The Big Ten’s hottest team has to come down at some point, and the comeback kids have to take a week off — right?
Here are the underdogs I’m backing this weekend.
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UCLA is perhaps the best story in all college football this season. Coach Bob Chesney has his team undefeated, igniting a program that has long been dormant.
Still, while the Bruins are unbeaten and have a clear path to the College Football Playoff, they could be in for a battle this Saturday against an improved Minnesota team that has been feisty in recent weeks.
Minnesota nearly pulled off the upset as three-touchdown underdogs last week against defending national champion Indiana, and now hosts UCLA. As great of a story as the Bruins are, they haven’t played the stiffest competition, with their biggest signature win coming against a disappointing Oregon team that turned the ball over seven times in a 17-15 game. The other wins have come against Nevada, Michigan State, San Diego State, California, Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin.
The weather should not be a major factor Saturday, but with temperatures expected to be in the high 40s, it’s also not ideal for a team from warm and sunny Los Angeles. With the point total set at 39.5, it projects to be a low-scoring game, and I give Minnesota a chance to keep it close and pull off the upset.
“He can’t keep getting away with this” is a famous line from Jesse Pinkman’s character in “Breaking Bad.”
While Pinkman was referring to his partner in crime, Walter White, he could have just as easily been describing Bo Nix and the Broncos, who continue to overcome long stretches of uninspiring play to pull off improbable comeback victories.
Three times this season, the Broncos have won games in which they trailed by double-digits in the fourth quarter, displaying incredible resilience, but also, some good fortune in securing all of these close wins. While the Panthers are banged-up in the secondary, the Broncos don’t have the prolific passing attack to exploit that weakness.
The Panthers are also at home coming off of two straight losses, and have extra rest after playing on Thursday night in Week 8.
I’ll take the underdog Panthers to pull off the mini-upset.