Historic Shakeup in College Football
College football witnessed an unprecedented Saturday.
For the first time ever, five of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 fell on the same day during the regular season.
The last time anything even somewhat similar occurred was back on January 2, 1989, when five of the top eight teams lost, as noted by Sportradar.
This chaotic “Shakeup Saturday” was largely driven by the Southeastern Conference, where No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama, and No. 7 Texas were all upset despite being favored by a touchdown or more.
Additionally, No. 2 Notre Dame (against No. 8 BYU) and fifth-ranked Indiana (versus No. 4 Ohio State) also faced defeats, though those outcomes were, perhaps, a little less shocking.
This marked the first occasion since 2012 that both Nos. 1 and 2 lost on the same day in the regular season, when Oregon lost to Stanford and Kansas State fell to Baylor.
The upheaval is expected to impact the polls and College Football Playoff projections significantly, paving the way for No. 3 Miami to ascend to the top spot after their thrilling 43-35 double-overtime victory over rival Florida State, which ended in a bit of controversy.
Now, Miami fans might quietly speculate if they can avoid the misfortunes that have plagued the previous top teams; after all, both Texas and Georgia suffered losses to unranked opponents—something that hasn’t happened in consecutive weeks since 1990 when Notre Dame lost to Stanford and Michigan fell to Michigan State.
Interestingly, five of the top eight teams in the AP poll had lost on one day in 1989, when No. 3 West Virginia, No. 5 USC, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Auburn, and No. 8 Arkansas stumbled in bowl games.
Chaos in the SEC
It’s quite a rarity for powerhouses like Georgia, Alabama, and Texas to all lose on the same Saturday, something that hadn’t happened since October 26, 1996, according to SEC records.
This loss-heavy Saturday highlights the hesitations SEC coaches have expressed regarding a nine-game league schedule.
Ironically, this tumultuous day coincided with the SEC’s tentative agreement with the Big Ten to inch closer to finalizing a 24-team playoff format.
