College Football Week 6 Takeaways
Chaos in the SEC
Week 6 of the 2024 college football season saw several upsets, and significant changes in the SEC.
“Weekends like week 6 don’t happen in college football very often,” Andy Whiteoak, Oddspedia's Sports Content Editor, said in an email to media members. “Five of the consensus best teams in the game all lost on the same day and bettors paid the price for it.
“Saturday’s upsets were a stark reminder of the unpredictability of college football. With five top-25 teams falling to lower or unranked opponents, the betting public was left reeling. The shocking results not only shattered expectations but also had significant implications for championship contenders and individual bettors.”
“As the season progresses, the unpredictable nature of college football will continue to challenge even the most experienced analysts and bettors.”
Here is what stood out in a chaotic weekend.
SEC Drama
Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the unthinkable happens. Three top-10 SEC teams went down on Saturday, completely flipping things upside down.
The day started with No.9 Missouri getting absolutely boat raced by No. 25 Texas A&M. A week after outlasting Georgia in an unforgettable matchup of conference contenders to earn the No. 1 ranking, Alabama blew it against a lowly Vanderbilt team. No. 4 Tennessee had been one of the most impressive teams in the country yet turned in a dud against a hot-and-cold Arkansas squad on the road.
In past seasons, this kind of chaos over one weekend in the SEC would’ve doomed many team’s playoff chances. However, with the implementation of a 12-team playoff field, it only really affects the candidates to reach the SEC championship game.
Time to take Texas A&M seriously
The Aggies were the main beneficiary of the SEC chaos on Saturday after dominating Missouri 41-10. With the win, A&M has now won five games in a row and has a couple of signature wins to add to its resume. The Aggies also enter their first bye week of the season sitting atop the SEC with a 3-0 conference record.
The defense is improving each week, but the scary thing is they did not have much of a passing attack until Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman returned from injury and lit up the Tiger defense, going 18-of-22 passing for 276 yards. If they can get consistency from that part of their attack, the Aggies will be even more challenging to beat.
The biggest challenges remaining during the regular season come against No. 13 LSU on Oct. 26 and against No. 1 Texas on Nov. 30. Luckily for A&M, both games will be played in College Station. But how long can they remain in the College Football Playoff conversation?
Ohio State & Oregon are on a collision course in the Big Ten
Indiana has surprised with a 6-0 start, and Penn State is currently right on the heels of the Ducks and the Buckeyes, but when all is said and done, Oregon and Ohio State will be playing for the Big Ten Championship — no matter what happens when they meet this weekend.
These are the two most complete teams in the Big Ten, and frankly, it’s not even close. Sure Penn State is 5-0 again, but do you really trust James Franklin to come through late in the season? And is anyone else actually going to put themselves in the conversation for the long haul?
Neither Ohio State nor Oregin has had close calls in conference play, and they’ll both get the opportunities to knock out any of the other perceived “contenders” in head-to-head matchups later in the season.
Purdue is the worst team in the Big Ten
Speaking of the Big Ten, I‘m confident in saying Purdue is its worst football team this season. Yes, UCLA has an argument as well, but the Boilermakers take the cake for two specific reasons: 1) They do not have a first-year head coach and 2) They have already fired a well-regarded coordinator.
Plus, UCLA played a well-fought road game against No. 7 Penn State despite another loss. Purdue has even more lopsided losses against worse teams in Big Ten play.
The ACC is wide open
We’ve kind of known this since Florida State’s lackluster start to the season. The Seminoles were the favorite to repeat as conference champs, and no one seems to want to grab the torch.
Miami has become the new frontrunner, but even the Hurricanes have needed some late heroics to remain unbeaten. How much longer can that possibly last?
No. 10 Clemson, No. 6 Miami, No. 25 SMU, No. 22 Pittsburgh, and Virginia are all unbeaten in conference play. Lately, there has been less and less of a gap between them, and any could take the conference at this point.
SMU, Pittsburgh, and Virginia will settle things on the field during the regular season, likely with only one staying in the hunt. Meanwhile, Clemson and Miami don’t face many ranked teams but have some challenging road games.
Navy and Army could make the playoff
The Group of Five playoff spot gets more interesting every week. Despite losing to Oregon, Boise State remains one of the favorites, and Liberty is also right there.
But don’t write off the military academies yet. Army and Navy are both 5-0 and sitting atop the American Athletic Conference. They’ll each have to beat No. 11 Notre Dame and hope Liberty and Boise drop a game along the way, but it looks like Army and Navy will be sticking around the College Football Playoff conversation for a while.
An unexpected yet interesting storyline to follow in the debut season of the 12-team playoff.
Overrated teams finally falter
Every year, there are teams that get off to good starts without being tested and fans waiting for the other shoe to drop. That finally happened during Week 6 as teams like USC, Michigan, Missouri, and Arizona went down.
USC and Michigan had come up with ranked wins earlier in the season, but neither looked like the better team in those games. Missouri had been cruising but hadn’t faced a decent team and squandered its chances immediately against Texas A&M. Arizona was a popular dark-horse pick in the Big 12 but may have passed the torch to Texas Tech in a home loss.
The Big 12 has more competition than expected, but it’s not the teams you thought
Speaking of Texas Tech, the Red Raiders find themselves in the thick of the Big 12 Conference race at the halfway point. Much like its counterpart in College Station, Tech is 5-1 overall with a 3-0 record in conference play, good enough to sit atop the Big 12.
However, the other challengers are not who you’d expect. Sure, Kansas State, Arizona, and Utah are only a game back, but they’ll have to overtake BYU, Iowa State, Colorado, and West Virginia.
Certainly not where we thought the Big 12 was going six weeks ago.
The next couple of weeks will reveal the real No. 1
The SEC has claimed the No. 1 ranking all season, splitting it between Georgia, Alabama, and Texas. Alabama gave it back to the Longhorns, who will earn it as they face No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 5 Georgia over the next two weeks.
The winner of No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Oregon will also make a compelling case this weekend, and the Alabama-Tennessee winner on Oct. 19 might also have a case. Ohio State also faces No. 4 Penn State on Nov. 2, and several late-season SEC games could come into play.
Good job Trav