Everybody loves a good upset.
As the ongoing shenanigans in March Madness has taught us—Florida Atlantic or San Diego State in the national final?!—Cinderella stories are the best ones.
And even though college football doesn't have near the parity as college hoops, shockers happen weekly.
In a sport that has been blue-blood dominant over the past several years, those crashing the party with glass slippers such as Cincinnati and TCU become fan favorites, relegating the Georgias, Alabamas, Ohio States, Michigans and Clemsons of the world to villain status.
While we're in the throes of spring practice right now and it's far too early to lock down who 2023's surprise teams may be, it's always fun to look ahead at some potential upsets that could turn the sport on its head.
With the first wave of portal additions in the books, teams have fortified themselves to deal with the nation's elite. So, let's flip through the calendar and make some way-too-early upset predictions for the upcoming season.
Blue bloods beware.
Colorado over TCU, Sep. 2
Some of the fun in doing these is going way, way out on a limb, knowing full-well plenty of things have to line up for a few of these to happen.
The first upset pick may be one of the most far-fetched of them all. After all, even though Colorado and new coach Deion Sanders have stolen plenty of offseason headlines, few expect the Buffaloes to make a bunch of noise in Sanders' first season.
But the arrival bells would ring loud and true with a road win at Fort Worth against defending national runner-up TCU.
Here's the reasoning for putting this on the list: Yes, Sanders sells, but it's undeniable the Horned Frogs are going to go through some growing pains with Max Duggan off to the NFL along with the top two running backs, star receiver Quentin Johnston and several key defensive pieces, too.
Chandler Morris is capable of running the show under center, and coach Sonny Dykes made some nice portal adds. But so did Sanders, who flipped the Buffaloes' entire roster and now has his son, dynamic signal-caller Shedeur Sanders, helming the offense.
The safe money is on Dykes to pull his team through, but Colorado is going to surprise some people this year with how well-coached and talented it is. These are two teams in transition, and if you're going to go upset, go big with a few.
Sanders pulls off a shocker.
Duke over Clemson, Sep. 4
One of the biggest TCU losses that wasn't mentioned on the previous slide was offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who bolted for Clemson.
Now, he's going to take over a Tigers offense in desperate need of an overhaul from what has been a disappointing run for coach Dabo Swinney in the post-Trevor Lawrence era.
With Cade Klubnik at quarterback, Will Shipley carrying the ball and a linebacking corps that may be the nation's best, big things are expected from Clemson this year.
But the ACC champions must head to a quiet buzz saw in Durham on September 4, and Clemson may not have time to get its offense into sync before taking on an upstart Duke Blue Devils team entering Year 2 under coach Mike Elko.
With Elko's track record, you know the defense is going to be much-improved, and this is a team that would have gotten much more publicity a season ago after going 9-4 if not for the resurgence of out-of-nowhere national contenders like TCU and Tennessee.
Duke is more than a basketball school now, and with Riley Leonard leading the charge at quarterback, the Blue Devils can put up some points and shock teams. Clemson is a step up in competition from anything Duke faced in '22, but Elko is a great coach.
This would provide him a signature win, and the opportunity comes at the perfect time for Duke to punch Clemson before the Tigers get their sea legs under them offensively.