Hooker Ford and lock Gray were banned for three weeks for foul play, making Scotland's task of beating the Wallabies at Twickenham on Sunday even harder.
“It probably gives opportunity to the players who are replacing those guys," Ashley-Cooper told reporters.
"They are going to want to impress, to do their team proud. That probably creates more of a danger for us. The guys filling in those roles could be unpredictable.”
Ashley-Cooper will become the third most-capped Australia player of all time when he faces Scotland.
The winger will move into outright third place ahead of former loose-forward George Smith with his 112th cap, providing a wealth of experience in the cauldron of battle.
Having come through a difficult Pool A that also contained hosts England and Wales, Ashley-Cooper says the Wallabies are perfectly primed for the knockout stages and the “passionate” Scots.
“We have been playing every game like it’s knockout football, we had to approach it that way because of the circumstances of our pool,” the 31-year-old said.
“Scotland are going to want to turn up and play for their people -- they are a passionate country, I have experienced that when I have played them before. You can never underestimate that type of passion.
“I am expecting that type of intensity at the weekend, which will be no different to the last few times we have played Scotland. It is a huge occasion and every player is going to be very excited and motivated to play.”
Scotland have won two of their last three clashes with Australia. Ashley-Cooper was on the bench for the last of those losses in Newcastle in 2012, but did play when they were defeated three years before that.
“I remember being in Edinburgh in 2009 and we didn’t turn up that day. That’s what football is about, you have to turn up, you have to execute, you have to play your best football to beat another country,” he said.
The winger praised the role of coach Michael Cheika in toughening them up mentally for this tournament, his most significant contribution according to Ashley-Cooper.
“He has helped us work on our mental preparation and the mindset of going into a test week," he said.
"He has really allowed us to focus on ourselves and build our mental strength and free up a lot of self-belief.”
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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