A major upset is coming to a stadium near you.
It might not be the magnitude of Appalachian State over Michigan or Stanford over USC, but we’re due for some real surprises this season.
Here are five games capable of delivering big-time upsets.
Purdue over Notre Dame, Sept. 4
Brian Kelly was asked recently if he had the players to run his no-huddle spread offense at Notre Dame. His answer – “No.”
The South Bend Tribune reports those personnel issues have forced Kelly to move nine freshmen up the depth chart and into significant roles.
Quarterback Dayne Crist admits that he’s still not completely comfortable in the offense, especially the footwork. That’s never a good thing, when playing behind an inexperienced offensive line that entered preseason practice as a work in progress.
Purdue’s strength on defense is up front. Senior end Ryan Kerrigan was a first-team Big Ten selection and third in the nation in sacks with 13.
If the Irish O-line slips up once and Crist’s footwork fails, Kerrigan could easily end the Notre Dame QB’s day, leaving either junior Nate Montana or freshman Tommy Rees to finish the game. Neither has attempted a collegiate pass.
The Boilermakers are 11-point underdogs against the Irish.
Middle Tennessee over Georgia Tech, Oct. 16
The Yellow Jackets have had a tendency to play down to their competition under Paul Johnson. They needed a blocked field goal to survive a scare from Gardner-Webb in a 10-7 win in 2008. That game was played the week before a trip to Clemson, arguably Tech’s biggest conference rival.
The Yellow Jackets face a similar situation this season; albeit against a much better team than Gardner-Webb. Middle Tennessee visits the Flats a week before the Jackets travel to Clemson and a week after homecoming festivities at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have a realistic shot at being 6-0 at this point and oozing with confidence.
The Blue Raiders, who won at Maryland last season, are the favorites to win the Sun Belt. They return eight starters on offense, including dynamic senior quarterback Dwight Dasher. They are 4-point favorites over Minnesota in Week 1, so clearly they have enough talent to at least compete against BCS competition.
Washington over Nebraska, Sept. 18
In terms of the pointspread, this won’t be the biggest upset of the year, but it certainly will do some early pruning of the BCS title candidates.
The ninth-ranked Cornhuskers entered August with two of the most glaring concerns facing any Top-10 team.
First, their quarterback situation is woeful. Senior Zac Lee should be the guy, but the fact that he hasn’t been able to shake sophomore Cody Green or redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez is not a positive sign for Husker fans.
Secondly, the task of replacing the middle of their defense got tougher this week, when projected starting linebacker went down with what’s being reported as a “significant leg injury.”
Neither Western Kentucky (Sept. 4) nor Idaho (Sept. 11) will be able to take advantage of those issues enough to earn a win in Lincoln. But Washington, with its bevy of returning starters, including all-world quarterback Jake Locker, have a legitimate shot at exposing Nebraska.
Georgia over Florida, Oct. 30
By the time this game kicks off, picking UGA might not seem like much of an upset. But right now, this will make some Gator fans’ blood boil.
This has all the signs of a bounce-back year for Mark Richt’s Bulldogs. Georgia went 8-4 in 2001, Richt’s first season. They went 13-1 the next year. In 2006, they went 9-4, but followed it up with a 12-2 mark in 2007. UGA went 8-5 last season and was relegated to the Independence Bowl. No way will they lose five games this season, not with 10 returning offensive starters.
The concern for UGA is of course its redshirt freshman quarterback, Aaron Murray. But he’ll have seven games under his belt by the time he faces in the Gators. Besides, how much experience do you need to understand throwing the ball high to the best receiver in college football is a good idea?
At 6-4, star wideout A.J. Green is horrific matchup for the Gators’ undersized secondary. Even if Florida doubles Green, the Bulldogs have plenty of other weapons at Murray’s disposal.
Florida has a bye before the UGA game, and a lot of folks will point to Urban Meyer’s 18-2 mark with more than a week to prepare. But one of those losses came three years ago against Georgia.
Temple over Penn State, Sept. 25
Al Golden will be a BCS coach very soon. Upsetting the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley could be his ticket to the next level.
Temple heads to Beaver Stadium at just the right time. Penn State will be two weeks removed from getting pounded at Alabama and likely will be coming off a rebound performance in an easy win against another MAC team in Kent State.
Meanwhile, Temple will have gotten a good feel for Penn State’s size, speed and talent against a similar UConn team the previous week.
Penn State routed the Owls as a 29.5-point favorite last season. The Owls, who pride themselves on their 23rd-ranked running attack, managed just 46 rushing yards in a 31-6 drubbing.
But the core of that Penn State defense is gone. The Nittany Lions are replacing five of their front seven on defense. That’s not a good matchup against Temple’s beefy, veteran line. Averaging 318 pounds, the Owls’ O-line is made up of all upperclassmen, with more than 100 starts under their belt.
It might not be the magnitude of Appalachian State over Michigan or Stanford over USC, but we’re due for some real surprises this season.
Here are five games capable of delivering big-time upsets.
Purdue over Notre Dame, Sept. 4
Brian Kelly was asked recently if he had the players to run his no-huddle spread offense at Notre Dame. His answer – “No.”
The South Bend Tribune reports those personnel issues have forced Kelly to move nine freshmen up the depth chart and into significant roles.
Quarterback Dayne Crist admits that he’s still not completely comfortable in the offense, especially the footwork. That’s never a good thing, when playing behind an inexperienced offensive line that entered preseason practice as a work in progress.
Purdue’s strength on defense is up front. Senior end Ryan Kerrigan was a first-team Big Ten selection and third in the nation in sacks with 13.
If the Irish O-line slips up once and Crist’s footwork fails, Kerrigan could easily end the Notre Dame QB’s day, leaving either junior Nate Montana or freshman Tommy Rees to finish the game. Neither has attempted a collegiate pass.
The Boilermakers are 11-point underdogs against the Irish.
Middle Tennessee over Georgia Tech, Oct. 16
The Yellow Jackets have had a tendency to play down to their competition under Paul Johnson. They needed a blocked field goal to survive a scare from Gardner-Webb in a 10-7 win in 2008. That game was played the week before a trip to Clemson, arguably Tech’s biggest conference rival.
The Yellow Jackets face a similar situation this season; albeit against a much better team than Gardner-Webb. Middle Tennessee visits the Flats a week before the Jackets travel to Clemson and a week after homecoming festivities at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have a realistic shot at being 6-0 at this point and oozing with confidence.
The Blue Raiders, who won at Maryland last season, are the favorites to win the Sun Belt. They return eight starters on offense, including dynamic senior quarterback Dwight Dasher. They are 4-point favorites over Minnesota in Week 1, so clearly they have enough talent to at least compete against BCS competition.
Washington over Nebraska, Sept. 18
In terms of the pointspread, this won’t be the biggest upset of the year, but it certainly will do some early pruning of the BCS title candidates.
The ninth-ranked Cornhuskers entered August with two of the most glaring concerns facing any Top-10 team.
First, their quarterback situation is woeful. Senior Zac Lee should be the guy, but the fact that he hasn’t been able to shake sophomore Cody Green or redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez is not a positive sign for Husker fans.
Secondly, the task of replacing the middle of their defense got tougher this week, when projected starting linebacker went down with what’s being reported as a “significant leg injury.”
Neither Western Kentucky (Sept. 4) nor Idaho (Sept. 11) will be able to take advantage of those issues enough to earn a win in Lincoln. But Washington, with its bevy of returning starters, including all-world quarterback Jake Locker, have a legitimate shot at exposing Nebraska.
Georgia over Florida, Oct. 30
By the time this game kicks off, picking UGA might not seem like much of an upset. But right now, this will make some Gator fans’ blood boil.
This has all the signs of a bounce-back year for Mark Richt’s Bulldogs. Georgia went 8-4 in 2001, Richt’s first season. They went 13-1 the next year. In 2006, they went 9-4, but followed it up with a 12-2 mark in 2007. UGA went 8-5 last season and was relegated to the Independence Bowl. No way will they lose five games this season, not with 10 returning offensive starters.
The concern for UGA is of course its redshirt freshman quarterback, Aaron Murray. But he’ll have seven games under his belt by the time he faces in the Gators. Besides, how much experience do you need to understand throwing the ball high to the best receiver in college football is a good idea?
At 6-4, star wideout A.J. Green is horrific matchup for the Gators’ undersized secondary. Even if Florida doubles Green, the Bulldogs have plenty of other weapons at Murray’s disposal.
Florida has a bye before the UGA game, and a lot of folks will point to Urban Meyer’s 18-2 mark with more than a week to prepare. But one of those losses came three years ago against Georgia.
Temple over Penn State, Sept. 25
Al Golden will be a BCS coach very soon. Upsetting the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley could be his ticket to the next level.
Temple heads to Beaver Stadium at just the right time. Penn State will be two weeks removed from getting pounded at Alabama and likely will be coming off a rebound performance in an easy win against another MAC team in Kent State.
Meanwhile, Temple will have gotten a good feel for Penn State’s size, speed and talent against a similar UConn team the previous week.
Penn State routed the Owls as a 29.5-point favorite last season. The Owls, who pride themselves on their 23rd-ranked running attack, managed just 46 rushing yards in a 31-6 drubbing.
But the core of that Penn State defense is gone. The Nittany Lions are replacing five of their front seven on defense. That’s not a good matchup against Temple’s beefy, veteran line. Averaging 318 pounds, the Owls’ O-line is made up of all upperclassmen, with more than 100 starts under their belt.
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