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College football is nearing the sprint to the finish line. The first CFP Top 25 dropped this week, putting teams in a position to start thinking about their playoff odds. But programs shouldn’t get ahead of themselves. This time of year when teams begin to look ahead is when other teams get overlooked — and find opportunities for massive upsets.
Here are three AP Top 25 teams on upset watch in week 10:
No. 12 Notre Dame @ Clemson
The Tigers are certainly underwhelming in 2023. A 4-4 record (2-4 in the ACC) and two straight losses isn’t exactly what we expect from multi-time champions in the CFP era. Still, there’s reason to believe Clemson may find itself victorious this weekend.
For one, the Tigers are 3-1 at home this season. The fans in Death Valley are loyal to the core and haven’t disappeared yet this season. Plus, ACC crowds always show for a Notre Dame team that its conference pandered to for years with just about nothing in return. The fans in attendance won’t make it easy for the Irish.
Another reason the green and gold should be apprehensive this weekend is the Notre Dame factor: The Irish love nothing more than to lose weird games to teams they are unequivocally better than. The 7-2 Fighting Irish going out there and dropping the ball to a fading program they destroyed last season? That’s so Notre Dame.
No. 16 Oregon State @ Colorado
Oregon State had a good run. This is not a team you think of as a college football powerhouse, but there the Beavers were just outside of the top-10 last week. The dream is over now. A loss to Arizona has brought this team back to earth, and insult is about to turn to injury.
Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes are a team that loves some juice. Big (or ranked) matchups at home are exactly what this team gets up for and they’ll do just that this week. Prepare for the social media parade to come if CU can reenter the top ranks this week.
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 25 Kansas State
Texas is (almost) back.
The Longhorns started blazing hot this year. A 7-0 start including wins against Alabama and Washington put UT in place as a playoff hopeful. Even after the team’s first loss to Oklahoma last week, the Longhorns remain ranked ahead of the Sooners and just outside the playoff top four.
The wager here is that Texas doesn’t learn the lesson from its Red River loss. The Wildcats are a good team with a dangerous offense not to be overlooked. If the Longhorns do that and come out a half-step too slow, they may get outrun.
