Week 6 - Sunday Storylines

BLOOD WEEK: Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Michigan and USC all bite the dust.

Instant Replay

What did we just watch?

*Five top-11 teams lost to unranked teams. BLOOD WEEK!

(*If the Miami result holds.)

Vanderbilt shocks the world - “God gave me a vision.”

These were the words uttered by Vanderbilt’s undersized, do-it-all quarterback transfer quarterback Diego Pavia in a moment of post-game pandemonium after the Commodores upset No. 1 Alabama 40-35. The man from Las Cruces did not blink. He did not waver. And he did not back down to the lore of the mighty Crimson Tide.

Religious visions aside, this was an unbelievable upset. The kind you only see in video games or as jokes on Twitter. It was fun for everyone not affiliated with Alabama.

What a masterful performance from Pavia and the rest of that offense. Pavia stuck his head in the Fire ant hill all night, rushing 20 different times and adding 252 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

Vandy jumped to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter to put the college football world on notice and never looked back. Vanderbilt ran 74 plays compared to Alabama’s 45. That is just jarring.

This is an unfortunate loss for Alabama and new head coach Kalen DeBoer. A week after knocking off then No. 1 Georgia in the game of the year last week, the Crimson Tide are shocked on the road.

I was high on Clark Lea when he first took over at Vanderbilt three years ago, but in all honesty, my belief had wavered. Good for him and good for this program. This likely saves his job for at least another year.

Let’s hope some rowdy Vandy students take that torn-down goalpost and chuck it off the roof of some honky-tonk bar on Broadway.

Mashed Potatoes - I hope *that* Arkansas fan finds himself a nice big bowl of mashed potatoes tonight.

In a game the Hogs had no business in winning, Arkansas dragged the mighty vroom-vroom Tennessee offense into the mud. The Hogs defense pitched a first-half shutout and the offense cobbled together nine very crucial fourth-quarter points to shock the world, knocking off No. 4 Tennessee 19-14.

I’m happy for the Pitt Boss, Sam Pittman. He was all but written off this season and this type of win could go a long way in saving his job.

WOKE > COKE - In true nightcap fashion, the CALgorithm once against reigned supreme. At the time of writing, it’s 12:26 AM Central time and Cal is up on Miami 38-18 with a little over 14 minutes to play.

Cal did what Cal does best, finding unique ways to make opposing quarterbacks feel the heat. Miami signal-caller Cam Ward looked flustered, which led to a few inopportune turnovers.

The Golden Bears did an excellent job at harnessing the energy of the school’s first-ever College Gameday hosting experience and channeled it into a dominant victory.

All Hail the CALgorithm!

B1G Dawgs - Down to a third-string quarterback, Michigan once again put on a porous offensive display and dropped a 27-17 stunner on the road at Washington.

Michigan turned the ball over twice and managed just 287 yards against a less-than-dominant Huskies defense.

Selfishly, I’m ecstatic for former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers. What a fun win for the B1G Dawgs!

Row the Boat - PJ Fleck almost had a stroke down the stretch in his team’s 24-17 upset over No. 11 USC.

First, it was a near-botched goalline touchdown decision, a play where the call later had to be reversed.

Later, it was a 15-yard penalty on a Minnesota defender for “imitating that he was brandishing a firearm” according to the ref. Never change college football.

What a weirdly bad and disheartening loss for USC and Lincoln Riley. It always seems like one step forward, two steps back for that program.

‘Skers survive - If you enjoyed defense and general ass-y football, Rutgers-Nebraska was a delight.

Multiple special teams miscues. Sloppy turnovers by both offenses. Stalled-out offenses like Buick LeSabres on the side of a snowy interstate. This game had it all.

In the end, it was the Nebraska defense that reigned supreme in the Huskers’ 14-7 win over Rutgers. The Blackshirts made life hard for the Rutgers offense and did a good job of limiting star running back Kyle Monangai, who finished with just 78 yards on 19 carries.

One thing of note for Nebraska: The offense still stinks in the second halves of ball games. Not sure what is happening here, but it’s happening. Something drastic needs to change or it will cost this team down the line.

Ole Miss bounces back - A week removed from being upset by Kentucky, Ole Miss bounced back in a big way over South Carolina by a score of 27-3.

I don’t have a ton to say about this game, other than the above image is a hilarious thing to get a taunting penalty for when your team is down by three scores.

Miserable Missouri - No. 9 Missouri had a bad, bad day at the office, my friends.

25th-ranked Texas A&M dominated from the first snap to the final whistle. In my weekly preview, I asked whether Missouri’s offense could get out of first gear, and the answer was a resounding no.

A&M opted to start quarterback Conner Weigman and it paid off. The A&M offense lit the Tigers up for 41 points. But more impressively, was the Aggies’ defense, which truly “blanketed” the Missouri offensive weapons.

What a great win for first-year coach Mike Elko. And a troubling loss for Missouri and Alpha Nerd Drinkwitz.

SMU’s statement win - Hand up - I couldn’t have been more wrong about SMU.

Entering the season, I suspected the LOS would struggle to catch up to ACC play and the Mustangs would not be very good. Boy, was I wrong.

After SMU finally landed on new starting quarterback Kevin Jennings, things have looked great. And that was no different on the road against No. 22 Louisville.

Jennings passed for 281 yards, but it was the run game that made all the difference. Three different scorers and 191 ground yards helped seal the deal. Lousiville is still a pretty good team but after back-to-back losses, it seems out of the ACC and CFP race.

WIndiana - Newly-ranked Indiana wins again, this time 41-24 on the road against Northwestern. The Hoosiers officially move to 6-0 and have reached bowl eligibility by mid-October. That’s a huge accomplishment for Curt Cignetti.

Superweapon loading… - Breaking news, folks: The Pitt Superweapon is loading.

Tell your friends, a Pat Narduzzi-led Pitt team is now 5-0 after its 34-24 victory over North Carolina.

The Narddog might’ve found a quarterback in Alabama transfer Eli Holstein. He was awesome once again, finishing with 385 yards and three touchdowns. The Tar Heels did a good job of hanging close, but Pitt put up 10 points in the final frame to pull away.

Jeanty keeps Jeanty’ing - If you’re keeping score at home, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty had another monster night in the Broncos’ 62-30 blowout win over Utah State.

Despite barely playing a half of football, Jeanty finished with 186 yards and three touchdowns. He’s already over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Get that man to New York City.

Buckeye blowout - After a mucked-up first half, Ohio State stretched its legs en route to a dominant 35-7 win over Iowa.

Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara was awful and got pulled late in the game. OSU quarterback Will Howard was clinical, finishing with an efficient 21/25 for 4 touchdowns stat line.

Iowa’s lack of workable offense is once again a huge problem.

Patriotism on display - Navy and Army both won again, moving to 5-0 on the season. Notre Dame has to play both of these teams later this season. I’m not saying, I’m just saying.

‘Cuse comes good - ICYMI, Syracuse won a 44-41 OT barnburner Saturday night against No. 25 UNLV. It’s a game I’m willing to call a program-defining win in head coach Fran Brown’s first season at the helm.

Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord threw the ball 63 times, finishing with 40 completions, 355 yards and three touchdowns.

It was a huge win for Syracuse. And this loss likely knocks UNLV out of the College Football Playoff G5 driver’s seat.

Dilfer’s Dumps - Hey, it turns out Trent Dilfer is an asshat and a bad football coach!

UAB is significantly worse in Year 2 under Dilfer and got walloped by Tulane today 71-20. I can’t wait until the pitchforks come out for him.

Rockets roll - Toledo knocked off Miami Ohio 30-20 to move to 4-1 and 1-0 in MAC play. The Rockets looked poised to be conference contenders once again.

Warhawks stay winnin’ - ULM moved to 4-1 after defeating JMU on Saturday night, and that is just a tremendously bright start for that program.

They are routinely in the basement of FCS and to now be 4-1 with a few more winable games on the horizon…it’s tremendous.

H’town heroes - Following multiple weeks of bad offensive football, Houston got going in a big way Friday night against TCU. Quarterback Zeon Chriss sparked the resurgence and finished with a couple of touchdowns in the Cougars’ 30-19 victory over TCU.

For TCU, this game was a mess because of the turnovers. The Horned Frogs turned it over four times. The seat might be getting hot for head coach Sonny Dykes, despite being just two years removed from a national title appearance.

Bully ball Bearkats - Don’t look now, but Sam Houston State is now 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Conference USA play a year after finishing just 3-9. What a fun resurgence for K.C. Keeler after he helped lead the Bearkats into FBS football.

The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide

Let’s review my locks of the week.

+2 units overall after this week.

Miami (OH) vs. -6.5 Toledo - +1 units

Navy vs. Air Force OVER 36.5 - +1 units

-16.5 JMU vs. ULM - -1 units

What I’m Reading This Season

SID Sports - Don’t forget to subscribe to Griffin Olah’s SID Sports newsletter. As a former Divison I sports information director, Olah has a great grasp of the sport and I really enjoy his work.

2201 Kimball Ave | Cameron Morgan - 2201 Kimball Ave is essential reading for all followers of Kansas State football. As a lifelong K-State fan and former player, Cameron brings a unique and thoughtful approach to the analysis of the Wildcats' football team. His newsletters are rational and insightful and I genuinely learn something new with every newsletter.

Split Zone Duo | Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and Steven Godfrey - SZD is essential reading and following for CFB ball knowers. Godfrey, Richard and Alex are the Holy Trinity for college football analysis and insight. Each member brings a unique flavor to the conversation, which makes for insightful and downright hilarious banter about the sport we all love. If I had someone ask me where to start for smarter college football coverage, this SZD is where I'd send them.