Who's ready for some early upsets to shake up the 2024 college football season?

For all the preseason polling and endless predictions made leading up to each new season, there are inevitably always a few major early upsets that serve to throw the season into a state of chaos.

Ahead we've highlighted seven September games featuring one team currently ranked inside the Top 15 in the latest AP poll and one team either unranked or slotted near the bottom of the rankings that has the potential for an upset.

It could be a favorite on the road, the first major test for a team playing an easy early schedule, or a talented underdog that has been somewhat overlooked poised to make a statement.

For one reason or another, these seven games all have legitimate upset potential.

Sept. 7: No. 14 Tennessee at No. 24 NC State

The Tennessee Volunteers have legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations this season, and a terrific Week 1 performance from first-year starter Nico Iamaleava under center has only served to send expectations climbing even higher.

With conference games against Georgia and Alabama, not to mention a tough road test on Sept. 21 against Oklahoma, the Volunteers can't afford an early slip-up if they want to have any wiggle room once SEC play begins.

However, this Saturday's matchup against NC State should not be overlooked.

The Wolfpack needed a 21-point fourth quarter to escape with a 38-21 victory against Western Carolina on Saturday, but there were plenty of positive takeaways from that win.

Longtime Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall showed some immediate chemistry with his new top target Kevin Concepcion, as they connected nine times for 121 yards and three touchdowns. What was a largely unreliable running game last year also made some noise, with Jordan Waters carrying the ball 20 times for 124 yards and a pair of scores.

If the NC State defense comes away from Saturday's game with some positive things to build on, this could be a tough one for the Volunteers.

Sept. 7: Boise State at No. 7 Oregon

The Oregon defense limited the Idaho running game to 49 yards on 20 carries in Saturday's 24-14 victory, but they face a much tougher test this weekend when they square off against Boise State.

Broncos star Ashton Jeanty is one of college football's best returning running backs after piling up 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground last season, and he ran wild in the team's opener against Georgia Southern with 267 yards and six touchdowns on only 20 carries.

His backup Sire Gaines added another 110 yards on 12 carries, and the Broncos finished with a staggering 371 yards on the ground in a 56-45 shootout.

Of course, the takeaway here could just as easily be to ask how the Boise State defense plans to slow down Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks offense when they allowed Georgia Southern to hang 45 points and 461 total yards on them.

Still, having an elite weapon like Jeanty in the backfield makes the Broncos a serious threat to pull off a major early upset.

Sept. 14: No. 4 Alabama at Wisconsin

In the new College Football 25 video game from EA Sports, Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin is ranked as the No. 7 toughest place to play across all of college football.

Those rankings are, of course, largely subjective and very much open for debate, but the general consensus across college football is that it's never easy to go into Wisconsin and come away with a victory.

Does that apply to a stacked Alabama squad with national title aspirations?

There is little question the Crimson Tide is the superior team on paper, even with University of Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke giving the Badgers offense a shot in the arm at the quarterback position.

An unranked Wisconsin team beat No. 9 Iowa at home in 2021, and that is just one of many notable upsets they have pulled off over the years with the benefit of homefield advantage.

This game will be followed by a bye week and then a huge matchup with Georgia, so it's not out of the question to think Alabama could already be looking ahead when it rolls into Madison.

Sept. 14: Tulane at No. 15 Oklahoma

With 12 wins in 2022 and 11 wins a year ago, Tulane has emerged as one of the best mid-major programs in the country.

Star quarterback Michael Pratt had a lot to do with their recent run of success, and he is now suiting up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad, but that doesn't mean the Green Wave is going to plummet from relevance.

Running back Makhi Hughes is back after rushing for 1,378 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago, and redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah has shown serious upside after beating out touted Oregon transfer Ty Thompson for the starting job.

This will already be a battle-tested Tulane team when it faces off against Oklahoma, with a matchup against No. 17 Kansas State at home this Saturday lining them up to face back-to-back ranked opponents.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma could be looking ahead to a Sept. 21 matchup against Tennessee in its first SEC conference game, putting the Green Wave in a prime position to pull off the upset and make a national statement.

Sept. 21: No. 12 Miami at USF

After a dismal 4-29 showing during the three-year stretch from 2020-2022, South Florida finished 7-6 last year and played in its first bowl games since 2018, beating Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown was a big reason for the team's success, throwing for 3,292 yards and 26 touchdowns while adding another 809 yards and 11 touchdowns with his legs, and he is back for another season leading the Bulls offense.

If South Florida can come away with a victory against Cam Ward and the Hurricanes this year, it would not be the first time they've pulled off that upset, as they also beat them in Coral Gables back in 2010.

The Hurricanes are trending up after season-opening 41-17 victory over Florida on the road, and with Florida A&M and Ball State up next they will likely be 3-0 and potentially ranked inside the Top 10 heading into this game.

A big game from Brown and the Bulls offense could knock the hype train off the tracks before ACC play even starts.

Sept. 21: Vanderbilt at No. 9 Missouri

After a tune-up game against Buffalo this weekend, the Missouri Tigers are tasked with back-to-back games against teams that have already proven capable of pulling off an upset.

They face a Boston College team fresh off a 28-13 victory over Florida State on Sept. 14, then square off against a Vanderbilt squad that just crushed the dark horse playoff hopes of Virginia Tech with a 34-27 win on Saturday.

Don't sleep on this Vanderbilt team.

Transfer quarterback Diego Pavia was one of the most productive dual-threat signal callers in the country last year at New Mexico State with 2,973 passing yards, 923 rushing yards and 33 total touchdowns.

He already showed his skill set will translate to the major conference level with 190 passing yards, 104 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the upset win over Virginia Tech, and now he has back-to-back weeks to get comfortable in the new system with Alcorn State and Georgia State up next on the schedule.

The Tigers are a dangerous team with Brady Cook back to lead a high-powered offense, and outside of star running back Cory Schrader's departure, they return largely the same team that went 11-2 and finished No. 8 in the final AP poll a year ago.

This Vanderbilt game will be a legitimate hurdle on their potential path to a College Football Playoff berth.

Sept. 28: No. 22 Louisville at No. 5 Notre Dame

With all due respect to Northern Illinois, Purdue and Miami (OH), the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will not face another serious threat to its College Football Playoff hopes until this Week 5 matchup against Louisville

They survived their first major test with a 23-13 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday, but it wasn't a pretty win. They committed 11 penalties totaling 99 yards, and got a good-not-great showing from new quarterback Riley Leonard, who threw for 158 yards and averaged just 5.3 yards per pass attempt.

In other words, we still might not know just how good this Notre Dame team is going to be this year until after they square off against Louisville.

On the other side, transfer quarterback Tyler Shough completed 18-of-24 pass attempts for 232 yards and four touchdowns in his Louisville debut, leading the way in a 62-0 shellacking of Austin Peay.

Even more impressive was the running game, which was hit-and-miss for the Cardinals a year ago, as they piled up 293 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. The defense also did its part, allowing just 106 total yards of offense in the shutout.

All of that should be taken with a grain of salt against an inferior opponent, but it was hard to find anything negative to say about the way Louisville has kicked off its 2024 season.