Ranking the 5 unranked-over-ranked upsets in CFB Week 6 by shock value
By Austen Bundy
College football's Week 6 slate looked like a yawn fest on paper but boy were we all wrong. Seven teams in the AP Top 25 fell — four of them to unranked opponents.
We nearly got an eighth but No. 8 Miami was able to rally for an insane fourth quarter comeback over ACC foe California 39-38.
Out of the major upsets on Saturday, this is how shocking we think each was:
5. Washington def. No. 10 Michigan 27-17
What was billed as a rematch of last season's national championship game (in logos only) turned out to be a pretty sweet revenge game for the Huskies. Michigan seemed to have no answer for Washington quarterback Will Rogers who dropped a casual 271 yards and two touchdowns on the Wolverine defense.
Michigan started its third quarterback of the season in Jack Tuttle but he didn't provide any confidence for head coach Sherrone Moore, tossing a mere 98 yards, a touchdown and a pick on the night.
The Wolverines had their egos reinflated after beating USC at home in Week 4 but now they've finally had their bubble popped and their title defense put on life support sitting on the fringe of the new AP Top 25 rankings (No. 24).
4. No. 25 Texas A&M def. No. 9 Missouri 41-10
The Tigers were drastically exposed by the Aggies on Saturday, with its once-thought prolific offense practically non-existent. Playing nowhere near the ability of a Top 10 team, Missouri will not get College Football Playoff attention until it can prove it can actually hang with competitive squads - especially losing so much ground in the new AP poll (dropping from No. 9 to No. 21).
This kind of embarrassment was a long time coming, however. Boston College and Vanderbilt nearly beat Missouri the last two weeks and the cracks were showing on the Tigers' offense. Quarterback Brady Cook gave the Aggies great bulletin board material last week, saying the noise at Kyle Field wasn't as loud as he usually practices in. The jumbotron operator at the stadium made sure to troll him once the beatdown was on.
3. Arkansas def. No. 4 Tennessee 19-14
The Volunteers lost all of their national title momentum in this game, the second SEC ego buster on the night. Another prolific-looking offense of weeks past disappeared entirely in Fayetteville, Arkansas until late in the game. It actually went down as a blown lead for Tennessee, with the Razorbacks utilizing its backup quarterback to pull off the game winning touchdown drive.
Arkansas seems to just have Tennessee's number when they play the Volunteers at home. It was the fourth time since 2006 that the Razorbacks mauled Tennessee on its own turf. The football social media team wasted no time posting a clearly prepared video trolling the Volunteers for their inability to walk away victors on the road.
Tennessee was only dropped four spots to No. 8 in the newest AP poll (generous, if you ask me) but with the rest of the SEC practically stumbling in Week 6, there is no room for error if it wants to clinch a College Football Playoff berth with ease.
2. Minnesota def. No. 11 USC 24-17
USC certainly lost its footing after losing to Michigan in Week 4 but I don't think many people thought the Trojans would stumble again until it met Notre Dame late in the year. However, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck must have taken offense to that notion and turned that feeling of slight into an ultra-aggressive gameplan to punch USC in the mouth.
Well, that approach worked as the low-scoring affair kept USC head coach Lincoln Riley on his heels. The Gophers got the ball with just a couple minutes to play and found a way to march down to a goal-to-go situation, punching the ball into the endzone on a lengthy and controversial replay review.
USC finds itself in a terrible position after the loss to an unranked conference opponent (and being dropped out of the AP rankings altogether). Two losses and still Notre Dame to come leaves the Trojans on thin ice if it wants to do the near-impossible and snag an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff.
1. Vanderbilt def. No. 1 Alabama 40-35
David didn't just beat Goliath here, he knocked him up against the ropes and continued to deliver haymaker after haymaker. Vanderbilt never trailed in this game, jumping on Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe early with a pick-six to claim a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.
From that point forward, the Commodores displayed an unlimited amount of fight no matter how many times the Crimson Tide looked like it would complete an inevitable comeback. After it had upset Georgia just a week ago, Alabama's signature win now looks like a fluke. AP voters punished it accordingly, sending it down to seventh - three spots below where it was when it beat Georgia.
Alabama will always be in contention for the College Football Playoff but it now must traverse treacherous territory and avoid any further mistakes the rest of the year. The next one could be their last.