College Football 2021: Top 5 teams that will be on upset alert in Week 8

1. Virginia Tech (vs. Syracuse)

This game has upset written all over it.

Outside of North Carolina, Virginia Tech hasn’t been able to beat anyone good. They were dominated by West Virginia and Pitt and couldn’t hold an eight-point lead with less than four minutes left against Notre Dame. In fact, that game didn’t even go to overtime thanks to a recovered onside kick by the Irish.

Meanwhile, the store for Syracuse has been so close but so far. They beat Liberty by three, which doesn’t sound impressive until you realize Liberty has an NFL-caliber quarterback. They’ve since lost three straight, all by three points: at Florida State, in overtime against 19th ranked Wake Forest and against Clemson.

Much like against Clemson, the Orange should be able to keep the Hokie offense in check. The Virginia Tech offense averages 312 yards per game while Syracuse gives up only 309.

What should be much easier is the Orange’s ability to run the ball. The Virginia Tech defense isn’t as good as Clemson, especially up front. That’s great news for a team that was able to run for 165 yards last week. Virginia Tech gives up nearly 40 yards more per game on the ground.

Don’t sleep on quarterback Garrett Shrader either. His ability to run could be the difference in this game. Running back Sean Tucker is the star of the rush attack, but once you start paying too much attention to him, Shrader will burn you.