College Football Predictions: Wisconsin over Ohio St and Possible Week 7 Upsets

Week 6 upon the sacred gridiron bore witness to the flood gates opening upon the landscape of college football deluging it with glorious upsets.

Illinois’ defense led the fighting Illini to their first ever win in Not So Happy Valley, Michigan State visited the Big House and left with its perfect record intact, Oregon State held on to shock No. 9 Arizona, LSU once again found a way to win late (this time in the Swamp vs. the Gators), Florida State pounded Miami in Coral Gables and South Carolina rose mightily to beat down No. 1 Alabama for the upset of the week.

Whew...I don’t even smoke but I might just light up after a weekend like that . . .

Week 7 in college football features 55 provocative matchups involving 109 FBS teams.  One FBS team will face an FCS opponent (LSU vs. McNeese St.) while 11 teams will take the week off.

Lumbering ever onwards towards either glory or a well earned pounding, the following slideshow will attempt once again to successfully pinpoint six potential weekly upsets.

These prospective shockers are further, for your reading pleasure, ranked in order of confidence (one being the most assured selection and lowly number six being assigned to the weekly “ridiculous” pick).

6. Texas (3-2) over Nebraska (5-0)

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ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 5: Sam Meginnis #67 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers gets ready to hike the ball during the Big 12 Football Championship game against the Texas Longhorns at Cowboys Stadium on December 5, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jamie Squir

@ Nebraska

Nebraska -9.5

Overall Series:  Texas leads 9-4 and is 4-1 at Nebraska

No. 5 Nebraska comes into Week 7 with a perfect record and fresh off a Thursday night 48-13 beat down of Kansas State.

Texas is 3-2 with consecutive wins over Rice, Wyoming and Texas Tech followed by losses to UCLA and No. 8 Oklahoma.

The Bottom Line

Before the season started, and really up until Week 5, this game was touted as a preview of the Big 12 Championship.

Though the Longhorn’s surprisingly poor play has taken some of the glitter off of the disco ball, this is still a highly interesting matchup (especially for a revenge-thirsty Cornhusker fan base).

Nebraska has a powerful running game, should continue to improve through the air with QB Taylor Martinez (though still ranked only 106th through the air) and its defense is absolutely stifling.

But, let’s keep in mind that other than Kansas State the Cornhuskers have faced a FCS team and three FBS squads who combine for a 5-10 record so far in 2010.

Texas will have to stop the run in this game (they rank 14th in rushing “D”) and finally find a way to get their offense to click or even half click.

Nebraska should win this game but don’t assume the Longhorns have given up completely on their 2010 season; I guarantee you they haven’t.

The last time the Cornhuskers beat Texas in Lincoln? Well, that was in 1933 at the very first meeting between the two.

5. Wisconsin (5-1) over Ohio State (6-0)

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MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 04: David Gilreath #85 of the Wisconsin Badgers returns a kickoff against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium October 4, 2008 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

@ Wisconsin

OSU -5

Overall Series:  OSU leads 53-17 and is 25-10 at Wisconsin

No. 1 Ohio State is a perfect 6-0 coming into Week 7 including a big early season win vs. then No. 12 Miami (FL).

No. 18 Wisconsin is 5-1 and came up just 10 points short of a perfect season with a loss to still flawless No. 13 Michigan State in East Lansing.

The Bottom Line

So, can the new No. 1 team in the land best the Badgers or will the Buckeyes be the next to fall from grace and soil the landscape of college football?

In order to avoid this miserable fate Ohio State will have to stop the Wisconsin running attack which has averaged just over 240 yards per game.  The Buckeyes have been successful vs. the run but have played six opponents who average to rank 74th in rushing yards.

Both these teams have racked up numbers on opponents that were simply overmatched with two key exceptions. 

OSU beat Miami (FL) at home but the Hurricanes now look less dominant than they did earlier in the season, additionally the Buckeyes have played all but one of their 2010 games at home.

Wisconsin faced undefeated Michigan State and lost by 10 points in a tough road game to a team that has faced far better quality opponents thus far this season.

Beating Wisconsin at home is no easy task; the Badgers are 14-3 at home in Big 10 play since 2006, but that said the Buckeyes are 16-1 on the road in conference play during this same period.

Only once in this period did the Buckeyes play at Wisconsin, they won 20-17.

The Badgers have won the last 25 of 28 night games.

We’re about to find out how good the Buckeyes really are.

4. Illinois (3-2) over Michigan State (6-0)

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CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 10: Walter Aikens #15 and Michael Buchanan #99 of the Illinois Fighting Illini tackle Caulton Ray #24 of the Michigan State Spartans on October 10, 2009 at Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. Mich

@ Michigan State

Michigan State -7.5

Overall Series:  MSU leads 24-17 and is 12-8 at MSU

No. 13 Michigan State rides their Big Ten dark horse into week seven fresh off six straight wins, most recently over No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 18 Michigan.

Illinois played close in losses to Missouri and No. 1 Ohio State, captured two expected wins and then shocked Penn State 33-13 in its first ever win at Happy Valley.

The Bottom Line

The Fighting Illini can flat out run the ball, Mikel Leshoure has already amassed 606 yards which contributes to Illinois’ 19th overall ranking in rushing yards.

The Spartans have proven they can shut down the run, especially in the last two weeks when they held the 11th and sixth ranked rushing offenses to 165 and 162 yards respectively.

But, the Spartans will have to stop the Illinois running attack minus senior cornerback Chris Rucker who has been suspended by Mark Dantonio for at least this week’s game.  Rucker has been excellent at run support and will be replaced by a true freshman.

Illinois is ranked 21st in scoring defense (while Michigan ranks only 75th); for them to knock off the Spartans they will have to find a way to run the ball (they rank 114th in passing) and shut down an otherwise potent Spartan offense.

Many Spartans perhaps think Oct. 30at Iowa is their next big game. 

Whoa there Sparty...don’t overlook Illinois on your way to Iowa City.

3. South Florida (3-2) over West Virginia (4-1)

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TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 28: Marcus Edwards #11 of the University of South Florida Bulls carries the ball during the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Raymond James Stadium September 28, 2007 in Tampa Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

@ WVU (Thursday)

WVU by 11.5

Overall Series:  South Florida leads 3-2; 1-1 at West Virginia

South Florida has three victories that were expected (Stony Brook, WKU and FAU), one predictable loss (Florida) and one ugly 13-9 defeat to Syracuse.

The Mountaineers have four wins against beatable opponents (Coastal Carolina, Marshall, Maryland and UNLV) and a close loss to LSU in Death Valley.

The Bottom Line

On paper West Virginia looks to live up to its forecasted 11.5 point advantage.  The Bulls have been somewhat successful running the ball and the Mountaineers have been ultra successful shutting down opponents’ ground games.

However, other than LSU who have the Mountaineers played?  Their four FBS opponents thus far rank an average 75th in rushing yards which makes the Bulls 43rd ranking seem better.

Interestingly, South Florida was the underdog vs. West Virginia in 2006, 2008 and 2009 and ultimately won all three contests, including when they faced the undefeated No. 5 Mountaineers in Morgantown in 2008.

South Florida is well coached and athletic; don’t be surprised if they once again upend West Virginia at home.

2. Kentucky (3-3) over South Carolina (4-1)

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LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 11: Derrick Locke #20 of the Kentucky Wildcats runs the ball against Emanuel Cook #21 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during the game at Commonwealth Stadium on October 11, 2008 in Lexington, Kentucky. South Carolina defeated Kent

@ Kentucky

South Carolina -6

Overall Series:  South Carolina leads 14-6 and is 8-3 at Kentucky

No. 10 South Carolina travels to the bluegrass after a triumphant upset over No. 1 Alabama in Columbia.  Their only loss on the season came on the road vs. No. 17 Auburn.

Kentucky reeled off three wins to begin their season and then dropped consecutive games to No. 9 Florida, Old Miss and No. 8 Auburn.

The Bottom Line

These teams match up well on paper.  Kentucky is numerically dominant on the offensive side of the ball while the Gamecock “D” has allowed far fewer points by opponents.

The big question that begs to be asked really regards what if any emotional hangover South Carolina will undergo after the biggest win in school history.

Six teams have upset the AP No. 1 ranked team since 2002 and only three of these teams scored a win in the following week.

Kentucky has never been victorious vs. a Steve Spurrier coached team and the last time they knocked off the Gamecocks in Lexington was 1998.

But the Wildcats are a good team; despite their record they managed heroic comeback attempts at Mississippi and vs. a very good Auburn squad.

If South Carolina has a understandable drop in intensity, especially given they are playing a Kentucky team that went 3-5 vs. SEC opponents in 2009 and are 0-3 in 2010, they may be the next team that loses the week after a big win over No. 1.

1. Miami-OH (3-3) over Central Michigan (2-4)

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GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 04: Kevin Bresnahan #23 of the Miami University RedHawks runs for yardage against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 4, 2010 in Gainesville, Florida. Florida beat Miami 34-12. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/

@ Central Michigan

Central Michigan -10.5

Overall Series:  Miami (OH) leads 11-10 and is 6-3 at CM

Miami has traveled to the .500 mark with wins over Eastern Michigan, Colorado State and Kent State.  Losses have all been to quality opponents (Florida, Missouri and Cincinnati).

Central Michigan has a win over Hampton and Eastern Michigan in the credit column and losses to Temple, Northwestern, Ball State and Virginia Tech on the debit side.

The Bottom Line

After capturing three MAC titles in the past four seasons the Chippewa’s are in a rebuilding mode.  Their two wins this season come against an FCS team and a team that hasn’t won a game in recent memory.

Central Michigan has fumbled the ball 11 times and Sophomore QB Ryan Radcliff has already thrown eight picks.

Still, on paper the Redhawks still look like easy fodder for the win hungry Chippewa’s.  Though Miami also beat the same winless team (Eastern Michigan) and two other underwhelming opponents they put up a tough fight against three strong teams.

Central Michigan has scored a whopping 42 percent of its points in the fourth quarter; if Miami can find a way to be successful running, force turnovers and play defense for a full 60 minutes they may just be the next in line to kick the Chippewa’s while they’re down.