NCAAF teams
Brian Fremeau, ESPN Insider 10y

Potential season spoilers

Insider College Football, Kansas State Wildcats, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Clemson Tigers, Oregon State Beavers

One of the early storylines of the college football season has been the frequency of upsets that have shaken up the polls and preseason projections. Through the first three weeks of the season, 14 teams have lost to Football Bowl Subdivision opponents as at least a 7-point favorite, and three of those losses were suffered by teams ranked in the Associated Press top 10 at the time of the game.

South Carolina (then ranked No. 9) was crushed by Texas A&M in Week 1, Ohio State (No. 8) was stunned by Virginia Tech in Week 2, and USC (No. 9) was run over by Boston College in Week 3. Collectively, the Gamecocks, Buckeyes and Trojans were favored to win those three games by 36.5 points, but they combined to lose by 44 points.

The preseason favorites for College Football Playoff contention remain unscathed, though. Florida State, Oregon, Alabama and Oklahoma are still ranked at the top of the polls, and each still projects to be the favorite to win its respective conference title, according to our early-season data at Football Outsiders. The Big Ten hasn't officially eliminated itself from the playoff mix, but it is most likely that the champions of the SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12 will be at the top of the selection committee's rankings.

Each conference certainly features multiple challengers to the throne. But which teams are the most dangerous? Using our FEI projection system, we identified one team from each of the "power four" conferences that isn't likely to be in the playoff mix but has multiple opportunities to ruin the hopes of other contenders. Three of these "season spoilers" have opportunities to wreak havoc starting this weekend.

Kansas State Wildcats

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