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Projected college football rankings after Alabama upset, UGA and Ohio State get over slow starts

Alabama spent a week at No. 1 in the college football rankings. Then they ran into Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt Commodores.

By Alicia de Artola

Oct 5, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia celebrates with fans after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia celebrates with fans after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images / Butch Dill-Imagn Images
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It's always the college football Saturdays with very few ranked-on-ranked matchups that provide the most drama. For the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes, drama meant some first-half nerves. For the Alabama Crimson Tide, drama meant an upset special.

The Vanderbilt Commodores shocked the Crimson Tide, 40-35, in Nashville. They rode an immense performance from quarterback Diego Pavia to a victory as a 22.5-point underdog. They're just the second unranked team since 2007 to beat Alabama.

Unfortunately for Vanderbilt, it's tough to put them in the Top 25 with two losses on their schedule. But the consequences of that loss will certainly ding Alabama.

Project CFB Top 25 after Vanderbilt upsets Alabama

  1. Texas Longhorns
  2. Ohio State Buckeyes
  3. Tennessee Volunteers
  4. Alabama Crimson Tide
  5. Georgia Bulldogs
  6. Oregon Ducks
  7. Penn State Nittany Lions
  8. Miami Hurricanes
  9. Michigan Wolverines
  10. USC Trojans
  11. Ole Miss Rebels
  12. LSU Tigers
  13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  14. Clemson Tigers
  15. Iowa State Cyclones
  16. BYU Cougars
  17. Texas A&M Aggies
  18. Missouri Tigers
  19. Utah Utes
  20. Oklahoma Sooners
  21. Kansas State Wildcats
  22. Boise State Broncos
  23. Indiana Hoosiers
  24. Illinois Fighting Illini
  25. Arizona Wildcats

Alabama's reign atop the college football rankings lasted all of one week. Texas might have moved back ahead of them even if the Crimson Tide had survived the upset. It's better to be on a bye than in a dogfight with Vanderbilt.

The tricky part is figuring out how far Alabama will fall. They beat Georgia just last week, so putting them behind the Bulldogs doesn't exactly work. Oregon and Penn State haven't been impressive enough to shift them ahead either.

So, Alabama is fortunate to only fall to No. 4 in our projected rankings.

Ohio State had a slow start against Iowa but they walloped the Hawkeyes in the second half, winning 35-7, to keep chugging along to a marquee matchup with Oregon. If they want a shot at the No. 1 spot, they'll have to start faster in that one.

Georgia also went into halftime with a more narrow advantage over Auburn than they expected. However, their second-half surge allowed them to pull away without much worry, 31-13.

Penn State was in a similar boat, leading UCLA 14-3 at the break. Again, the better team showed out in the second half en route to a 27-11 win.

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