A chaotic Saturday of college football has fundamentally altered the season’s landscape, as five of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 fell to defeat. This occurrence marks the first time such an upset has unfolded during the regular season in the sport’s history. According to Sportradar, the only comparable event occurred on January 2, 1989, when five of the top eight teams lost during bowl games. 1 and 2 lost on the same day in the regular season since Oregon (to Stanford) and Kansas State (to Baylor) in 2012. The Hurricanes can only hope to do better than the No.
The Southeastern Conference served as the epicenter for the upheaval, with heavy favorites No.
1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama, and No. 7 Texas all suffering losses. Georgia, entering the game as a 20.5-point favorite in “the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry,” fell 27-24 to unranked Auburn. Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton recorded two interceptions and a fumble in the closing minute. Auburn’s victory, sealed by Alex McPherson’s 34-yard field goal, marked their first win in Athens since 2005 and their first road win against a top-ranked team since 1994. Auburn coach Alex Golesh stated, “We’re just continuing to plug. We’re going to build Auburn back to where everybody wants it, one game at a time. Just hang with us.” Georgia, which had won 53 in a row against unranked teams, was a 20 1/2 -point favorite in the game known as “the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.”. Alex McPherson’s 34-yard field goal on the final play sent the visiting sideline into a frenzy. Alabama (5-2, 3-2) was a 7 1/2-point favorite and played without leading receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams. Fans rushed the field afterward, and the Vols will gladly pay the SEC fine.
In other SEC action, No. 14 Tennessee secured a 26-10 victory over Alabama in the “The Third Saturday in October” rivalry. Despite being 7.5-point underdogs, the Volunteers held Alabama to 201 total yards and forced four takeaways. Playing without their starting quarterback, Tennessee relied on George MacIntyre and DeSean Bishop, who rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Elsewhere, No. 22 LSU defeated 16th-ranked Mississippi State 31-3, No. 9 Ole Miss dominated 13th-ranked Missouri 31-3, and No. 15 Kentucky beat Oklahoma 21-13. It showed why SEC coaches were so hesitant to give in to playing a nine-game league slate. Manning completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. “Phenomenal performance,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said.
The University of Texas also faced disappointment, losing 27-24 to Florida. The Longhorns were favored by 10.5 points, but Arch Manning struggled, fumbling with under two minutes remaining. This loss, following Texas’s defeat to Oklahoma the previous week, marks the first time in consecutive weeks that a top-ranked team has lost to an unranked opponent since 1990. The back-to-back losses are the first for Texas in a regular season since 2021. And it might be fitting that the bloody Saturday came on the same week the SEC capitulated to the Big Ten to move closer to finalizing a 24-team playoff. That setback seemed to have a carryover effect for the Longhorns.
The No. 2 ranked Notre Dame fell to No. 8 BYU, while No. 5 Indiana suffered its first loss of the season against No. 4 Ohio State, ending a 19-game home winning streak. The Buckeyes narrowly escaped with a 19-15 win despite quarterback Julian Sayin suffering a right shoulder injury that will sideline him for several weeks. Indiana’s comeback attempt faltered in the final minute when receiver Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds in the end zone. The Hoosiers struggled with two turnovers and two missed field goals. Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith contributed a standout 38-yard touchdown catch, marking his 12th of the season and matching Braylon Edwards’ Big Ten record for career receiving touchdowns. 4 Ohio State) also lost, although those were less shocking. Indiana’s 22-game winning streak ended in gut-wrenching fashion against No. Ohio State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) ran out the clock from there, escaping with a 19-15 victory despite losing quarterback Julian Sayin to a right shoulder injury. Sayin left in the fourth quarter returned with his throwing arm in a sling. It was Indiana’s first loss since falling at Notre Dame in the 2024 College Football Playoff and ended a 19-game winning streak at home. The Hoosiers (6-1, 3-1) turned the ball over twice and missed two field goals, the first one after quarterback Josh Hoover missed seeing a wide-open receiver streaking toward the end zone.
The historic nature of the weekend’s upsets is expected to trigger a significant revision of the AP poll and College Football Playoff projections. No. 3 Miami, following a double-overtime 43-35 victory over Florida State, is positioned to potentially take the top ranking. This widespread parity has underscored the competitive intensity of the current season, arriving amidst ongoing discussions regarding the expansion of the College Football Playoff structure. The chaos, which is sure to shuffle the poll and College Football Playoff seeding forecasts, cleared a path for No.
