How do you even begin to make sense of what happened in Week 6?
Vanderbilt beat No. 1 Alabama 40-35. A string of top-10 teams went down. Three more top-10 teams lost – including Tennessee, Michigan and Missouri. No. 11 USC also suffered an upset.
It was a flurry of upsets that showed just how wild the 12-team College Football Playoff race is going to be. The Crimson Tide and Volunteers should hold on to their spot in the College Football Playoff because they had one-score losses.
To top it off, Miami scored 21 straight fourth-quarter points to beat Cal 39-38.
MORE: Projected College Football Playoff after Week 6
Texas had a bye week, and the Longhorns are back at No. 1 heading into the Red River Rivalry matchup against Oklahoma. The Sooners are at No. 18 with a chance to move up.
Ohio State and Oregon are the beneficiaries of the Week 6 upheaval. The Buckeyes and Ducks are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, heading into their Week 7 matchup at Autzen Stadium. This looks like the best matchup of the Big Ten regular season, and there could be a rematch on Dec. 7.
MORE: Looking ahead to a blockbuster Week 7 slate
Miami and Georgia round out the top five.
Here is a closer look at The Sporting News top 25 rankings:
Sporting News Top 25 rankings for Week 7
Here is a closer look at our latest top 25 ranking heading into Week 7:
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | PREVIOUS | WEEK RESULT |
| 1 | Texas | 5-0 | 2 | Bye |
| 2 | Ohio State | 5-0 | 3 | Beat Iowa 35-7 |
| 3 | Oregon | 5-0 | 6 | Beat Michigan State 31-10 |
| 4 | Miami, Fla. | 6-0 | 5 | Beat Cal 39-38 |
| 5 | Georgia | 4-1 | 7 | Beat Auburn 31-13 |
| 6 | Penn State | 5-0 | 8 | Beat UCLA 27-11 |
| 7 | Clemson | 4-1 | 10 | Beat Florida State 29-13 |
| 8 | Ole Miss | 5-1 | 11 | Beat South Carolina 27-3 |
| 9 | Alabama | 4-1 | 1 | Lost to Vanderbilt 40-35 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 4-1 | 4 | Lost to Arkansas 19-14 |
| 11 | Iowa State | 5-0 | 17 | Beat Baylor 43-21 |
| 12 | BYU | 5-0 | 16 | Bye |
| 13 | LSU | 4-1 | 14 | Bye |
| 14 | Notre Dame | 4-1 | 15 | Bye |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 5-1 | 22 | Beat Missouri 41-10 |
| 16 | Kansas State | 4-1 | 19 | Bye |
| 17 | Indiana | 6-0 | 23 | Beat Northwestern 41-24 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 4-1 | 18 | Bye |
| 19 | Pitt | 5-0 | NR | Beat North Carolina 34-24 |
| 20 | Missouri | 4-1 | 9 | Lost to Texas A&M 41-10 |
| 21 | Utah | 4-1 | 21 | Bye |
| 22 | SMU | 5-1 | NR | Beat Louisville 34-27 |
| 23 | Illinois | 4-1 | 25 | Bye |
| 24 | Boise State | 4-1 | NR | Beat Utah State 62-30 |
| 25 | Navy | 5-0 | NR | Beat Air Force 34-7 |
