College football Week 10: 5 teams on upset alert
The biggest weekend yet in the 2018 college football season may be happening in Week 10, but which teams need to be on upset alert amidst the chaos?
There have no doubt been some high-profile weekends throughout the 2018 college football season to this point, ones littered with top-10 and top-25 matchups. However, the argument could be made that no weekend before now can come close to matching the excitement that Week 10 should bring. Put simply, this is one of those weeks in the season that can change everything.
Perhaps part of that is the fact that the initial College Football Playoff rankings have dropped. Now that we officially know who the top four teams in the country are and who is chasing them, it does feel like the stakes have been raised a bit entering Week 10 of the season. That, of course, isn’t the only reason why this weekend feels as huge as it does. No, it’s also the quality of the matchups before us.
Headlining the week is no doubt the SEC clash between the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and third-ranked LSU Tigers. That’s not all that Week 10 has to offer college football fans, though. Other ranked matchups include Georgia vs. Kentucky, West Virginia vs. Texas and Penn State vs. Michigan. And that doesn’t even include the games with ranked teams taking on quality unranked teams.
With these types of matchups on the docket for Week 10, it could be another weekend where everyone comes out on the other side changed. The fresh CFP rankings could be torn to shreds and we could still be left searching for clarity as to how the postseason picture shapes up. That, of course, all depends on if upsets happen or do not.
In that light, let’s take a look at five teams that should indeed be on upset alert in this highly anticipated, likely calamitous Week 10 of the college football season.
5. Texas A&M Aggies
Rank: 20 | Opponent: Auburn Tigers | Time: Noon ET
Jimbo Fisher’s first year with the Texas A&M Aggies has, in truth, largely been a success. This team, as it was constructed coming into the 2018 college football season, didn’t have a great deal of expectations as to what they could accomplish this season. However, Fisher has managed to put together quite a good season, despite some hiccups along the way, keeping them competitive against everyone they’ve played.
It’s worth noting that “everyone they’ve played” for the Aggies includes a rough schedule. Texas A&M has already been up against both the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide this season and, though both ended in losses, they were both quite closer than they arguably should’ve been given the talent disparity between the teams.
Coming off an upset loss on the road to Mississippi State last week, though, the Aggies don’t get a break in their tough schedule as they try and cling to their spot in the polls. On Saturday afternoon, they’re going on the road to the unfriendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on Jarrett Stidham and the Auburn Tigers.
Make no mistake, Auburn has been a disappointment this season, most notably with their loss to the Tennessee Volunteers that fully derailed any big plans that the Tigers had for this season. Having said that, this is still a team with NFL talent on both sides of the ball that, at their best, can play with the best of the country. It’s impossible to know if that’s the effort you’re going to get from them, but what is clear is that, if the Tigers show up at full force, they could well take down the Aggies and hand Fisher his fourth loss of 2018.