Last weekend we saw three teams knocked out of the top ten rankings by underdogs. This weekend there may be more to follow. Competition in the upper echelons of NCAA football is getting pretty stiff.
Unbeaten SEC newcomer Missouri moved up to #14 in the AP Poll and goes into their game against a powerful Florida Gator team coming off of a tough loss to #6 LSU last week. The Gators have one of the top defenses in the country and they will be facing a new quarterback for Missou since James Franklin separated his shoulder during the Tigers big win over the beat-up Georgia Bulldogs.
Had Franklin not been hurt, the line may well have opened with Missouri as slight favorites. However, the opening lines hovered around 3-3.5 points being given to the Tigers. Even though they lost one to LSU in Baton Rouge, the # 22 ranked Gators still have a lot of high quality athletes and look to give Missouri all that they can handle.
The Clemson Tigers are currently holding on to third place in the AP Poll but face serious opposition when the Seminoles of Florida State come to town for a big ACC matchup. The Seminoles have moved up to #5 in the polls after handing Maryland a 63-0 shellacking last week.
Behind talented freshman quarterback Jameis Winston, aka ‘Famous Jameis’, Florida State has averaged over 53 points per game so far this season and will no doubt be the most difficult matchup so far for Clemson.
This will be the first game of the season that Heisman hopeful quarterback Tajh Boyd and his Clemson Tigers has gone in as underdogs. The Seminoles are currently favored by 3 points. Fasten your seatbelts for this one sports fans because this could be a barnburner.
Stats could be telling for Missouri since the Seminoles have not won a game when visiting the Clemson campus since 2001! The Tigers have covered four straight against Florida State and are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
Out West all eyes will be focused on the cross state contest between the Bruins of UCLA and the Cardinals of Stanford University to the north. Stanford was #4 in the country until falling to underdog Utah last week 27-21. UCLA is undefeated after the first five games of the season and boast their own Heisman Trophy candidate in Brent Hundley. However, Stanford goes in as 4 point favorites.
