From Nashville to Seattle, Week 6 of the college football season was filled with field storming, goal-post poaching and more major upsets packed into a single day than the sport has had in eight seasons.
Five of the top 11 teams in the AP poll lost Saturday, four to unranked teams.
The most stunning upsets were in the SEC, where Vanderbilt — yes, Vandy — beat No. 1 Alabama for the first time in 40 years. The Commodores’ 40-35 victory was coach Kalen DeBoer’s first loss as Nick Saban’s replacement with the Crimson Tide.
“We’re going to own it as a team and keep moving forward,” DeBoer said.
Commodores fans pulled down the goal post from one end zone and marched it down Broadway in Nashville.
Later, No. 4 Tennessee was beaten by Arkansas 19-14, setting off a field-storming in Fayetteville — though Razorbacks fans managed to keep the goal posts safe.
“These guys are happy; they’re not surprised,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said.
The last time two AP top-five teams lost to unranked teams on the same day was Nov. 12, 2016. Three lost that day: No. 2 Michigan to Iowa; No. 3 Clemson to Pitt and No. 4 Washington to USC. That was also the last time at least four of the top-10 teams in the AP poll were beaten by unranked teams on the same day.
Saturday also marked the first time two top-five SEC teams lost to unranked teams on the same day — ever. No. 9 Missouri was also thumped 41-10 by No. 25 Texas A&M.
In the Big Ten, No. 10 Michigan lost a national championship rematch at Washington 27-17, the Wolverines’ new conference rival, and No. 11 USC was dropped 24-17 by Minnesota.
No. 8 Miami needed a 25-point second half comeback at Cal to barely avoid being the sixth top-11 team knocked off and the fifth by an unranked team.
It was a long day for Bears fans, starting before dawn with the school’s first visit from ESPN’s “College GameDay.” They finished it by packing their stadium and watching their team jump out to a 35-10 lead before Cam Ward and the Hurricanes came storming back for their second consecutive heart-stopping victory.
Required reading
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
