1. Four or more ranked teams lose to unranked or lower-ranked teams
Yeah, it was definitely one of those weeks. First, Oregon lost to unranked Arizona. Then BYU lost to unranked Utah State. But the real chaos got underway on Saturday with Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin all falling to unranked or lower ranked opponents. That's 7 teams (not including Oregon) that matched the criteria, making this prediction a slam-dunk. In all, here are the ranks of teams in the top 25 that lost this week (keep in mind, some of these suffered losses to other ranked teams, but still): #2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. Wow.
2. Alabama beats Ole Miss by 14+ points
Clearly this one didn't pan out, because the Crimson Tide made the list above. This was not even close to a blow-out, with Alabama's largest cushion a 14 - 3 halftime lead. The Rebels rallied in the second half to stun Nick Saban's third-ranked Alabama squad, 23 - 17. The win was part of a big day for football in the state of Mississippi, with the Mississippi State Bulldogs also notching a big win, 48 - 31 over Texas A&M.
3. Michigan State holds Ameer Abdullah under 100 yards rushing
The Spartans barely survived a furious fourth quarter rally by the Cornhuskers, but completely shut down the run game, holding Abdullah to just 45 rushing yards. Michigan State reminded everyone why they were the top team in the Big Ten in 2013 with their suffocating defense. The Nebraska running back's Heisman hopes aren't completely dashed, but it's going to be an uphill battle after a flat performance in what could have been a shining moment against a top ten defense. Final score 27 - 22 MSU (compared to my prediction of 27 - 23.)
4. J.T. Barrett throws for over 300 yards for the third straight game
The rapidly maturing Buckeye quarterback had another outstanding game but fell just short of the 300 mark, with 267 yards passing. If Maryland's offense had been able to keep pace, Barrett would have easily reached the milestone again. But with a big second half lead, Ohio State leaned on the run game led by Ezekiel Elliott and eventually, backup QB Cardale Jones took over. Ohio State hasn't faced a defense as good as Virginia Tech's since the week 2 loss, but they look like a totally different team after outscoring opponents 168 - 52 since. The real test will come on November 8, when the Buckeyes travel to East Lansing to take on Michigan State in a match-up that will likely decide the division winner and eliminate any remaining playoff hopes for one of the teams.
5. Either Massachusetts or Miami (OH) wins a game this week
UMass went into the locker room with a 41 - 21 lead, looking like the better of these two MAC cellar-dwellers. But a big second half for the Redhawks, helped by several Minutemen turnovers, sparked a comeback win for Miami. It might be their only win of the season, but they fought hard for it. Final score: 42 - 41.
Week 6 record: 3 - 2
Overall record: 11 - 19
Other headlines from week 6:
Nobody's safe, but a loss doesn't mean disqualification
If there's one thing week 6 taught us, it's that anyone can succumb to the upset bug. I will be surprised if more than one or two teams end the regular season undefeated. As it stands, there are 10 teams with perfect records. Three of them are in the SEC West, so you can guarantee at most one of them will come out without a loss (though I think it's more likely the SEC champ will have at least one loss.) Florida State and Notre Dame play each other, so scratch another one there. Baylor and TCU face off this week, so that's one more that will go down - and I won't be shocked if the winner of that one still goes on to lose later in the season. Marshall may very well finish the season without a loss, and no one outside of the state of West Virginia will notice. Arizona sits as the lone undefeated team in the Pac-12, but there's no way they make it through their schedule unscathed. Who else is left? Georgia Tech? Please. What does all this mean? All the teams with one loss (or soon to have one loss) still have playoff hopes. It's going to be a tight battle for those four spots though.
Arizona atop Pac-12 while Michigan looks on longingly
Speaking of Arizona being the last undefeated team in the Pac-12, who saw that coming? The Wildcats made their presence known on Thursday with a stunning 31 - 24 victory over Oregon. There are few who believe they will be able to navigate their difficult schedule without stumbling at least once along the way, but not many picked them to beat the Ducks, so who knows? The cruel irony for Michigan fans: Arizona is led by head coach Rich Rodriguez. Yes, the same guy Michigan fired a few years back after not making enough progress in his three years with the program. Fast forward to right now, and the Wolverines are in disarray, with a 2 - 4 record and a coach whose win percentage has declined each year since taking the job. Rodriguez had a rocky start, but his win total at least went up every year at Michigan. You have to bet there are many in Ann Arbor regretting the decision to send him packing, and wondering what could have been.
Wisconsin reeling, Northwestern surging
Other than Michigan's woeful start of the season, two of the other biggest surprises in the Big Ten have been Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Badgers started the season with a close loss to LSU, but still looked like they could be one of the top teams in the conference. But after the upset loss to the Wildcats and LSU's blowout at the hands of Auburn, they look shaky at best. If you recall, I mentioned back in week 1 that Wisconsin would need improved quarterback play to compete in the Big Ten. Well, although they had Joel Stave back for their conference opener, the offense struggled with both quarterbacks. Stave and McEvoy combined to complete 12 of 29 passes for 138 yards, with 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions. Eek. Even the run game has been inconsistent, going for stretches of time without getting much going. Northwestern capitalized to take down the Badgers, 20 - 14. The win is just the latest for the Wildcats, who were left for dead after an 0 - 2 start. They have since turned the season around with upsets of Penn State and now Wisconsin. If they can keep their momentum, they could very well be a factor in the B1G West division in November.
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