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

4. Washington Huskies

Opponent: at Washington State | Time: Saturday, Nov. 26, 10:30 p.m. ET | Spread: WASH -1.5

Washington’s path to winning the Pac-12 is extremely unlikely despite their win over Oregon and sitting at 9-2 overall on the season. With UCLA beating Cal on Friday night, the Huskies now need Oregon to lose to Oregon State (not implausible) and for Colorado to upset Utah (almost impossible) to earn the right to face USC in the conference championship game.

What’s important to note, though, is that Kalen DeBoer’s team will know whether it has a chance before the Apple Cup begins on Saturday night. And in a game that Wazzu won last season and now gets to play in Pullman, that could spell trouble for the Huskies.

Make no mistake, Washington is the better team on paper. Michael Penix Jr. and the offense are dynamic and elite. But Cameron Ward has the Cougars hitting their stride and they could very well take advantage of a porous Huskies defense. If they do, it could be a shootout, which means that Washington could definitely fall short and take its third loss of the year.

3. Oregon Ducks

Opponent: at Oregon State | Time: Saturday, Nov. 26, 3:30 p.m. ET | Spread: ORE -2.5

The rivalry matchup that is definitely no longer called the Civil War has always been a wild one no matter how good the two teams are, but it just so happens that the trip to Corvallis on Saturday afternoon will feature two Top 25 teams with Oregon visiting Oregon State.

Perhaps the biggest factor that could lead to an upset is the health of Bo Nix. He was clearly limited in the gritty win over Utah, specifically with his inability to use his legs, which has been one of his greatest weapons this season. Now against arguably the best defense in the Pac-12 in the Beavers, that could be a huge issue. Moreover, Oregon’s defense has often been susceptible in many ways, but particularly against mobile quarterbacks.

While Ben Gulbranson isn’t a speedster, he has showcased some dynamic ability and Oregon State has played both USC and Washington extremely close. When you then throw in the stakes of a rivalry game, this one could get tricky for the Ducks in a tough matchup.