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College Football Week 4: 5 teams on upset alert

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 17, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight (8) looks to pass during warm-ups prior to the game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight (8) looks to pass during warm-ups prior to the game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 17, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ryan Burns (17) passes against the USC Trojans during a NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ryan Burns (17) passes against the USC Trojans during a NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Stanford is a scary-good football team. The Cardinal are 2-0 with a couple of wins over Kansas State and USC to open the season, making it look easy. Any team that has Christian McCaffrey on it, though, is going to make scoring touchdowns look like a breeze.

Facing a tough road contest against UCLA, a team that opened the season in the Top 25, could be an upset waiting to happen. McCaffrey can’t play both sides of the ball, nor can he play quarterback, which might happen to be the weakest aspects of the team. Ryan Burns isn’t playing poorly under center, but the first-year quarterback hasn’t proven much.

Playing at UCLA under the lights in Week 4 might just be a ‘welcome to the Pac-12’ moment for the gunslinger.

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If this game comes down to quarterback play, there’s no doubt in my mind that the UCLA Bruins will come out victorious. Stanford’s defense has struggled against the pass versus two unproven quarterbacks to start the season and Rosen happens to be one of the top gunslingers in the Pac-12, proving that as a true freshman.

In fact, Rosen passed for over 3,600 yards and 23 touchdowns in his first collegiate season in 2015 and is on pace to have an even better output this year. He’s put up 917 yards and four touchdowns through just three games. He could afford to improve his accuracy and decision-making, but he will take advantage of a struggling Stanford defensive backfield.

Heck, Rosen passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns a season ago against the Cardinal, he can do it again.

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