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College football Week 3: 5 teams on upset alert

By Cody Williams

PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 03: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins calls a playduring the first half of a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at the Rose Bowl on September 3, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 03: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins calls a playduring the first half of a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at the Rose Bowl on September 3, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Week 3 of the 2017 college football season is full to the brim with intriguing matchups, but these five teams need to be on upset alert.

Two full weeks of the 2017 college football season have been completed. There has been no shortage of excitement to this point, and the fun has been prevalent throughout the country. However, outside of the Maryland Terrapins taking it to the Texas Longhorns in each team’s opener, there really haven’t been many victories in the ways of upsets — at least it pertains to ranked teams.

Sure, some people will point to one week ago when the Oklahoma Sooner topped the Ohio State Buckeyes. After all, the then No. 5 ranked Sooners toppled the No. 2 ranked team in the country. Was that really much of an upset, though? Urban Meyer’s group looked quite flawed in beating Indiana in Week 1. So should it truly be called an upset if Baker Mayfield and company planted their flag? By my estimation, not so much.

With that being said, there have undoubtedly been some close calls in the way of upsets. And as we get deeper into the season, the variance in outcomes only gets higher. Put simply, the lack of upsets to this point could be the calm before the storm. With numerous curious matchups through  college football this week, could Week 3 be when things of this nature start to transpire?

It’s most certainly possible. And if that’s the case, then these five teams should be on upset alert in college football Week 3.

Note: All odds are from Bookmaker via Sportsbook Review

5. UCLA Bruins

Rank: 25, Opponent: Memphis Tigers, Spread: UCLA -3

There’s no questioning the fact that the UCLA Bruins have turned heads throughout the first two weeks of the 2017 college football season. Of course, that all began in Week 1 with their unreal comeback against Texas A&M. With questions swirling about quarterback Josh Rosen and whether or not he’ll ever reach his potential, he put up a legendary fourth-quarter effort to erase a 34-point deficit for the win.

Rosen and the Bruins then followed that up with a beatdown of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The quarterback was once again fantastic as he led the way to 56 points on the day.

With that being said, I’m not so certain we should be considering UCLA a good football team just yet. For one, their defense has been highly lackluster to this point in the season against questionable competition. They allowed 44 points to the Aggies to necessitate the comeback, then surrendered 23 points to a Hawaii team that isn’t all that good.

Now the Bruins must make a cross-country trip to play the Memphis Tigers with a noon ET kickoff time. Not only does that make for a tough matchup in itself, but Memphis also presents a challenge for UCLA that could really test them.

Where the Bruins have been burned to this point is with opposing running games, allowing an average of 331.5 yards per game on the ground. In their lone game this year, the Tigers rushed for 319 yards. They have a litany of backs that can gash defenses and, if they do that to UCLA and control the game, the Bruins could be in trouble.

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