Eight college football teams on upset alert in Week 5

Every week brings upset, but few are as prime for upsets as Week 5. With four ranked-on-ranked battles and plenty of scintillating unranked teams with good shots at surprises, there's meat on this particular bone. As usual, we're not considering an upset unless it's a point spread of +5 or more. If LSU "upsets" -1.5 Ole Miss, where's the surprise in that? Here's eight legitimate upset possibilities.

Florida State (-6.5 vs. Virginia)

The 3-0 Seminoles have had an excellent run as one of the darlings of college football. But this is a dangerous Virginia team with QB Chandler Morris (1,050 yards and eight TDs) running a high-octane offense. FSU could find itself in a shootout on the road and take a Friday upset.

USC (-6.5 vs. Illinois)

The 4-0 Trojans have also been much admired, thanks to a 52.5 point per game scoring run to open the season. Jayden Maiava leads the nation in QB rating and the Trojans have rolled roughshod over their competition. But this is a USC team that allowed 31 points to Michigan State and an embarrassed Illinois squad looking for a bounce-back game after an ugly Indiana loss. Lines up for upset.

Kansas State (-6.5 vs. UCF)

It looks odd to the eye. 3-0 UCF is nearly a touchdown underdog against 1-3 Kansas State. Tayven Jackson is leading the UCF offense, which rolled over North Carolina last week. Kansas State, meanwhile, has been outgained by a schedule that includes Army and an FCS team. K-State is connecting on just 31% of its third-down conversions and with Jackson running and throwing well (223 yards passing and 66 yards rushing against UNC), there's upset possibility here.

Ohio State (-7.5 vs. Washington)

Washington has had a strong season under Jedd Fisch, running for 262 yards per game (9th nationally). Demond Williams can create in the air or on the ground. Meanwhile, Julian Sayin will make his first Big Ten start and his first road appearance. The Buckeyes are likely too strong, but there's some reasons to think Washington can at least make it interesting, and perhaps pull off the shocker.

Texas A&M (-6.5 vs. Auburn)

The Aggies pulled out a late win over Notre Dame, but it's not a terrible strong resume to consider. Auburn, meanwhile, comes off a road loss to Oklahoma, but played well and were victimized by some shaky officiating. If Auburn's defense can sufficiently slow Marcel Reed, the offense might grind out a road surprise here.

Indiana (-8.5 vs. Iowa)

A week ago, Indiana was blowing Illinois away and vaulting Fernando Mendoza to the top of the Heisman hunt. But Iowa is always a sterling defense and might manage to slow down the game and force Indiana into some offensive mistakes. The Hoosiers may be ripe for an upset off such a triumphant previous week.

Northwestern (-6.5 vs. UCLA)

This is a game of two miserable teams, but Northwestern hasn't seemed worthy of this generous point spread. The Wildcats are -6 in turnovers and have allowed 5.42 yards per carry defensively. Assuming that UCLA manages to make it to Chicago, the Bruins could plausibly pull off the upset.

Tennessee (-7.5 vs. Mississippi State)

State has been efficient offensively and posted a +5 turnover margin. Josh Heupel's team seems to have its annual game where things don't click. State feels very much like Arkansas did a season ago. They can score enough to stick around and will make a big play or two late on the road to create some potential misery for Tennessee. The Vols might have too much talent to be upset, but State figures to make this one interesting at least.

Game odds change periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.