Like most sports, college football is going to look different than past years. There won’t be tens of thousands of fans in attendance, not all the teams are playing in the fall, along with even more twists from the typical college football season. One of the things that remains the same this college football season, though, are upsets.
Here are three teams on upset alert in week two of the 2020 college football season.
*Spreads are according to Team Rankings as of Tuesday afternoon.*
Arkansas State Red Wolves (0-1) at Kansas State Wildcats (0-0)
When: Saturday, September 12 | 3:30 PM EST
Watch: FS1
Although Arkansas State lost in week 1, having a game under their belt can surely help them heading into week 2. The Red Wolves lost to a consistently tough Memphis team 37-24. Arkansas State will likely change their game-plan this week. This is due to Memphis being an offensive heavy team, while Kansas State has played better defensively the past few years. The Red Wolves used two quarterbacks in Logan Bonner and Layne Hatcher against Memphis, so it’ll be interesting to see how they use them in moving forward.
It’s not guaranteed, but Kansas State may end up following suit of some teams who had a rough first game. Middle Tennessee State lost by 42 and Navy lost by 52. This likely won’t happen against the Red Wolves, but it could show potential for a slow start for some teams this weekend. The Wildcats do have Skylar Thomspon at quarterback this season. The senior has played in 32 games with K-State with 4,395 passing yards and a solid ratio of 26 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. The Wildcats will want to avoid a slow start and have to come from behind to win.
Tulane Green Wave (0-0) at South Alabama Jaguars (1-0)
When: Saturday, September 12 | 7:30 PM EST
Watch: ESPN2
Jalen Tolbert had two touchdowns and 169 receiving yards in a week 1 win. (Image from al.com)
After going 2-10 in 2019, South Alabama started their 2020 campaign with a big win over a Southern Mississippi team that went 7-5 last season. The Jaguars put up 13 in the first quarter while holding the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles to zero. They won the game 32-21. Quarterback Desmond Trotter had 299 passing yards and added 41 yards on the ground in the win. The Jaguars will look to keep the momentum going and start their season 2-0.
Speaking of Southern Mississippi, the last team Tulane played is the Golden Eagles back on January 4 in the Armed Forces Bowl. Tulane won the game 30-13 to go 7-6 on the year.
Tulane may be able to run the ball well this Saturday. The Jaguars were ranked 100th last season in rushing yards allowed per game, while the Green Wave were 12th in rushing yards per game in 2019. However, South Alabama held the Golden Eagles to just 95 rushing yards in week 1. If Tulane struggles to get the run game going, it could be a recipe for an early upset in the 2020 college football season.
Coastal Carolina (0-0) at Kansas Jayhawks (0-0)
When: Saturday, September 12 | 10:00 PM EST
Watch: FS1
In 2019, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers beat Kansas 12-7. It was a tough loss for a Kansas team that had higher hopes than past years with the addition of coach Les Miles. The Chanticleers held Kansas to 107 yards in the air with two interceptions. Coastal running back Torrance Marable had 148 rushing yards with a touchdown in the 2019 match-up with the Jayhawks. The Chanticleers could get a lot of help with a similar performance from both Marable and the defense Saturday night.
The Jayhawks’ last win came on October 26 of last year. It was a home win against Texas Tech by a score of 37-34. After that, they lost their last four games. Out of those losses, three of them were by at least 18 points. They showed some potential on the offensive end, scoring 48 points in two different games. Kansas could be hard to predict, and Saturday’s game against the Chanticleers could show if this team improved from last season.
Featured Image Courtesy of Flipboard.
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