B/R Experts Week 6 College Football Rankings 2024
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Miles Cross #19 of the Indiana HoosiersMichael Reaves/Getty Images
Week 6 of college football is in the books, and we had ourselves quite the weekend. The biggest upset of the day came during the 4 p.m. ET slate, as No. 1 Alabama went down to unranked Vanderbilt in Nashville. That wasn't the only upset we saw of the day, however.
In the earlier slate of games, No. 9 Missouri imploded on the road against Texas A&M, losing 41-10. No. 12 Ole Miss got back on track with a 27-3 victory over South Carolina, and No. 5 Georgia rebounded with a 31-13 win over Auburn. No. 22 Louisville fell 34-22 to SMU on the road, and No. 7 Penn State took care of UCLA 27-11.
In the evening, we saw No. 4 Tennessee go down to unranked Arkansas 19-14, No. 10 Michigan go down 27-17 at Washington, No. 11 USC fall to Minnesota 27-14 and No. 15 Clemson take care of rival Florida State 29-13.
In the nightcap No. 8 Miami completed a 25-pt comeback to survive Cal's upset bid, 39-38
Here is Bleacher Report's Top 25 following Week 5, from your college football experts David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Brad Shepherd and Morgan Moriarty.
A first-place vote was worth 25 points, a second-place vote worth 24 points and so on.
B/R Top 25:
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Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith #4 of the Ohio State BuckeyesJason Mowry/Getty Images
B/R Top 25
1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Oregon
5. Penn State
6. Miami
7. Alabama
8. Clemson
9. Ole Miss
10. Iowa State
11. BYU
12. Tennessee
t13. Kansas State
t13. Texas A&M
15. Notre Dame
16. LSU
17. Indiana
t18. Boise State
t18. Missouri
20. Utah
21. SMU
22. Oklahoma
23. Pitt
24. Army
25. Michigan
Who's Hot: Surprise Undefeated Teams
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- Indiana: Undefeated for the first time since 1967
- Army and Navy are both a combined 10-0 for the first time since 1945(!)
- Iowa State: 5-0 for the first time since 1980
- Pitt is 5-0 for the first time since 1990
Army head coach Jeff MonkenTerence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
College football is so much more fun when you have unexpected teams do well early on. And through six weeks, we have several surprise undefeated teams that have been a blast to watch play well early on. As we reach early October, several unexpected teams are undefeated, including Indiana, Army, Navy, Iowa State and Pitt.
These feats are even more impressive when you look at how long it's been since these teams have started the year unbeaten:
Why are these surprise starts also really fun? All of these teams can potentially cause some serious chaos, both in the playoff race and in their respective conference races. For Indiana, the Hoosiers' biggest remaining conference games include Washington, No. 10 Michigan and No. 5 Ohio State.
Army and Navy both sit squarely atop the American Athletic standings, and could definitely meet in the conference title game. But there's an interesting scenario here as well, since these two teams already meet annually the Saturday after Championship Saturday. The playoff committee has already stated that Army-Navy won't impact any playoff bids, so there's a chance the AAC winner could lose to its biggest rival a week after earning a playoff bid.
Army and Navy both play Notre Dame this season, which would make for a signature win for either team if they beat the Irish. Iowa State's biggest remaining Big 12 games include at No. 18 Utah and vs. No. 20 Kansas State the last two weeks of the season. We could see a rematch of either of those games in the conference title game, depending on how the rest of the standings shake out.
And last but certainly not least, Pitt has an ACC title shot. THe Panthers play Cal on Oct. 12, go to SMU on Nov. 2 and play Clemson and at Louisville on Nov. 16 and 23rd, respectively.
If any of these teams keep playing like they have early on, we could be in for one fun end of the season for these surprise unbeaten teams.
Who's Not: SEC Teams Playing Unranked Teams on the Road
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Fans of the Arkansas Razorbacks storm the field after a game against the Tennessee.Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
It was a rough Saturday for Top-5 SEC teams that went on the road. The day gave us two upsets of top-five teams, No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Tennessee, both of which went on the road and lost to unranked conference opponents. Oof.
Just one week after defeating Georgia 41-35 at home to jump up to the No. 1 spot in the country, Alabama followed it up by…losing to unranked Vanderbilt 40-35 on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Tide entered this game as 22.5-point favorites, Vanderbilt beat Alabama in Nashville since 1976.
Then on Saturday night, No. 4 Tennessee played Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Vols were 14.5-point favorites, but lost 19-15. Tennessee's offense, which was averaging 54 points per game so far this season, was left off the board entirely in the first half, as the Vols didn't find the end zone until the third quarter. Arkansas scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull off the upset.
Before both of these losses, Alabama and Tennessee looked like legitimate playoff contenders and still can be, but with the toughest stretch of their respective schedules still to go, both teams' margins for errors are razor-thin.
Alabama plays at South Carolina next week, and the Tide and Vols square off on Oct. 19. The Tide also have remaining games against No. 5 Missouri, No. 13 LSU and No. 19 Oklahoma. Tennessee's lone remaining ranked opponent is Georgia, which it plays in Athens on Nov. 16. Alabama obviously has the tougher schedule, but neither team can afford to finish the year with multiple losses if they want a playoff bid.
What's Next
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Jeremiah Smith, Ohio StateJason Mowry/Getty Images
Week 7 should be a great one, with a handful of Top 25 matchups, including some great rivalry matchups. A good chunk of the games have some serious playoff implications, too.
On Friday night, Utah travels to Arizona State as the Utes look to get back on track in the Big 12 race. Speaking of getting back on track, Alabama goes on the road to play South Carolina at Noon on Saturday.
The biggest matchups come later on Saturday. Just look at this slate of ranked vs. ranked matchups:
No. 2 Texas and No. 19 Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m. ET
No. 7 Penn State at No. 11 USC, 3:30 p.m. ET
No. 12 Ole Miss at No. 13 LSU, 7:30 p.m. ET
No. 3 Ohio State at No. 6 Oregon, 7:30 p.m. ET
There are some other matchups that potentially look like trap games for some ranked teams, as well. In the Big 12, No. 16 Iowa State goes on the road to West Virginia, and No. 20 Kansas State travels to play Colorado. No. 15 Clemson looks to stay undefeated in conference play against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, as does Boise State at Hawaii.
Should be one heck of a weekend. See you all next Saturday!