The 2020 college football season continues to move along in unusual fashion. However, one of the things that remain the same this college football season are teams being upset. Last week, Mississippi State lost to Arkansas, giving the Razorbacks their first SEC win since 2017. That was a week after the Bulldogs beat the defending champions in LSU. Oklahoma also lost consecutive games for the first time since 1999.
Here are three teams on upset alert in week 6 of the 2020 college football season.
*Spreads are according to TeamRankings as of Tuesday evening.*
Virginia Cavaliers (-9.5)
North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-1) at Virginia Cavaliers (1-1)
When: Saturday, October 10 | Noon EST
Watch: ACC Network
North Carolina State moved to 2-1 after beating a ranked Pittsburgh team 30-29. The Wolfpack took the lead with 23 seconds remaining on a 13-yard touchdown pass. That was quarterback Devin Leary‘s fourth touchdown pass of the day. Leary threw for 336 yards with no interceptions in the win.
However, the team will want to step up the run game and defense moving forward. The Wolfpack had just 67 yards on the ground Saturday. Also, the 29 points Pitt scored is the least North Carolina State let up this season, with 42 and 45 coming in the previous two weeks.
The Cavaliers understandably had their first loss of the season against Clemson by a score of 41-23. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw for 270 yards with three touchdowns and two picks, and also added 89 rushing yards in the loss. Their win came against Duke by a score of 38-20. The Cavaliers are looking to get back in the win column this week, but the Wolfpack do have the roster to move to 3-1 on the year.
24 Iowa State Cyclones (-12.5)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-2) at 24 Iowa State Cyclones (2-1)
When: Saturday, October 10 | 3:30 PM EST
Watch: ABC
Texas Tech was 1-0 and beating Texas heading into the fourth quarter of that game. They blew that lead, lost in overtime, then lost to Kansas State to move to 1-2.
The Red Raiders have allowed at least 31 points in all three games, which is something they’ll want to improve on moving forward.
The offense has still been the typical Red Raider offense: pass heavy with a fast tempo. Quarterback Alan Bowman had 52 pass attempts in his first two games. He got injured early against Kansas State, and is considered day-to-day at the time of writing. Having him healthy against the Cyclones will be a big boost for this offense.
Iowa State has sort of been the opposite of Texas Tech so far. They lost their first game, then rebounded with wins against conference opponents including Oklahoma. The Cyclones won that game 37-30. After a fourth quarter touchdown by the Sooners, Iowa State quickly answered with a touchdown to tie it, then another touchdown to win it in the fourth. After a big win, they can take that momentum against another high tempo offense in Texas Tech.
1 Clemson Tigers (-14)
7 Miami Hurricanes (3-0) at 1 Clemson Tigers (3-0)
When: Saturday, October 10 | 8:00 PM EST
Watch: ABC
Miami’s defense is getting a lot more help on offense this season. The Hurricanes have scored 31, 47 and 52 points in their three games this far. Last week, they beat Florida State 52-10. Of course the Seminoles are struggling, but the Hurricanes still seem very improved from the past several seasons. This week is about as big of a test as they can get, facing the number one team in the nation in on national television. However, limited attendance is something that can help Miami in this one.
The Clemson Tigers have won all three of their games by at least 18 points. Miami is the team’s toughest opponent so far. Clemson hasn’t typically gotten tested like this against conference opponents in the past few years, so that could be a factor in this game. However, the experience of Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and more could make it really tough for Miami to head out of Clemson still undefeated.
Featured Image Courtesy of Fox Sports 2.
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