College football upset alert, Week 13: Alabama, Notre Dame among 5 teams in danger of losing
Rivalry games in college football Week 13 put some huge teams on upset alert as teams like Notre Dame and Alabama are in danger of losing this week.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is always a huge deal for college football and, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, that remains the case. There are rivalries galore throughout the country adding another chapter on Friday and Saturday of Week 13. With that and several other quality games, there are numerous teams primed to be put on upset alert this week.
Of course, as the coronavirus continues to take its toll on the season, some potential upset alert teams saw their games get canceled for Week 13. Subsequently, we won’t see the rivalry matchup between No. 16 Wisconsin and Minnesota nor will we see upstart No. 25 Tulsa go on the road to play a tricky Houston team.
That still doesn’t leave us short on teams in danger of losing this week. Be it because of a quality opponent, the strength of the rivalry or a combination of things, these five college football teams are on upset alert in Week 13.
College football upset alert No. 5: Oregon Ducks
Rank: 15 | Opponent: at Oregon State Beavers | Time: Friday, Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET
As the initial College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday, one of the bigger revelations was how little respect the committee had for the Oregon Ducks as Mario Cristobal’s team came in at just No. 15. But when you look at what the Ducks have done in their short season to this point, it’s not hard to see why that’s the case.
Despite starting the year at 3-0, Oregon has been less than impressive in doing so. After a 21-point win against a bad Stanford team, they essentially got into shootouts with both Washington State and UCLA, narrowly escaping the latter. So as they head into their rivalry matchup against Oregon State, the Ducks could be in trouble.
It’s a dubious distinction to make but the Beavers might be the best 1-2 team in the country. They kept pace with a quality Washington State team then did the same with a seemingly very good Washington Huskies squad and then beat Cal, 31-27. They’ve succeeded on the back of running back Jermar Jefferson, who has 449 yards and five scores in three games.
Considering that the Ducks defense has underperformed and given up 188 rushing yards per game, the Beavers have an in to not just find offensive success but to control the game. Throw in the aspects of a rivalry that always makes things heated and close and Oregon State could very conceivably pull off the upset here.