College football has never experienced a Saturday like this.
Five of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same day in the regular season for the first time in history. The last time anything even remotely close happened was on Jan. 2, 1989, according to Sportradar, when five of the top eight teams lost.
Shakeup Saturday was driven by the Southeastern Conference, with No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas going down as touchdown or more
favorites.
No. 2 Notre Dame (at No. 8 BYU) and fifth-ranked Indiana (against No. 4 Ohio State) also lost, although those were less shocking.
It's the first time Nos. 1 and 2 lost on the same day in the regular season since Oregon (to Stanford) and Kansas State (to Baylor) in 2012.
The chaos, which is sure to shuffle the poll and College Football Playoff seeding forecasts, cleared a path for No. 3 Miami to take over the top poll spot after beating rival Florida State 43-35 in a double-overtime classic that ended in controversy.
The Hurricanes can only hope to do better than the No. 1 team has the last two weeks; Texas and Georgia lost to unranked teams, the first time that's happened in consecutive weeks since Notre Dame (to Stanford) and Michigan (to Michigan State) in 1990.
Five of the top eight teams in the AP poll lost on the same day in 1989 when No. 3 West Virginia, No. 5 USC, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Auburn and eighth-ranked Arkansas stumbled in bowl games.
It was nearly as rare for heavyweights Georgia, Alabama and Texas to lose on the same Saturday, which hadn't happened since Oct. 26, 1996, according to the SEC.
It showed why SEC coaches were so hesitant to give in to playing a nine-game league slate. And it might be fitting that the bloody Saturday came on the same week the SEC capitulated to the Big Ten to move closer to finalizing a 24-team playoff.
The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) had been the league’s last remaining team without a loss, but Gunner Stockton threw two interceptions and fumbled with less than a minute to play in a 27-24 stunner to unranked Auburn (4-2, 2-2). Georgia, which had won 53 in a row against unranked teams, was a 20 1/2 -point favorite in the game known as “the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.”
Alex McPherson’s 34-yard field goal on the final play sent the visiting sideline into a frenzy. It was Auburn’s first win in Athens since 2005 and the program’s first road win against the nation’s No. 1 team since winning at Florida in 1994.
“We’re just continuing to plug,” said Auburn coach Alex Golesh, whose team scored on a trick play and an amazing, one-catch. “We’re going to build Auburn back to where everybody wants it, one game at a time. Just hang with us.”
Auburn’s win meant the team ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 lost in consecutive weeks to unranked teams for the first time since Notre Dame and Michigan in October 1990, according to Sportradar. Then-No. 1 Texas lost last week to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.
That setback seemed to have a carryover effect for the Longhorns.
Arch Manning had more late-game woes against Florida. He fumbled with less than two minutes to play — a week after throwing an interception that helped Oklahoma win a week ago — and the Longhorns (4-2, 1-2) lost 27-24 at home to the Gators (5-2, 3-2). Texas was a 10 1/2-point favorite.
Manning completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked five times as Texas lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time since 2021.
Like Auburn and Florida, No. 14 Tennessee delivered a defensive gem in the rivalry known as the “The Third Saturday in October.” The Volunteers (6-1, 3-1) held Alabama to 201 yards in a 26-10 win in Knoxville, shutting down dynamic quarterback Keelon Russell and breaking out cigars for the third consecutive year.
The Vols finished with five sacks and four takeaways.
“Phenomenal performance,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said.
Alabama (5-2, 3-2) was a 7 1/2-point favorite and played without leading receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams. Fans rushed the field afterward, and the Vols will gladly pay the SEC fine.
Tennessee won despite without quarterback Faizon Brandon (shoulder). George MacIntyre filled in and got plenty of help from DeSean Bishop, who ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
It was Alabama’s second straight loss.
In other ranked SEC action, Lane Kiffin’s former and current teams rolled. Kiffin and No. 22 LSU overwhelmed 16th-ranked Mississippi State 31-3. And No. 9 Ole Miss thumped 13th-ranked Missouri 31-3.
And No. 15 Kentucky beat Oklahoma 21-13 on the road, making first-year coach Will Stein the first Wildcats coach to win six of his first seven games in more than a century.
Indiana's 22-game winning streak ended in gut-wrenching fashion against No. 4 Ohio State.
The defending national champion and fifth-ranked Hoosiers looked like they were going to rally to beat the Buckeyes, but standout receiver Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds in the end zone and negated what would have been a 27-yard touchdown reception on a fourth-and-4 play in the final minute.
Ohio State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) ran out the clock from there, escaping with a 19-15 victory despite losing quarterback Julian Sayin to a right shoulder injury. Sayin left in the fourth quarter returned with his throwing arm in a sling. Coach Ryan Day said Sayin would miss “several weeks.”
It was Indiana's first loss since falling at Notre Dame in the 2024 College Football Playoff and ended a 19-game winning streak at home.
The Hoosiers (6-1, 3-1) turned the ball over twice and missed two field goals, the first one after quarterback Josh Hoover missed seeing a wide-open receiver streaking toward the end zone.
Jeremiah Smith delivered another highlight catch, this one resulting in a 38‑yard touchdown on a fourth-down play against Indiana. Smith tracked the pass from Julian Sayin and outjumped two defenders in the end zone for his 12th TD catch of the season and the 39th of his three-year college career.
Smith's latest one matched former Michigan standout Braylon Edwards for the record for most receiving touchdowns in a Big Ten career. Smith accomplished the feat in nine fewer games than Edwards.
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