College Football 2021: 4 teams that will be on upset alert in Week 4

4. TCU (vs. SMU)

I know this completely contradicts what I said earlier about a ranked team defeating an unranked team not necessarily being an upset, but this is a rivalry game and considering it’s a Power Five team hosting a Group of Five squad, this counts.

The battle for the Iron Skillet is always a hotly contested game in Dallas. Since their return from the Death Penalty, SMU has a record of 7-23, but the Mustangs are better than they’ve been in a while.

TCU’s defense is going to have its hands full when they meet the Mustangs at noon on Saturday. SMU is averaging over 340 yards per game through the air and 193 yards on the ground. It’ll be strength against strength when that offense takes on a defense that’s only giving up 289 yards per game. SMU is going to have to get things going early because they’re going to need a lot of points.

The key to this game is how SMU’s defense can hold up against TCU’s offense which has been balanced: 243 and 224 yards passing and rushing per game, respectively. SMU’s defense hasn’t been great, particularly against the pass. They’re giving up 316 yards in the passing game, ninth-worst in all of college football.

Giving up big plays is a big problem for the Mustangs that they’ll have to eliminate. If there’s a positive in this, they have six interceptions, tied for second in the country.

One SMU player to keep an eye on is safety Isaiah Nwokobia, a freshman, who has two interceptions, a sack, and 11 tackles. He’s on the verge of superstardom and can be a major difference maker in this game.