College Football Upset Alert: 3 Pac-12, SEC Favorites On Watch?
A quieter slate in Week 5 laid way to some genuinely shocking upsets. Bowling Green pulled off the biggest one, beating Georgia Tech outright as +22 underdogs on the road. Week 6 presents a much meatier schedule via conference play, rivalries, and ranked matchups. But some underlying games may still present tricky spots for favorites, particularly in the Pac-12. Below, I’ll lay out difficult scheduling spots for favorites and try to locate some upset alert candidates for this weekend in college football.
Last week’s upset alerts went 1-1-1, pushing the underdogs outlined in this article now to 10-6-1 ATS with two outright victories. We’ll make the case, and you decide if you want to make the picks on the moneyline or in your pick ’em pools. Compare college football odds from the best sports betting sites below with these upset candidates.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 6 UPSET ALERTS
Browse odds from the best college football betting sites throughout this article. Click to place a wager on any of the games.
Arkansas at Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m. ET
Emotions ran high last week as Ole Miss out-dueled LSU to a 55-46 finish in Oxford. Not only did the game take a maximum effort from the entire roster, but fans even got a little too involved, throwing bottles on the field. Ultimately, Lane Kiffin’s Rebels secured a thrilling victory.
Now, they stay home and welcome Arkansas to Vaught Hemingway Stadium. Not long ago, these two teams combined for 103 points in a back-and-forth effort in Oxford (2021). While Ole Miss rolls into their bye next week, they do sit in a classic letdown spot after the thrilling win. Perhaps not enough to lose the ball game outright – after all, the 2-3 Razorbacks have been a huge disappointment – but this game may drag on longer than Ole Miss intends.
It’s a division rival, so I’d expect a closer game than the point spread suggests.
Oregon State at California, 10:00 p.m. ET
Oregon State rode high after a 21-7 home victory over top-10 Utah last week. The defense played lights-out and pushed the Beavers to a 4-1 record. Now, they hit the road to play at Cal as road favorites, a precarious spot for Jonathan Smith’s team. Under Smith, Oregon State is just 1-5 against the spread as a road favorite, and California Memorial Stadium has been a trappy spot for many favorites in recent years.
Further, Oregon State hosts UCLA in Week 7, making this a letdown spot and a look-ahead one. If the history of the Pac-12 holds, taking Cal with the points at home would be a heady play, and an outright victory for the scrappy Golden Bears shouldn’t be out of the cards entirely.
Arizona at USC, 10:30 p.m. ET
USC may have been looking ahead as far back as the third quarter of last week’s game. The defense very nearly gave up a 41-14 second-half victory to Colorado but ultimately escaped with a thrilling win. They return home to play Arizona, a team down starting QB Jayden de Laura. As favorites, this should be a runaway victory for the Trojans.
However, the real meat of their schedule looms large. After this game against Arizona, USC visits historic rival Notre Dame, then turns back around and hosts Utah. They close the year at Cal, against Washington, at Oregon, and against UCLA. It’s one of the more difficult stretches, and Lincoln Riley’s crew is almost certainly beginning preparations. At the very least, the team is aware of the challenge ahead.
With a defense that’s been more than a liability for two seasons, there’s good reason for pessimism as to why this home date with Arizona could be closer than expected.
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More College Football Upset Alerts: Underdogs With Rest Advantages
- Wake Forest () at Clemson: Wake Forest visits Clemson coming off their bye week. The Tigers visited Syracuse last week.
- San Jose State () at Boise State: SJSU comes off a bye week and visits Boise State on Saturday. The Broncos come off a road trip to Memphis.
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