Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Week 7

No. 7 USC vs. No. 20 Utah

Here comes yet another college football matchup featuring the higher-ranked team as an underdog. This one is even more tied to the home-field advantage enjoyed by Utah over USC.

USC is 6-0, their best start since the heyday of the Pete Carroll era. However, there are still valid questions about how serious the Trojans are as a College Football Playoff contender.

Saturday’s matchup in Salt Lake City will give a solid answer.

The Utes have had a disappointing start. They lost to Florida in the opener and couldn’t contain UCLA at the Rose Bowl. However, their road struggles don’t make them any less of a formidable opponent at home. They’ll have their home crowd behind them while USC will deal with travel and altitude.

The Trojans are 2-3 in trips to Utah since the Utes joined the Pac-12. One of those victories was in front of a crowd of zero because of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020.

This will be the biggest test to date for USC. A win will solidify their place in the Top 10 and maybe even vault them up. A loss will prove that Lincoln Riley still has work to do to get the Trojans back to national relevance.