College football upset picks Week 10: Texas A&M and 5 teams on upset alert

College football upset pick Week 10, No. 4: North Carolina

Rank: NR | Opponent: vs. Wake Forest | Time: Saturday, Nov. 6, 12 p.m. ET

Wake Forest is getting no respect across the board. They are the last remaining ACC team with any chance to make the College Football Playoff after debuting at number 9 on the initial ranking, but they still find themselves as the underdog on the road against a disappointing North Carolina team. Has Wake Forest faced anyone worthwhile? They have beaten most of the middle-of-the-pack ACC teams. They are undefeated, and while we’re not used to having Wake Forest here (it’s their first time ever in the AP Top 10), but they definitely deserve the ranking.

UNC came into the season as an easy top-10 team that just faced disappointment after disappointment. It was supposed to be Sam Howell vs. Spencer Rattler for the top quarterback in the country moniker, but neither is anywhere close to taking that crown. Howell played well against Notre Dame last week, but this has “look past opponent” written all over it. Wake Forest might be a top-ten team, but Notre Dame was the opponent North Carolina circled on the schedule.

The key for Wake Forest is to get out to an early lead. They’ve been putting up points behind Sam Hartman. The quarterback led the team to a 28-0 first-half lead against Duke in their last game. If they can take the Blue Devils’ biggest rivals to a similar woodshed early, it will cause them to force the issue and make mistakes. This is key to a Wake Forest victory.