College football upset picks: Oklahoma and 5 teams on upset alert in Week 4

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley greets Spencer Rattler (7) and Michael Woods II (8) after an Oklahoma touchdown during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Oklahoma won 23-16.Lx16822 /

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UCLA Bruins. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

College football Week 4 upset pick No. 2: UCLA Bruins

Rank: 24 | Week 4 Opponent: at Stanford | Time: Saturday, Sept. 25, 6:00 p.m. ET

After climbing up well into the top 20 going into Week 3 with several impressive victories, UCLA undid a lot of that goodwill with a loss at home to Fresno State. Make no mistake, the Bulldogs are a very good team and quarterback Jake Haener put forth a heroic effort to notch the upset against the Bruins.

With that said, Chip Kelly’s team proved they are, in fact, not infallible. Their offense has numerous ways to beat teams but Dorian Thompson-Robertson can still be a bit erratic as a thrower. Moreover, their defense is a bit susceptible whenever the other team has a balanced attack and a quarterback who can move it effectively through the air.

Against the preseason thoughts of many, Stanford might be a team that fits that bill. The Cardinal certainly isn’t a high-octane offense but, with the emergence of quarterback Tanner McKee, Stanford has found some real life on offense as they’ve dropped 40+ points on USC and Vanderbilt in back-to-back weeks.

If Stanford gets in a shootout with UCLA, they’re probably going to lose. They don’t have the same number of weapons. But if the Cardinal can control the pace and play efficiently while potentially forcing DTR into some mistakes, they can get a huge upset win at home on Saturday.

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