2010 College Football ~ Upset Saturday

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Last week may have had more prestigious matchups, where traditionalists were rewarded with recognizable uniform clashes, but this week could prove to be much more significant. Their's only one bout involving two Dirkness ranked teams- (6) Iowa at (16)Arizona- in what seems like a passover Saturday. But, nah-unh, not so fast my friends! Many of the top teams have potential stumbling blocks (some more hidden than others). What do I see a chance for? Upset Saturday (not good for thy Huskers). So I'm gonna lay some of these out for all of you to see, and let you know which of them have the best chance of happening.

I'll be rating them in Not so Fast my Friends's! (This, of course, is in reference to Lee Corso, who became a Dirkness favorite after predicting Nebraska to win the National Championship). The more NsFmF's the greater chance I believe there is to be an upset, with 5 being the greatest. That's a 0-5 scale, low chance-high chance. With me? Let's boogie...

Games (teams ranked according to Dirkness Top 25):

11am- Kent St at Penn St- Hey, don't say I didn't warn you. The Golden Flashes are my surprise team out of the MAC so how could I turn my back on them now? This is more of a testament to how bad Penn St. might be this year (they were never in that game with Alabama). They lost too much from last year, so hopefully JoePoo can grunt out another year. 1.5 NsFmF's.


2:30- Air Force at (4)Oklahoma- Did this one slip by you when looking over this week? Don't let it. Air Force beat BYU who beat Washington who might beat Nebraska who almost beat Texas last year. Think about that. But, seriously, Air Force runs a difficult offense to prepare for and Oklahoma struggled with Utah St in the first game of the year. If they're ready, it won't be close, but if they aren't....3.5 NsFmF's.

2:30- USC at Minnesota- Wait, that's right, USC is no longer relevant. No further comment. 2 NsFmF's.

2:30- (9)Nebraska at Washington- Absolutely terrified of this game. If you noticed my Preseason Predictions I had them losing a non-conference game. It wasn't to Idaho. I can't shake a rainy game nightmare of getting behind 10-14 points on something like a punt return out of my head. Why won't it leave? I'm confident in our guys as long as we don't get behind two scores. That changes everything. What QB do we play? Stick with T-Mart (way better than T-Magic)? Incumbent Zac Lee appears to have no chance of playing this year. Cody Green was very erratic last year. We will have to deal with a deficit at some point this year. But, there is also the chance we beat the Starbucks out of the future first-round bust for the Arizona Cardinals, Jake Locker. I'm predicting Nebraska 21, Washington 20 in a comeback victory. 4 NsFmF's.

2:30- (3)Alabama at Duke- Maybe not, but it is the matchup of the past National Champions in football and basketball. Hopefully, Greg Paulus is playing. Maybe they should bowl to decide the ultimate college champion. Or play Flip Cup. 0 NsFmF's.

3:30- Baylor at (7)TCU- One of these games starting in the afternoon will see an upset on Saturday (or atleast a major scare), so you better find one you like. Upsets always seem to breed other upsets though. Baylor's QB Robert Lee Griffin III appears to be at full strength after missing all of last year. I'm expecting big things from Lil' Baylor this year, and for them to finally break their bowl-less streak This one goes into the 4th quarter. 2.5 NsFmF's.

7- (5)Boise St at Wyoming- I made mention of this at the end of my Article on Boise St. and I meant it. Wyoming gave Texas fits for a half last week. However, if I hear one other person on espn say this before Saturday, the deal is off. It needs privacy like airing it on Fox Sports Mountain Hills will give it. Keep an eye on SM West graduate (poppin' up all over these days) WR David Leonard, who leads them in receptions. 2 NsFmF's.

7- (14)Texas at Texas Tech- The Longhorns have turned in two subpar 1st half's this season. Lil' G.G. Allin (Garrett Gilbert) is the Kevin Kolb of College Football. Everyone assumed he would be a minimized step down from Colt McCoy (Kolb to McNabb), when there was every reason to think it would be a gigantic leap. You're replacing two all-timers. Meanwhile, the Bell Ringin' Red Raiders have averaged 43.5 points so far this season. Maybe Mike Leach's B.O. remained behind. Wait, that's Lubbock's natural smell? 4 NsFmF's.

9:30- (6)Iowa at (16)Arizona- The best game on paper of the weekend. The Hawkeyes beat Arizona 27-17 last year in Iowa City. This time they head to Tuscon. Arizona has a promptly spelled RB named Nic Grigsby. Iowa made my revised National Championship prediction (along with Oregon), which may be more of a kiss of doom than anything. 3 NsFmF's.