Three of the ranked and favored teams we put on upset alert last week lost. What college football teams are in danger of becoming upset victims in Week 8?
Sometimes you have to pat yourself on the back.
Every week this season, we’ve put five teams on upset alert, and with only one exception, have correctly identified at least one team ranked in the Top 25 that was favored over its opponent by Las Vegas odds makers, that lost outright. That may not be shocking, especially since upsets occur nearly every weekend in college football, but it’s been a pretty successful exercise through the first half of the season.
But last week, three of the five teams we put on upset alert – Boise State, Ole Miss and Michigan – all lost. In fact, during a weekly slate that featured plenty of home underdogs and trap game scenarios, that trio happened to be the only three ranked and favored teams to lose. The other two – LSU and Notre Dame – both survived, but neither cruised to victory.
Looking ahead to this week’s action, finding five teams in danger of falling victim to an upset is more challenging, in part because there are a handful of higher ranked teams that are expected to lose. Two – No. 22 Temple and No. 20 Cal – face tough road tests against East Carolina and UCLA, respectively, on upset-heavy Thursday night and both are three-point underdogs as a result. Duke, 5-1 overall and ranked No. 23 in the latest Associated Press Poll, is a 2.5-point underdog against 3-4 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Another, somewhat shockingly, is undefeated No. 3 Utah, who is a three-point dog on the road against USC.
So, can we keep our own hot streak going with such limited options? With that in mind, we take a look at the five college football teams on upset alert in Week 8.
Note: Point spreads referenced in the pages that follow come from VegasInsider.com and are accurate as of Tuesday October 20, 2015.
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