College football Week 9: 5 teams on upset alert

Entering a crucial Week 9 of the 2017 college football season, we take a look at which five teams should be worried and on upset alert this week.

It’s been essentially two months since the start of the 2017 college football campaign. Much of what we thought that we knew at the onset has been proven untrue. Of course, there’s plenty that was accepted as truth that has been proven as much — though it’s not exactly going out on a limb to say that the Alabama Crimson Tide are going to be pristinely good once again.

However, as we enter Week 9 of the 2017 season, there’s also no questioning that this is crunch time. It’s not by coincidence that we’ve seen ranked teams start to fall at a much higher rate than they were beforehand. At this point of the schedule, with only about a month remaining, teams must contend with injuries, tough conference schedules and just the general fatigue of winning and a long season in general.

Enduring all of that is a tough ask for a college athlete. But to be in the College Football Playoff when the time comes — and with the initial rankings set to release — a team has to do just that. Subsequently, these games now and at this crucial juncture of the schedule are critical to overall success on the season. That means coming through and avoiding the upset when you could potentially be up against it.

With that in mind, which teams are up against it this week? Let’s dive in to five teams on upset alert in Week 9 of college football.

5. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Rank: 11, Opponent: (22) West Virginia Mountaineers

One of the most curious things that I saw all of last week in college football was how little was being made over the performance of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. If you look at the final score, they earned their sixth victory with a 13-10 overtime win over Texas. Do what you have to in order to get the win; I get it. However, let’s not overlook the fact that, even against a good Longhorns defense, one of the “most potent offenses in the country” managed just 13 points in an overtime game.

Mason Rudolph, James Washington and the offense are obviously explosive. However, what they haven’t been of late is particularly consistent, especially as it pertains to Big 12 play. Of course, when they’ve faced bad defenses (Texas Tech, Baylor), they’ve still put up points (41, 59) in droves. However, they’ve yet to face an offense that can match them, which is what Will Grier and West Virginia bring to the table.

As jaw-dropping as Okie State’s 43.7 points per game this season might be, don’t overlook that the Mountaineers are just behind them at 43.3. They’ve been phenomenal all season, much better even than their 5-2 overall record would indicate. However, what Grier and Co. are lacking this season is a true signature win. With this game in Morgantown, it’d be a great time to pick that up and the recipe is certainly there for it to happen.