Who will fall next? These past two weeks of college football have been full of excitement and turmoil. Kicking it off during week 5, unranked Virginia upset No. 8 ranked Florida State (FSU) at home on Friday night, emerging victorious with a 46-38 score. A 25-yard drive by Virginia in double overtime ending with a touchdown by quarterback Chandler Morris sealed the game, and vaulted Virginia into the top 25 rankings, kicking off the weekend with classic college pandemonium. James Madison University (JMU) also had a good week, securing a win at home over Georgia Southern University with the final score sitting at 35-10. This brought JMU’s record to three wins and only one loss.
No. 4 Louisiana State University (LSU) traveled to No. 13 Ole Miss for an SEC showdown, playing a hard-fought game. LSU battled through all four quarters, but Ole Miss stayed strong and came out on top, winning 24-19. No. 17 Alabama traveled to No. 5 Georgia, looking to redeem themselves after being caught off guard and losing earlier in the season to FSU. After taking the lead in the 3rd quarter, Alabama fended off Georgia for the rest of the game to end Georgia’s 33 home game winning streak.
In the Big 10, No. 6 Oregon traveled to No. 3 Penn State during the annual white-out. Looking to secure their first big win of the season, Penn State went head to head with Oregon throughout the entire game, but eventually lost in double overtime. Final score: Oregon 30, Penn State 24. This tough loss brought Penn State’s record under current head coach James Franklin to 4-21 against top 10 teams. No. 23 Illinois also pulled out the win, defeating No. 21 University of Southern California (USC) 34-32. This helped revive playoff dreams after the previously No. 9 Fighting Illini were dominated by No. 19 Indiana one week prior, losing 10-63.
This past Saturday during week 6, there were many more unexpected victors. Undefeated No. 14 Iowa State (ISU) visited unranked Cincinnati and was caught off guard. Cincinnati’s offense was unstoppable, scoring 38 points on the Cyclone’s defense. ISU improved in the 4th quarter, but was unable to take the lead as Cincinnati won 38-30. Penn State was looking to redeem themselves after losing to Oregon at home and dropping to the No. 7 position. Going to play the win-less University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Penn State was heavily favored. At halftime, UCLA was leading 27-7, with less than 100 total yards of offense heading into the locker room. Penn State was looking less and less confident. However, the Nittany Lions rallied in the second half, and outscored UCLA 30-15. Unfortunately this was just shy of enough to save Penn State, and UCLA picked up their first win of the season 42-37, only a few weeks after firing their previous head coach. This is only the fifth time in history that a team with a record of 0-4 has beaten a team ranked in the top 10, the last example happening in 1985. This loss caused Penn State to drop out of the top 25 rankings, dashing Penn State’s playoff hopes for this season.
Down south, No. 16 Vanderbilt went on the road to No. 10 Alabama. Vanderbilt and Alabama were neck and neck, going into halftime 14-14. In the second half, however, Alabama scored 16 unanswered points, sending Vanderbilt home with a loss. Final score: Alabama 30, Vanderbilt 14. For the first time since 2019, the Virginia Cavaliers were ranked in the Associated Press top 25 poll, landing at spot No. 24. In overtime, Virginia defeated conference opponent Louisville, moving Virginia to the No. 19 position, as well as making them favorites to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship later this year. JMU also saw victory this past weekend, traveling to Georgia State University and winning 14-7. JMU is now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Sun Belt Conference.
No. 9 Texas visited Gainesville, Florida, to take on the 1-3 Gators. Surprisingly, the Florida Gators were leading 19-7 at halftime. In the second half, Texas made an attempt to come back by scoring 14 points, but the Florida offense kept the Longhorns from catching up, scoring ten points in the 3rd quarter. This 21-29 loss by Texas caused them to drop out of the AP top 25 rankings, and likely ended Texas’ bid for a playoff position. Finally, No. 3 Miami traveled to No. 18 FSU. Miami outscored FSU 28-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but FSU scored 19 unanswered points in the 4th quarter. Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough to beat the powerhouse that is the Hurricanes. Final score: Miami 28, FSU 22.
Looking ahead, No. 1 Ohio State will be traveling to No.15 Illinois on Oct. 11 at noon. At the same time, No. 8 Alabama will play at No. 14 Missouri. The last ranked matchup of the day will see No. 3 Oregon hosting No. 7 Indiana in the afternoon. Week 7 is looking to excite, with more upsets likely, and many more teams hungry to prove themselves.
