-15

Yeah, there’s no going up, but there’s no down either. Oklahoma’s win against Texas was a big moment for Sooner fans, including me. We can finally wipe the 49-0 off our minds. Now, they can celebrate during the bye week and get back to playing football the rest of the way. There’s no guarantee for anything, but it’s nice to have the last laugh in the last Red River Rivalry in the Big 12. The SEC will look forward to this next season.