SMQ: Where did Week 7 rank among most upset filled weekends of all time?
By Zach Bigalke
When is the last time four top-10 teams lost to unranked opponents on the same weekend?
You don’t have to go too far back in college football history to find the last time that four top-10 schools fell on the same weekend to unranked foes. It actually happened as recently as a year ago. Back in Week 12 of the 2016 season, we saw a similar level of chaos emerge. Five top-10 teams actually lost that weekend to unranked opponents:
- Pittsburgh 43, No. 2 Clemson 42
- Iowa 14, No. 3 Michigan 13
- USC 26, No. 4 Washington 13
- Georgia 13, No. 8 Auburn 7
- Ole Miss 29, No. 10 Texas A&M 28
Four single-score losses and a two-touchdown upset scrambled the AP Top 25 that weekend. Pittsburgh took down No. 2 Clemson, a result that would have repercussion in the College Football Playoff discussion. While Clemson made it back into the field and ultimately won the national championship, the loss raised serious questions about their worthiness of a spot in the semifinals. This became especially critical in the discussions concerning No. 5 Penn State, which had also fallen to the Panthers earlier in the year.
No. 3 Michigan stumbled by a point against Iowa, while the same happened to No. 10 Texas A&M in their showdown with Ole Miss. The SEC suffered another loss by one of its top-10 teams as No. 8 Auburn collapsed in a 13-7 loss against Georgia. Then there was No. 4 Washington, which took on USC at home and lost 26-13. Like Clemson, the Huskies would eventually make the College Football Playoff field. But the USC loss harmed their case, and only Penn State’s two-loss record opened the door for Washington to reemerge in the race.