College football upset picks Week 6: Ohio State and 5 teams on upset alert

College football upset pick No. 4: Arizona State Sun Devils

Rank: 22 | Opponent: Stanford Cardinal | Time: Friday, Oct. 8, 10:30 p.m. ET

Arizona State has to be riding high at this moment. After losing on the road to BYU — which consistently looks like a better loss with each passing week — the Sun Devils have made big statements in the Pac-12 with a dominant win over Colorado and then pulling an upset in their own right last week with a convincing win at UCLA.

And that’s what scares me. Throughout Herm Edwards’ tenure in Tempe, the Sun Devils have been an overall very good team. However, just when you start to buy into them, that’s when this program has delivered a letdown performance. That makes this game against Stanford that much trickier for ASU.

This could certainly also be a letdown spot for the Cardinal. This is a team that knocked off Oregon, the No. 4-ranked team in the country as of last week, on Saturday. But Stanford has something special in quarterback Tanner McKee that makes this team explosive and dangerous in any game they play.

Especially on a short week and with Arizona State’s lack of consistent explosive plays, Stanford has the recipe to put a scare into them. The game being in Tempe is a benefit for the Sun Devils but that doesn’t mean they aren’t fully in a spot where they could lose after climbing into the top 25.