Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Week 12
The Pac-12 took big upsets last week and they aren’t safe again in Week 12. Nor are several other Top 10 teams in our college football upset picks.
In many cases around the country, the week prior to college football rivalry week can be a tune-up opportunity for teams. For instance, you have Alabama playing Austin Peay ahead of the Iron Bowl. Or you also have Georgia playing — checks notes — Kentucky ahead of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.
While that might be the case in some instances, there are still some big matchups in Week 12 that could be ripe for an upset. Part of that is just a tough opponent and matchup being on the docket, but there is also the look-ahead factor for some of these teams as well that can’t be overlooked.
So no, Alabama and Georgia don’t have any red flags this week. But the actual college football upset picks for Week 12 feature a lot of teams in tricky situations that could get these teams beat on Saturday.
Note: All odds are via FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds are subject to change and update periodically on the site. For more betting content, check out BetSided.
College football upset picks for Week 12: 5 teams on upset alert
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
Opponent: at Maryland | Time: Saturday, Nov. 19, 3:30 p.m. ET | Spread: OSU -27.5
It makes perfect sense that Ohio State is nearly four full touchdowns and extra points favorites over Maryland given that the Terps just got blanked by Penn State and that the Buckeyes have been rolling against some of the worst teams in the Big Ten (with the exception of Northwestern).
But for me, that number doesn’t make sense from a matchup perspective. Ohio State is a vastly different matchup for Maryland than Penn State. The Buckeyes are much more of a finesse offense and the defense, though much improved from last season, still has some issues. And let’s also not forget that Ryan Day’s team also has eyes on the Michigan game next week and the huge CFP implications that come with that.
Make no mistake, it would be shocking for Maryland to all-out pull off this upset. However, I expect this game to be much closer and hairy for Ohio State than many people are thinking.