College football upset alert, Week 15: Georgia among 4 teams on high alert

College football upset alert No. 4: Iowa Hawkeyes

Rank: 16 | Opponent: Wisconsin Badgers | Time: Saturday, Dec. 12, 3:30 p.m. ET

It’s been a bit of a wild season for the Iowa Hawkeyes in relation to how they started the year and how they’ve played since. After a shocking loss to Purdue in the opener, they clawed but fell short against a quality Northwestern team. Since then, Kirk Ferentz’s team has reeled off five straight wins to climb to this ranking.

While that may be the case, it’s worth noting that no team Iowa has topped over this run is exactly confidence-inspiring. Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska and Illinois have all come by hard times this season. And though the Wisconsin Badgers come to Iowa City in a similar boat, they are more equipped to push the Hawkeyes on Saturday.

Wisconsin is 2-2 on the season but it should be noted that Paul Chryst‘s squad has lost to two of the best teams in the Big Ten not named Ohio State, falling in back-to-back weeks at Northwestern and then at home to Indiana. And while the Badgers weren’t impressive in those games, they weren’t blown off the field, losing by 10 and eight points, respectively.

Iowa’s offense looked typically pedestrian in their two early-season losses and it’s clear that, if nothing else, the Wisconsin defense is a fearsome group. They should be able to shut down the Hawkeyes and find enough juice from Graham Mertz to pick up the upset on Saturday.