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Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Rivalry Week

By Cody Williams

Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) runs for a touchdown ahead of Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman Julius Welschof (96) during the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Ohio State lost 42-27.Ohio State Buckeyes At Michigan Wolverines
Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) runs for a touchdown ahead of Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman Julius Welschof (96) during the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Ohio State lost 42-27.Ohio State Buckeyes At Michigan Wolverines /
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College football upset picks
Tennessee Volunteers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /

Rivalry week is made for upsets, but which teams are in the most danger in Week 13? Our college football upset picks tell the tale. 

College football rivalries are just built differently. The bad blood runs deeper and thicker, every game feels like life or death for the fans, and chaos is always in order. As such, there’s no better week for upsets than the final week of the regular season.

To be sure, no team is safe when it comes to Rivalry Week in college football. While they won’t be featured in our actual college football upset picks for Week 13, this is the exact week when things like Texas A&M coming back from the dead to spoil LSU’s College Football Playoff hopes, or Auburn showing more life than it has all season to win the Iron Bowl over Alabama, or even Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate being a watershed moment for Brent Key as Georgia Tech shocks Georgia.

That’s the type of calamity that Rivalry Week always has the potential to bring and we even got a taste of it on Friday night with NC State taking down North Carolina despite being down to its fourth-string quarterback.

So what upsets are we calling the most likely to happen? These are our college football upset picks for Rivalry Week.

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 Rivalry Week: 5 teams on upset alert

5. Tennessee Volunteers

Opponent: at Vanderbilt | Time: Saturday, Nov. 26, 7:30 p.m. ET | Spread: TENN -13.5

There couldn’t be two teams with more different vibes coming into Week 13 than rivals Tennessee and Vanderbilt as they’re set to take the field in Nashville. On the one hand, the Commodores just snapped a 26-game SEC losing streak and then followed that up by winning a second straight game to take down Florida a week ago. This is a team that has steadily improved overall throughout the season and the results are showing.

Now Vandy just needs to take down the Vols to become bowl eligible and they are catching Tennessee after the team’s College Football Playoff hopes circled the drain in a blowout loss to South Carolina in which they gave up 60+ to the Gamecocks. Making matters worse, star quarterback Hendon Hooker went out with a torn ACL and is obviously out now.

The last two times that Vandy has made a bowl game (2016 and 2018), they came into this game at 5-6 and beat the Vols. Now they are finding competitive SEC form and face a Tennessee team starting Joe Milton, an uber-talented by erratic passer. This is set up perfectly for the ‘Dores to make it three straight wins and thoroughly ruin any semblance of the Vols’ dream campaign.

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