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ESPN
Oct 7, 2024, 08:00 AM ET
Was something in the air this weekend? Five top-25 teams lost to unranked programs, along with No. 9 Missouri losing by a large margin to No. 25 Texas A&M. The most chaotic weekend of college football so far left many questions left unanswered as we approach the midseason point of the regular season.
In what might be one of the biggest upsets in SEC history, Vanderbilt took down No. 1 Alabama in Nashville as quarterback Diego Pavia and the Commodores executed a perfect plan to take down their top-ranked opponent. Following this surprising loss, are there more questions surrounding Kalen DeBoer’s program, and what he can do, as conference play continues next week?
Boise State remains in the top 25 after a blowout win over Utah State that made it the No. 1-scoring offense among FBS programs. Broncos’ Ashton Jeanty showcased yet again why he remains in Heisman Trophy conversations as he surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in just five games.
After many surprising upsets this past weekend, five new programs join our top-25 list this week. Army takes the No. 25 spot after its best start in 28 years, alongside SMU, Pitt, Texas A&M and Illinois.
Here’s the latest top 25 from our college football experts, who provide their insight on each team’s Week 6 performance.
No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes
Previous ranking: 3
Jeremiah Smith continued to deliver on his sensational freshman season, reeling in yet another touchdown on a one-handed snag. Sparked by Smith’s electric scoring grab, the Buckeyes scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to put Iowa away 35-7. Ohio State’s other star receiver, Emeka Egbuka, added a career-high three touchdown catches.
In Smith and Egbuka, the Buckeyes boast what could be the top receiving duo in college football. With Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, who combined for another 139 yards while averaging 5.8 yards per carry Saturday, Ohio State might own the best running back tandem, as well. The high-powered Buckeyes passed their first major test after a soft start to their schedule. But a bigger one awaits next weekend in a Big Ten showdown at Oregon. — Jake Trotter
No. 2 Oregon Ducks
Previous ranking: 7
On paper, what was — at first — an uncharacteristic day for Dillon Gabriel (two interceptions thrown before any touchdowns) could have been a recipe for disaster as the Ducks hosted unranked Michigan State on Friday night. Instead, Gabriel and the Oregon offense showed once again why its floor is so high. Gabriel bounced back and threw for two touchdowns, while the Ducks’ defense held the Spartans to 10 points on the night for a 31-10 win. If there’s room for improvement, it’s in finishing drives.
Oregon is 90th in the country in red zone conversion rate. Its efficiency and sheer yardage gain can only look so good on paper without it consistently turning into points. By this time last season, Oregon had four games in which scored 40 points or more. This year, the Ducks have only one. Against opponents such as Michigan State and Oregon State, this recipe has worked out just fine. But as Ohio State heads to Eugene next weekend, the Ducks’ toughest test awaits. — Paolo Uggetti
No. 3 Texas Longhorns
Previous ranking: 2
The Longhorns, on a bye, sat back and watched college football burn this weekend, as an Alabama team that bypassed them for the top ranking last week lost to Vanderbilt. You can be sure that Steve Sarkisian will use that as a reminder this week, not that Texas needs any motivation.
It’s headed to Dallas to face Oklahoma for the first SEC version of one of the best rivalry games in college football, in arguably the best setting, in the middle of the State Fair of Texas. The Longhorns should have Quinn Ewers back after a week of rest. — Dave Wilson
No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions
Previous ranking: 8
After a sluggish start, the Nittany Lions got a boost offensively from receiver Liam Clifford, the younger brother of former Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. All three of Liam Clifford’s catches led to third-down conversions — and the first 100-yard game of his career — on scoring drives, as Penn State handled UCLA 27-11.
Quarterback Drew Allar, who entered the weekend ranked sixth nationally in QBR, had another efficient outing, throwing for 237 yards with a touchdown both passing and rushing against an underrated Bruins defense.
After four straight games at Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions hit the road for a critical Big Ten tilt next weekend at USC. It would help if leading rusher Nicholas Singleton, who sat out the UCLA game because of an undisclosed injury, returns against the Trojans. — Trotter
No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs
Previous ranking: 5
There was nothing particularly revelatory about the Dawgs’ 31-13 win over Auburn. Carson Beck was fine (240 yards, 2 TDs) and the ground game was effective (88 yards, two TDs for Trevor Etienne). It was a perfectly mundane affair against a solid defense.
After the loss to Alabama (and the shaky showing against Kentucky in Week 3), it still seems as if something is missing from the Georgia machine. The second-half comeback against the Tide was a reminder that, when the Dawgs are clicking, they’re nearly unstoppable. It’d just be nice to see that happen for a full game sometime soon. — David Hale
No. 6 Miami Hurricanes
Previous ranking: 6
The Hurricanes erased a 25-point second-half deficit to beat Cal 39-38, as quarterback Cam Ward was spectacular down the stretch. However, it would be hard to look at their 6-0 record without thinking about how the officiating played a role the past two weeks, with controversial late-game decisions both working out in their favor.
If the Hail Mary decision against Virginia Tech doesn’t get flipped and Miami is called for targeting, this exact same team would almost certainly be 4-2. But it didn’t, and it’s not. So, now Miami heads into the back side of the schedule undefeated and in great position to reach the playoff, either as the ACC champ or an at-large team. — Kyle Bonagura.
No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide
Previous ranking: 1
The No. 1 team in the country was not ready for Diego Pavia and the giant killers at Vanderbilt. Alabama suffered one of the biggest upsets in SEC history, a wild 40-35 defeat that ended with a goal post being carried down Broadway. It was a stunning failure for Kalen DeBoer and a team that had just flexed its muscle by beating Georgia.
Vandy executed the perfect plan to take down the Crimson Tide, starting with a massive edge in time of possession (42:08 to 17:52) that kept Jalen Milroe off the field as Pavia kept delivering blows to Bama’s defense with 12 third-down conversions. While it’s cliché to say the honeymoon period is over for DeBoer, the truth is he and his new coaching staff have a lot to clean up. This is a real moment of truth for this team and its trajectory with South Carolina coming up next. — Max Olson
No. 8 Clemson Tigers
Previous ranking: 11
Though the Tigers did not score 40 or more points against Florida State, they did rack up 500 yards of offense for the third time this season in a 29-13 win over the Seminoles. Coach Dabo Swinney was quick to praise freshman kicker Nolan Hauser for making five field goals, but the flip side of that is Clemson struggled in the red zone — settling for field goal attempts rather than touchdowns on five trips that ended inside the 20-yard line.
Phil Mafah had a huge game on the ground, with a season-high 154 yards. As for quarterback Cade Klubnik, he has gone 74-of-114 for 1,077 yards with 14 touchdowns and one interception in his past four games. Up next is a trip to Wake Forest. Wake last beat Clemson in 2008. — Andrea Adelson
No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers
Previous ranking: 4
For most of the second half Saturday night in Fayetteville, Tennessee just needed one more big play, one more score to put things away. Even with a misfiring offense, it took a 14-3 lead midway through the third quarter, and the Volunteers’ defense was rolling. But the Vols punted on four straight drives, and eventually Arkansas‘ offense, leaning on backup quarterback Malachi Singleton after an injury to Taylen Green, started making some plays.
His 11-yard touchdown run with 1:17 left gave the Razorbacks a shocking 19-14 lead, and after driving Tennessee to the Arkansas 20 in the closing seconds, Nico Iamaleava scrambled out of bounds as the clock expired. For the second straight game, Tennessee leaned on defense to carry the team on the road instead of putting too much on Iamaleava’s shoulders. It didn’t work the second time. — Bill Connelly
No. 10 Iowa State Cyclones
Previous ranking: 13
The Cyclones are 5-0 for the first time since 1980, pulling away from a Baylor team that jumped out to a good start. The Cyclones rolled in 542 yards, their most in the past two years, with Rocco Becht (16-25, 277 yards, 2 TDs) and Jayden Higgins (8 catches, 116 yards and a TD) continuing to be a formidable connection. Higgins caught a touchdown for his seventh straight game.
Iowa State also got a breakout game from Jaylon Jackson, a senior transfer from Eastern Michigan who had his first career 100-yard game with 107 yards and two TDs. The Cyclones also blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. Next up: a night game in Morgantown against West Virginia. — Wilson
No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels
Previous ranking: 15
Lane Kiffin’s Rebels responded well to last week’s gut-wrenching loss to Kentucky. They built a 14-0 lead on South Carolina within 10 minutes, ripped off five gains of 20-plus yards to the Gamecocks’ one and coasted through the entire second half of a 27-3 win.
Jaxson Dart was 14-for-27 for 285 yards, the Rebel defense recorded 10 tackles for loss and six sacks — Walter Nolen had three of the former and two of the latter — and, while the Rebels’ offense struggled on third downs, it didn’t matter. Better yet: With both Alabama and Tennessee suffering upset losses, Ole Miss reinserted itself in the SEC race. — Connelly
No. 12 BYU Cougars
Previous ranking: 16
BYU sat out upset weekend in college football and will look to reach the midway point of its schedule undefeated when it hosts Arizona on Saturday. The Big 12 might be the most unpredictable conference in college football, so while the Cougars are sitting pretty at 5-0, there isn’t a single game left on the schedule that seems like a gimme.
Especially with as inconsistent as BYU’s offense has been. This is a team that has shown it can win games in a variety of ways and maybe that’s its identity, but it seems like there is a lot to learn about the Cougars over the next few weeks. — Bonagura
No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Previous ranking: 14
The open date came at an opportune time for the Irish, both because they missed the slew of upsets to unranked foes (something Notre Dame got out of its system in Week 2) and because it affords OC Mike Denbrock a chance to refine the offense a bit.
Of the 48 remaining undefeated or one-loss teams in college football, Notre Dame ranks 30th in offensive efficiency, 40th in offensive EPA per game, 42nd in offensive success rate and 44th in passing EPA per game. It’s not a death knell for Riley Leonard to be more of a playmaker with his legs than his arm, but the Irish definitely need more balance if they want to make a real run in 2024. — Hale
No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers
Previous ranking: 19
For the fifth game in a row, Indiana scored 40 points or more on its way to maintaining its undefeated, now 6-0 record. That streak of five games, by the way, is a school record. The Hoosiers are averaging 515 yards of offense per game, which is sixth in the country and nearly 200 yards more per game than last year. First-year head coach Curt Cignetti seems to be pushing all the right buttons so far, including installing Mike Shanahan as offensive coordinator.
The Hoosiers’ offense so far can’t be nitpicked much — they are averaging over 7 yards per play and have one of the most efficient passing units in the nation thanks to quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who has thrown for 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions. With its sixth win of the season, Indiana is now bowl eligible for the first time since 2020 and one of the stories of the year. Their schedule gets a bit tougher but not by much until they have to face Michigan and Ohio State in November. — Uggetti
No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies
Previous ranking: NR
The Aggies made an emphatic statement with their biggest win over a top-10 team in history, looking every bit the part of a contender. The offense was devastatingly balanced, passing for 276 yards and rushing for 236, and averaging 8.8 yards per play. Quarterback Conner Weigman‘s return provided a boost to the passing game; he completed 82% of his throws, several into tight windows or on back-shoulder throws to defeat good coverage, which gives the Aggies an added dimension.
The defense was able to pressure Brady Cook all day without selling out, adding six sacks and eight tackles for loss. After a season-opening loss to Notre Dame, Mike Elko has his Aggies playing confidently and improving every week. Now 3-0 in the SEC, the Aggies are headed to Mississippi State this week before LSU comes to College Station on Oct. 26. — Wilson
No. 16 LSU Tigers
Previous ranking: 17
While the rest of the SEC was falling into chaos, LSU was relaxing. Following a 42-10 win over South Alabama, its most complete performance of the season, Brian Kelly’s 4-1 Tigers were on a bye and preparing for next week’s visit from Ole Miss.
They were probably also still working to plug holes in a defense that played well against South Alabama but still entered the week ranked 77th in points allowed per drive and 94th in yards allowed per play. But the passing game has remained dynamite: Garrett Nussmeier is averaging 330 yards per game, with four receivers having gained between 239 and 371 yards. This team is a fireworks show. We’ll see if that remains the case as the strength of schedule increases. — Connelly
No. 17 Boise State Broncos
Previous ranking: 21
Ashton Jeanty and the Broncos were dominant yet again Saturday in a 62-30 rout of Utah State in its Mountain West opener. Jeanty got only 13 carries in the blowout, but he turned his first carry into a 63-yard score, hit a 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on just his 90th carry of the season.
Maddux Madsen threw for 256 yards and three scores, Dylan Riley scored a 96-yard touchdown on his first career kickoff return, and kicker Jonah Dalmas became the program’s career points leader. Boise State now has the No. 1 scoring offense in the FBS (50.6 points per game) and looks prepared to play its best football with road games at Hawai’i and UNLV up next. — Olson
No. 18 Kansas State Wildcats
Previous ranking: 18
Following its impressive 42-20 win against Oklahoma State last week, the Wildcats were off this week ahead of their trip to Colorado. All of a sudden, the Buffs look like they might be the best team K-State could play for weeks — possibly up until their trip to Iowa State to end the regular season.
For the Wildcats, the continued progression of quarterback Avery Johnson figures to be key as he tries to build on his outstanding performance against OSU. — Bonagura
No. 19 Pittsburgh Panthers
Previous ranking: NR
The Panthers are 5-0 for the first time since 1991, and redshirt freshman QB Eli Holstein became the first Pitt QB to win his first five starts since Dan Marino. So, things are great in the Steel City, right? Well, no one’s going to complain — other than coach Pat Narduzzi — but Pitt could stand to get a bit more success in the ground game.
In its past two contests vs. Power 4 foes, Pitt is averaging just 3.2 yards per designed run, largely due to a lack of push from the O-line. — Hale
No. 20 Oklahoma Sooners
Previous ranking: 22
The Sooners had the week off and extra time to prep for their showdown with Texas in the Red River Rivalry. The bye week was particularly well timed for this team, giving Brent Venables’ staff more time to adjust on offense and build up QB Michael Hawkins Jr.’s confidence ahead of the true freshman’s second college start.
More importantly, Hawkins’ playmakers need to get healthy. Brent Venables said WR Deion Burks and RB Taylor Tatum could potentially return for Red River. Oklahoma will need all hands on deck against a Texas defense that’s allowing seven points per game. — Olson
No. 21 Utah Utes
Previous ranking: 20
Sitting at home during their bye week, the Utes’ win against Oklahoma State looks less impressive, their loss to Arizona looks worse and optimism about the season’s outlook continues to dwindle without a clear expectation about the status of quarterback Cam Rising. These are the types of overreactions that are typical in college football.
At 4-1, Utah is still in a good position — and if Rising returns this week against Arizona State, there would be plenty of reasons to expect the Utes to get back on track. But as things sit, the range of possibilities about how this season could play out is broad. — Bonagura
No. 22 SMU Mustangs
Previous ranking: NR
Since making the change to QB Kevin Jennings as a starter after a Week 2 loss to BYU, SMU’s offense has been borderline unstoppable. In three games, the Mustangs are averaging 3.56 points per drive (effectively a touchdown every other drive) and 210 rushing yards per game, and have punted just four times.
Jennings is completing 74% of his throws, has a 91.4 Total QBR and has turned the ball over just once (a fumble). In the win over Louisville, Jennings accounted for nearly 400 yards of offense. — Hale
No. 23 Missouri Tigers
Previous ranking: 9
Eli Drinkwitz said he was embarrassed by the Tigers’ performance in a 41-10 loss to Texas A&M, and there wasn’t much to look back on fondly. Missouri gained only 79 total yards in the first half, going into the break down 24-0, then gave up a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half. Texas A&M’s defense made Brady Cook uncomfortable in the pocket, and even when he threw it, he often went deep and missed throws, going 5-of-17 on throws more than 15 yards.
The defense, which hadn’t allowed more than 325 yards in a game all season, allowed 512, including 236 rushing on 6.6 yards per carry. The Tigers have a road trip to UMass this week before facing Auburn and Alabama, and will be looking for answers. — Wilson
No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini
Previous ranking: NR
The Illini had a week off to stew after their first loss, a game in which they held up defensively but couldn’t generate enough offense to upset Penn State. Coach Bret Bielema’s teams historically have been known for running the ball, but Illinois is averaging only 104 rushing yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry against FBS competition. The Illini need to get their ground game going against one of the nation’s worst rushing defenses this week in Purdue, before a massive home showdown Oct. 19 against Michigan in the Memorial Stadium rededication game.
Illinois’ defense has impressed, both with takeaways and sacks, as Gabe Jacas and others have led the pass rush. Quarterback Luke Altmyer threw his first interception of the season against Penn State but still has completed 70% of his attempts with 11 touchdown passes. The Illini have dropped four straight and seven of their past eight against Purdue, coached by former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters. — Adam Rittenberg
No. 25 Army Black Knights
Previous ranking: NR
At 5-0, Army is off to its best start since 1996 following its 49-7 rout at Tulsa. Bryson Daily completed all five of his passes for 140 yards, and the Black Knights built a 14-point halftime lead through the air on Daily’s pair of touchdown connections to Noah Short (three receptions, 121 yards). However, Army powered its largest win of 2024 on the ground via 321 rushing yards powered by Kanye Udoh, who highlighted his six-carry, 137-yard performances with touchdown runs of 61 and 63 yards after halftime.
Don’t look now, but the Black Knights own the nation’s longest active winning streak (nine games), setting the stage for intriguing late-season meetings with 4-1 North Texas (Nov. 9), No. 11 Notre Dame (Nov. 23) and fellow unbeaten AAC leader Navy (Dec. 14). Army hosts 1-4 UAB in Week 7. — Eli Lederman
