College football upset alert, Week 14: Texas A&M among 5 teams in danger of losing
The college football upset alert may not have the biggest teams in the country in danger of losing but the likes of Texas A&M, USC and others make the cut.
Heading down the home stretch of the 2020 college football season, every game is starting to mean more. Whether it’s for teams currently in the College Football Playoff or those teams on the outside looking in, a big win or an upset loss could be a season-defining moment. But that pressure can also cause some ranked teams to crumble, which ends with them on upset alert.
There are plenty of marquee matchups that don’t involve teams on upset alert for one reason or another, though. The last-second addition of undefeated Coastal Carolina now playing unbeaten BYU instead of Liberty should draw a ton of eyes. Furthermore, the Alabama-LSU and Florida-Tennessee matchups have plenty of SEC rivalry history, though those games may not be particularly close when it’s all said and done.
Meanwhile, the likes of Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame also avoid being put on upset alert. So where does that leave us? That leaves us with the following five ranked college football teams being put on upset alert for Week 14.
College football upset alert No. 5: Louisana Ragin’ Cajuns
Rank: 25 | Opponent: at Appalachian State Mountaineers | Time: Friday, Dec. 4, 8:30 p.m. ET
In terms of quality losses, you could make the case that few teams ranked in the top 25 have the résume of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, especially in comparison to their best win. Billy Napier’s team started off the year with an emphatic upset win over Iowa State and has since only lost one game, falling short by three points against the aforementioned Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
But despite that track record and the fact that they are coming off of a 70-20 shellacking of winless Louisiana-Monroe, the Ragin’ Cajuns haven’t exactly been perfect. They’ve garnered most of their big wins against the worst teams in the Sun Belt while narrowly beating Georgia State and Georgia Southern early in the year as well. This is a team that is not bulletproof by any stretch.
Two losses might be more than many people predicted Appalachian State would lose this year but they also fell to two of the best Group of 5 teams in the country, losing 17-7 to Marshall and 34-23 to Coastal, both of which were games that were ultimately close.
As the Ragin’ Cajuns climb back into the top 25 of the latest rankings, they are in danger of dropping out just as quickly as the Mountaineers put them on upset alert. App State has veteran experience and playmakers on both sides of the ball and, in a big moment and game, they could be well-equipped to knock off a conference rival.