College Football Had a Wild Saturday

4 teams ranked in the top 11 lost to unranked opponents
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 6, 2024 7:03 AM CDT
College Football Had a Wild Saturday
Arkansas fans celebrate after Arkansas upsets Tennessee 19-14 during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Fayetteville, Ark.   (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

Vanderbilt's stunning upset of No. 1 Alabama that led to crazed fans marching the goal posts through the streets of Nashville was just the appetizer. Saturday proved to be one of the wildest days in the AP poll in years. Four teams ranked in the top 11 in the latest poll were upset by unranked teams Saturday, the first time that happened on a single day since Nov. 12, 2016, when five teams did it, according to Sportradar.

  • Who went down: No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 Southern California all losing to unranked teams. One other top 10 team lost Saturday with No. 9 Missouri getting blown out 41-10 at No. 25 Texas A&M.

  • Who didn't: No. 8 Miami rallied to avoid falling, too, escaping with a 39-38 victory at California. The Hurricanes overcame a 25-point deficit in the second half, taking the lead with 35 seconds left in the game.
  • Vanderbilt got it started by knocking off the Crimson Tide 40-35 just a week after Alabama vaulted into the top spot in the poll. The Commodores had been 0-60 against teams ranked in the top five. The fans then tore down the goal posts and carried them a few miles before tossing them into the Cumberland River. "This is the dream, right here," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. "And for the next 12 hours, I'm going to enjoy the dream. ... This is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about: Big wins on big stages."
  • The Volunteers were the next highest ranked team to go down when Malachi Singleton scored on an 11-yard run with 1:17 remaining to lift Arkansas to a 19-14 win at home. Arkansas fans immediately stormed the field.

  • Washington beat Michigan 27-17 in a national championship rematch. "You lose to them in the championship and then to come back and win and beat them, it feels good," said Washington safety Kamren Fabiculanan. The loss snapped Michigan's 24-game Big Ten regular-season winning streak. The Wolverines had not suffered a Big Ten loss since falling at Michigan State on Oct. 30, 2021.
  • Minnesota then knocked off USC when Max Brosmer powered into the end zone for on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 56 seconds left for a 24-17 win. The crowd streamed onto the field to engulf the Gophers in a raucous celebration of their first victory over the Trojans since 1955.
(More NCAA football stories.)

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