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Well, college football may be officially glitching since Nick Saban has officially lost to one of his former assistants. In week 6, the craziness that makes Saturdays the most exciting day of the week during the NCAA season continued. Six AP Top 25 teams lost, including two teams in the top 5. One of the shockers of the weekend was when the Texas A&M Aggies knocked off the Alabama Crimson Tide, 41-38 at Kyle Field. The Aggies became the first unranked team to beat a No. 1 ranked team since 2008.
In another nail-biter and in the same state, the Oklahoma Sooners came back from a 21-point deficit in the Red River Rivalry against former No. 21, the Texas Longhorns. After a long overdue quarterback change, things may be looking up in Norman after their 55-48 win.
There were so many other highlighting wins and losses this weekend. After all of the dust settled, there are now only 13 undefeated teams left in college football, including eight in the Power Five. Let’s see how the games in week 6 propelled some teams up the polls and sent others out of the rankings.
Coaches Poll
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3. Oklahoma Sooners
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
10. Oregon Ducks
14. Ole Miss Rebels
15. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
17. Florida Gators
18. Texas A&M Aggies
20. BYU Cougars
23. SMU Mustangs
24. San Diego State Aztecs
25. Clemson Tigers
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Auburn 98; Baylor 91; Texas 74; Pittsburgh 36; Texas-San Antonio 30; Mississippi State 18; Iowa State 18; Appalachian State 18; Boston College 11; Air Force 9; Tennessee 8; Liberty 8; Nevada 7; UL Lafayette 3; Houston 3; Fresno State 3; UCLA 1.
AP Top 25
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4. Oklahoma Sooners
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
9. Oregon Ducks
10. Michigan State Spartans
13. Ole Miss Rebels
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
15. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
18. Arizona State Sun Devils
19. BYU Cougars
20. Florida Gators
21. Texas A&M Aggies
22. NC State Wolfpack
23. SMU Mustangs
24. San Diego State Aztecs
25. Texas Longhorns
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Auburn 106, Clemson 63, Baylor 62, UTSA 22, Mississippi State 7, Kansas State 3, Air Force 2, Appalachian State 2, Pittsburgh 1
Analysis
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Let’s start with the game that sent the former No. 1 team packing. Zach Calzada really rebounded after throwing for just 135 yards in the A&M loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs a week ago. Yesterday, Calzada played out of his mind by completing 67.7% of his passes, for 285 yards, and 3 TDs. Calzada is now linked with Johnny Manziel as the only Aggies QB to lead Texas A&M to a win over Nick Saban’s Alabama. The Aggies are now ranked 21st overall and the Crimson Tide dropped to 5 after the loss.
The new No. 1 team, the Georgia Bulldogs, are back at numero uno for the first time since the start of the 2008 season. This also means this is the first time that a Kirby Smart-led Georgia team has reached the top as well. It’s looking like this could be the Bulldogs’ year, especially after cruising to a 34-10 win over the Auburn Tigers. Georgia seems to have the best defense in the country (top-ranked team in relative total defense and relative scoring defense) and this could be the key to their championship aspirations.
In the same conference, Ole Miss QB Matt Corral and Arkansas Razorbacks QB, KJ Jefferson put on a show in the 52-51 Ole Miss victory. Both teams also rushed for over 300 yards each. The game came down to a failed 2-pt conversion attempt by Arkansas. The game sent Ole Miss to 13 and Arkansas to 17.
In the Big Ten, the Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Penn State Nittany Lions, 23-20. Iowa may have the easiest path to the College Football Playoff (Purdue Boilermakers, Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Illinois Fighting Illini, and Nebraska Cornhuskers). Iowa beat its first five opponents by double-figures but things were not so easy against Penn State. They completed the comeback, after getting into a ten-point hole, by scoring 13 unanswered points in the final 16:36. The Hawkeyes rose all the way to 2 and PSU is now settled at 7.
Michigan escaped Lincoln, Nebraska with a 32-29 victory after a smart play from Michigan defensive back Brad Hawkins and yet another major mistake from the Cornhuskers. Nebraska faced 3rd-and-1 with the score tied 29-29. Quarterback Adrian Martinez ran up the middle but in his fight for extra yardage, Hawkins ripped the ball right from Martinez’s hands. Instead of just draining the clock to force overtime, Nebraska watched as Wolverines kicker Jake Moody nailed a 39-yard go-ahead field goal. Michigan remains in the top 10 at 8.
Things were a lot easier for the Cincinnati Bearcats. They destroyed the Temple Owls, 52-3. The Bearcats could become the first Group of Five program to be selected to play in the CFP if they win out. Cincinnati's run has them ranked 3rd overall.
And at the top of the Big 12 and in the top 5, we find Oklahoma. We can safely say that the Spencer Rattler era is over. Although he’s talented and was one of the bigger recruiting names from years ago, the offense was struggling under him and he continued to be a turnover liability. Caleb Williams opened the game up with both his arm and legs. Kennedy Brooks also seemed to find his footing once Williams entered the game as he posted his first-ever 200-yard rushing game. Oklahoma stays at 4 this week.
Notre Dame escaped with a 32-29 victory over ACC opponent, the Virginia Tech Hokies. Wake Forest remained unbeaten with a 40-37 win over the Syracuse Orange in overtime. Wake Forest is the highest-ranked ACC at 16.
That’s the only Top 25 action in the conference from Saturday. The Miami Hurricanes will continue their unranked trend next weekend and for the rest of the season. They take on a sputtering North Carolina Tar Heels (after their 35-25 loss to FSU) at 3:30 pm on the ACC Network.