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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
PASADENA, CA – NOVEMBER 24: Stanford Cardinal quarterback K.J. Costello ( 3 ) throws the ball during the game against the UCLA Bruins on November 24, 2018, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

4. Stanford Cardinal

Rank: 25 | Opponent: Northwestern Wildcats | Time: Saturday, Aug. 31, 4:00 p.m. ET

The Stanford Cardinal enter the 2019 college football season appearing to be a high-variance group. Any playmakers that you’re looking for are clearly there, highlighted by quarterback K.J. Costello after he came on strong at the end of last season and an absolute stud at cornerback in Paulson Adebo. At the same time, though, David Shaw’s team has a litany of question marks to address.

Losing offensive playmakers like J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Bryce Love leaves Costello looking for go-to guys in the offense. And while there’s talent there, talent doesn’t always translate to success and productivity. On top of that, the middle of the defense has some holes now, too, after Bobby Okereke’s departure to the NFL, something that could leave them a bit exposed at times on that side of the ball.

Stanford’s first matchup of the season, interestingly enough, pits them against another wild card team, the Northwestern Wildcats. At this point, we know that Pat Fitzgerald is going to have a hard-nosed team that never quits on the field but he may have the most talent at his disposal in a while with star linebacker Paddy Fisher and, more importantly, quarterback transfer Hunter Johnson.

Johnson was a former 5-star quarterback recruit for Clemson that never won the job there and now comes to Northwester. The physical talent is there and, given his time with the Tigers, he may now have a chip on his shoulder and be ready to run through walls. If Stanford stumbles as they try to contend with their changes on both sides of the ball and Johnson is immediately the real deal for the Wildcats, Northwestern can undeniably push Stanford on Saturday.

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