A historic weekend of college football upsets has scrambled the national championship picture after five of the top seven programs in The Associated Press poll went down on Saturday.
According to Stathead, reported by ClutchPoints, Saturday marked the first time since the AP poll was established in 1936 that five teams ranked inside the top seven suffered losses on the same day. The fallout will force voters to choose a new No. 1 squad and completely reshuffle their top 10 ballots.
Top two teams toppled on the final play
For the second straight week, the nation’s top-ranked team fell to an unranked opponent on the final snap of regulation, Sports Illustrated noted. Top-ranked Georgia was stunned at Sanford Stadium when Auburn kicker Alex McPherson made a 27-yard field goal as time ran out to secure a 27-24 victory. The Bulldogs gave Auburn the opportunity after a fumble by quarterback Gunner Stockton with 58 seconds remaining, EssentiallySports reported.
Hours later, No. 2 Notre Dame also suffered its first loss of the season, falling 28-24 at No. 8 BYU. Cougar quarterback Bear Bachmeier scored touchdowns by passing, rushing and receiving to guide the host team, according to EssentiallySports. The defeat ended a 16-game winning streak for the Fighting Irish when quarterback CJ Carr threw an incomplete pass near the goal line on the last play.
Ranked contenders tumble across the country
The upsets continued throughout Saturday’s afternoon and evening games. In Bloomington, No. 4 Ohio State ended No. 5 Indiana’s 22-game winning streak with a 19-15 triumph. Hoosiers receiver Nick Marsh appeared to haul in a potential game-winning touchdown late, but the pass was ruled incomplete after he stepped out of bounds. Despite the victory, Ohio State suffered a major setback when starting quarterback Julian Sayin went down with a shoulder injury expected to keep him sidelined for multiple weeks, outlets reported.
In the Southeastern Conference, No. 6 Alabama took a second straight loss away from home against Tennessee. The outlets differed on the final score, with ClutchPoints reporting a 26-19 outcome and EssentiallySports listing it as 26-10. Meanwhile, No. 7 Texas dropped its second consecutive contest, losing 27-24 at home to unranked Florida after a late strip-sack of quarterback Arch Manning, ClutchPoints reported.
New frontrunners emerge for the top ranking
With Georgia and Notre Dame defeated, voters must select a new frontrunner. No. 3 Miami made a strong case to rise to the top spot after outlasting rival Florida State 43-35 in a double-overtime thriller to preserve its undefeated record, EssentiallySports reported. BYU, now 6-0 following its marquee victory over Notre Dame, could also garner consideration for the top spot, Sports Illustrated suggested.
Rankings voters are expected to release the updated AP Top 25 poll on Sunday afternoon as teams shift their focus to the season’s second half.
