I know some of you all thought Saturday would be a dud because of the lack of Top-25 matchups across college football. But my goodness, we were treated to a crazy day of football, thanks to losses by Alabama, Tennessee, USC, Michigan and Missouri. 

It’s usually the slate of games that you least expect. This was the case on a wild day that ended on the West Coast, as Miami and California squared-off in the ACC challenge that saw the Hurricanes erase a 25-point deficit to beat the Bears. 

The chaos started in College Station, made a pit-stop in Nashville, traversed to the State of Washington and ended in Minnesota. 

For the first time in SEC history, we saw two Top-5 teams lose to unranked opponents on the same day. 

You didn’t actually think we’d get through the weekend without some chaos, right? 

Vanderbilt Shocks No. 1 Alabama, As Nashville Erupts In Chaos

In what might be the wildest upset this season, and I do remember Northern Illinois beating Notre Dame, but what Vanderbilt did on Saturday afternoon in Nashville will be remembered for a very long time. 

For the first time in forty years, Vanderbilt defeated Alabama, and did so in-front of what looked like a crowd full of Crimson. This game belonged to Diego Pavia, who ran all over the Alabama defense, and made them pay through the air as well. The Vanderbilt QB has now beaten the Tide and Auburn in a span of two years, with two different teams, after winning on the Plains last season with New Mexico State. 

This night belonged to the Commodores, as they forced Jalen Milroe into numerous mistakes, and frustrated the Alabama defense into a number of mind-numbing plays. As the clock ticked down to zero, Vandy fans stormed the field in jubilation, tearing down the goalposts and taking it all the way to the Cumberland River in Downtown Nashville. 

Nextup: Alabama will host South Carolina, while Vanderbilt will play at Kentucky. 

Arkansas Stuns No. 4 Tennessee In Another Huge upset

Oh, so you thought Vanderbilt would be the only team to cause chaos in the Top-5 this weekend? Nope, Arkansas decided to get in on the party, upsetting No.4 Tennessee 19-14 in what was a dramatic game of defense. 

There was nothing about Tennessee’s playcalling that made them look like a team that was prepared for a trip to Fayetteville. I don’t know what happened to Josh Heupel’s explosive offense, but the offensive line has done them zero favors over the past few weeks. Credit goes to Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks for taking advantage of the Vols mistakes, given that things could’ve gone sideways when QB Taylen Green took a bad hit to the knee in the fourth quarter. 

The longer Arkansas hung around, the more it felt like Tennessee was in trouble. And now, the Vols are in a very interesting spot, almost the same as Ole Miss last weekend after the loss to Kentucky. The next two weeks could define the Tennessee season, as Florida and Alabama will travel to Knoxville. I’m not saying the Vols have to win both, but if they were to lose, it better not come at the hands of the Gators, with the playoffs just two months away. 

Big win for the Hogs, while it was a bad night to hear ‘Rocky Top’ in Fayettville.  

Next, Tennessee hosts Florida in a game in which I now have no idea what to expect. Arkansas gets a week off before hosting LSU. 

What’s Up, Missouri? Texas A&M Pounces On No. 9 Tigers

This was actually the game that started the college football madness on Saturday. But this wasn’t just any loss, this was a 41-10 beatdown at the hands of Texas A&M. While the Tigers came into this game riding high, with an offense that looked like a problem, they left College Station with more questions than answers. 

Credit goes to Aggies QB Conner Weigman, who diced up the Missouri secondary and has Texas A&M looking like a team that will fight for a college football playoff spot. Just as we were all expecting, right? 

Eli Drinkwitz said during the week that Mike Elko was playing games with the potential of Conner Weigman getting the start of Marcel Reed. But the only ones laughing after the game were the Aggies, who embarrassed the Tigers and sent them into a state of panic. 

Next up, Missouri plays UMass, while Texas A&M gets a week off before playing Mississippi State. 

What Happened In The Big Ten? USC And Michigan Lose Thrillers

Nope, the SEC wasn’t the only conference to eat themselves on Saturday. I know that Washington was favored to beat Michigan, but it’s still an upset when the No. 10 Wolverines were beaten by the Huskies. Talk about a rough game for Michigan, being out-gained 429 to 287 in total yards. 

This was a brutal loss for Michigan, given that they had already been beaten by Texas. Having two losses by the end of the first weekend of October should all but end their chances of making the college football playoffs. Sure, anything could happen, but the loss to Washington will cost them. 

But it was USC that suffered the most gut-wrenching loss, just in terms of how it played out. The trip to Minnesota was always weird looking on the schedule, and the outcome of this one lived up to the craziness of the day. 

Yes, that was the Gophers going for the touchdown, rather than kick the field goal to take the lead. I’ll give PJ Fleck a lot of credit, as he makes these games worth watching, especially with his choice of ways to take the lead. It could’ve easily backfired, but Miller Moss found himself in a lot of trouble on the final drive. 

For USC, their second loss of the season is going to sting for a while. Given that they look like a squad that’s struggling to find an identity of offense, there are a number of games remaining that look like potential losses. Next week’s game against Penn State just lost some luster, but nothing would surprise me anymore this season. 

Other Games Of Note, Futures To Question

How about those SMU Mustangs? Going on the road and beating Louisville, as Rhet Lashlee has his team 5-1 on the season, looking good in the ACC right now. 

In news outside the realm of good teams in college football, It’s time for UAB to move-on from Trent Dilfer. What was once a proud G-5 team that rose from the ashes of having its football program shut down, the Blazers are now an embarrassment to what Bill Clark rebuilt and Bryan Vincent helped stay on-course. It’s time for the team in my home-state to make the move and pay the buyout. They shouldn’t have hired Dilfer to begin with, as his high school resume was worthless. 

Just a wild weekend of college football, which started on Friday night with UNLV and Syracuse giving us a thrilling game. That’s what this beautiful sport will give us, when you least expect it. 

Take a deep breath, regroup if your team lost, and prepare for another week of trash talk leading up to a crucial weekend of football.

 Man, that was a fun Saturday. 

Saturday was a rough day for some of college football’s most storied programs and highest-ranked teams as five of the top 11 teams in the AP Top 25 lost — with all five dropping games on the road.

Top-ranked Alabama lost 40-35 at Vanderbilt. No. 4 Tennessee lost 19-14 at Arkansas. No. 9 Missouri was blown out 41-10 at No. 25 Texas A&M.

And the upsets weren’t limited to the Southeastern Conference. In the Big Ten, No. 10 Michigan fell 27-17 at Washington. And No. 11 USC lost 24-17 at Minnesota.

And that might not be all the upsets, as No. 8 Miami was losing 14-10 early in the second quarter in the Hurricanes’ game at California.

With all the upsets, there is sure to be some significant shakeup at the top of the rankings when the new rankings are revealed on Sunday.

Of course, plenty of top teams still won this weekend, with No. 6 Oregon handling Michigan State 31-10, No. 3 Ohio State routing Iowa 35-7, No. 5 Georgia downing Auburn 31-13 and No. 7 Penn State beating UCLA 27-11. All four of those winners were playing at home.

The only AP Top 25 teams to win on the road were: No. 12 Ole Miss, which beat South Carolina 27-3; No. 15 Clemson, which beat Florida State 29-13; and No. 23 Indiana, which beat Northwestern 41-24.

— Joel Odom

In the only ranked college football matchup of the weekend, No. 25 Texas A&M sent a message with a 41-10 dismantling of No. 9 Missouri Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field. The Aggies racked up 512 yards of offense while limiting the Tigers to just 254 in a dominant effort.

Here are five takeaways from the game as A&M improved to 5-1 and 3-0 in conference action.

Conner Weigman makes up for lost time

A&M fans’ lasting memory of redshirt sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman was his 100-yard, two-interception performance to open the season versus Notre Dame. Against Missouri, he successfully flipped the narrative around his name and looked like the signal-caller the 12th Man expected to see this year.

Making his first appearance since Sept. 7 after suffering an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, Weigman didn’t miss a beat with 276 yards on 18-of-22 passing. He showed impressive accuracy in connecting with 10 different receivers, completing nine passes of 15 or more yards.

The Cypress native also got the job done with his legs, gaining 33 yards on five attempts. Weigman has shown glimpses of his effective scrambling ability, and he reinforced that Saturday. He may not have the run-first talent of redshirt freshman QB Marcel Reed, but it’s valuable nonetheless.

Weigman’s shoulder looks fine, now, and any quarterback controversy may be put to rest.

The Aggies’ defense came ready for Brady Cook, Luther Burden

Missouri’s graduate QB went from Cooking this season to Cooked. Brady entered the game as one of the conference’s most reliable quarterbacks, but couldn’t muster up much offense against A&M’s defensive presence. He completed 13 of 31 passes for 186 yards, with a 59-yard touchdown pass to graduate wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. for his lone score.

The Aggies ensured the Tigers couldn’t get anything going on the ground, either, with intense pressure in the trenches. Missouri’s leading rusher, graduate running back Nate Noel, managed just 30 of the team’s 68 rushing yards, while Cook’s net total was 11 yards thanks to six sacks by six different Aggies.

Almost more impressively, A&M neutralized any threat posed by star junior WR Luther Burden III. With four touchdowns coming into the game, Burden caught just four passes for 49 yards, with a would-be 75-yard score being negated with an ineligible man downfield penalty.

Saturday was the epitome of complementary football, with the Aggies dominating in both sides of the game.

The offensive line is the spark behind the A&M run game

Is there a more improved position group across college football than the Aggies’ offensive line? Coach Adam Cushing has turned the unit from a liability into a key strength of the team. The line paved the way for 236 rushing yards and five touchdowns as the A&M run game continued to shine.

Weigman was sacked just once as his line gave him all day to make throws in a sizable pocket. When he handed the ball off, the rushers found holes to run through. Junior running back Le’Veon Moss turned 12 carries into 138 yards and three scores, headlined by a 75-yard sprint to the end zone to start the second half.

Junior RB Amari Daniels gained 38 yards an matched his season production with two more touchdowns. Stanford transfer RB EJ Smith added 26 yards on six carries.

The Aggies shined on third, fourth down

For much of the game, A&M couldn’t get off the field on third down, but in the best way possible. The Aggies’ offense converted on seven of 12 third-down opportunities, engineering lengthy, sustainable drives for points. A&M scored on seven of its first nine possessions. Four of the touchdown drives ate up 60 yards or more.

It was an entirely different story for the Tigers, who found success on just five of their 15 third-down plays. They went for it on fourth-down four times, oftentimes out of necessity with a big deficit, and picked up a first down just once. Missouri was eighth in the nation with a .547 third-down conversion rate coming into the game, while A&M was tied for 77th at .387.

The Aggies made the necessary plays when they had to, which proved to be the difference.

A&M is squarely in the hunt for the College Football Playoff

Coach Mike Elko may disagree, but this was a statement win for the Aggies on a national stage. In the only ranked matchup of this weekend’s college football slate, A&M grabbed the country’s attention and turned it into a dominant effort over a top-10 program.

The Aggies took care of the third step of a generous SEC schedule that doesn’t include Alabama, Georgia or Ole Miss. A&M enters the bye week with a five-game winning streak ahead of a road trip to lowly Mississippi State. It still needs to take care of LSU, South Carolina and Texas, but the Aggies are in a good spot at the halfway point of the season.

If A&M can keep the train rolling, the top-10 victory puts a College Football Playoff berth on the horizon.

Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.