There will only be one champion at the end of the season. But for us to even think about getting to that point in early to mid-January, somebody you did not see coming was going to have to upset someone of note. With there being five weeks left in the college football regular season, I have a surprise for you! I could be a total idiot with this, but right now, these teams are all going down, bruh!
What you have to understand is that there is no boring week in college football. The ones that are super-hyped up can disappoint occasionally, but it is always the week when you think it will be nothing but chalk becomes anything but that. Some of these losses could, and probably will, happen. Of course, there are others we cannot get our minds around potentially occurring at this point in time.
So what I am going to do for you today is to look at one game each week the rest of the way as possible upset specials. Admittedly, a lot can and will change between now and Selection Sunday, but what is the fun in knowing everything? Are there plenty of other games where potential upsets could occur? Oh, totally, but these are the ones I think have a strong possibility of actually happening, folks.
To the five teams in question, y'all are on upset alert, dawg... Here is to being wrong if I am not right!
Week 9: No. 11 Oregon State Beavers at Arizona Wildcats
Although there are a few teams on upset alert in Week 9, I think this is a really bad spot for Jonathan Smith's No. 11 Oregon State Beavers. They are 6-1 on the season with their lone loss being to Pacific Northwest Step Brother Washington State in Pullman by three points. While I had this team at the start of the year finishing as Pac-12 runner-ups this year, they are going to fall to Arizona in Tucson.
While there might not be a ton of foliage in Tucson, Jedd Fisch's Wildcats have done a great job of hiding in the tall grass this season, waiting for the right time to strike. Fisch has recruited marvelously at U of A. With Noah Fifita taking over at quarterback, the Wildcats have become one of the most fun teams to watch and follow along with in major college football. Arizona is already 4-3 on the season.
To me, I would take the Wildcats at home outright to win a high-scoring affair over the Beavers because I actually trust the inexperienced Fifita over yesterday's news that is Clemson transfer D.J. Uiagalelei. This would be a massive win for Arizona to get to 5-3 on the season. Oregon State cannot overlook this team or the Beavers will see their chances of making the College Football Playoff end.
It may be in the last viewing window of the weekend, but you are not going to want to miss this game!
Week 10: No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys
There may be other more probable upsets potentially on the horizon in Week 10, but keep an eye on the final installment of Bedlam, aight. The Oklahoma Sooners may be undefeated and ranked firmly inside the top 10, but Mike Gundy's Pokes are certainly poking around in the Big 12. This was supposed to be a major pullback year in Stillwater, but Oklahoma State is already 5-2 on the season.
Historically, this is very much a hammer vs. nail rivalry in The Sooner State, but you have to wonder with this one being in Stillwater if the Cowboys can shock the college football world here and set the Big 12's College Football Playoff chances a-blaze. With Oklahoma going to the SEC in 2024 alongside Texas, this could be the last meeting between the two Oklahoma schools in some time. How tragic...
Could Oklahoma State win this one and force its way into the Big 12 title bout conversation? Sure, but just when you think you can trust Oklahoma State, the Pokes get smoked. Still, you have to wonder if the cards are lining up for an upset special brewing at Boone Pickens in two weeks. Oklahoma can still afford a loss and can get into the playoff, but this one might mean a little more for the Cowboys.
A loss in Bedlam could be the straw that breaks the camel's back of OU maybe making the playoff.
Week 11: No. 13 Utah Utes at No. 5 Washington Huskies
Per usual, the Pac-12 will always find new and creative ways to cannibalize itself. Regardless of what happens on Saturday in Salt Lake City between the Ducks and Utes, I think there is a very strong possibility Utah hands Washington its first loss of the season in Week 11, assuming the Huskies do not drop a game before then... Either way, Utah plays a style of football that actually travels quite well.
Given Utah's defensive-minded nature under their longtime head coach Kyle Whittingham, you can envision a scenario where he throws a wrench into Kalen DeBoer's passing-centric, aerial attack and tries to see if the Huskies can beat them at home with the ground game. Washington may have the highest ceiling of any team in the league, but keep in mind who has won the last two league titles...
Could this be a preview of the final Pac-12 Championship Game? It wouldn't shock me. Although I think Oregon State having the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Utes will likely get the Beavers to Las Vegas over them, I would be foolish to cross off the Utes entirely once again. As long as Whittingham is in SLC, then I will be a big believer in the Utes. Washington should be on serious upset alert here.
Almost every week, we have a great game on tap in the Pac-12, as this one in Week 11 is no different.
Week 12: No. 7 Texas at Iowa State
I was not going to include Texas as a potential candidate to get upset again this season, but the Quinn Ewers injury has me thinking the Longhorns are going to drop at least one more before the end of the year. While the Kansas State game coming up could be prime for an upset special, keep an eye on the road date in Week 12 vs. Matt Campbell's Iowa State Cyclones. After a slow start, they are feeling it.
Some of this may have to do with the gambling suspensions knocking the entire roster down a peg. Now in year two post-Brock Purdy in Ames, the Cyclones are more like the program they have been for the better part of the Campbell tenure than not. Throughout most of his time in Ames, Iowa State has been a top-four Big 12 program, right around where Texas has been. Texas could get got here.
While I would still put my money on Texas getting to Arlington over Iowa State, this could be the game that prevents Texas from truly being back, even if the Longhorns were to win the Big 12 title bout in a Red River rematch with OU. It is all about making the playoff for Texas, but Iowa State has built a reputation as a giant killer of sorts in Big 12 play. We know how things go in Ames later in the season.
It might be Cupcake Week across the Power Five, but there are no cupcakes to be had in the Big 12.
Week 13: No. 3 Ohio State at No. 2 Michigan
As it is with anything, a lot can change in the course of a week. At the start of the year, I had Michigan playing my alma mater Georgia in the national championship game. That could conceivably be the title bout anyway, but no team is more hated across the Power Five right now than Michigan. Not Georgia, not Alabama. Michigan. And nobody hates Michigan more than THE Ohio State Buckeyes.
This year's installment of The Game may be in The Big House, but maybe the Wolverines will not be able to steal the Buckeyes' signs this year? Admittedly, Michigan is a damn good team to begin with, but so is this Ohio State roster. If the Buckeyes play with composure and a little more fire in their bellies, that might be enough to "steal" one from the Wolverines in Ann Arbor Thanksgiving Weekend.
So yes, this game might end up sending Ohio State to the Big Ten Championship over Michigan as the last undefeated team in the league. I would trust for the Buckeyes to clean whoever comes out of the Big Ten West's clock in Indianapolis. Although I would argue Michigan has the more complete team, on any given Saturday, you can see one rival beat another to absolutely ruin their great season.
It would be poetic to see Ryan Day end Jim Harbaugh's Michigan career with a win in The Big House.
