Well friends, it’s only early October, and it feels like it’s safe to say that this college football season has already gone off the rails. This past Saturday, Texas and Penn State, the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation, respectively, both suffered their second losses of the year, and accordingly, both teams are now unranked in the first AP Poll of the month of October.
Additionally, we’ve already seen LSU, Illinois, Clemson, Notre Dame, Georgia and Alabama take Ls with a top-10 ranking next to their name, so this is all to say, once again, this season is off the rails, and I could not be loving it any more than I already am. I say give me all of the madness, all of the chaos and all of the upsets. I’m ready for this season to go full 2007.
Speaking of which…
Overreaction of the Week: This is the most unpredictable season in recent college football history!
Well, to a statement such as this one, I’d ask you to define “recent,” because if “recent” means the last 20 years, then I’d like to remind you about the glorious, wonderful mess that was the 2007 college football season. Here’s just a little taste, a nibble or a morsel, if you will, of what the 2007 season treated us to.
- Teams ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll lost to unranked opponents 13 times throughout the season. Two of those instances are all-timer upsets… Appalachian State, then playing in the FCS, went into the Big House and defeated No. 5 Michigan on the opening Saturday of the season, and then Stanford, as a 41-point underdog, defeated 2nd-ranked USC in Los Angeles.
- There were 3 weekends throughout the year when both the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country lost – LSU and California on Oct. 13, LSU (again) and Kansas (yes, the Kansas Jayhawks were ranked No. 2 in the country) on Nov. 24, and then Mizzou and West Virginia on Dec. 1. That’s right, we were this close to a Missouri/West Virginia BCS National Championship Game in 2007.
- In total, 17 different programs were ranked in the top 5 at some point in the season – Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Missouri, West Virginia, Kansas, Oregon, Boston College, South Florida, California, USC, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas and Michigan.
All I’m saying is, let’s just shelf this discussion for another month or so, or at least until there’s another weekend when multiple top 10 teams lose to unranked opponents again.
Play of the Weekend: Dallas Wilson is Rumblin’, Bumblin’ and Stumblin’ his way to the end zone
First of all, props to Dallas Wilson, a true freshman and spring-game standout who made one hell of an impact in his very first regular-season game for the Florida Gators, finishing with 6 catches for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the one above. He looks like an absolute specimen out there, and it makes you wonder, if Wilson hadn’t had to miss the first 4 games of the season, maybe one of those Gators losses go the other way.
Second of all, I think maybe we’ve actually overlooked just how competitive the Gators have been. They played Miami reasonably tough, were right there against LSU despite 5 interceptions by DJ Lagway, and got beat at the buzzer on a game-winning field goal by South Florida. I think there’s a scenario where we’re looking at a 4-1 Gators squad right now instead of a 2-3 team, and maybe this thought will be enough to help Billy Napier keep his job.
Biggest Loser of the Weekend: Everyone who was expecting something more out of the 2025 Red River Rivalry
In reality, I suppose with the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field and Texas having a pair of losses already, this game – and every game moving forward, for that matter – is a must-win for the Longhorns, so sure, the stakes are actually quite high. But man, wouldn’t this iteration of the Red River Rivalry be much more intriguing if Texas was still ranked in the top 10 and if John Mateer was definitely suiting up for the Oklahoma Sooners? Feels like we’re missing out on a potential classic, doesn’t it?
I know Brent Venables has hinted that Mateer might be able to give it a go – yes, in this instance, “I don’t know” feels like a hint – but I’d guess it’s more of a gamesmanship move on the part of the Sooners than a real indication that Mateer might be able to play. Make Steve Sarkisian, this week’s Biggest Loser runner-up, have to at least consider whether or not to game plan for him. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
Biggest Winner of the Weekend: Ty Simpson
Back to the topic of this being an unpredictable season, I must admit that I didn’t have Ty Simpson is the best quarterback in the SEC on my bingo card, especially after Alabama got routed by Florida State back in Week 1. It’s not as if Simpson played poorly in that game, but it just didn’t feel like he was a guy who was going to be able to elevate the Crimson Tide when they really needed him to.
But after these last 2 weeks… I’m starting to reconsider, because man oh man, Ty Simpson has played some inspired football against 2 in-conference ranked opponents. Against Vanderbilt and Georgia, Simpson managed to complete 68 percent of his passes for 616 yards and 4 touchdowns, outplaying both Gunner Stockton and Diego Pavia, and vaulting himself into the top spot in my post-Week 6 SEC Player of the Year Ballot.
SEC Player of the Year Ballot
1. Ty Simpson (QB, Alabama) – 1,478 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 70.3% completion, 2 rushing touchdowns
2. Ahmad Hardy (RB, Missouri) – 103 attempts, 730 rushing yards, 9 rushing touchdowns
3. Trinidad Chambliss (QB, Ole Miss) – 1,033 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 64.4% completion, 266 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
4. Diego Pavia (QB, Vanderbilt) – 1,409 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 71.4% completion, 352 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
5. Joey Aguilar (QB, Tennessee) – 1,459 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 65.0% completion, 2 rushing touchdowns
SEC Power Poll of the Week
1. Ole Miss
2. Texas A&M
3. Alabama
4. Georgia
5. LSU
6. Texas
7. Oklahoma
8. Tennessee
9. Vanderbilt
10. Missouri
One Big Question Heading Into Week 7: Is Missouri for real?
Before the season, if you would’ve told me that Alabama vs. Missouri would’ve been the one matchup between Top 25 ranked teams this week, I would’ve told you that you were crazy since Texas vs. Oklahoma, Florida vs. Texas A&M, and South Carolina vs. LSU are all on this weekend’s slate, but alas, we’ve got the Crimson Tide heading to Columbia for a noon ET kickoff against the Tigers, and I could not be more excited.
I don’t know what to make of this game, though I do plan on including it as part of my SEC Parlay of the Week. While I do think that the Crimson Tide are a much better bet to win the national championship, I can’t stop thinking about the fact that after 2 emotional wins over the last 2 weeks — those aforementioned victories over Georgia and Vanderbilt — maybe Bama is due for a letdown? And maybe if this season is set to take on the form of that 2007 season, a Mizzou upset victory over the Tide is exactly what we should be expecting this Saturday.
All I know is, a matchup between a pair of teams ranked in the top 15 with 2 SEC Player of the Year candidates involved is must-watch television.
