Oregon, Texas on upset alert lead college football Week 13 bold predictions
- USA TODAY Sports experts predict several major upsets for Week 13 of the college football season.
- Two experts believe Florida will upset Tennessee at home in their rivalry game.
- Other predicted upsets include Nebraska over Penn State and Kentucky over Vanderbilt.
We’ve reached the penultimate weekend of the regular season with several teams still fighting for College Football Playoff spots, conference championships and bowl positioning.
The biggest showdowns of Week 13 take place in the SEC and Big Ten with the likes of Oklahoma, Southern California and Oregon among the teams hoping to help their playoff resumes.
The stakes are higher and so is the pressure on teams to deliver results. That pressure can produce motivation but also be an anchor to carry should things not go well. So which teams are potentially on upset alert?
The USA TODAY Sports college football staff of Matt Hayes, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Blake Toppmeyer offer their bold predictions for Week 13 of the college football season.
Florida finally gets its upset by taking down Tennessee
Florida has been close twice against two playoff teams (Georgia, Ole Miss) under interim coach Billy Gonzales, and only looked lost in a road game against Kentucky. They’re at The Swamp, it’s a rivalry game and Tennessee will have problems stopping the run. A bad combination for the Volunteers trying to win out, win a bowl game and get to 10 victories. — Matt Hayes
Kentucky locks up bowl spot by taking down Vanderbilt
It’s not the greatest outlook, but Vanderbilt still has an outside shot of making the College Football Playoff, as long as the Commodores don’t drop another game. Next up is a Kentucky team that has looked really impressive recently, not allowing more than 10 points in its last three contests. The Wildcats defense steps up and give Diego Pavia fits, while the Wildcat offense puts together a final push to get past Vanderbilt. Kentucky reaches bowl eligibility, and Vanderbilt’s best shot at the playoff get swept away. — Jordan Mendoza
Matt Rhule has happy return to Penn State
Matt Rhule has a successful return to Happy Valley as Nebraska beats Penn State as roughly a touchdown underdog to win eight games for the first time since 2016. Playing quarterback backup TJ Lateef for the second game in a row, the Cornhuskers avoid any costly turnovers, shine on special teams and slow down the Nittany Lions’ running game just enough to pull down a win that could move them into the Top 25 with Iowa to close the regular season. — Paul Myerberg
Oregon sees playoff fate put on brink with loss to USC
Autzen Stadium is one of the toughest environments in college football, but we’ve already seen the Ducks fall at home this season. Now coming to town in Southern California and Lincoln Riley’s prolific offense. Oregon struggled to slow down Indiana in its lone loss and also wasn’t great moving the ball in that matchup. The Ducks will struggle again at home with the Trojans doing enough to get a huge with to boost their postseason hopes and damage Oregon’s future. — Erick Smith
Arkansas gets over hump and takes down Texas
You have to give credit to Arkansas. It’s not easy finding so many different ways to lose in agonizing fashion every week. The Razorbacks are the lone winless bunch in the SEC, and all six of their league losses have been by single-digit margins, with four of those by a field goal or less. They’ll be in for more of the same this week, but at least they can take some solace in the fact that their opponents’ fans will be just as furious when Texas has to scratch and claw its way to yet another victory that will be much closer than necessary. — Eddie Timanus
The Swamp again proves too tough for Tennessee
Nothing about the direction of Florida’s season suggests the Gators should beat Tennessee. But, I’ve seen the Vols wilt in The Swamp too many times to believe Tennessee will win. Good, bad or in between, Florida beats Tennessee in The Swamp. These are the rules. In a broader sense, it’s a shame this rivalry will fall off the annual docket beginning next season. Few rivalries were bigger in the ’90s, when I became a college football fan. The rivalry is nowhere near its peak, but I’ve covered this game when both teams were bad, and it’s still got some juice. And when Tom Petty plays before the fourth quarter and Gators fans sing, you could forgive yourself for forgetting that neither of these teams is playoff bound. — Blake Toppmeyer
