College Football Week 5: Five teams on upset alert

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 24, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive end Chris Wormley (43) receives congratulations from defensive end Taco Charlton (33) after he gets a sack in the first quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Which five teams will be on upset alert in Week 5 of the young college football campaign?

Week 5’s college football upset alert is here. Plenty of teams will be hoping to avoid tough losses which could derail their seasons in Week 5 while underdogs will be licking their chops, hoping to get big wins and shock the rest of the country.

This far into the season means that conference play is revving up and we will see more competitive play. We have already seen plenty of crazy things happen in 2016 such as USC starting 1-3 , Notre Dame also getting off to a 1-3 start, Oklahoma dropping out of the rankings and Louisville bearing Florida State 63-20. The excitement is only going to increase.

Conference play means that road games will be much more difficult to win. A conference title is going to be on the line every time these teams run out of the tunnel and onto the field. However, home games aren’t a given either.

We have seen a number of upsets by road teams so far this year. Just look at programs like Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma who have already lost big games at home in which they were favored to win. Upsets happen on a weekly basis, and we have already seen a handful of shocking ones to begin the 2016 season.

There are plenty on interesting games on tap for Week 5, but a few stand out as potential upset specials. Let’s take a look at five teams that I believe should be on upset alert in Week 5.

Sep 10, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs running back Donnel Pumphrey (19) scores a touchdown as California Golden Bears cornerback Darius Allensworth (2) defends during the fourth quarterat Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego State Aztecs

3-0, at South Alabama

One of the teams on the rise each week happens to be San Diego State. The Aztecs have defeated New Hampshire, Cal and Northern Illinois to start the year, jumping to No. 19 in the latest AP Poll. Not many people know about the Aztecs, but they will soon enough.

That is if South Alabama doesn’t pull off a major upset in Week 5. The Jaguars have already been part of a big upset this season. To start the year, South Alabama traveled to Mississippi State and stole a win from the Bulldogs, 21-20. Since then, they’re just 1-2 and look like a mediocre team.

However, as Mississippi State found out the hard way, there’s no such thing as a guaranteed win in college football. The Jaguars might not look like world-beaters on the gridiron, but they’ll be playing with nothing to lose on Saturday night.

Hosting San Diego State under the lights just screams upset. The Aztecs will be coming to town, anticipating a tough contest and they will be getting everything the Jaguars have to offer.

While San Diego State has one of the best running backs in the country, Donnel Pumphrey, South Alabama has a very effective quarterback in Dallas Davis who has passed for over 1,100 yards this year already.

San Diego State’s mediocre pass defense might be in trouble.

Sep 23, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Tim Patrick (12) celebrates after catching an 18-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left for the winnning score against the USC Trojans during a NCAA football at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah defeated USC 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Utah Utes

4-0, at California

One year after taking the Pac-12 by storm, the Utah Utes are back at it. Utah didn’t start the 2016 season in the Top 25, but after putting together a 4-0 start with wins over BYU and USC, the Utes look poised to make another serious run at a conference crown. It might not be likely with Washington and Stanford leading the way, but it’s possible.

Traveling to California in Week 5 might not seem like a harsh matchup, especially since Jared Goff is no longer in the picture, but Davis Webb has picked up right where his predecessor left off.

Goff proved to be one of the best passers in college football, but Webb is doing the same for the Golden Bears. The former Texas Tech quarterback has passed for 1,837 yards and 18 touchdowns already, hitting Chad Hansen 50 times for 656 yards and six touchdowns.

Troy Williams has been solid for Utah in his first season as the starting quarterback, passing for 993 yards and six touchdowns, but he will need to have his best game yet in order to out-duel one of the most underrated gunslingers in the nation.

With a weapon like Tim Patrick — 20 catches for 385 yards and five scores — to throw to, Williams and the offense are in good hands. However, no Devontae Booker this season has hurt the run game, but not too badly.

This could be a very high-scoring affair.

Sep 24, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans defensive tackle Kevin Williams (92) celebrates a fumble recovery during the first quarter of a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans

2-1, at Indiana

There’s a major problem in East Lansing and his name is Tyler O’Connor. That might seem harsh, but the senior quarterback, replacing Connor Cook, has a very low ceiling. If he remains Michigan State’s quarterback for the remainder of the season, Michigan State will likely finish 7-5 or even 6-6.

To avoid that fate, fans have been calling for freshman Brian Lewerke to start, but that might not happen this weekend as he’s playing a lackluster Indiana defense.

Despite the fact that Indiana lost at home to Wake Forest last week, the Spartans could be in real danger of falling to the Hoosiers. Indiana’s offense, behind the arm of JUCO transfer Richard Lagow, is potent, to say the least.

Lagow passed for nearly 500 yards against the Demon Deacons last week and he might just do the same against a timid Spartan secondary. Michigan State has talent in the defensive backfield, but the coaching staff seems to think that playing relaxed coverage can get the job done. Spoiler: it hasn’t.

If Indiana takes advantage of poor coverage plans and a lack of a pass rush, you can bet that the Hoosiers will be pulling off an upset against the No. 17 Spartans.

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers tight end Jason Croom (18) drops a pass while being defended by Florida Gators defensive back Marcell Harris (26) during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee Volunteers

4-0, at Georgia (25)

Each time Tennessee plays a semi-decent opponent this season, I’m just going to assume the game will be close. It’s tough to really gauge the Volunteers at this point in the year. Opening the season with an overtime win, at home, over Appalachian State drew some major question marks.

Tennessee then beat Ohio by just nine points and then last week, the Volunteers hosted Florida and got down big early on. Tennessee would come back, eventually, to win but it wasn’t pretty, especially in the first half.

Hitting the road in Week 5 to take on the 25th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs should be a true test for the Volunteers. This is the week we might finally figure out how good this Tennessee team really is. Heck, we might find out the same thing about the Bulldogs on the other side.

Truth of the matter is, however, that the Bulldogs are major underdogs despite being the home team. Kirby Smart’s team will be playing with a major chip on its shoulder and we could finally see Jacob Eason and Nick Chubb break out against a mediocre defense.

Sep 24, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Karan Higdon (22) breaks a tackle by Penn State Nittany Lions safety Troy Apke (28) in the second half at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan Wolverines

4-0, vs. Wisconsin (8)

Am I crazy to think the mighty Michigan Wolverines would lose a home game in the second week of Big Ten action? Heck, Jim Harbaugh has only lost three games in just over a year as the head coach of the Wolverines, what makes me think he’s going to lose a fourth on Saturday afternoon?

Easy answer: toughest opponent Michigan has faced all year. In fact, the Badgers are the highest-ranked foe Michigan has faced since Ohio State last November and the Wolverines might just be too used to taking on inferior opponents.

Michigan has yet to travel away from Ann Arbor for a game this season, and that will continue in Week 5, but the Badgers walked into Spartan Stadium last week and recorded a convincing win against No. 8 Michigan State, 30-6. The Badgers’ confidence has to be sky-high and you know these players want to take it to Michigan.

Everyone in the Big Ten is sick of hearing how great the Wolverines are, and the Badgers might be the ones to shut them up.

Michigan hasn’t faced competition like this in quite some time and Wisconsin’s run defense might just stymy the strength of the Wolverines. This could be an instant classic in Ann Arbor Saturday.