Rankings of 134 college football teams after Week 6: Chaos hits the SEC and the debate begins

Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

Every college football season has a Chaos Week that throws these rankings into the air. This year was bigger than anything we’ve had in a long time.

Four top-10 teams lost on Saturday, three of them to unranked opponents. Vanderbilt beat Alabama for the first time in 40 years, a week after I said the Tide were Thanos (oops). Tennessee lost to Arkansas. Missouri was defeated by Texas A&M 41-10, and Michigan lost to Washington in a national title rematch.

This is also the point where we have the impossible conversation about the SEC: Is the league good because it’s letting itself down, or is that potential parity actually a sign of weakness? Ultimately, despite big losses, Alabama and Tennessee remain in the top 10 of this week’s Athletic 134.

Alabama only drops from No. 1 to No. 3, and the reason is simple: The Tide defeated Georgia just a week ago. Yes, the second half of that match was bad, but the first half was good. Alabama is definitely on a downward trend over the last six quarters, but I can’t put Alabama behind Georgia right now if I have them at the same level and Alabama beats Georgia. Plus, Georgia’s win against Clemson is looking better every week. Tennessee’s drop from No. 4 to No. 9 hinges on an Oklahoma win and otherwise dominant performance. But the Vols are on shaky ground.

Saturday’s carnage could have a major trickle-down effect on the SEC in the second half of the season. Everyone in the league except Texas has a loss and almost all of these teams still have to play each other. We’ll see a lot of two- and three-loss SEC teams around that CFP bubble, and I expect this to be a civil and calm conversation. That is also the point at which people will realize that the struggle to sow will be just as important as the struggle to get into the field.

But if you think I’m being too favorable toward the SEC here, then fire away. The reality is that we may not have dominant teams this year, as the transfer portal has created more depth across the board, and the expanded power conferences will mean more losses for top teams. When that happens, the focus can be on who you beat, rather than who you beat.

Here is this week’s Athletic 134.

1-10

Texas moves up to No. 1 after losing to Alabama, but the Longhorns won’t have an easy time with Oklahoma and Georgia in the next two weeks. Alabama and Georgia are ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Miami because they each have a better best win and because Oregon has had a few close losses. Ohio State finally played what I think is a quality Iowa team and pulled away for a 35-7 win. This week, however, we have Ohio State-Oregon, so prepare for another shakeup at the top.

Miami rebounded for a win over Cal to move up to No. 7. BYU drops to No. 8 after an inactive week because of what happened elsewhere, including SMU’s continued rise, which helps BYU because of the Cougars’ 18-15 win at SMU. Clemson has also climbed back into the top 10. The Tigers keep rolling.

GO DEEPER

Stewart Mandel’s 12-team Playoff projections after Week 6

11-25

Perhaps the biggest winner from Texas A&M’s win against Missouri was No. 13 Notre Dame. That Week 1 win in College Station is looking better every week and will help offset next week’s loss to Northern Illinois. Meanwhile, Indiana is one of only two teams currently sitting at 6-0, and the Hoosiers are really in the Big Ten and CFP picture. SMU is ranked No. 17 after beating Louisville on the road and is quietly in the ACC title picture.

Boise State jumps to No. 18, ahead of Utah due to their respective results against Utah State. LSU falls to No. 20 on a down week as its Week 1 loss to USC now looks worse, but the Tigers have a brutal schedule ahead.

Navy moves into the top 25 at No. 23 after a 34-7 win against Air Force to continue an impressive start. Illinois also slides back into the top 25 while inactive, and Michigan’s loss to Washington drops the Wolverines to No. 25.

GO DEEPER

Mandel’s final thoughts: On a crazy day full of adversity, Vanderbilt-Alabama stands above the rest

26-50

No. 26 Nebraska rises after beating Rutgers, while Pitt’s win against North Carolina puts the Panthers just outside the top 25. Texas Tech’s win in Arizona moves the Red Raiders to No. 29 and also pushes Washington State up because of the Cougars’ win against Texas Tech.

Vanderbilt, like everyone else in the SEC, is so hard to rank. The No. 31 Commodores have wins against Alabama and Virginia Tech, with an overtime loss to Missouri, but they also lost to Georgia State. You tell me what to do with it. Same with No. 34 Arkansas, which beat Tennessee but lost to an Oklahoma State team that has been sliding ever since. Iowa is one spot ahead of USC at No. 32 due to their results against Minnesota.

Syracuse moves up to No. 35 after an overtime win at UNLV, dropping the Rebels to No. 36. Washington rises to No. 43 after the win against Michigan, but losses to Rutgers and Washington State keep the Huskies from climbing further. Virginia jumps to No. 48 after beating Boston College.

GO DEEPER

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51-75

Oklahoma State continues to fall to No. 52 after a 38-14 loss to West Virginia. Florida moves up to No. 53 after handling UCF. Army is 5-0 and up after handling Tulsa 49-7. The difference between the Navy and Army rankings comes down to Navy’s impressive win against Memphis.

One of the biggest jumps comes from ULM, which is 4-1 and moves to No. 58 from No. 101 after beating the red-hot James Madison 21-19. Minnesota rises to No. 67 after beating USC, but the Gophers remain behind North Carolina for now due to their head-to-head record.

Louisiana slides to No. 75 because of Wake Forest’s win against NC State, a week after the Ragin’ Cajuns defeated Wake.

GO DEEPER

Diego Pavia is a Vanderbilt legend who beats Bama, and Vandy is a college football coach

76-100

NC State continues to fall, to No. 78 after a loss to Wake Forest. Houston jumps to No. 79 after beating TCU in Fort Worth.

No. 85 Georgia State is another tough team to rank. The Panthers defeated Vanderbilt, but lost to Georgia Southern and needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Chattanooga. In the end they stayed put. UConn drops one spot to No. 87 after needing a goal-line stop to beat Temple.

Arkansas State rises to No. 93 after beating South Alabama. Marshall’s win against App State moves the Thundering Herd to No. 96. What about Charlotte? The 49ers suddenly find themselves at 3-3 after a stunning 55-24 win against East Carolina and moving up to No. 97.

GO DEEPER

2024 College Football Playoff Projections: How did Week 6 chaos change things?

101-134

Purdue is the new lowest-ranked Power 4 team after a 52-6 loss to Wisconsin, dropping to No. 103 with a 1-4 record. The Boilermakers have been outscored 184-44 against FBS opponents.

UAB drops to No. 126 after a 70-21 loss to Tulane. Things are not going well in Birmingham.

The bottom five remains the same, but mark your calendars for UTEP and Kennesaw State to play on November 9.

The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories prior to publication.

(Top illustration photo: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)