Pandemonium.
Pandemonium is the only word to describe what happened to college football this weekend. Five top-11 teams lost, including four to unranked teams. Alabama, USC, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee all suffered upsets. More ranked teams struggled, with No. 5 Georgia pulling away from Auburn late and No. 8 Miami catching a break for the second consecutive week against Cal.
However, the chaos opened some doors for Clemson to advance in the college football playoff prediction rankings. The Tigers jumped to number six after outlasting Florida State, but let’s take a look at what made that possible.
2024 week six 12-team CFP prediction
Rank | Team | Why are they here | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ohio State | Big 10 Champion | 1 |
2 | Texas | SEC Champion | 2 |
3 | Miami | ACC Champion | 3 |
4 | Iowa St | Big 12 Champion | 11 |
5 | Penn St | At-large | 5 |
6 | Clemson | At-large | 9 |
7 | Oregon | At-large | 10 |
8 | Georgia | At-large | 8 |
9 | Texas A&M | At-large | Not Ranked |
10 | Alabama | At-large | 6 |
11 | Utah | At-large | 4 |
12 | Boise St | MW Champion | Not Ranked |
Vanderbilt produced perhaps the greatest FBS upsets of all time Saturday, knocking off SEC powerhouse Alabama. It’s obvious that things are not the same with Kalen DeBoer because — let’s face it — that would’ve never happened under Nick Saban. Regardless, it put the tide near the bottom of the rankings but not completely out. Alabama still has the talent that makes Bama, Bama, and that's dangerous by itself.
But that wasn’t the only upset in the SEC. With a record of 3–2, Arkansas pulled a Kentucky and exposed another “explosive” offense in the SEC. The Razorbacks held Tennessee — which averages 50 points a game — to 14 points. The Vols also had the top-ranked defense in the country before Saturday. Arkansas recorded over 400 yards from scrimmage and could’ve run away with that game if it converted a few more opportunities in the first half. Just like Ole Miss, Tennessee has fallen out of the CFP rankings and needs to show us something before being put back on.