College football Week 13: 5 teams on upset alert

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 17: Feleipe Franks #13 of the Florida Gators drops back to pass during the first half of their game against the Idaho Vandals at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /

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PULLMAN, WA – NOVEMBER 03: Quarterback Gardner Minshew II #16 of the Washington State Cougars carries the ball against the California Golden Bears in the game at Martin Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Pullman, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

2. Washington State Cougars

Rank: 8 | Opponent: 16 Washington Huskies | Time: Friday, Nov. 23, 8:30 p.m. ET

Very few teams throughout college football are as hot right now as Mike Leach’s Washington State Cougars. The 10-1 team has climbed to eighth in the latest CFP rankings and has continued to put forth dominant efforts. Their most recent exploit was welcoming the Arizona Wildcats to Pullman last week and dismantling them in a 69-28 game as quarterback Gardner Minshew put up seven touchdown passes in a victorious effort.

Having said that, the Cougars’ final week of the regular season undoubtedly holds a test for them. They’re playing at home, which is nice, but they will be welcoming the rival Washington Huskies to Pullman in a huge matchup that could determine the home team’s chances at making the College Football Playoff, which remain alive at this point.

Sitting at 8-3 on the season, the Huskies have been the only consistently redeeming part of the Pac-12 this year, even if they’ve fallen short of preseason expectations. Armed with arguably the best defense in the conference and an offense that, though up-and-down, is capable of putting up a lot of points, they have the formula to push the Cougars.

In truth, my belief is that the Huskies don’t have enough firepower to match Minshew and Washington State with the way they’re playing, even if the Washington defense does slow them down. In a rivalry matchup between two quality teams, however, the tide could turn for Wazzu and they could wind up staring down their second loss of the 2018 season at the worst possible time.

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