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College football upset picks: Penn State and 5 teams on upset alert in Week 3

By Cody Williams

Sep 11, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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College football upset picks Week 3
North Carolina Tar Heels. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Making college football upset picks for Week 3 of the 2021 season as Alabama, Penn State and North Carolina could all be in danger on Saturday.

Another week early in the college football season and more upsets are already in the books. The biggest of last week might’ve been Oregon going to Columbus and knocking off Ohio State, the No. 3-ranked team in the country, but let’s not downplay USC losing so badly to Stanford that Clay Helton finally got ousted, or the fact Arkansas and BYU pretty much dominated Texas and Utah, respectively.

If you have any notion that things are going to level out, though, think again. There are a number of top 25 teams in Week 3 of the college football season who have tough matchups that could cost them an unexpected loss after four quarters of play.

So which teams are in danger of getting upset in Week 3? BetSided made their picks earlier this week, but there is some games our upset picks differ.

College football Week 3 upset alert No. 5: North Carolina Tar Heels

Rank: 21 | Opponent: Virginia Cavaliers | Time: Saturday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. ET

Even though we’re only in the third full week of college football, Mack Brown and the North Carolina Tar Heels are no strangers to getting upset. In Week 1, they went on the road to Blacksburg and got pushed around by the Hokies and promptly freefell out of the top 10. Now another team from the Commonwealth of Virginia could cause some trouble.

Albeit against William & Mary and Illinois, the Virginia Cavaliers offense has looked incredibly dynamic to this point. Brennan Armstrong already has over 700 yards passing with seven touchdowns to just one interception on the season. Furthermore, they’ve displayed a defense that flies around.

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

Now, they haven’t played a team with the talent of the Tar Heels or a quarterback like Sam Howell. But with two lines that are still finding their footing, North Carolina is in a spot where they have to be careful. If they come into this game with any kind of slow start, Virginia has proven to be an offense that could be hard to keep up with.

And even if they don’t fall behind early, North Carolina and Virginia could simply just get into a shootout in Chapel Hill. And as we all know, shootouts end up being a crapshoot as to who emerges victorious. So yet again, the Tar Heels have to be on alert for another upset that would derail a season that began with such high hopes.

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