While we are only six weeks into the college football season, there has been much excitement. The Heisman race is alive and well, with Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty and Cam Ward, among others, making a compelling case for being college football’s No. 1. Not to mention, the CFB season has been upset galore, with teams like Alabama, Utah and even Notre Dame unexpectedly falling victim to underdog opponents. While fans of these programs do not enjoy these losses, most college football fans love an underdog story. In this week’s roundtable, our group of sports writers will give their take on their favorite upset of the year so far.
Tyler Pruneau, Campus Correspondent: Alabama Vs. Vanderbilt
Even though many teams in the top 11 rankings lost this weekend, the University of Alabama vs. The University of Vanderbilt wins the award for the biggest upset. After knocking off the University of Georgia and advancing to No. 1 in the nation, Alabama was heavily favored. Before this game, Vanderbilt last beat Alabama in 1984. With a 23-game winning streak, hope was not in the air for Vanderbilt pulling an upset. This defeat leads to the question, would the match end differently if Nick Saban still coached the Crimson Tide? Pulled down to No. 7, Alabama paved the way for the University of Texas, who improved to No. 1 in the nation. With this loss, altering the playoff seedings is possible. Trying to make it back in the top five, the Crimson Tide play tough teams in the upcoming weeks. This makes things more interesting with how well they perform in the future.
Jake McCreven, Campus Correspondent: Minnesota over No. 11 USC
The Gophers offered USC a second welcoming to the Big 10 by scoring 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points and intercepting Trojan quarterback Miller Moss in the final minute to cap off a 24-17 upset over the country’s No. 11 team. Gopher quarterback Max Brosmer accounted for all three Minnesota touchdowns – all on the ground and within five yards – including two tush push scores as USC struggled to produce offensively in the second half. The Trojans turned the ball over three times as Miller Moss threw for his lowest QBR of the 2024 season (67.7). As an opponent of conference expansion and a retired Gopher fan, seeing Minnesota win at the line of scrimmage and bully the Trojans into throwing downfield shots to rack up yards was vindicating – Big 10 football isn’t dead after all.
Patrick Minnerly, Campus Correspondent: Georgia Tech over Florida State
Coming off an unbeaten 2023 season, Florida State was ranked No. 10 in preseason but immediately fell to Georgia Tech in Week 0, 24-21. The game came down to a last-second field goal by Yellow Jackets kicker Aiden Birr from 44 yards to seal Georgia Tech’s shocking upset. For a team that won the ACC Championship and just missed out on a College Football Playoff berth last year, this loss was both a massive disappointment and, as it turns out, a harbinger of Florida State’s miserable season. But for the Yellow Jackets, the victory continued a string of giant-killing efforts in recent years that has seen Georgia Tech beat four ranked teams in the past three years, including then-No.13 North Carolina in 2022. What’s more, they defeated a Florida State organization that openly advocated leaving the ACC for supposedly greener pastures. The Yellow Jackets showed the Seminoles that they can hardly compete in their own conference right now.
Brayden Gorski, Campus Correspondent: James Madison over North Carolina
Although neither team was ranked, undefeated UNC losing at home as an 11.5-point favorite, all while giving up 70 points to a non-power 5 team feels like it warrants an upset. Coming off their first ever year in FBS play and a stellar 11-2 record, which forced the CFB committee to put them in a bowl game, there were some question marks for JMU after the departure of head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana. Former Holy Cross head coach Bob Chesney had his boys ready to play, scoring three TDs in the first quarter including a blocked punt returned to the endzone. After UNC cut the deficit to just four in the second, the Dukes rallied off four unanswered touchdowns including a pick-six from Terrence Spence to end the half up 53-21. The Tar Heels cut the lead to 19 points, but James Madison added another score for good measure and won convincingly, 70-50. This game was an absolute display of offense, defense and special teams by the Dukes, shocking everybody at Chapel Hill.
Ryan Lombardi, Campus Correspondent: Northern Illinois over Notre Dame
After Notre Dame’s thrilling victory over Texas A&M in week one, people were high on the Irish, including voters ranking them at No. 5 in the country. In week two, a little-known Northern Illinois came into South Bend with zero expectations. In fact, Notre Dame paid them $1.4 million for an “easy win”. What followed was four quarters of two struggling defenses, but it was not until a late interception by the Huskies with NIU down by one that people were on notice. Northern Illinois quickly moved into field goal range and took a 16-14 lead, all but sealing Notre Dame’s fate and silencing stunned Irish fans. What makes this upset particularly strange is that NIU has struggled mightily since their win, losing to Buffalo and NC State, and had difficulty taking down UMass. And Notre Dame, taking out their frustrations, dominated Purdue, and convincingly defeated Miami (OH) and No. 15 Louisville, and is currently ranked No. 11.
Colette Doyle. Camus Correspondent: Arkansas over No. 4 Tennessee
Arkansas’s win against Tennessee wins the title for the most exciting upset. Arkansas came in as the underdogs as they have not won over a top five team since their 2007 win against No. 1 LSU. Tennessee was projected to win as they just came off a win and are the second-ranked run defense, displaying the team’s dominance. At the third-quarter, Tennessee looked like the clear winner with a score of 14-7 and Arkansas’s quarterback out of the game; however, Arkansas overcame this score deficit to win 19-14. The score deficit was overcome in the remaining 1:17 minutes when backup quarterback, Malachi Singleton, scored a touchdown that delivered Arkansas their victory. This is just one of the many upsets that have occurred, showing that it is anyone’s game in college football.
Jake Loomis, Campus Correspondent: BC, Over No.10 FSU
Florida State was just coming off a loss to Notre Dame in the first game of the season and was looking to rebound against Boston College. The Eagles, on the other hand, were looking to make a statement under new coach Bill O’brien. The Eagles set a statement by winning the game by two touchdowns and upsetting the Noles. The important part about the upset is it showed Boston College was for real and that Florida State was not as good as it seemed. It would set a tone for many more upsets to come in the college football season.