College Football Predictions: 5 Ranked Teams That Are Going Down This Weekend

Seven ranked teams lost last Saturday. Will we see similar disruption in the Top 25 this week?

With three matchups pitting ranked teams against each other and numerous other Top 25 teams facing daunting challenges, it seems likely.

Here are the five ranked teams that will lose in Week 6 of the 2011 college football season.

The Texas Longhorns (to the Oklahoma Sooners)

One of these two teams has played in the BCS Championship Game five out of the last eight years, so this game has more bearing on the national picture than any other rivalry. With both teams ranked in the Top 15, it seems that could be the case again.

The Texas Longhorns are sitting at 4-0 with a No. 11 ranking, but they haven't beaten anybody. More importantly, Case McCoy and David Ash continue to rotate at quarterback, which is a recipe for disaster.

The Oklahoma Sooners are battle-tested, having beaten the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee. They have an experienced quarterback in Landry Jones. Their defense ranks 14th in the country in points allowed and will harass both Longhorn quarterbacks.

Oklahoma hasn't won two games in a row in the Red River Rivalry since 2003-2004. That will change Saturday.

The Michigan Wolverines (to the Northwestern Wildcats)

The Northwestern Wildcats may be 2-2, but they are a different team with quarterback Dan Persa. That was proven last Saturday. A week after losing to the Army Black Knights without him, the Wildcats, in Persa's return, built a 28-10 lead over the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini on the road.

If Persa hadn't been forced to leave the game, the Wildcats likely would have held off the Illinois comeback.

The Michigan Wolverines are 5-0, but who on Earth have they beaten? The only notable victory thus far was the win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and that resulted from a miracle 30-second, 80-yard touchdown drive.

Michigan will look past the Wildcats, and Northwestern will ride the home crowd to a surprise victory.

The Florida Gators (to the LSU Tigers)

The LSU Tigers have played three big games this season, but their fans have been waiting a long time for a marquee matchup at Tiger Stadium. That opportunity arrives with the Florida Gators on Saturday.

The Florida Gators are reeling after a 38-10 loss at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide that also cost them their starting quarterback, John Brantley. His replacement last week, Jeff Driskel, is expected to start in Baton Rouge, but it's still undecided.

Tiger Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the country. LSU is unbelievably fast and loaded with playmakers who will force whichever green quarterback the Gators start to make mistakes, and then capitalize off them as they've done all season. If Florida can't hang with Alabama at home, it certainly can't play with LSU on the road.

The Texas A&M Aggies (to the Texas Tech Red Raiders)

This pick is not so much based on Xs and Os as the situation.

The Texas A&M Aggies have suffered two heartbreaking losses in consecutive weeks after blowing double-digit leads against the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks. I wouldn't think they'd have much in the tank anyway after back-to-back games against top-10 opponents; with the way they lost both these games, they have zero momentum heading into Saturday.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders have had a nice start to their season, with a last-second victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack and a win at the Kansas Jayhawks improving their record to 4-0. As always, they have a prolific offense.

With one last shot at their rivals before the Aggies move on to greener pastures in the SEC, I think the Red Raiders will use the loud atmosphere in this night game in Lubbock to finish off Texas A&M.

The Auburn Tigers (to the Arkansas Razorbacks)

Both of these two teams have displayed some Jekyll and Hyde characteristics in the early portion of the 2011 college football season.

The Arkansas Razorbacks tend to make the switch during halftime. Two weeks ago in the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas was only down three with a few minutes left in the first half, but went on to lose 38-14. Last week it was the opposite, falling behind 35-17 to the Texas A&M Aggies at the break before rallying to win 42-38.

The Auburn Tigers seem to play well one week, lousy the next. They played pitifully against the Utah State Aggies and Clemson Tigers, but played well against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and especially well last week in a win over the No. 10 South Carolina Gamecocks.

Still, with the game in Arkansas, and the Razorbacks' firepower, I don't see the Tigers staying in this one. Tyler Wilson won't make the kind of mistakes that Stephen Garcia did to keep Auburn in last week's game.