As conference play starts to heat up and the 2018 college football season wears on, these five teams need to be on upset alert in Week 5.
The world of college football upsets probably saw the biggest that we’re going to see in the 2018 college football season last week. However, it’s hard to say that anyone not in Norfolk, VA was calling for the Virginia Tech Hokies to fall to the Old Dominion Monarchs. Of course, that’s what happened, and in emphatic fashion too, but it was one of those games that no one saw coming on Saturday.
Virginia Tech almost wasn’t alone in being on the wrong end of a stunning upset either. Last Saturday also saw Kyler Murray and the Oklahoma Sooners get pushed to the brink by Army and the option. In fact, the Sooners actually had to go into the overtime period to decide that game. Though Oklahoma ultimately came out on the winning end of that one, it’s clearly a game that most people expected to be a cakewalk that turned out not to be.
There’s a good chance that we’re going to start seeing many more games akin to the one like Oklahoma played last week, but with higher stakes. As we start to really crank up conference play and the matchups start to get juicier, there are a couple things that are going to happen. First, teams with familiarity are going to play each other closer than expected. And secondly, teams are going to start to wear down and let down as the season rolls on.
With that in mind, there are a number of fun and enticing matchups in Week 5 of the 2018 college football season. But these are the five teams that should be on upset alert this week.
5. Clemson Tigers
Rank: 3 | Opponent: Syracuse Orange | Time: Noon ET
The Clemson Tigers made a decision this week that I truthfully didn’t know if head coach Dabo Swinney would be willing to make. They named freshman Trevor Lawrence the starting quarterback over Kelly Bryant heading into Week 5 of the 2018 college football season, the youngster usurping Bryant after 18 starts for the Tigers. Regardless of that, this is the best move for the Tigers.
Having said that, Clemson under Lawrence’s watch will be tested in a big way this week, perhaps in a much larger way than anyone cares to realize. Sure, they’re playing at home in front of a crowd that will be hyped up to see Lawrence taking over the offense. However, they’re also welcoming in a Syracuse Orange team that could legitimately cause them problems.
Don’t look now, but the Orange actually enter this game with an identical 4-0 record to Clemson’s. And, for the record, they haven’t just done that by beating up on cupcakes in the early part of their schedule. To this point, Syracuse has beaten Western Michigan, Florida State and UConn. While those aren’t world-beaters, they are legitimate teams that are far from pushovers.
Most importantly, the way that Eric Dungey and the Syracuse offense play is exactly what caused Clemson problems late in their game against Texas A&M, which they won by just two points. Facing a mobile quarterback that can move the chains with his arms and legs really hurt the Tigers against Kellen Mond and the Aggies, and it could do so again with Dungey and the Orange.