Pac-12 Football 2017: 5 teams on upset alert in Week 6

Stanford is 3-2 as they head on the road to Salt Lake City to face No. 20 Utah. The Utes are the higher-ranked team. They are one of just three Pac-12 teams with an unbeaten record at this juncture. Yet the oddsmakers have installed the Cardinal as 5.5-point favorites away from home against an opponent that by all rights has proven better this year.

David Shaw’s team has lived and died by whether Bryce Love can do enough to lift them to victory. The otherworldly running back has more than made up for the loss of Christian McCaffrey. Love was the first back in the country to top 1000 rushing yards for the season, and he will need another huge game at altitude to topple the Utes on Saturday.

Utah has been winning this year on the strength of one of the nation’s most formidable defenses. Kyle Whittingham’s squad is holding opponents to 87 rushing yards, making this a test of strengths. They have also picked off nine passes so far, good for second nationally. Given the quarterback carousel in the Cardinal backfield, the Utes could get several more this weekend.

The oddsmakers seem to love the Cardinal, giving them the benefit of the doubt against a team with two fewer losses and better positioning in both the polls and the conference standings. But Utah will be no pushover, and Stanford will be on high alert in Salt Lake City this weekend.