Ranking the top CFB upsets from Week 6

After the most chaotic week of the college football season so far, where five top-25 teams lost to unranked opponents, fans are still catching their breath. This weekend featured the first time two top-five teams lost to unranked opponents since 2004.

Let's recap the top five upsets from Week 6.

5. Washington 27, No. 10 Michigan 17

The Huskies had an up-and-down start to the 2024 campaign, dropping two of their last three to Washington State and Rutgers entering Saturday’s matchup. Michigan —coming off a national championship victory from a season ago where they had beaten Washington— struggled to maintain that level of play this year, dropping a game to then No. 3 Texas in Ann Arbor.

The star in this one was Washington quarterback Will Rogers, who threw for 271 and two first-half touchdowns. The major advantage the Huskies needed to capitalize on was quarterback play, as Michigan ultimately benched starter Alex Orji for backup Jack Tuttle in the second quarter.

Orji would go 3-for-7 passing for only 15 yards before being pulled for Tuttle. Despite connecting for a touchdown before the half, Tuttle’s play cost Michigan the game late— he turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter, where the Wolverines were outscored 13-0.

The loss snapped Michigan’s 24-game Big Ten regular season winning streak.

4. Minnesota 24, No. 11 USC 17

An inspired fourth-quarter performance headlined by two interceptions in the final 11 minutes helped Minnesota outscore the Trojans 14-0 in the final frame, and pull off the upset.

USC’s quarterback Miller Moss had shined early into the season, but the sloppiness of the Trojan offense led to their downfall. Moss threw two picks late, one that led to a Minnesota touchdown drive to tie the game. The other sealed their defeat.

The Golden Gophers were given inspired quarterback play. Max Brosmer went an efficient 15-for-19 on the day for 169 yards and scored on a quarterback sneak on a risky fourth and goal with under a minute to play, the score that would propel Minnesota to victory.

3. No. 25 Texas A&M 41, No. 9 Missouri 10

A rare ranked-on-ranked matchup from this past week was less competitive than previously advertised, as the Aggies rolled to a dominant conference win hosting Missouri.

The reason this upset is so high on the list is because of how Texas A&M dominated the game. Missouri offers a dangerous combination at receiver in Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr, a mainstay of their offensive attack. Burden and Wease were held to nine catches combined for 154 yards, and the Tigers offense as a whole couldn’t eclipse 260 yards as a team.

Combine that with the balanced attack from the Aggies, and you can understand the way the direction of this game turned. A&M signal-caller Connor Weigman went 18-for-22 for 276 yards, while the Aggies also added 236 yards on the ground.

Another potentially dominant team out of the SEC.

2. Arkansas 19, No. 4 Tennessee 14

The Razorbacks stormed back from a 14-3 third-quarter deficit, outscoring Tennessee 9-0 in the fourth quarter to achieve something that hasn’t happened since 2012— two top-five teams from the same conference losing on the same weekend.

After Boise State transfer Taylen Green exited with an injury, all hope seemed lost. Backup quarterback Malachi Singleton led the last two drives in the fourth quarter, completing two passes for 31 yards and rushing four times for 12 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown late.

Arkansas relied on their defense to bend but not break, holding superstar quarterback Nico Iamaleava to under 160 yards passing and a sub-40 quarterback rating. Dylan Sampson rushed well for the Vols, but the fourth-quarter offense was stifled, allowing Arkansas to come back and pull off the upset.

1. Vanderbilt 40, No. 1 Alabama 35

The only acceptable game to put as the top upset of the week, was the Vanderbilt Commodores pulled off the impossible— downing the No. 1 team in the land for the first time in school history.

Vanderbilt was 0-60 all-time versus top-five ranked teams and snapped a 23-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide. Alabama opened as 23-point favorites.

The Commodores held a lead into the fourth quarter, where a Jalen Milroe bomb to Ryan Williams cut the lead to 30-28. But after capitalizing off a Milroe fumble, Vanderbilt answered with ten points unanswered— making it too tough of a task for Alabama to rally.

The difference was turnovers, as Vanderbilt would score 13 points off of two Crimson Tide mistakes. Vanderbilt saw great performances from quarterback Diego Pavia (16-of-20, 252 yds, two TD) and running back Sedrick Alexander (21 CAR, 64 YDS, two TD).

Vandy delivers on the upset of a lifetime.

Parker Silverman is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email pws5405@psu.edu.