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College football Week 1: 5 teams on upset alert

By Cody Williams

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: CeeDee Lamb #2 of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs in the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: CeeDee Lamb #2 of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs in the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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College Football upset alert
TEMPE, AZ – NOVEMBER 03: Running back Zack Moss #2 of the Utah Utes rushes the football against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first half of the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

5. Utah Utes

Rank: 14 | Opponent: BYU Cougars | Time: Thursday, Aug. 29, 10:15 p.m. ET

Holy War! Is there anything better than a rivalry game in Week 1 of the college football season? The answer is no and that’s what makes the Utah Utes traveling to Provo to face the hated BYU Cougars on Thursday night all the more interesting. This is a game with a ton of bad blood and animosity, meaning that all bets are off right from the start when it comes to rankings and overall quality.

In a vacuum, Utah is the better team in this game. Quarterback Tyler Huntley is healthy again and running back Zack Moss is a possible dark horse contender for the Heisman Trophy. And while Kyle Whittingham’s team has some losses to contend with on the defensive side of the ball, the Utes have the pieces in place to potentially win the Pac-12 in the 2019 season.

Having said that, BYU has some juice themselves, particularly on offense. Zach Wilson took over at quarterback for the Cougars at the end of last season and provided a massive spark for the offense. Now he has a bonafide weapon supporting him in South Carolina graduate transfer Ty’Son Williams at running back. Much like Utah, the defense has questions but the offense could be impressive.

But really, the Utes are on upset alert because this is the Holy War. Utah and BYU play one another close every time that they’re on the field and will fight tooth and nail to be victorious over their most hated rivals. That will transpire again on Thursday night, which puts Utah firmly on upset alert.

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