#upset watch

Well, yesterday wrapped up the last perfect bracket when the 6th seed Tennessee Volunteers Beat No3. Virginia in a thrilling game 79-72. Just to give you an idea of how crazy it is to even have a perfect bracket up to this point: 26 million brackets were submitted to ESPN, and after the first two days of games, 0.01% of brackets remained perfect. I am super proud of my bracket because, as of right now, I am in the 99.5% of all brackets submitted! The sweet 16 approaches Thursday with some familiar faces and some low-seeded title hopefuls! On my personal upset radar, I would be tuned into the Alabama-Michigan game as the Tide has the chance to knock out the No.1-seeded Wolverines.

What to Watch in Week 2 

1. The Battle at Bristol -

After the enormous slate of big games on opening weekend, Week 2 doesn’t offer a lot of premier matchups. But the one to watch is an ACC-SEC battle that should be a spectacle even if the teams don’t rise to the occasion. Tennessee and Virginia Tech weren’t overly impressive in Week 1, but as you’ve probably heard, a record-breaking 150,000 fans are expected to be in attendance at Bristol Motor Speedway.

2. Can Oklahoma get back on track? - 

The Sooners got run over by the Houston Cougars Saturday, sending sky-high preseason expectations crashing down. Oklahoma gets another huge non-conference game next weekend when they host Ohio St., so if they can’t get the kinks worked out vs. UL-Monroe this weekend, they could be buried by October.

3. Can Clemson get back on track? - 

The Tigers averaged 38.5 ppg last season, but managed just 19 at Auburn last week. Deshaun Watson was a popular preseason Heisman pick, so the home opener vs. Troy would be a good time to start backing up the hype.

4. Will Wisconsin keep rolling? - 

The Badgers were understandably amped up for their win over LSU at historic Lambeau Field. This week they’ll try to avoid a letdown in their true home opener against an Akron team that is coming off its first ever bowl win in 2015.

5. Crowded Time Slot - 

If I had to pick only three games to watch this weekend, it would be Arkansas at TCU, BYU at Utah, and the Battle at Bristol. The kickoffs for those three - 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00, respectively. That reminds me I need to get new batteries for the remote.

6. Upset Watch (FBS) - 

There really aren’t a lot of games that look competitive on paper this week, but sometimes that’s when the craziness happens. So a few games to watch out for:

Louisville, possibly looking ahead to hosting FSU next Saturday, visits a tough venue against a new up-tempo offense at Syracuse.

Iowa St. and Washington St. both opened the season with losses to FCS programs, but could bounce back and shock Iowa and Boise St.

I’ll also be looking at several road teams - Penn St. (at Pitt), Akron (at Wisconsin), Kentucky (at Florida), Arkansas (at TCU), BYU (at Utah), and Texas Tech (at Arizona St.) - to at least beat the spread.

7. Upset Watch (FCS) - 

Let’s be honest - LSU was pretty bad in Wisconsin Saturday. They could come out refocused and ready to beat up on somebody this week. But if they come out flat again, watch out for Jacksonville St. Remember it was the Gamecocks that took Auburn to overtime last September.