5 ranked college football teams on high upset alert in Week 8

The thing about college football is that there is almost always that game that simply doesn't make sense.

On paper, there's no way the favored team should lose. They have the better offense, they have more athletes, and they've been playing better together as a team. And then it happens. This season has already been riddled with many monumental upsets that fans simply never saw coming and we've still got six weeks of regular season remaining.

As we get ready for another jam-packed Saturday, here's a look at five Top-25 ranked teams who are "high upset alert" heading into the week, beginning with one on Friday night.

Oregon is coming off one of the biggest wins in program history. On national television in front of 10.2 million viewers, the Ducks reeled off a 32-31 win over Ohio State and, as a result of the win, moved to No. 2 in the latest AP Rankings. Many believe that if the CFB Playoff Rankings were out, Oregon would be ranked No. 1 in the country.

That's what makes a short week and a road matchup so dangerous. Oregon will travel to Purdue (1-5) for a Friday night game and the assumption is that the Ducks will roll. While the win over Ohio State was impressive and Oregon looks like one of the more dominant teams in the country, we've also seen teams fall on weird Friday night tilts, especially on the road.

Not saying that Purdue has the talent to compete with Oregon on a normal basis, but this might be the perfect set of circumstances for things to stay uncomfortably close.

Iowa State is finally getting the respect that Cyclone fans believe they deserve. After climbing up the polls the past few weeks, Iowa State (6-0) is sitting pretty at No. 9 in the country. Now, the real test comes: Can they handle being the hunted?

UCF comes to town for a 7:30 p.m. matchup and something just feels a little dangerous for the Cyclones here. This isn't the UCF of old by any means.

The Knights enter this game with three-straight losses, but this feels like one where they have a chance to make a statement in the Big 12 picture moving forward and that motivation, perhaps with Iowa State looking ahead to a much-needed bye week could put the Cyclones in a difficult spot.

Is it really an upset alert if the team has already knocked off one big brand this season? Probably not.

LSU has shown at times why they are ranked No. 8 in the country. The Tigers have also shown at times they are susceptible to being beaten, especially on the road. Away from home this season, LSU lost to USC 27-20 to start the season and the Tigers should have likely lost to South Carolina in a game they escaped Williams-Brice Stadium with a 36-33 win. Now, after three-straight weeks at home and coming off an overtime victory against Ole Miss, LSU enters what might be the most dangerous part of its season.

LSU will travel to Arkansas this weekend and we'll have to wait and see which Garrett Nussmeier they get. Will it be the one who completed less than 43.1 percent of his passes in regulation against Ole Miss, or will it be the one who threw that rifle of a touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy to beat the Rebels in Overtime?

LSU will have to remain focused, too, because they've got a huge road matchup against Texas A&M looming next weekend, so they can't get caught looking ahead.

After losing to Northern Illinois, many left Notre Dame for dead. The Fighting Irish have since reeled off a few victories — looking a little better each week — and they now sit at No. 12 in the polls.

If there's a team the rest of the way who can upset Notre Dame, it's Georgia Tech. Though the Yellowjackets haven't been dominant this season, they've been quietly consistent with their only losses coming to Syracuse and Louisville. In addition, they get this one at home (well, in Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

Now, they get the biggest game of their season — well, at least until Miami comes to town in a couple of weeks — and Georgia Tech at least has the ability to make this one close and uncomfortable for three quarters. Then, you never know what might happen when you get to the fourth.

BYU, now ranked No. 13 in the country, has been dominant in the first half of its season. The Cougars are 6-0 and are currently on track to potentially grab a bid to the Big 12 Championship game.

Just like Iowa State, though, BYU now has the target on their back. And, just like Oregon, they are now faced with a weird Friday night game against a "dangerous" Oklahoma State team. Things haven't gone the way of the Cowboys thus far (3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12) after being picked as a potential contender for the conference championship in the preseason. Is this the game where we see some of that talent shine?

BYU has taken care of its business thus far, and that's a credit to them, but it will be interesting to see if they can handle the growing pressure that begins to form in the back half of the season. That all begins with the Friday night matchup against Oklahoma State.

Football-wise, there isn't much reason to believe that any of these five teams listed above should lose this weekend, but something tells us at least one of them — and possibly more — won't be happy when they make their way back to their locker room on Friday or Saturday evening.

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