Upset Alert: 5 college football teams in danger of losing in Week 10

4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Rank: 16 | Opponent: Virginia Tech Hokies | Time: Saturday, Nov. 2, 2:30 p.m. ET

Coming off of a drubbing in Ann Arbor, there’s a good chance that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ideally fit the bill of a team that’s good but not great, particularly in comparison to the team from last year that rode an undefeated record to the College Football Playoff.

At the same time, though, the loss to Michigan can also be written off as a slop-fest created by the weather at the Big House made it exceptionally difficult for the Irish to do anything successful, specifically with Ian Book and the passing game, which is their bread and butter. Yes, that does reveal clearly that Notre Dame is a one-dimensional team but it does also mean that, in a game that isn’t in a monsoon, they are substantially less likely to lose by 31 points.

The Irish will welcome a Virginia Tech Hokies team to South Bend on Saturday that, though not overly impressive this season, has been playing their best football of late. Moreover, they’ve been playing with a ton of confidence recently, winners of their last three games. They’ve found something to spark the offense with quarterback Hendon Hooker taking over, who’s ready to go against Notre Dame after having the bye week to recover from a minor injury.

On paper — even after the blowout loss last week — Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame is the better team in this Week 10 matchup. Having said that, Book was benched in the fourth quarter last week and you never know what that can do for a young player’s confidence. Furthermore, there’s a chance that there could be some negative hangover from such a loss. And against a Hokies group that is looking more dangerous with each passing week, that could be a recipe for a shocking upset and the Irish’s second consecutive upset loss.