Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Week 2
- Could the Portal King take a G5 loss?
- Will Colorado's magic run out quickly?
- Alabama will be truly tested, but is Texas back?
College football upsets were most definitely not in short order in Week 1 of the 2023 season. Colorado upending TCU in Fort Worth was obviously the headliner – and one of the games we didn’t even include in our upset picks for the weeks – but there were many more.
The rest of Saturday after the Buffs’ triumph was pretty mundane in the world of upsets, but things got a bit crazier in the extended Labor Day slate. Florida State didn't just upset LSU, but the Seminoles absolutely thumped them in Orlando. The same could be said of Duke blasting Clemson in a true stunner on Monday night.
With only a one-game sample size for most teams, the Red Flags are still waving as college football upsets can happen at any moment. It's why we love this dumb, masterful sport. So with that, we're putting these five ranked teams on upset alert for Week 2.
2023 Upset Picks Record: 2-3
Note: All lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. For more college football odds, picks and predictions, visit BetSided.
College football upset picks: 5 teams on upset alert in Week 2
5. Colorado Buffaloes
Opponent: Nebraska | Time: Saturday, Sept. 9, Noon ET (FOX) | Spread: COL -3.0
If you're not higher on Colorado after Week 1 than you were coming into the season, then you're denying the truth.
Sometimes in college football, a game can come down to the has-dudes and has-not-dudes. Colorado has the dudes with early Heisman candidates Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, but not to forget the likes of Jimmy Horn Jr., Xavier Weaver and Dylan Edwards. And after their upset of TCU, they're now the No. 22-ranked team in the AP Top 25.
For as high as I am now on the Deion Sanders era in Boulder, there are some warning signs still. Hunter can't play the absurd two-way snap counts he did in Week 1 for an entire season. Depth is an issue on both sides of the ball and one injury could derail things massively. And for how great the offense is, the defense will be a sore spot at times.
In a Week 1 loss to Minnesota, Matt Rhule's Nebraska didn't necessarily tell me that the Huskers are going to turn this thing around immediately a la Coach Prime. Having said that, this is a quality team with some favorable pieces that should be able to attack the Buffaloes defense. And if Sanders and the offense are even marginally worse, that could follow the massive victory with a letdown loss in the home opener.