What we learned about the College Football Playoff race after the wildest week of the season so far

There's no hiding in October in college football. Maybe you'll make it through September, but when the calendar turns, everyone can see you – for better or for worse.

Thanks to the 12-team College Football Playoff, no one is eliminated in Week 6, but much was revealed Saturday when four teams ranked in the top 11 of the AP Poll lost to unranked opponents, none more shocking than No. 1 Alabama.

The SEC suffered not one, but two major upsets, leaving only a single team in the conference with more than half of the season to play.

So you lost to Vandy. What now?

There is no historical basis to judge how a team can lose to Vanderbilt and then bounce back and win a national championship. The Commodores had never beaten a team ranked in the top five in the AP. They were 0-60.

This is a whole new world for college football, post-Nick Saban, post-four-team playoffs. And the Crimson Tide just pulled off perhaps the most unlikely back-to-back results imaginable, beating Georgia and then losing to Vanderbilt for the first time since 1984. Led by the elusive quarterback Diego Pavia, Clark Lea's Commodores defeated the first-place Tide, 40–35.

Alabama's defense has suffered greatly since taking a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter against Georgia. The Crimson Tide couldn't get stops when they needed them, and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack is expected to be the main character on “The Paul Finebaum Show” next Monday as Alabama fans lament the kind of defeat that had become unthinkable under Saban .

Saban's teams outscored unranked teams 123-4. Kalen DeBoer's Tide are now 3-1 against them.

Where does Alabama go from here? As of now, the home game is against a South Carolina team that has lost its last two SEC games, including a 27-3 home loss to No. 12 Ole Miss on Saturday.

In Austin Mock's model, Alabama's chances of making the playoffs fell from 94 percent to 80 percent. We can play the schedule game and try to predict the rest of the season for the Tide, but a team that can beat Georgia and lose to Vandy – even a pretty good Vandy team – has proven that anything is possible.

Go deeper

Kalen DeBoer's Alabama is mortal in a way that Nick Saban never was

Trickle down

On most Saturdays, No. 4 Tennessee's loss at Arkansas was the main surprise, but when Vanderbilt beats Alabama, everyone is playing for second place.

The Vols' demise wasn't nearly as surprising, but make no mistake, it's a big deal.

As Tennessee climbed the rankings in the first month of the season, the question was whether the Volunteers could join the elite class of SEC national title contenders that included Georgia, Alabama and Texas.

Now the entire concept of an elite level has been thrown out the window.

Take the AP rankings early in the season with a grain of salt, but a few weeks ago the SEC had six of the top seven teams ranked, including Mississippi and Missouri.

Of this group, only Texas has not received an L in the last two weeks.

Saturday's upset began with No. 9 Missouri's 41-10 loss to No. 25 Texas A&M. This was the only game of the day in which the ranked teams met.

As a reminder, there are no boring college football Saturdays.

As Razorbacks fans stormed the field and Tennessee's beloved “Rocky Top” blared in the stadium, the Aggies' stunning victory was just an afterthought.

The discussions leading up to this first year of expanded playoffs and new superconferences have focused on adjusting the standard of a successful season. Do we now need to be prepared for an SEC champion with two or even three losses in the regular season?

The idea that the SEC could gobble up the total offerings and fill half of the CFP category now seems like folly.

Go deeper

2024 College Football Playoff Predictions: What are Alabama's chances after Vandy's upset?

The Big Ten game of the year has been decided

No. 3 Ohio State and No. 6 Oregon both took care of business this weekend to set up a monster matchup at Autzen Stadium next Saturday.

It took the Buckeyes' offense a half to get going against Iowa, but when they stopped turning the ball over, Jeremiah Smith and Co. were ahead 35-7.

A similar story happened Friday night in Eugene, Oregon, when Dillon Gabriel missed a couple of scoring chances against Michigan State in the first half, but the Ducks played a shutout until the backups scored in the fourth quarter of a 31-10 win.

Feel free to quibble with the competition, but the Buckeyes were absolutely as advertised. The Ducks appear to have figured out their offensive line issues. If not, we'll find out next week against Ohio State edge rusher Jack Sawyer and the Silver Bullets.

The top of the Big Ten appears to be splitting up, and Penn State appears to be the other serious playoff contender. The Nittany Lions followed a similar scenario to the Buckeyes and Ducks and slowly defeated UCLA 27-11. Their 83 percent chance of making the playoffs is behind only Ohio State, Oregon and Texas, where Penn State is a sixth seed, in Mock's model.

But it was a tough weekend for the Big Ten's next-highest teams. In its first road game, No. 10 Michigan (4-2) suffered its second loss with its third quarterback. Do you have all of this? Washington (4-2) won the rematch in the national championship game 27-17 after two straight narrow losses, peppered with red zone failures, against Washington State and Rutgers.

No. 11 USC (4-2) fell to 1-2 in its new conference and suffered another last-minute loss in the Midwest. This time it was Minnesota that couldn't keep the Trojans out of the end zone on fourth down.

Then again, perhaps we're looking in the wrong place for the Big Ten's second division.

Go deeper

2024 College Football Playoff Predictions: What are Alabama's chances after Vandy's upset?

Aspiring Candidates

Another October tradition in college football is seeing teams from below or outside the rankings emerge and become legitimate contenders. Last year, for example, Louisville didn't enter the rankings until October 1st, and Missouri didn't finally make it until October 15th.

The Cardinals ultimately played for an ACC title and were ranked 19th nationally. The Tigers went 11-2 and were ranked ninth. In a 12-team playoff, both teams would have been in the thick of the race by championship Saturday.

So who do we need to give our attention to?

The ACC appears ripe for a surprise team or two, even after No. 8 Miami narrowly managed to become the fourth top-10 team to lose to an unranked team and pass Cal on Saturday night in Berkeley. Pitt (5-0) is the only other undefeated team in the ACC after Alabama transfer quarterback Eli Holstein had his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season at North Carolina's expense. And how about SMU, which is now 5-1 and 2-0 in the league after beating No. 22 Louisville? The Mustangs seemed well prepared for their move into power conference football.

Over in the Big 12, the only remaining unbeatens are No. 16 BYU — specifically, the only team to beat SMU — and No. 17 Iowa State. Both started the season unranked.

In the SEC, Texas A&M is now 5-1 under first-year coach Mike Elko and boasts one of the worst defenses in the country, led by Nic Scourton.

“We have a growth mindset,” Elko told reporters. “We try to grow every day.”

Another beneficiary of the Aggies' five-game winning streak is No. 14 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish will need a few big wins to boost their resume tarnished by their home loss to Northern Illinois.

Back in the Big Ten, it's time to talk Indiana. Not only is first-year coach Curt Cignetti's team 6-0, it has won every game by at least 14 points and has scored at least 40 points in each of the last five. The Hoosiers have next week off before hosting Nebraska on Oct. 19 in one of the biggest games Bloomington has ever hosted. Also of note: Indiana doesn't play Oregon or Penn State, but it does have Michigan at home and an open date before facing Ohio State in November.

Go deeper

Is Vanderbilt over Alabama college football's most shocking No. 1 loss? Not quite

Army-Navy squared

Army enters its first season in the American Athletic Conference and faces rival Navy in the same league for the first time in more than two decades.

However, the Army-Navy game is a non-conference matchup that, as usual, will be played a week after the conference championship games and the determination of the CFP field.

What could go wrong?

The Black Knights and Midshipmen are 10-0 overall, with Army (4-0 in conference play) holding a half-game lead for first place in the AAC over Navy (3-0).

Both service academies have yet to play against Notre Dame. Coincidentally, both games take place in the New York metropolitan area.

But if you're wondering, the answer is: Yes, Army and Navy could face off on consecutive weekends in December – first for a conference title with potential playoff implications and then at FedEx Field with no impact on the CFP at all.

(Photo: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)