GREG MCELROY PUTS FOUR TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS ON UPSET ALERT

One of the biggest upsets during Week 1 was the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles falling to the Boston College Eagles 28-13. The No. 23 USC Trojans also beat the No. 13 LSU Tigers 27-20 in Las Vegas.

On a recent "Always College Football" episode, Greg McElroy put four more teams on upset alert for Week 2. All of the teams were within the top 25.

The first team that McElroy put on upset alert was the No. 16 Kansas State Wildcats. Kansas State travels to New Orleans to take on the Tulane Green Wave. The two teams last met in 2022, with Tulane pulling off the upset in Manhattan. The Green Wave has never lost to Kansas State, boasting an all-time 2-0 record against Kansas State.

Kansas State is favored by nine points on the road, per ESPN.

"Let's start with Tulane," McElroy said. "Tulane hosting Kansas State. This is Tulane's Super Bowl. I love the coaching staff that's been brought in at Tulane, I think they're a little bit under the radar right now."

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have had quite the start to the 2024 season. In Week Zero, Georgia Tech upset Florida State in Dublin, Ireland, and are now 2-0. However, McElroy believed the Syracuse Orange could cause some problems for No. 23 Georgia Tech.

The Orange went into the portal and added talent like former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord, former Louisville Cardinals corner Marcus Washington, and former Texas A&M Aggies edge rusher Fadil Diggs.

The line favors Georgia Tech by only three points, courtesy of ESPN.

"Let's go next to Syracuse and Georgia Tech," McElroy said. "Everybody loves Georgia Tech. They've looked great in their first two weeks. Now they travel to a Syracuse team, and Syracuse just a slight underdog and they've made a bunch of additions in the portal as well. This feels like a trap game for Georgia Tech."

A rivalry game is happening in Week 2 between the No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones as they battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. Iowa leads the all-time series 47-23, but McElroy thought there was a chance that Iowa State could upset its in-state rival.

The Cyclones bring back stars like quarterback Rocco Brecht, running back Abu Sama III, receiver Jaylin Noel, and safety Jeremiah Cooper.

Iowa has QB Cade McNamara, linebacker Jay Higgins, tight end Luke Lachey, and defensive back Sebastian Castro returning. The Hawkeyes are favored by just three and a half points, per ESPN.

"Iowa State against Iowa," McElroy said. "Are you really a giant killer when you're a slight dog? Well, king of. Especially when you're on the road against a team that just scored 40 points for the first time in quite a while. Iowa appears to be better, but Iowa State has a ton of production back and a ton of great players who contributed to last year's team. I think they're positioned for a sneaky good run this year."

Last but not least were the No. 16 Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State faces an Arkansas Razorbacks team that just put 70 points on Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Week 1.

The top transfer addition for Arkansas this offseason was former Boise State Broncos quarterback Taylen Green. Green had 229 passing yards, 88 rushing yards, and four touchdowns in Week 1.

McElroy stepped back and realized that Arkansas-Pine Bluff may not have been the best competition, but he liked what he saw from the Razorbacks.

"Then finally, Arkansas against Oklahoma State," McElroy said. "I saw some things from Arkansas last week that I absolutely loved. Now, I had to take in the level of competition, and it was bad, but there was a lot to like about some of the performances that we saw from the Razorbacks last week."

The Cowboys are an eight-point favorite, according to ESPN.

2024-09-05T19:36:17Z dg43tfdfdgfd