College Football Upset Alerts: Trap Spots With Boston College & Utah?
A tough break last week (Ohio starting QB Parker Navarro was a surprise scratch), it’s back to the drawing board to find more situational spots to target college football upset alerts. In Week 5, I’m looking at two teams on a roll, each coming off a big win of its own – the Boston College Eagles and Utah Utes. Underdogs in this article are picked from tricky situational spots and have to be ‘dogs of 9+ points.
On the season, the underdogs outlined in this article have three outright upsets and an 8-7 ATS record. Last season, they went 23-15-1 ATS (60.5%) with four outright victories. We’ll make the case, and you decide if you want to make the picks on the moneyline or in your pick ’em pools. Compare college football odds from the best sports betting sites below with these upset candidates.
POTENTIAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL UPSETS: Week 5
Browse the best odds throughout this article. Click to place a wager on any of these college football upset alerts.
Western Kentucky at Boston College, Saturday (12:00 p.m., ACC Network)
It’s been a high-octane four weeks for Boston College. Following a (at the time) signature win at Florida State, BC came up just shy of upsetting top-10 Missouri on the road. Last week, the Eagles won late against Michigan State in the team’s Red Bandana game – a tribute to a former BC lacrosse player who saved a baker’s dozen lives in the World Trade Center terror attacks but lost his life doing so. Now, Boston College has an apparent chance to catch its breath.
Western Kentucky enters the game without its starting QB, T.J. Finley. Rising to the occasion is Caden Veltkamp, a more than capable replacement who threw five touchdowns in WKU’s comeback bowl win last year. The 6-foot-6 sophomore is as physically imposing as Finley and has comparable arm talent. Last week, Michigan State QB Aidan Chiles made four turnover-worthy throws and tossed three interceptions. Despite the poor QB play, the Eagles only came away with the four-point victory on a rainy evening.
The Hilltoppers’ defense ranks 46th in rush EPA and faces a BC offense that rushes with the 10th-most frequency in the country. The matchup is there, and WKU catches Boston College in a prime letdown spot.
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Arizona at No. 10 Utah, Saturday (10:15 p.m., ESPN)
There’s not much introduction needed between Arizona and Utah. The Wildcats had a full bye week to prepare for Utah while the Utes prepped for and beat Oklahoma State in a signature win last week. Last season, Kyle Whittingham posted an 0-2 record straight up coming off wins against ranked opponents. Since the start of 2021, that record falls to 2-5.
A recent 31-7 loss at Kansas State weighs heavy on the pricing of Arizona here. Rightfully so, we haven’t seen them play football since, but bye weeks are critical for teams who just aren’t clicking. Arizona has been inconsistent on both offense and defense but both ends have high ceilings. A few adjustments on this bye week could kick things into gear.
Will Utah run out of Cameron Rising or Isaac Wilson? Whittingham said Rising would be sidelined until his “zip” returns to the ball – is one week enough to fully get that back? Perhaps. But there’s a strong chance Wilson (brother of Zach) starts this one. With a modest total of around 50 points, taking double digits with a conference underdog with years of experience against Utah is a confident play this week.
Best of luck with your college football upset picks this week!
2024 College Football Upset Pick Results
Total ATS record: 8-7 (53.3%)
- Youngstown State +26.5 (Pitt 73, Youngstown State 17)
- Ohio +20.5 (Kentucky 41, Ohio 6)
- North Texas +9.5 (Texas Tech 66, North Texas 21)
- Tulsa +19.5 (Oklahoma State 45, Tulsa 10)
- Bethune-Cookman +32.5 (Western Michigan 59, Bethune-Cookman 31)
- New Mexico +29.5 (Auburn 45, New Mexico 19)
- Troy +19 (Memphis 38, Troy 17)
- Michigan State +8.5 (Michigan State 27, Maryland 24)
- Northern Illinois +30.5 (NIU 16, Notre Dame 14)
- Samford +29.5 1H (1H Florida 14, Samford 0)
- Stanford +9.5 (TCU 34, Stanford 27)
- Sam Houston State +9.5 (SHSU 34, Rice 14)
- Georgia State +21.5, first half +12.5 (Georgia Tech 35, Georgia State 12. 1H GA Tech 14, GA State 3)
- Southern Illinois +14.5 (BYU 41, SIU 13)
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