Three unbeatens, including the nation’s No. 1 team, fell on a wild Saturday of college football. Overall, five of the top seven ranked teams lost on the same day for the first time ever.
The string of surprise losses concluded with No. 8 BYU stunning No. 2 Notre Dame. Top-ranked Georgia also lost against an unranked Auburn team.
That’s all in addition to former No. 1 Texas taking a tumble for a second consecutive week in a home loss to Florida. Sixth-ranked Alabama losing a second game, this time against No. 14 Tennessee, is also unusual, and defending national runner-up Miami held on against Florida State.
No. 4 Ohio State held on by foot, literally, against No. 5 Indiana.
It’s more or less like March Madness in October as teams busted the most recent projected College Football Playoff brackets. The 12-team playoff looks set to come down to conference title games more than ever, as only a few unbeaten teams remain: Miami, BYU, Texas Tech, UCLA, and Utah.
Outside of Miami, that’s an unusual list, as the other four schools have a grand total of two national titles between them. BYU, which won it all in 1984, played a statement game regarding this year’s contention.
The Cougars won 28–24 over Notre Dame and held control throughout. Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Walker Lyons with 1:51 remaining, and the Cougars defense did the rest by holding off Fighting Irish quarterback C.J. Carr, who couldn’t find the game-winner in the end zone.
While BYU (6–0) could chase the top seed, Miami (6–0) has been dominant for almost all of the season as the defending national runner-up. That was until the Seminoles nearly shocked the Hurricanes in a rivalry game at Hard Rock Stadium.
FSU (3–4) hasn’t been dominant in recent years, but the Seminoles took Miami to two overtimes in a 43–35 Hurricanes victory. Miami quarterback Darian Mensah connected with wide receiver Malachi Toney for a 3-yard touchdown pass, and the Hurricanes defense finished things off with an interception.
Tenth-ranked Texas Tech also joined the Hurricanes and Cougars at 6–0 but with much less drama. The Red Raiders rolled past Arizona State 53–25, as the Big 12 boasts two of the five remaining unbeaten Power Four teams.
Utah came into Saturday at 5–0 and looked to make it three Big 12 teams with 6–0 records. The Utes jumped out to a 13–0 lead early and held on to win 27–24 despite a furious rally by the Buffaloes.
UCLA (6–0) remained the only unbeaten Big Ten team after a 17–7 win over Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh couldn’t get both feet in bounds on what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass, ending the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak.
Ohio State improved to 6–1, but the Buckeyes’ loss to Texas now looks more concerning as the Longhorns are on a back-to-back losing streak. In addition, the Buckeyes lost quarterback Julian Sayin to injury, and the CFP has taken injuries into account in the past.
That said, the Buckeyes are well-positioned to make a run for the Big Ten title. As for Indiana at 6–1, the Hoosiers will need help to avoid UCLA and Ohio State going on a collision course for the Big Ten title game.
Georgia dropping to 6–1 doesn’t do much harm in the big picture, considering the Bulldogs have the best SEC record at 4–1 in conference play. Auburn delivered a major wake-up call with a 34-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in a 27–24 victory.
The bigger surprise may be Kentucky (6–1, 4–1), which tied Georgia for the SEC lead on Saturday with a 21–13 win over Oklahoma (3–3, 1–2). Kentucky staged a fourth-quarter rally with quarterback Kenny Minchey’s touchdown pass and defensive back Jordan Castell’s pick-six.
In speaking of six, the Group of Six teams have variables ahead, but that depends on James Madison stumbling amid an FBS-best 7–0 start. The Dukes rolled Georgia State 49–22, and last year’s CFP last-second entrant looks poised to do it again.
Boise State, North Dakota State, New Mexico, and UTSA will be watching, as all four G6 teams are 5–1 or better.
