College football upset picks Week 9: Michigan and 5 teams on upset alert

Aidan Hutchinson #97 of the Michigan Wolverines runs to the student section to celebrate a 33-7 win over the Northwestern Wildcats with Erick All #83 and Tristan Bounds #72 at Michigan Stadium on October 23, 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 33-7. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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Tackle attempt by Andrew Booth Jr. #23 of the Clemson Tigers. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

College football upset pick Week 9, No. 1: Clemson Tigers

Rank: NR | Opponent: vs. Florida State | Time: Saturday, Oct. 30, 3:30 p.m. ET

How is Clemson still getting 10 points on the spread against an opponent that isn’t an FCS school? Have the oddsmakers seen Clemson this season? They are not a good football team, and that was evident this past weekend against the Pitt Panthers. Guess how many teams Clemson has beaten by 10 this year. One. It was South Carolina State. They’ve lost to NC State and Pitt, and now they face a Florida State team that is finding its stride under Mike Norvell.

Things looked bleak for the Seminoles early in the season. They started it off 0-4, and it looked like Norvell could be given the boot before his first recruiting class could be established. A razor-thin loss to Notre Dame wasn’t enough to overcome the stink that comes with losing to Jacksonville State. The Seminoles have bounced back, however. They beat Syracuse, UMass, North Carolina since going 0-4. Now, there’s legitimate talk of a bowl game.

Nobody is arguing that Florida State is good, but Clemson is equally as bad this season. Things are in such flux for Dabo Swinney that they will likely get worse before they get better. The quarterback situation is a mess. The momentum is clearly in Florida State’s favor.

The one wild card here is this game is in Death Valley but is that enough to make this spread 10? The Tigers need to prove they can beat any Power 5 team by 10, and honestly, Florida State has a good chance to win.

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