Five teams in the top 11 of the AP Top 25 poll lost in Week 6. Thank goodness the CBS Sports Power Rankings is not a poll. Our data didn't experience as big of a jolt with unranked teams toppling top-10 opponents, but we did have our fair share of unexpected upsets with four programs tripping on the field and tumbling in the rankings after the wildest Saturday in nearly a decade.
Alabama stumbled at Vanderbilt in what was possibly the upset of the decade. Tennessee fell from Rocky Top in the hills of Arkansas. Meanwhile, two teams I have struggled to maintain in the top 10 most of the season -- Michigan and Missouri -- almost predictably underwhelmed us on the road in conference play.
Should we be shocked by the results, particularly in the SEC, where it just means more … parity? Nah. The sport is as strong as ever. The SEC is as deep as ever, even if the top half of the conference isn't necessarily impenetrable as it has been in the past.
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"Anything can happen in college football," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told us after Alabama's low-tide showing against Vanderbilt.
Also, might we be seeing a developing trend after the latest round of conference realignment? Teams in the Big Ten fell to 1-8 in conference games when traveling two or more time zones for a road game. We need more data to say so with confidence, but cross-country travel seems to be affecting those in other conferences, especially the ACC, where Miami played until 2:30 a.m. ET in the most furious comeback of the season at Cal.
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After reviewing the film and data, it's time to reward the winners and make sense of the losers as we cast out five teams and nearly drop a top-10 program completely out of the Power Rankings at the halfway point of the season.
Biggest Movers
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| Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 6-0 | |
Texas rises as a result of Alabama's loss at Vanderbilt. We waffled back and forth on the Longhorns last week whether they should be No. 1, but it's clear this deeply talented team deserves the top spot after consistently out-classing every opponent on the schedule, including a blowout of Michigan on the road. The Red River Rivalry is a big test for the now-healthy Quinn Ewers. Will he show any rust after missing three weeks with an abdominal injury? The Longhorns have challengers waiting below to take No. 1.
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| 2 | 1 | 5-1 | |
The Buckeyes were supposed to be tested by Iowa's defense. That didn't really happen. They next travel to Oregon for the right to stand atop the Big Ten midway through the season. How good is Ohio State? We'll find out this week, but for now, they're on a historic pace with five straight wins by 28-plus points for the first time in school history, a start that hasn't happened in the Big Ten since Wisconsin in 2011. Will Howard scored more touchdowns (five) than he had incomplete passes (four), and Jeremiah Smith became the first freshman in Big Ten history with a touchdown reception in their first five games since 2005 during the 35-7 win last week.
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| 3 | 5 | 6-0 | |
Dillon Gabriel wasn't at his best in the 31-10 win against Michigan State. He threw two interceptions, but that offensive line is jelling at the right time and Tez Johnson continues to be strong even when it's obvious the ball is coming his way. Jordan James rushed for a career-high 166 yards and Johnson caught 10 passes for 84 yards and a score. The Buckeyes come to Autzen Stadium for the biggest game of the year. Gabriel will need to cut down the mistakes to beat them.
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| 4 | 2 | 6-0 | |
Don't fall for the silly narrative that Miami was lucky to beat Cal; the Bears led the Hurricanes by 20 in the fourth quarter before the biggest comeback in the sport this year. Cross-country travel in college football is disastrous for teams. Consider this: In the new Big Ten, teams traveling across two-plus time zones are 1-8 in conference games. Miami remained atop the ACC because of Cam Ward's incredible performance. The quarterback accounted for a crazy total of 277 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and finished with a season-high 427 passing yards. Reward Miami for its relentless comeback under unusual circumstances compounded by a cross-country trip.
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| 5 | -- | 5-1 | |
Georgia may have played another team from Alabama, but the Bulldogs didn't struggle against Auburn on Saturday. The Bulldogs won their 49th straight game against a team other than the Tide and did so by returning to their disciplined ways on offense. They didn't commit a turnover for the fourth time in five games after committing four last week in the loss to Alabama. The Bulldogs haven't lost a game against an unranked team since 2019, and that trend should continue this week at Mississippi State.
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| 6 | 1 | 6-0 | |
Penn State pulled away and coasted to a 27-11 win against UCLA without running back Nick Singleton. The defense was again tremendous, limiting the Bruins to a field goal until the final minute of the game. Is there cause for concern after the Nittany Lions failed to hit 100 yards rushing? Singleton's injury doesn't appear serious, but the offense needs to return to the explosive potential we saw in previous week under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. They travel next to USC for a cross-country trip in the Big Ten.
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| 7 | 3 | 5-1 | |
Dabo Swinney is officially the king of the ACC. He surpassed Bobby Bowden for the most career wins in ACC history (174) with a 29-13 victory against rival Florida State. The offense had been on a tear of late but was held under 40 points for the first time since the Week 1 loss to Georgia. Cade Klubnik still threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and Phil Mafa rushed for 154 yards. It's a shame we may not see Clemson vs. Miami until the ACC Championship Game. The only nationally ranked team remaining on the schedule is Pitt.
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| 8 | 7 | 5-1 | |
Vanderbilt wasn't lucky; the Commodores were a better team. They pushed Alabama around in the trenches, converting 12 of 18 third downs, and the Tide's biggest weaknesses were exposed to their breaking point. Alabama had the ball for only 46 plays. The offense did their job, but the defense did not as they made Diego Pavia look like the 2012 version of Johnny Manziel. Alabama has problems that aren't going away. The Tide were lucky to escape Georgia, which still rallied to take a lead late despite committing four turnovers, and they pushed the "easy" button too often against Vandy, which has proven capable of challenging top-25 teams like Mizzou earlier this year. The trip to Tennessee in two weeks is teetering mighty close to the designation as a playoff elimination game for the Tide.
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| 9 | NR | 5-1 | |
We're done sleeping on the Aggies. That defense is legit, and we were shocked at just how incredibly accurate Conner Weigman was in his return from injury. The Aggies punched Mizzou in the mouth and kept pummeling the Tigers in the second and third quarters on the way to a dominant 41-10 win, the largest margin of victory against a top-10 opponent in program history. Texas A&M sits atop the SEC at 3-0 and has looked the part of a top-10 team, though we hesitated after a close call against Arkansas. Not anymore - especially not after the way the Hogs handled Tennessee. The Aggies' remaining schedule is quite favorable, too. Look out, SEC.
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| 10 | 6 | 5-1 | |
Tennessee is lucky it didn't lose by double digits at Arkansas. The Razorbacks dominated every statistical category, limiting the nation's top scoring offense (54) to a scoreless first half, but two close calls on fourth-and-short and a missed field goal kept the Hogs from piling on top of a 3-0 lead. The ball didn't lie in the end, and the Hogs won in the final 80 seconds. The book is out on Tennessee's offense. Oklahoma and Arkansas both utilized a 3-2-6 to dare the Vols to run the ball - and it worked. Nico Iamaleava is a great quarterback, but he's not quite ready for primetime on the road, as evidenced by his decision to run out of bounds as time expired on the final possession. Arkansas held Tennessee to only 332 yards, and the Vols' No. 1 defense was scorched with 400-plus by the Hogs, who lost starting quarterback Taylen Green in the fourth quarter. The Vols are still very much a playoff-caliber team, but the scheme needs to be tweaked to counter the blueprint laid out by Oklahoma and Arkansas.
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| 11 | 3 | 6-0 | |
Iowa State is 5-0 for the first time in 44 years, and the offense is clicking like it hasn't in quite some time. The Cyclones showed us what's possible in a blowout of Arkansas State earlier this season, and last week they drilled Baylor 43-21 with 542 yards, the most in three years. The defense is playing at its best in at least 24 years, allowing only 10 points per game. Meet your new Big 12 favorite, America.
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| 12 | 3 | 5-2 | |
A wild week led many to overlook Ole Miss' great bounce-back performance on the road. The Rebels, reeling from the loss to Kentucky, slowed South Carolina, which had an extra week to prepare, and the offense did enough to frustrate the Gamecocks. The Rebels limited South Carolina to only three points, the fewest allowed in nine seasons, and the defense piled up six sacks. Ole Miss can prove itself as a playoff team next week with a win at LSU.
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| 13 | 3 | 6-0 | |
Indiana isn't just good. The Hoosiers are legitimately great. Indiana is 6-0 for the first time since 1967 with six straight double-digit wins, the best start in 128 years. Don't confuse coach Curt Cignetti's talk as arrogance when he delivers on his promises. The Hoosiers won 41-24 at Northwestern to earn bowl eligibility, and veteran transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns. He has won nine straight games as a starter and is 9-2 in his last 11 road games.
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| 14 | 1 | 5-1 | |
LSU didn't get much help in the rankings with USC falling for a second time in as many weeks, but the Tigers can easily jump closer to the top 10 this week with a win against Ole Miss. Death Valley will be rocking. Can the defense feed off that energy? The Tigers had a bye week to prepare and a solid defensive performance against high-powered South Alabama to build confidence.
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| 15 | 2 | 5-1 | |
It's looking more and more like the loss to Northern Illinois was a fluke. The Huskies are 3-2 with losses to Buffalo and NC State. Notre Dame owns a great road win against Texas A&M, a win in a slugfest against Louisville and the schedule sets up well for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
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| 16 | 3 | 6-0 | |
BYU has remained steady in the topsy-turvy Big 12, but Arizona is capable of changing that tune this week. The Cougars served a bye week after opening the Big 12 with wins against Kansas State and Baylor. Three of their next Big 12 games are in Provo.
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| 17 | 3 | 5-1 | |
Kansas State and Colorado both rested ahead of a monster Big 12 matchup this week in Boulder. The winner stays in the hunt for the Big 12 title. The Wildcats have already lost once on the road at BYU. Avery Johnson vs. Shedeur Sanders should be a fun show of quarterbacks Saturday night.
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| 18 | 3 | 5-1 | |
Welcome to the weekly meeting of the Ashton Jeanty Appreciation Society. The Boise State running back needed only the first half to run for 186 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries in a 62-30 win against Utah State. The Heisman Trophy candidate (rank him high, voters!) is averaging an insane 10.9 yards per carry and has eclipsed 1,000 yards in only 16 quarters. The Broncos scored 49 points in the first half, their most since 2015. They next travel to Hawai'i.
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| 19 | NR | 6-0 | |
Give it up for Pitt. The Panthers are 5-0 for the first time since 1991 thanks to a wide-open offense with an incredibly underrated quarterback (Eli Holstein). He threw for a career-best 381 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 76 rushing yards and another score in a 34-24 win against North Carolina. Pitt doesn't necessarily record blowouts that catch voters' eyes, but watch them closely, particularly in the comeback at Cincinnati and the classic against rival West Virginia. You see a team that is improving every week.
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| 20 | NR | 4-2 | |
It's fourth-and-1 and the game against the No. 1 team in the country is likely on the line. What do you do? If you're Diego Pavia, you extend the play and throw a beautiful pass into the end zone to a wide-open receiver streaking down the middle of the field. Vanderbilt was brilliant offensively against the Tide, pushing them around in their 40-35 win in Nashville, converting 12 of 18 third downs and holding the ball for 42:08 of game time while keeping Alabama's explosive offense off the field. The Commodores were 0-60 against the former AP No. 1 team, but not any more.
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| 21 | NR | 5-1 | |
One of the most underrated wins of a stacked Week 6 was SMU's back-and-forth battle at Louisville early Saturday. Kevin Jennings was magnificent, throwing for 281 yards and rushing for another 113 to eke out a 34-24 road win against previously ranked Louisville. The Mustangs get a week to rest and reflect on a 2-0 start in the ACC.
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| 22 | NR | 4-2 | |
Embrace the Hog. Arkansas finally broke through with a 19-14 win against a top-five Tennessee team thanks to the same ingredients that had them in so many close, heartbreaking losses earlier this season: a great offensive scheme and a fantastic defensive game plan. The difference? The Hogs didn't turn the ball over as they had done so often in one-possession losses to nationally ranked Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. If Arkansas stays even in turnover margin, it wins games. Simple. It finally came together Saturday night, though new miscues popped up on third and fourth downs. The Hogs are finally showing their potential.
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| 23 | 12 | 4-2 | |
We all knew another loss was coming - and soon - for the Wolverines. Washington successfully slowed running back Kalel Mullings (49 yards), and the Wolverines were again terrible throwing the ball. They benched starter Alex Orji (surprise, surprise) and switched to Jack Tuttle, who threw for 98 yards on 10 completions. If there is a silver lining in the loss, it's Tuttle emerging as a spark.
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| 24 | -- | 4-2 | |
Utah took a week to rest, but will Cam Rising return to the field? If the quarterback does play, the Utes are likely a top-15 quality team. If not, I have a hard time placing them in the top 25. Still, they sit here today despite obvious deficiencies on offense.
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| 25 | 16 | 5-1 | |
Yuck. You gotta show us more than that, Show Me State. Mizzou was a downright disaster on the road at Texas A&M, and players pouting on the sidelines only hurts the image. The Tigers put up only 254 yards and Brady Cook completed a career-worst 41.9% of his throws. We all wondered if Mizzou was overrated after close calls against Boston College and Vanderbilt at home, and we got our answer with the 41-10 shellacking in their first road game of the year.
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