Upset Alert: 5 college football teams in danger of losing in Week 9

4. Iowa State Cyclones

Rank: 23 | Opponent: Oklahoma State Cowboys | Time: Saturday, Oct. 26, 3:30 p.m. ET

With the way that the Iowa State Cyclones have been playing as of late, it might seem a bit odd to find them in danger of losing at home to an unranked opponent. In their last three weeks, they’ve not only run through Big 12 competition in TCU, West Virginia and Texas Tech but they’ve won each of those games by double-digits. Matt Campbell has his team looking like what many expected them to entering the year.

Brock Purdy and the Iowa State offense have really been clicking of late, scoring at least 34 points in each of their last three games. Furthermore, their defense has looked stronger than some might realize, holding the trio of teams they’ve faced to 24 points or fewer in those outings, which is non-negligible in Big 12 play. While that may be true, Oklahoma State may be the toughest and most unique offense they’ve faced.

I still remain skeptical of freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders for the Cowboys, to be sure. While he’s flashed potential and has an elite weapon in Tylan Wallace, Sanders has also been mistake-prone. Having said that, Oklahoma State’s success this season has come through running back Chuba Hubbard, who already has 1,265 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year.

While the Cyclones have allowed only 111 rushing yards per game this season, Hubbard has proven to be relatively matchup-proof this season. And if Mike Gundy unleashes a run-heavy attack with Hubbard, he can throw the Big 12 on its head and take Purdy and Iowa State’s heating-up offense off the field. The recipe is there for an upset in Ames on Saturday.