Fansided

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; Iowa City, IA, USA;Iowa Hawkeyes tight end George Kittle (46) celebrates a touchdown catch against the Purdue Boilermakers in the third quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa beat Purdue 40-20. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Iowa City, IA, USA;Iowa Hawkeyes tight end George Kittle (46) celebrates a touchdown catch against the Purdue Boilermakers in the third quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa beat Purdue 40-20. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /

The Iowa Hawkeyes are at the tail end of a magical season and take a wildly unexpected 11-0 record into Lincoln Friday against the 5-6 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Despite the very different records between the two squads, and the Hawkeyes’ new No. 4 spot in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings, Iowa is just a slim 1.5-point favorite heading into the regular season finale.

Still, a Nebraska victory should be considered a major upset.

The Huskers have had their ups and downs in head coach Mike Riley’s first season. Five of the team’s six losses have come by five points or less, including a season opening 33-28 loss to BYU on a Hail Mary on the final play of the game, but the lowest point was a 55-45 loss to Purdue Oct. 31. The high point, as luck would have it, came the very next week when Nebraska knocked off an undefeated Michigan State squad 39-38.

A victory over their newest rivals (Nebraska and Iowa have played on the Friday after Thanksgiving since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011) would give the Cornhuskers the six wins needed for bowl eligibility and would help to save the program from its first losing season since 2007 when Bill Callahan was fired.

Both Iowa and Nebraska rank in the top four of the Big Ten in both scoring offense and total offense. The Hawkeyes have averaged 34.2 points and 418.3 total yards per game (split almost perfectly even with 210.0 passing and 208.3 rushing) while Nebraska has scored 33.6 points and gained 443.4 total yards per contest (272.7 passing and 170.6 rushing).

However, the main difference between the squads has been defense. Iowa has allowed just 18.5 points and 322.5 total yards per game – both of which rank in the top half of the league. Nebraska ranks tenth in scoring defense with 27.7 points allowed and is No. 11 in total defense having surrendered 415.4 yards per contest, but is coming off its best performance of the season. In a 31-14 victory over Rutgers last week, the Huskers held the Scarlet Knights to just 259 yards.

If Nebraska can similarly contain Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard (2,257 passing yards, 13 TD, 3 INT) and running back Jordan Canzeri (824 rushing yards, 10 TD), Nebraska could pull off another upset over an undefeated Big Ten rival.

Next: North Carolina

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