Upset Alert or Just Another Week of Muscle Flexing?

Week seven of College Football is here, and it's loaded with traditional rivalries and interesting matchups. Are there chances for a major upset to shake up the standings, or will it just be another series of beatdowns?

A lot will be settled where it should be—on the field. Let's take a peek at what's on tap.

Boise State at Tulsa

The point spread on this game has been dropping since the line opened as the game is at Tulsa—whee! I have seen some of the most atrocious officiating over the past several seasons, all of it going directly in favor of the home team.

Tulsa will have its hands full with Boise; they are going to have to play a perfect game to hang in there with the No. 5-ranked team in America.
Boise has shown they are no longer just a novelty act and can play with anyone. They aren't just about a few starters either; this is a deep team.
Tulsa looks like an offensive juggernaut at times and then steps it up and gets pounded. We saw it last year at Arkansas when the Golden Hurricane players looked about the size of gnats. We saw the same story again against Oklahoma a few weeks back.
Don't worry about staying up late—this one is going to be over at halftime.

Cincinnati at South Florida

Two undefeated teams meet Thursday night under the lights to see who controls their own destiny in the Big East.
This one has all the makings of a great college football game, which to me means solid defense. Both teams have the ability to put up points, but buckle up the chinstraps, because this should be a hard-hitting defensive battle.
This game could be called the best game no one cares about, but any real fan of college football will surely be tuning in to see what transpires, as the winner may end up in the BCS title game.

If that were to happen, there would be no shortage of discussion during the few weeks between the end of the season and bowl season.

USC at Notre Dame

Many people are calling this a rivalry game, but in order for it to be a real rivalry, each team needs to win once in a while. USC has beaten ND the last seven in a row, and the prognosis isn't great on Saturday either.
The point spread on this game has been dropping as Notre Dame has a huge following, but instead of an upset alert, we can now label this as a sucker alert, as Notre Dame really shouldn't be on the same field with the Trojans. This is far from the best USC team, but they have more than enough to beat the Fighting Irish.
ND QB Jimmy Clausen is limited to just one pass he can throw, the fade, and Pete Carroll will be taking it away in a hurry. Once that is gone, Clausen's only option is the tight end, and that will be gone soon enough.
USC's offense is very simple: Get the ball to their playmakers in space and let them do their thing. The Trojans should have huge gaps of real eastate to maneuver in South Bend.
This will be a fun one for any Notre Dame haters out there.

South Carolina at Alabama

Another week, another SEC game between two National Championship-winning coaches.
Which South Carolina team shows up for this one is the big question. If it is anything but a team ready and prepared to play a flawless game, then don't even bother showing up because they will have no chance.
South Carolina has a solid defense, which can keep them in games, but if the offense turns the ball over early, this one has the possibility of being over very quickly.

Iowa at Wisconsin

This game has a chance to be the quickest college football game of the season. I look for a ton of defense and even more trying to run the ball between the tackles.
Which Wisconsin team shows up? Is it the one who controlled the game against Ohio State, or is it the one who threw two pick sixes and gave up a special teams TD to lose in a lopsided manner to the Buckeyes?
Iowa seems to play up for the good teams and down against the lessers. Though the margins of victory don't impress anyone, they are victories nonetheless.
The line in this game has oscillated greatly, and each team has been the favorite at one point or another this week.
Will it be the Iowa team who shut down Penn State in the second half, or will it be the Iowa team who nearly lost to Northern Iowa and beat Arkansas State by three?
The Badgers are playing well fundamentally, and that could go a long way towards knocking off the ranked Hawkeyes.

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech

This is the best chance of seeing an upset this weekend as the Hokies go on the road and face a very good Georgia Tech team.
It is an annual event that the Hokies throw out a stinker, and while they lost already to Alabama, it wasn't quite the complete meltdown that the Hokies usually experience.
Georgia Tech has gone from overrated to underrated in a matter of weeks as the Yellow Jackets have just one loss, to the same Miami team VT beat. The major difference is that GT lost at Miami and the Hokies beat the Hurricanes at Lane Stadium.
I think Georgia Tech pounds the ball on VT and walks out the winner, and once again we have a conference tiebreaker mess at the end of the season.