Alabama, Tennessee and Missouri lose, throwing the SEC race into chaos

Matt Hayes analyzes four hot topics from Saturday's games.

First of all: chaos in the SEC

All those one-possession games, all those one-possession losses. Something had to balance out at some point, right?

Welcome back to the sunny side of the street, Sam Pittman.

Arkansas' snake-bitten coach of the last two seasons – with double-digit losses in one-possession games (two this season) – finally broke through Saturday night with a 19-14 win over No. 4 Tennessee.

It took a late defensive stop after Tennessee allowed Arkansas backup quarterback Malachi Singleton to score to set up the final drive, but the Hogs won a meaningful game under Pittman for the first time since the 2021 season.

Arkansas did it by overcoming a lost touchdown pass, a missed field goal, two failed fourth-down conversions and just 13 points in four trips to the red zone.

It was the first time in SEC history that two top-five teams were upset on the same day. Vanderbilt stunned No. 1 Alabama on Saturday afternoon.

The upsets of Alabama, Tennessee and No. 9 Missouri mean that every league team except Texas will suffer at least one loss. It also means the weekly drawing of elite teams vying for spots in the College Football Playoff has begun.

Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma all suffered a loss and all play multiple games against each other in the next two months (leaving Texas undefeated).

The key question after early upsets led to eight teams suffering a loss just a week into October is: Is it possible for the SEC to admit a three-loss team into the CFP?

Second: Texas A&M and motivation

Let me reintroduce you to an age-old motivator and how it puts Texas A&M right back in the SEC race.

The Bank.

Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman spent the last three weeks on the sideline recovering from a shoulder injury and watched backup Marcel Reed play flawlessly and lead the Aggies to three straight wins.

You see where this is going, right?

Fighting for his job with his backup in the rearview, Weigman had a career game in the loss to Missouri — and the Aggies earned a significant SEC victory.

Are you wondering where the motivation lies in the age of zero money and free player movement? Where she has always been: the bank.

While Aggies coach Mike Elko continued to insist that Weigman would be the team's starter when healthy, there is little doubt that the shadow of Reed is a legitimate option under Weigman, who played poorly in the season-opening loss to Notre Dame Fire ignited.

Fast forward to this week, when Missouri came to town after coach Eli Drinkwitz publicly stated he believed the Aggies would play Reed because he made them harder to defend. More fuel for Weigman.

So Weigman went out and played the best game of his injury-plagued career, completing 18 of 22 passes for 276 yards and running five times for 33 yards, leading to a 41-10 victory over Texas A&M (5-1). SEK is undefeated throughout the season.

More: Alabama's stunning loss, Missouri's unmasking winners and losers from Week 6 in college football's best

Weigman injured his shoulder in a loss to Notre Dame in Week 1, played with the injury in Week 2 and then sat out the next three games – while Reed gave Elko every reason to stick with him as the starter.

But Weigman is still the same player that NFL scouts say has Day 1 draft potential, and he made explosive throws of 40, 33, 29, 18 and 13 yards on the No. 5 pass defense country.

“That’s real arm talent. He throws a beautiful ball,” an NFL scout told USA Today on Saturday afternoon, asking to speak anonymously to protect his team’s draft information. “But it comes down to consistency and accuracy, and can he really stay healthy? You can see what it looks like when he’s healthy and has time to throw it.”

And if really motivated.

More: Army and Navy football start the season a combined 10-0 for the first time since 1945 with a win in Week 6

Third image: The rise of the SMU

They bought their way into the ACC. Thrown $100 million at desperate conference presidents and secured a seat at the power conference table.

Now the SMU Mustangs appear to be a legitimate threat to win the new, revamped ACC (All Coast Conference) with the emergence of redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Jennings.

Jennings, playing on a field made famous not long ago by Lamar Jackson, looked a lot like Louisville's Heisman Trophy winner a decade ago in a key 34-27 ACC victory.

Jennings threw for 281 yards and ran for 113, and the Mustangs have been a completely different team since he replaced starter Preston Stone in an 18-15 Week 3 loss to undefeated BYU.

SMU has won three straight with Jennings starting and is expected to be the favorite in every game as the regular season progresses (at Stanford, at Duke, Pittsburgh, Boston College, at Virginia, California).

In the three games since taking over, Jennings has completed 74% of his passes, thrown for 672 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, and rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown in wins over TCU, Florida State and Louisville.

It will be more dangerous in the future: SMU's offense has completely changed under Jennings.

SMU's defense isn't exactly championship-caliber, but with Jennings and his rare skill set, that might not matter. The Mustangs defeated bitter rival TCU and reigning ACC champion FSU at home and never trailed despite the difficult road conditions in Louisville.

And the Mustangs haven't yet reached their ceiling under Jennings.

Fourth: Ohio State and Oregon prepare for showdown

They dragged themselves all over the place in the first five weeks of the season and sometimes struggled.

Now we can see what Ohio State and Oregon are all about next week.

The Buckeyes beat Iowa on Saturday in Columbus, and it wasn't so much a 35-7 loss as it was waiting to see the paint dry. Aside from a handful of ridiculous plays from freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (good luck dealing with him for three years, college football), Ohio State hasn't really reached its full potential under new transfer quarterback Will Howard and tailback Quinshon Judkins shown.

That all changes with the trip to Oregon next week. like Ohio State, hasn't really hit the ground running yet with a new transfer quarterback (Dillon Gabriel) running the show. The Ducks are finally getting consistent play from the offensive line and the offense is starting to look dynamic and dangerous.

Ohio State has faced three overwhelmed Group of Five schools and two Big Ten rivals (Michigan State, Iowa) in rebuilding mode. Oregon, meanwhile, earned a narrow victory over Gruup of Five heavyweight Boise State and similar victories over rebuilding Big Ten teams (Michigan State, UCLA).

It could be the first of two or three games for the Big Ten favorites, both of whom are heavy favorites to advance to the Big Ten championship game and the CFP.

And for the first time, we'll find out how the Big Ten favorites react in a big game.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X @MattHayesCFB.

First of all: chaos in the SEC

Second: Texas A&M and motivation

Third image: The rise of the SMU

Fourth: Ohio State and Oregon prepare for showdown

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