College Football Upset Picks for Week 6: Why Washington State Can Stun USC

College football is the home of upsets, so why not dish out a few from the BetSided team?

Washington State is set to be a live underdog against a USC team that could be caught looking ahead to PAC-12 favorite Utah next week. Meanwhile, Florida State's rise out of the basement of the ACC can be solidified with a road upset over North Carolina State. Josh Yourish breaks down their chances below.

For game previews on every marquee matchup this week, make sure to check out our hub page, but for now let's cash some underdogs.

Best Upset Picks for College Football Week 6

Washington State (+350) vs. USC

As discussed on The Early Reed on Tuesday, Washington State is a play for me this week in a game I make closer to USC -10.

The Cougars bolster one of the best defenses in the country, ranking seventh in success rate as they have a relentless defensive line that has the third most tackles for loss in the country (45). The team will be able to put pressure on Williams and keep the Trojans behind the sticks.

This is an aggressive unit that can be burnt (bottom 15 in explosive pass rate) but it has worked to date with a top 10 havoc rate.

The Wazzu offense will need to be on point to keep pace with the Trojans, who play at a methodical pace despite their uber-efficient offense. The team is bottom half of the country in plays per minute while posting a top 10 yards per play mark (7.15).

Incarnate Word transfer quarterback Cameron Ward has been prone to turnovers this season, but will also be able to lean on the run game to keep the chains moving. Wisconsin Nakia Watson has been fantastic for Wazzu this season, leading an offense that is top 10 in EPA/Rush and will be facing a USC rush defense that is 116th defending it.

With Utah on deck for the Trojans, I think they are ripe to struggle to cash bets for the third straight week. Ward has gone toe-to-toe with elite offenses already this season in Oregon and I think we see another barnburner on Saturday night. -- Reed Wallach

Florida State (+145) vs. North Carolina State

This Florida State offense is 17th in the country led by Jordan Travis who had a really good game even in a loss to Wake last week. Devin Leary is touted as one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC, a savvy veteran who can lead NC State to be a real contender in the conference, but Travis has been better. 

Leary has 1,135 yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions, and he completes 62.8% of his passes. Travis has 1,226 yards, eight TDs, one pick, completes 65.9%, and has only taken three sacks all season. 

In NC State’s only game against a high-level opponent, they ran the ball for 42 yards the entire game. Their defense and secondary has been held up as the reason they can compete with the best teams in the country, but they let Clemson’s passing game that has been a problem since Trevor Lawrence left go for 209 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Travis will outplay Devin Leary this week and Florida State will go to 5-1. -- Josh Yourish

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.