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4 college football teams on upset alert in Rivalry Week 13

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a fumble recovery against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a fumble recovery against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a fumble recovery against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a fumble recovery against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s Rivalry Week, when rankings and records are thrown out the window. With that in mind, there are four college football teams on upset alert in Week 13.

The 2015 college football season has just one full week of games remaining, and the vast majority are heated rivalry contests that both fan bases have been looking forward all season.

Some of the greatest rivalries in the game feature two evenly matched teams this year. Ohio State-Michigan, Florida-Florida State, Ole Miss-Mississippi State, and Baylor-TCU all include a pair of ranked squads with point spreads smaller than a field goal. And, though they aren’t exactly arch rivals, the Stanford-Notre Dame game is a top-ten matchup with College Football Playoff implications and the Navy-Houston game pits two teams with hopes of a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Because of each team’s ranking and quality record, the outcome of any of those games couldn’t truly be classified as an upset.

On the other hand, several other big rivalries feature huge spreads, such as the Civil War, in which Oregon is a 35-point favorite over Oregon State. No. 1 Clemson is a 17-point favorite over a struggling South Carolina squad in the Palmetto Bowl and there is expected to be a two-touchdown game in this year’s Iron Bowl between No. 2 Alabama and a disappointing 6-5 Auburn squad. While records can be thrown out the window on Rivalry Week, the odds of an upset in any of those three contests is tiny.

Two games that could meet upset criteria include Washington State’s trip to Seattle to play Washington in the Apple Cup and Michigan State’s game against Penn State in East Lansing. However, because of the injury uncertainty surrounding Cougars’ signal caller Luke Falk and the Spartans’ Connor Cook, the point spreads have been delayed for both games.

Still, there are four college football teams that should be on upset alert in Rivalry Week 13. Let’s explore.

Note: Point spreads in the pages that follow come from VegasInsider.com and are accurate as of Wednesday November 24, 2015. Rankings reference the College Football Playoff committee’s poll from Tuesday November 23. 2015.

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