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College Football: 5 teams on upset alert in Week 4

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Sep 19, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Paul Perkins (24) is hugged by teammates after running for a touchdown in the third quarter of the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at the Rose Bowl. Ucla won 24-23.Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 19, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Paul Perkins (24) is hugged by teammates after running for a touchdown in the third quarter of the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at the Rose Bowl. Ucla won 24-23.Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 19, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Paul Perkins (24) breaks a tackle by Brigham Young Cougars linebacker Manoa Pikula (22) for a gain in the first quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 19, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Paul Perkins (24) breaks a tackle by Brigham Young Cougars linebacker Manoa Pikula (22) for a gain in the first quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

For the second week in a row, the UCLA Bruins are on upset alert. Last Saturday, UCLA barely survived a BYU upset bid at the Rose Bowl, 24-23, in which they overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit. In the game itself, the Bruins also overcame three turnovers (and only forced one), a 26 to 18 disadvantage in first downs, and trailed 40:37 to 19:23 in time of possession.

The test gets even tougher this week when UCLA travels to Tucson and open Pac-12 play against Arizona. The Wildcats are explosive on offense, and have averaged 54.3 points and 584.7 total yards per game this season, both of which lead the Pac-12 and rank No. 6 and No. 3 nationally. Most of that production comes from the Arizona ground game, which is also the best in the conference and ranked No. 7 in the country with 321 rushing yards on average. That means the Bruins defense will have its hands full with its toughest test of the young season.

Through the first three weeks of the season – in wins over Virginia, UNLV, and BYU, UCLA has allowed just 14 points and 326 total yards per game, which makes them a worthy adversary. However, with a Pac-12 After Dark setting, and ESPN’s College GameDay on campus, the crowd at Arizona Stadium is sure to be a much tougher environment than the Bruins have played in this season – and most importantly, the toughest environment true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has played in during his short collegiate career.

If the Wildcats can rattle Rosen – who has been intercepted four times already – Arizona can pull off the upset.

Bonus: No. 19 USC travels to Arizona State as a 5.5-point favorite, one week after suffering an upset at the hands of Stanford. The Sun Devils, a trendy preseason pick to win the Pac-12, have won two in a row after a season opening loss to Texas A&M.

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