Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Week 10

College football upsets are starting to fly at us from every direction, even the ones that we aren't necessarily expecting. Just last week, we watched previously undefeated Oklahoma get knocked off by a fiery Kansas team in Lawrence while Oregon State took its second loss of the year on the road at Arizona. We saw those coming -- but we didn't foresee UNC losing its second straight on the road at Georgia Tech. So that should prepare us for more upsets in Week 10.

With the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings, tensions are rising. Throw in the heart of conference schedules into the mix, and the opponents are some of the most difficult that Top 25 teams have seen to this point. And that's a recipe for college football upsets if I've ever seen it.

This week's Red Flags column was perhaps the most difficult yet as there are close to a dozen games that could've gone down as upset picks across college football. Notre Dame at Clemson could be in danger, so too could Ole Miss at Texas A&M. And let's not forget about Georgia facing its toughest test yet as the Dawgs host Missouri.

Even beyond those games and our five teams on upset alert, there are plenty more that could've qualified. But we've had our eyes peeled, and these are where the Red Flags are waving the most fervently, our Week 10 college football upset picks.

2023 Upset Picks Record: 14-31

Note: All lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. For more college football odds, picks and predictions, visit BetSided.

5. Washington Huskies

Opponent: at 20 USC | Time: Saturday, Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC) | Spread: WASH -3.0

One could make the argument that the Washington Huskies have the best win on the year. Getting the victory over rival Oregon at Husky Stadium early in October was a massive feather in Kalen DeBoer's cap this season. It's also a big reason as to why Washington came in at No. 5 in the first CFP rankings.

The reason that the Huskies likely unable to crack the Top 4 in the Selection Committee's eyes, however, is that this team has shown quite a few warts of late.

Immediately following the win over the Ducks, Washington stayed at home to play a lowly Arizona State team in wet, gross conditions. Michael Penix Jr. then played the worst game of the year for the Heisman contender as the team eked out a 15-7 win. That was then followed by a shootout win over Stanford that was even closer than 42-33 would indicate.

This team is starting to get banged up on places it can't afford to. The offensive line is a proverbial infirmary ward, Penix looks less than 100%, and the defense's cracks are continuing to show. And while we've seen the worst of USC of late, what Washington is right now paves the way for an upset.

Really, a possible upset depends on if USC has quit on this season or not. If they haven't, though, the Trojans with Caleb Williams have the passing attack to dice up the Huskies defense and score at will. On the other side of the ball, they have the front to pressure Penix and make things uncomfortable.

Make no mistake, USC won't shut down the Huskies, but they can keep up in a shootout. And with this game in LA, we could see an upset transpire and the Pac-12 get thrown into disarray.