Ranked teams in college football are never safe.
Unranked foes lurk around every corner. Upstarts and upsets abound. Madness lives here in college football. Crazy is the norm. Wacky is the way.
So, in many ways, college football’s Week 6 delivered exactly what we’ve come to expect. And, perhaps, then some.
Four top-11 ranked teams lost to unranked foes: (1) Vanderbilt’s historic win over No. 1 Alabama; (2) Arkansas’ fourth-quarter comeback against No. 4 Tennessee; (3) Washington’s revenge win in a national title rematch against No. 10 Michigan; and (4) Minnesota’s wild — and risky — fourth-down goal-line gamble that beat No. 11 USC.
It’s the first time since 2007 that four teams ranked so high lost to unranked opponents on the same day. It’s the first time in history that two top-five SEC teams lost to unranked conference opponents. And it’s the first time that Vanderbilt beat a top-ranked team in 61 tries.
Six undefeated teams lost, including those two top-five squads as well as Duke (to Georgia Tech), Missouri (at Texas A&M), UNLV (to Syracuse) and James Madison (to UL-Monroe). It has left us with 12 unbeatens in all of FBS, two of whom meet next week (Oregon-Ohio State).
Army and Navy are 5-0 for the first time since the 1940s. Iowa State is 5-0 for the first time since 1980. Indiana is 6-0 for the first time since 1967. Pitt is 5-0 for the first time since 1991.
Beyond the upsets, there was plenty of other madness.
How about Heisman Trophy favorite Ashton Jeanty? The Boise State running back ran for a 63-yard touchdown on the first snap Saturday and broke the 1,000-yard mark for the season on his 90th carry and in the fifth game of the year.
Who would’ve thought the Texas A&M Aggies and first-year coach Mike Elko would sit atop the SEC standings at 3-0? And that Texas, five weeks into the season,…
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