Fall season: Upset time
Series of shockers starts Friday, keeps toppling favorites
1
Rough weekend for favorites: Many assumed with no games between top-25 teams that this was going to be a hohum weekend. It was anything but with seven ranked teams falling: No. 2 Clemson, No. 5 Washington, No. 8 Washington State, No. 10 Auburn, No. 19 San Diego State, No. 24 Texas Tech and No. 25 Navy.
2
Freaky Friday strikes again: We should have known this weekend had the makings of something chaotic when No. 2 Clemson and No. 8 Washington State both suffered surprising losses Friday night.
3
And then there were eight: After the smoked cleared, eight undefeated teams remained: Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, TCU, Wisconsin, Miami, South Florida and Central Florida.
4
The Pac-12 road to the playoff took an unexpected turn: Most assumed the winner of the Pac-12 would have a clear shot at a playoff spot, but you know what they say about assumptions. With previously undefeated Washington and Washington State suffering mind-boggling losses, the conference is hoping a one-loss champion can reach the playoff.
5
Clemson can recover from its loss: The Tigers and Dabo Swinney have been here before — last season to be exact — so they know exactly what’s at stake after their loss to Syracuse. The good news is this team has some early quality wins against ranked opponents and still will face ranked teams in N.C. State and possibly Miami in the ACC title game.
6
Alabama, Georgia continue to pull away in the SEC: After watching pretenders Auburn, Florida and Tennessee suffer heartbreaking losses, it’s tough to imagine a scenario in which the Tide or Bulldogs don’t finish among the top four at the end of the year.
7
Ed Orgeron gets some much-need relief: It has been a roller-coaster month for the LSU coach, who went from defending himself to an angry fan base after a loss to Troy to enjoying fan cheers after rallying the Tigers from a 20-point halftime deficit to a stunning 27-23 win over No. 10 Auburn. The Tigers have beaten ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks.
8
TCU is the most complete team in the Big 12: Credit Gary Patterson for TCU’s miraculous turnaround after a disappointing 6-7 season in 2016. The Horned Frogs have improved offensively thanks to quarterback Kenny Hill, and the defense has been solid.
9
J.T. Barrett could make a late push for the Heisman: The Ohio State quarterback has bounced back nicely from a rough start, completing 72 percent of his passes for 1,351 yards with 18 touchdowns and no interceptions. The Buckeyes have won five straight games by an average of 45.6 points.
10
USF, UCF continue to impress: Raise your hand if at the beginning of the season you had USF and UCF ranked higher than Florida or Florida State. The two programs from the American Athletic Conference have been playing the best football in the Sunshine State and feature two of the most explosive offenses in the country.