College Football’s Week 6 upsets polls and rankings

Fans didn’t express optimism heading into College Football’s Week 6. There was only one ranked matchup, and there were a lot of large spreads heading into the weekend. Furthermore, Syracuse beat UNLV in overtime on Friday. Some believed Saturday would be unable to live up to the excitement of that exciting game. Luckily, jaded manifestations proved to be untrue. Upsets and close scores proved to be the norm in what was expected to be something of a yawn fest for the more casual fans of the sport. 

The highlight from the series of shocks happened in the SEC. But the source surprised many. Vanderbilt hosted top-ranked Alabama, and completely controlled the game in a comfortable victory. It’s hard to win on the road in any conference. However, Nick Saban made it known while speaking with Pat McAfee that it was easy to play at the given Nashville venue.

For a coach who spent his years ensuring that others did not have locker room material, the words not only aged poorly, but also provided plenty of social media ammo, poking fun of the long-time coach. But focusing on the football aspect, questions arise for Jalen Milroe. Granted, the QB threw for over 300 yards and only had six incompletions. But for the Crimson Tide faithful, the interception and plays left on the field speak volumes.

It’s hard to consistently create explosive plays. The overall offense looked limited against a team that they should have comfortably beaten and outclassed. Again, looking at the stats, and it’s a respectable outing during College Football’s Week 6. Yet a lot of the prior Heisman hype is vanishing. Furthermore, the ability of Alabama to keep pace with more dynamic offenses in this league is a concern.

But for today, the field goal posts float down the river in Tennessee, as Commodore fans cemented their mark on this season with a spectacular celebration. Diego Pavia threw for 252 yards and two scores and was instrumental in the rushing game that outgained Alabama on the ground by nearly twice the amount.

More of College Football’s Week 6 takeaways

Arkansas has been a tough team for anyone to face. The Razorbacks got the job done and pulled off the upset over #4 Tennessee. Taylen Green was efficient and kept the ball out of harm’s way. The Razorbacks sealed a signature win, but there could be more in the future soon for this program. 

Texas A&M entered ranked. But even if some had the upset, not even the most devoted Aggie supporters could have seen the complete domination that unfolded over a good top-10 Missouri side. Mike Elko will likely preach areas of improvement. However, if truth serum was snuck into his drink, it’s doubtful he’d have anything even slightly negative to say about his team after that performance. 

Then Washington saw themselves win by ten over #10 Michigan. Not to take anything away from the Huskies, but it’s known how many offensive issues the Wolverines have at the moment. College teams will look vastly different at the end of the year from now, but for now there’s a lot of questions being asked in Ann Arbor until they can find answers that will work with this roster, while adding flexibility to become less predictable. 

Louisville lost to SMU, but that loss may look like a ‘quality one’ by the end of the year. Instead, one of the bigger surprises came in the Big Ten. USC fell to Minnesota. This game can be explained, though. Undoubtedly, the Trojans are talented. They have Lincoln Riley and Miller Moss. But the Gophers were able to flex their style on the game, and muddy the game plan for the visiting California side. 

A lot has been said of the former Pac-12 teams joining their new conference. Outside of UCLA at the moment, the other three should be able to fare well week-to-week. But some of the penciled-in wins from the preseason may require an eraser. As College Football’s Week 6 onlookers witnessed, the BIG can give matchup fits and provide close games, even when outmatched in terms of on-paper talent. This theory will be put to the test when Oregon plays Ohio State next week.