The first six weeks of this college football season have been pure chaos. Dare I say, it’s giving serious 2007 vibes—and for those unfamiliar with the legendary 2007 season, it was marked by unprecedented unpredictability: only one team finished with just a single loss, and the No. 2 spot in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings changed hands 11 times over the final 12 weeks. There is still much more that needs to happen to warrant those comparisons, but there have been some fascinating storylines to discuss.

Jekyll and Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide cruised into their week five matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs with three dominant wins against lowly programs (sorry, Wisconsin). The Tide overwhelmed the Dawgs from the outset, opening up an early 28–0 lead. Georgia mounted a furious comeback to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but, on the first play after surrendering the lead, Jalen Milroe found 17-year-old sensation Ryan Williams for a 75-yard touchdown to give Alabama a 41–34 lead, with which they would end the game. It was a statement win for Coach Kalen DeBoer, and the Tide looked poised to waltz into their week seven matchup at the Tennessee undefeated… 

And then Vandy happened. 

The Vanderbilt Commodores—who hadn’t had a winning season since 2013, had only three SEC wins in the last five seasons, and hadn’t beaten Alabama since 1984—stunned the No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide as 23-point underdogs. The Commodores scored on the first drive and never relinquished the lead. They executed perfectly, turning Milroe over twice, dominating the time of possession 42 to 18 minutes, and quarterback Diego Pavia played the game of his life. Pavia, a two-star recruit who began his collegiate career in Junior College, went 16/20 for 252 yards and two touchdowns and picked up numerous clutch first downs with his legs. The Vanderbilt fans celebrated accordingly, carrying the field goalpost three miles and chucking it into the Cumberland River. It was the biggest win in Commodore history and the most stunning upset the Tide have ever been dealt.

Alabama has fallen from No. 1 in the Associated Press (AP) poll to No. 7 and still has four ranked opponents on the schedule. Unfortunately, some of the magnitude of this loss has been nullified because of the new 12-team playoff format. In the BCS and four-team playoff era, any loss would have been damning, either ending playoff hopes or putting teams in a situation where another loss would end the season. However, with 12 teams getting in, the Tide can likely survive another loss and still be comfortably in the playoffs.

Woke vs. Coke

My biggest qualm with ESPN’s College GameDay is that it travels to the same sites. On the surface this makes sense; the biggest games of the week are often in the likes of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Athens, Ga., or Ann Arbor, Mich. But what makes college football so special is the unique fan bases, and only traveling to the same few schools fails to show the full breadth of the sport’s culture. Because of the lack of marquee matchups, GameDay traveled to Berkeley, Calif., for the first time, where the California Golden Bears hosted the No. 8 ranked and undefeated Miami Hurricanes. The Cal fan base showed up, packing the area at 5 a.m. and putting together creative, often self-deprecating signs. 

The 10-hour wait from the end of GameDay to game time did not disappoint. Behind a slew of big plays, the Golden Bears found themselves up 35–10 deep into the third quarter. Their win percentage reached 99.3% multiple times, but they were unable to pull off the upset as Cam Ward and the ’Canes scored 21 unanswered in the fourth quarter to win 39–38. It was the second straight week where Miami erased double-digit fourth-quarter deficits. However, the story of the game was an overturned targeting call on Miami’s Wesley Bissainthe. The penalty came with two minutes remaining and would have given the Golden Bears a new set of downs. The call on the field was targeting, and every angle showed the textbook definition of targeting, with the defensive player leaving his feet, leading with the crown of his helmet, and making forcible contact with the ball carrier in the head or neck area. It was probably just a bad call, but because college football is objectively more entertaining when Miami is good, it certainly raises an eyebrow. However you slice it though, the U is 6–0 and with no ranked opponents remaining on the schedule, barring a disaster, they will be in the playoffs. 

Blue Jean(ty) Baby

So far this year, there’s a clear Heisman favorite. He isn’t a quarterback, and he isn’t from a powerhouse school either; he is Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty is looking to become the first running back since Derrick Henry, and the first Group of Five player since Roger Staubach, to win the Heisman Trophy. This weekend, in a 62–30 rout of the Utah State Aggies, Jeanty eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on his 90th carry, the fewest attempts ever needed to hit this mark. The Broncos running back finished the first half with 186 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 attempts. With Boise State cruising, Jeanty didn’t play the second half for the second time this year. Despite having missed four quarters, Jeanty is keeping pace with Barry Sanders’ record-breaking 1988 season. Sanders finished the season with 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns, a benchmark no running back has been able to touch since. Jeanty is on pace to finish the regular season with 2,400 yards and 38 touchdowns, and the Broncos will have at least one postseason game for him to add to this.

Jeanty is not just the Bugatti in a beat-up garage. The Boise State Broncos are cruising. They currently sit at 4–1, with their only loss coming to the No. 3 ranked University of Oregon Ducks, who eked out a win with a last-second field goal. The Broncos are first in the nation in scoring, averaging 50.6 points per game. They slotted in at No. 17 in the most recent AP poll, making them the highest-ranked Group of Five team. With the new playoff expansion that grants a spot to the highest-ranked Group of Five school, the Broncos are live to make a playoff run.

Looking Forward

Week seven has been marked by college football fans since last year. The Texas Longhorns, who are now No. 1, travel to Norman to face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry (SEC Edition). No. 4 Penn State faces its biggest challenge yet in the Colosseum against a talented USC Trojans squad. The game of the week sees No. 3 Oregon host no. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten battle. A top-15 battle between the Ole Miss Rebels and LSU Tigers will also take place with both teams’ seasons in jeopardy.

Week eight might not have the same depth, but there are two top-10 SEC showdowns. If Texas survives Norman, they will have to beat a hungry Georgia team to remain unbeaten. Alabama at Tennessee looked to be a battle of the undefeated, but now both teams are just hoping to avoid picking up the dreaded second loss.

Weeks 9 to 14 are equally stacked, with a total of 23 ranked matchups for the rest of the regular season. The 12-team playoff format is certainly going to make things different. I don’t think anyone quite knows how, but it is something you won’t want to miss. 

I will leave you with a few predictions I have for the rest of the season.

1. One of the service academies makes the playoffs
2. The Buckeyes win it all
3. The Longhorns end the regular season with two losses
4. The SMU Mustangs make the playoffs

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.