Week 9 of the college football season had a few surprises for us with ranked and undefeated teams faltering in the final weekend before the first College Football Playoff poll of the season was released. Nebraska. Baylor, West Virginia and Baylor all crashed while Michigan, Clemson, Washington, Louisville and Ohio State barely escaped with wins. Which of the top-25 teams should be most wary headed in to this weekend? Here is a look at the top ranked college football teams on upset alert for week 10.
#1 Alabama @ #15 LSU
Saturday, 8:00 PM ET
The Crimson Tide sat back and watched some of their top competition grind out close wins last week and the reality is that at this point they appear to be in a league of their own. Alabama will roll in to Baton Rouge this week rested and prepared for a showdown with one of its biggest rivals and they are listed as eight-point favorites against LSU. The Tigers have won three straight since Ed Orgeron took over but this will be their toughest test by far and they will fire everything they have in what is clearly their biggest game of the year. This matchup shouldn’t be that close as these two teams have been on different levels this year.
However, LSU is also coming off a bye week and they will have the home field advantage so Nick Saban’s side can’t afford to overlook the Tigers as they look to extend their 20-game win streak on the road.
Pick: Alabama -8
#5 Louisville @ Boston College
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Louisville survived a near upset on the road at West Virginia when Lamar Jackson fired a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Smith with only 13 seconds left on the clock to pull out a 32-25 win. Now the Cardinals have to travel again this week as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive when they take on Boston College. Louisville will need to be much more consistent from start to finish and clearly can’t afford to overlook the opponent in front of them. The Eagles are substantial underdogs but they might provide a stiffer challenge than expected in an early start following their upset win on the road at NC State last week. The Cardinals are definitely on upset alert in this spot.
Pick: Boston College +24
#6 Ohio State vs. #10 Nebraska
Saturday, 8:00 PM ET
The Buckeyes barely survived another potential upset to Northwestern last week and now they have what projects to be an even more difficult test against Nebraska this week. Urban Meyer couldn’t have liked what he saw from his team through the first three quarters of the 24-20 win and now J.T. Barrett and company will have to try to figure things out against a Huskers side that is coming off a disappointing overtime loss to Wisconsin last week. Nebraska isn’t the flashiest team but they have played some tough defense and will do everything they can to wear down the Buckeyes offense and keep them from finding a rhythm. Ohio State is an 18-point favorite but it wouldn’t surprise us if the Huskers keep this game close and threaten for the upset win. Given how the Buckeyes have played the last couple of weeks, they are clearly on upset alert.
Pick: Nebraska +18
#10 Florida @ Arkansas
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Florida is back in the driver seat in the SEC East but they have a tough road ahead of them with road games at Arkansas, LSU and Florida State on their schedule. The Gators’ potential path to the playoffs is an extremely difficult one and their only chance is to take it one game at a time. That might be difficult travelling to Arkansas this week as they simply can’t afford to overlook what should be a capable opponent. The Razorbacks have been inconsistent at best but they did beat Ole Miss 34-30 at home just a couple of weeks ago so Florida cannot afford to overlook their potential to pull off the upset win this weekend as home underdogs. That’s why the Gators are on upset alert in this spot.
Pick: Arkansas +6
