Eight college football teams on upset alert in Week 8

College football has hit midseason and upset action is in its stride. Among many of Saturday's marquee games lurks opportunities at significant upsets. A reminder of our ground rules here-- Our we're not listing games with a line smaller than +5. So yes, thoughts on LSU/Vandy or Utah/BYU won't be found here-- the lines are too close to allow for a genuine upset. But here are eight Week 8 teams that could be subject to genuine upsets.

No. 9 Georgia (+7.5 vs. No. 5 Ole Miss)

The Bulldogs seem to show just enough to keep winning games, but this Ole Miss teams is battle-tested and could be destined to end Lane Kiffin's issues with midseason fades. Trinidad Chambliss has met every other team, so a top ten team on the road may not shake him. One piece of evidence of Georgia's potential for upset-- the Bulldogs have allowed opponents to convert 40.23% of third-down attempts, which is 13th in the SEC.

No. 25 Nebraska (+7.5 at Minnesota)

The Huskers rolled up numbers early in the league, but all three of their Big Ten games have been tight battles, and with games against Michigan, Michigan State, and Maryland, it's not as if Nebraska has been battling Indiana and Oregon. Meanwhile, Minnesota has pulled off one-score wins over Rutgers and Purdue. This points to a close game and Drake Lindsey might be able to pull the upset.

No. 14 Oklahoma (+5.5 at South Carolina)

Before last week, John Mateer had been an exclamation mark. After a three-pick game when the OU offense looked lost, he's now more of a question mark. Oklahoma has allowed 38 tackles for loss, next to worst in the SEC, and an aggressive South Carolina defense gives the Gamecocks a real shot at the home upset.

No. 7 Texas Tech (+7.5 at Arizona State)

A week ago, 4-2 Arizona State got blasted by Utah. Consider that an exhibit on how important Sam Leavitt is to his team. He missed that Utah game due to injury, but is probably for the battle with Tech. Tech has been near flawless, but Jalon Daniels did put up amazing numbers (27 for 33, 255 yards, 2 TDs) last week against the Red Raiders. Leavitt's potential return gives some mojo to the Sun Devils as home underdogs.

Florida (+9.5 vs. Mississippi State)

To say that Florida's situation is volatile or hard to predict would be an understatement. With rumors of Billy Napier's imminent firing, it's safe to expect the 2-4 Gators to be somewhat distracted. Meanwhile, Jeff Lebby's MSU team has competed hard in a 4-2 start and could have a bowl berth in the balance. Conditions are right for a potential upset.

Clemson (+5.5 vs. SMU)

Cade Klubnik hasn't been great, but the one thing that's sure is that the backups probably won't do better. SMU comes in off a pair of convincing wins and is starting to look more like the Mustangs squad that created some ACC havoc a season ago. The Mustangs could grab the outright upset here.

No. 13 Notre Dame (+9.5 vs. USC)

USC's offense is probably not getting the respect that it should in this game. The Trojans have scored at least 31 points and gained at least 460 yards in every game they've played. And yes, Notre Dame's own offense has looked sharp. But don't forget that when they played offenses with a pulse, the Irish gave up plenty of points. USC should turn this into a shootout and hang around until the end.

No. 6 Alabama (+8.5 vs. No. 11 Tennessee)

The Tide seemingly fend off another SEC contender every season, but Tennessee is a little more imposing than Vandy or Missouri. The Vol defense is next to worst in the SEC in scoring defense, but the offense is the highest scoring offense in the league. Tennessee has rotten recent history in Tuscaloosa, but the Vol offense is unlikely to get shut down, and should at least keep this one close.