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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DALLAS, TEXAS – OCTOBER 05: Shane Buechele #7 of the Southern Methodist Mustangs throws against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the second half at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

3. SMU Mustangs

Rank: 19 | Opponent: Temple Owls | Time: Saturday, Oct. 19, 3:30 p.m. ET

One week after knocking off then No. 23-ranked Memphis, the Temple Owls now go on the road to face off against the 6-0 SMU Mustangs, who have climbed to No. 19 in the rankings at this point. Though Temple has a disappointing road loss to Buffalo on their ledger to this point, they have proven to be a strong defensive team with a penchant for slowing down explosive offenses, holding Maryland to 17 points and Memphis to 28.

That’s highly intriguing as they head to Dallas to face this SMU team that is putting up 44.2 points per game. Texas transfer Shane Buechele has been a shot in the arm for this team and has the Mustangs putting forth one of the most impressive and consistent offenses in the country. SMU has put up at least 40 points in each of their last five games while scoring at least 37 points in each game this season.

Given what Temple, who is giving up only 19 points per game this season to opponents, has shown defensively, though, they may be able to cause SMU to stumble a bit. And that’s where the recipe for an upset comes into play. If the Mustangs are not able to score at will, the door will be open for the Owls to take advantage.

As impressive and fun as SMU has been this season, their defense has not been good. THey’r giving up 28.3 points per game on the year and needed a wild comeback and three overtimes to beat Tulsa their last time out. If Temple’s defense slows down Buechele and the Mustangs offense, they can put up points. As a result, the Owls will have the chance to upset their third ranked opponent of the 2019 campaign.

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