After a week where Oklahoma lost to Kansas State, more teams will be on upset alert in week 5 of the college football season. Some ranked teams have a tough matchup that is not a guaranteed win. Here are three teams on upset alert Saturday.
21 Tennessee Volunteers (-12.5)
21 Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) vs. Missouri Tigers (0-1)
When: Saturday, October 3 | Noon EST
Watch: SEC Network
Although Tennessee had a close 31-27 win over South Carolina, they dropped a few spots in the rankings, going from 16 to 21. The Big 10 was added to the rankings this week, so that is a reason the Volunteers fell a few spots.
Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Gaurantano went 19-for-31 through the air with 259 yards and both a rushing and passing touchdown. Running back Ty Chandler added 86 yards on the ground with 13 carries. Tennessee was consistent, scoring a touchdown in every quarter, adding a field goal in the third quarter.
Missouri had the brutal task of facing Alabama to open their season. They covered the spread, but still lost the game 38-19. Tigers quarterback Shawn Robinson went 19-for-25 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown. Mizzou did win the second half 16-10, which they can use as momentum heading into their contest with Tennessee. However, it is Missouri’s first road game of the season, which can be a factor in this one.
Florida Atlantic Owls (-5.5)
Florida Atlantic Owls (0-0) vs. Charlotte 49ers (0-1)
When: Saturday, October 3 | 4:00 PM EST
Watch: ESPNU
Florida Atlantic will play their first game of the season on Saturday against Charlotte. The Owls went 11-3 last season, with two of their losses coming to ranked teams in Ohio State and UCF. They won the C-USA Championship over UAB 49-6, and then won the Boca Raton Bowl 52-28. The team lost their head coach Lane Kiffin, who is now at Ole Miss. Former Florida State coach Willie Taggert now has the head coaching spot for the Owls.
Charlotte lost their season opener to one of the top group of 5 schools in Appalachian State. It was a 35-20 final score, but the 49ers were only down one at a score of 21-20 heading into the fourth quarter.
The team will want to have some better numbers in the passing game this week. Chris Reynolds went 11-for-30 with two interceptions against the Mountaineers.
The 49ers have had two weeks off in-a-row, which can help them be well-rested against Florida Atlantic.
4 Georgia Bulldogs (-6.5)
4 Georgia Bulldogs (1-0) vs. 7 Auburn Tigers (1-0)
When: Saturday, October 3 | 7:30 PM EST
Watch: ESPN
Georgia started their season with a 37-10 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. However, they got off to a slow start, heading into halftime down 7-5. They pulled away in the second half, but having a slow start like that against Auburn will be a lot tougher than against Arkansas.
The Bulldogs lost both quarterback Jake Fromm and running back D’Andre Swift to the NFL draft, so that is something the team may have been getting used to that in their slow first half against Arkansas.
Auburn also had a close, low-scoring first half in their first game. However, it was against Kentucky, who has fared much better than Arkansas over the past few seasons. It was 15-13 in favor of the Tigers heading into the fourth quarter, with Auburn scoring 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win 29-13.
Quarterback Bo Nix threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats. He will face another tough defense in Georgia Saturday as he tries to help Auburn get an early win over a top-5 opponent.
*Spreads are according to TeamRankings as of Tuesday evening.*
Featured Image Courtesy of ESPN.
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