Week two of the college football season featured a relatively light schedule for the top-25 teams in the country with the majority of them facing inferior FCS opponents. However, Central Michigan’s thrilling comeback win in the final seconds against No. Oklahoma State sent a message to the college football world that there is no such thing as a guarantee. The top teams will face much stiffer challenges this week with a handful of games featuring major upset potential. Here is a look at the top ranked teams on upset alert for week three of the college football season.
#1 Alabama @ #19 Ole Miss
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
The fact that the Rebels have knocked off Alabama in each of the last two seasons is testament to the upset potential for this game with Ole Miss looking to capitalize on another major opportunity at home. The Rebels opened with a tough loss to one of the top teams in the country in Florida State but Hugh Freeze still believes this team can do some significant damage in the SEC. An upset win over the defending SEC and national champion Crimson Tide would fall under that category. Alabama opened the season with a dominant win over USC and didn’t slow down in last week’s blowout win over Western Kentucky but considering the recent series history between these two the Tide certainly deserve to be on upset alert this week.
#2 Florida State @ #10 Louisville
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Florida State took care of business against Ole Miss and its opener. With a dangerous offense led by one of the best running backs in the country in Dalvin Cook and a dominant defense the Seminoles certainly look like a national title contender. However, Florida State’s road to the playoff is about to get a lot more difficult with Louisville emerging as another contender in the ACC along with the defending national runner-up in Clemson. Dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson just became the first quarterback in FBS history to throw for over 400 passing yards and rush for over 175 rushing yards in the same game and the Cardinals will need him at his absolute best to take down the Seminoles. Louisville will benefit from having the home advantage in this matchup and after putting on a show in their first two games it will be interesting to see how they match up against a true national title contender. The Seminoles are definitely on upset alert here.
#20 LSU vs. Mississippi State
Saturday, 7:00 PM ET
LSU’s win over Jacksonville State allowed the pressure to drop in Baton Rouge, but it will ramp right back up this weekend when the Tigers host Mississippi State. More than a few heads turned when LSU decided to bring back Les miles as head coach for at least one more year and the criticism ramped up again following a disheartening 16-14 loss against Wisconsin to open the season. Danny Etling showed flashes of his potential against Jacksonville State but he will have a much more difficult test against the Bulldogs this weekend and there is no doubt LSU will need a big game from star running back Leonard Fournette in order to get its season on track.
#25 Miami @ Appalachian State
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
The “U” is rolling following back-to-back wins over Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic to open the season but Mark Richt’s side will face its toughest test so far with a trip to Appalachian State this Saturday. The Mountaineers nearly took down Tennessee on the road in week one before destroying Old Dominion last weekend and they will be motivated to make a statement in their second crack against a ranked opponent. The Hurricanes will need to perform at a high level in hostile territory in order to take care of business. There is no doubt Miami is on upset alert heading in to week three. This is the week where we find out whether Mark Richt has this team on track to be a serious contender in the ACC or whether they need some time to build themselves up. If they lose a game like this, they’ll won’t be taken seriously when they square off with the big boys.
