Upset Alert: 5 college football teams in danger of losing in Week 8

GAINESVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 05: Florida running back Lamical Perine (2) embraces Florida running back Malik Davis (20) after his touchdown run during the second half of a college football game between the Florida Gators and the Auburn Tigers on October 05, 2019, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL. (Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 05: Kyle Trask #11 of the Florida Gators looks on during the second quarter of a game against the Auburn Tigers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

5. Florida Gators

Rank: 9 | Opponent: South Carolina Gamecocks | Time: Saturday, Oct. 19, Noon ET

Faced with an opportunity to prove themselves as College Football Playoff contenders last week, the Florida Gators fell short in a 42-28 loss to LSU last week. Now they have to go on the road again, this time heading to Columbia in Week 8 as they take on a South Carolina Gamecocks team that is coming off of an enormous upset over the Georgia Bulldogs. And this could be a troublesome matchup for Dan Mullen’s Gators.

There’s no denying that South Carolina is an imperfect team. Though Ryan Hilinski has had the Gamecocks offense looking better than they did with Jake Bentley, they are still limited on that side of the ball. Going up against Florida’s elite defense, they could struggle to put up a ton of points. However, the real Achilles’ heel of Will Muschamp’s team this season has been stopping elite offenses.

South Carolina’s two losses with Hilinski at the helm came against Alabama and Missouri, two potent offensive teams. The Crimson Tide hung 47 on the Gamecocks while the Tigers put up 34 points. Again, the South Carolina offense is good enough but can’t keep up with a team that can consistently beat their defense.

That’s where Florida could be in danger of an upset in Week 8, though. While Kyle Trask and the offense have looked fine, the Gators offense remains limited on the whole. They are not a team like Alabama or Missouri or LSU that can score at will against anyone. If that is the case in Columbia on Saturday, that plays into the Gamecocks’ hands of making this an ugly game. That gives South Carolina an opportunity to pull off a second-straight upset over a top-10 SEC opponent.

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