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Shakhtar Donetsk produced one of the most memorable upsets in Champions League history, beating 13-time winner Real Madrid 3-2 on home soil. A win would've made the Steelers 12-0 for the first time in franchise history, but the Washington Football Team had other plans. Ron Rivera spoke poignantly about his team's shocking upset after. The USA TODAY Sports college football staff — Jace Evans, Paul Myerberg, Brent Schrotenboer, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken — weigh in with some bold predictions for Week 3 of the. College Football Upset Predictions Our premium college football predictions and picks are driven by computer models that analyze millions of data points. We use a variety of statistical techniques to predict games, including decision trees, similarity scores, and power ratings.

Alabama football (Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

These five college football teams are in danger of being upset in Week 5 of the 2020 season.

In the first weekend of college football in which the SEC was playing and fans were, in essence, treated to a full slate of games, it only stands to reason that the upsets started pouring in from around the country. Of course, no upsets were bigger than those of the Oklahoma Sooners and LSU Tigers.

Lincoln Riley's Sooners lost to Kansas State a year ago and it figured that Oklahoma would be out for blood this year. And they were early but the offense went cold in the second half, allowing the Wildcats to claw back to knock off the Sooners.

Then there are the defending National Champions. LSU suffered immense losses on the roster from the title team and that was evident against Mike Leach's Air-Raid offense at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs lit them up and they didn't have the firepower to answer, resulting in a no-doubt loss to give fans in Starkville the taste of an upset.

So, do two upsets of that magnitude mean that more are coming for college football in Week 5?

It's certainly in the cards when you look at the matchups on-deck. Not only are LSU and Oklahoma back in action as they look for a chance at redemption but there are plenty of other possible upsets brewing. Two games out of the SEC that won't have anyone being put on upset alert, however, are Texas A&M vs. Alabama and Georgia vs. Auburn.

With the latter, the two teams are too closely matched for it be an upset pick. But with the Crimson Tide and Aggies, it very much comes down to there not being a realistic chance of an upset. Texas A&M beat Vanderbilt, a team projected to finish last in the division, by a meager five points last week. Bama looked like title favorites. This one won't be close.

The same isn't true for these games. Even if some of the following contests might look like mismatches, there is a path to where they won't be. Subsequently, these five ranked college football teams are on upset alert in Week 5.

Florida Gators (Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports)

College football upset alert No. 5: Florida Gators

Rank: 3 Opponent: South Carolina Gamecocks Time: Saturday, Oct. 3, Noon ET

Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators lived up to every bit of hype and optimism about them in their season-opener against Ole Miss. The young quarterback was slinging it all over the yard while all-world tight end Kyle Pitts looked unguardable and the rest of the playmakers on that side of the ball made their mark.

But talking about Dan Mullen's club on offense is only half of the story. The Gators legitimately needed their 51 points from last week to win because the defense looked quite suspect, giving up 35 points to the Rebs. And let's also not forget that Ole Miss has one of the worst defensive units in the SEC this season.

South Carolina might've lost their opener to Tennessee but they present a bit of a tricky matchup here when you dig a little deeper. Mike Bobo had Collin Hill and the Gamecocks offense looking solid in the loss and, though the defense had some troubles, they are a young group that could flash and make some big plays.

The simple truth is that, if Florida doesn't look like one of the best offenses in the country in a given week (for whatever reason), their defense looked troublesome enough that a team in the SEC could knock them off. As such, they're getting put on upset alert in Week 5 until they prove that notion to be entirely false.

Oklahoma Sooners (Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

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College football upset alert No. 4: Oklahoma Sooners

Rank: 18 Opponent: Iowa State Cyclones Time: Saturday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. ET

There are two things that are quite clear when it comes to the Oklahoma Sooners. The first is that quarterback Spencer Rattler has the goods to be the program's next great quarterback when he's at his best and, when the team was clicking, they looked like a College Football Playoff contender. However, the second is that the Sooners' defense is not good and, if the offense lets off the gas, they could be in trouble.

After suffering an upset loss just last week, Lincoln Riley's team has to be motivated. If they want a chance to play for a National Championship this season, they can't afford another loss in the Big 12. As such, they must go on the road to Ames and pick up a win against an Iowa State Cyclones team that has underperformed to this point and handle business.

Having said that, there's a reason that people were excited about the Cyclones coming into this season and that starts with quarterback Brock Purdy having another year under vaunted head coach Matt Campbell. Yes, it's not been good to this point, but the potential at least remains after what we've seen in the past two years.

With the way Oklahoma's defense looked last week, they could be the prescription needed to get Purdy back on track. And frankly, it's worrisome to watch the way the bottom just fell out for the Sooners a week ago. So with that fresh on your mind, how you can not say that an upset is in the cards for Week 5.

North Carolina Tar Heels (Mandatory credit: Robert Willett/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports)

College football upset alert No. 3: North Carolina Tar Heels

Rank: 12 Opponent: Boston College Eagles Time: Saturday, Oct. 3, 3:30 p.m. ET

When the North Carolina Tar Heels played their first game of the 2020 season as a much-hyped team out of the ACC that was expected to make a big jump this season, Mack Brown's team lived up to the billing. Quarterback Sam Howell and the offense exploded in the final quarterback, pushing them to an emphatic 25-point victory.

Having said that, the Heels haven't played in almost a month. They've had a game canceled due to COVID-19 over that span and have been biding their time until they take the field again. That now happens on the road as they travel to take on Boston College in Week 5. And the Eagles are a team that has, at the very least, looked solid.

Sitting at 2-0 after wins over Duke and Texas State in the past two weeks, transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec has looked pretty good thus far, even if the rushing attack hasn't been what it was under Steve Adazzio. Even still, the Eagles aren't a team that is going to roll over, especially playing in Chestnut Hill.

With the layoff for North Carolina, the potential that a young team isn't as good as people thought and a Boston College team that is at home and better than expected, this game has to be circled as a possible upset in Week 5.

Memphis Tigers. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

College football upset alert No. 2: Memphis Tigers

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Rank: 25 Opponent: SMU Mustangs Time: Saturday, Oct. 3, 3:30 p.m. ET

While we talked about rust being a potential factor for UNC, it's actually been even longer since the No. 25-ranked Memphis Tigers were on the field. Ryan Silverfield's team opened their campaign on Sept. 5 with a 37-24 win over Arkansas State but haven't played since then. So as was the case with the Tar Heels, simply having been off this long is a worrisome factor for Memphis.

But while Arkansas State is a solid team, they haven't necessarily been as impressive as the SMU Mustangs and their offense. Not only does Sonny Dykes' team have three games under their belts already (and a 3-0 record) but they have been absolutely rolling, averaging 48.7 points per game to this point behind quarterback Shane Buechele.

This is a tricky spot for Memphis given their time off and facing an offense of this caliber. Defense is the noted weakness of the Tigers and, though Brady White and the offense are potent, having a month off the field could lead to some hiccups when they have the ball. In what should be a high-scoring affair, that's not the most comforting notion.

If nothing else, the Memphis vs. SMU matchup should offer fans a ton of excitement and points on the board. Having said that, for fans thinking that the Tigers will have it easy, the circumstances combined with the matchup make for a tricky test on the road come Saturday afternoon.

LSU Tigers (Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)

College football upset alert No. 1: LSU Tigers

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Rank: 20 Opponent: Vanderbilt Commodores Time: Saturday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. ET

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How can the LSU Tigers not still be on upset alert? Yes, Mississippi State might be better than we expected under Mike Leach but, at the same time, the defending national champs might also be far worse than we expected.

All offseason, people were hyping up quarterback Myles Brennan as he was set to replace Joe Burrow. But the truth on the field against a Mississippi State defense that is far from elite is that he looked like a return to LSU quarterbacks of old — which is not a compliment. He was a Checkdown Charlie with little to no pizzazz being brought to the table. Couple that with the defense being notably worse and this team is in trouble.

Now, you might be thinking that Vanderbilt shouldn't present the Tigers any trouble but, are we so sure about that? Derek Mason's Commodores gave Texas A&M everything they could handle last week. Though the Aggies have underperformed, their talent far exceeds that of the 'Dores, so for Vandy to compete is impressive. And freshman quarterback Ken Seals looked impressive in his first start.

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Maybe LSU bounces back against a team that they are simply more talented than. But with how thoroughly they were beaten last week and with Vanderbilt potentially being friskier than expected, it's impossible to not have the Tigers as a team in danger of being upset for the second straight week.

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