Once upon a time, all the way back in Week 1, it looked like the Stanford Cardinal would be considered an afterthought on the national stage and in the Pac-12 following a tough loss at Northwestern. Fast-forward to eight weeks later and suddenly it’s Stanford ranked No. 8 in the country and sitting alone atop the Pac-12 North division. The Cardinal have had a pretty amazing turnaround with six straight wins but they will have to be careful not to overlook this week’s game at Washington State where the potential for an upset is real. Here is a look at the top four teams on upset alert for Week 9 of the college football season.
Can Washington State Stun Stanford?
Stanford has been the best team in the Pac-12 since their loss at Northwestern with all six of their victories coming by double-digit margins. However, the Cougars are in a similar position having won five of their last six following a season-opening loss including a big win at Arizona last week and they can’t be overlooked. Washington State has averaged 522 yards and 39.7 points per game over its last six contests and they beat up on Wyoming and Oregon State in their last two home games. This is probably the best team that Mike Leach has had at Washington State and it looks like Wazzu – as a program – has turned a corner.
The Cardinal are talented enough and strong enough on both sides of the line of scrimmage to make this a short night. They’re playing at a high enough level but if they show up half asleep or give the Cougars any hope, this could be a game.
Will Notre Dame Get A Test At Temple?
Notre Dame has rebounded from a close loss to Clemson with consecutive wins over Navy and USC. They will have had a full two weeks to prepare by the time they take the field with Temple but that doesn’t mean there won’t be an upset alert for this game. The Owls are 7-0 and coming off an impressive 24-14 win at East Carolina in a game that could have easily been considered a trap game. This will be one of the biggest home games in the school’s history and they will throw absolutely everything they have at the Fighting Irish in order to try and steal an upset win and stay undefeated. We’ll see if the atmosphere propels them to the upset or adds extra pressure.
Oklahoma State Heads To Texas Tech With Heavy Hearts
It’s been a rough week at Oklahoma State after the drunk driving incident that killed multiple people at the homecoming parade. Now they have move on and help the community heal.
With all of the talk centered on Baylor and TCU in the Big 12, it’s easy to overlook the fact that Oklahoma State is undefeated and looking like a legitimate contender heading in to this week. The Cowboys are coming off a big win over Kansas and they will host the Horned Frogs in a huge showdown next week but they have to be very careful to avoid an upset in a potential trap game at Texas Tech this weekend. Each of the Red Raiders’ three losses have come against ranked opponents but they nearly upset TCU at home earlier in the year. They certainly have the potential to upset Oklahoma State in a potential trap game if they catch them looking forward to next week.
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Can Duke Hang In The Top 25?
The Blue Devils are still undefeated in conference play and while on paper it looks like they get Miami at the perfect time after they fired their coach this week, they have to be careful in what could very well be a trap game. The Hurricanes are coming off a blowout loss to Clemson that was downright embarrassing, so they should be fired up to respond with a much better effort in this game. Duke is in the mix as a legitimate contender in the ACC Coastal division right now but they have to be careful to avoid the upset loss against Miami this weekend.
