Sooners, Cardinal on upset alert

Last week we endorsed Auburn against an overconfident Mississippi State team cast in the unfamiliar role of road favorite, and the Bulldogs became the Top 25's only upset victim. We split the Week 2 slate to move to 8-6 (against the spread) for the season, forecasting Ohio State's close call with Toledo. This week we again break down the biggest games, recommending that backers of Stanford, Auburn and a few other schools exercise caution.

Stanford Cardinal at Arizona Wildcats

Stanford is favored by 9.5 points
TeamRankings win odds for Arizona: 21 percent

Stanford's strength lies with a backfield that returns Heisman finalist Andrew Luck and the team's top three running backs, and a solid defense featuring several all-star candidates. But given heavy losses at offensive line, receiver and especially on the coaching staff, the Cardinal is overranked as a top-10 team. The team was sluggish in the first halves of games against San Jose State and Duke, and the offense less dominant than the lopsided scores suggest.

To read more about why Stanford could be in trouble, plus get picks for the rest of the weekend's most compelling games, including OU-FSU, become an ESPN Insider today.

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