After 679 days, Alabama finally has another loss.
One week after losing at home to Mississippi State, Texas A&M shocked No. 1 Alabama 41-38, with Seth Small making a 28-yard field goal to win the game and give the Tide their first loss since Nov. 30, 2019 (Auburn). QB Zach Calzada delivered with 285 passing yards and three touchdowns, leading the Aggies to a touchdown and the game-winning field goal on the last two drives. Alabama's win streak is over at 19 games.
But there's so much more to talk about. Here are six things to know from Week 6 of the college football season.
6 things to know from Week 6 of the college football season
1. Texas A&M knocks off undefeated No. 1 Alabama
It's worth mentioning again. No. 1 Alabama could not manage to seal the comeback at Texas A&M as the Crimson Tide fell 41-38. Alabama trailed by 14 before taking the 38-31 lead. The Aggies' late dramatics meant coach Jimbo Fisher is the first former Nick Saban assistant to beat his old boss — former assistants were 0-24. This is also the Crimson Tide's first loss to an unranked team since 2007, when the Tide lost to UL Monroe. Alabama had won its last 100 games against unranked teams.
It's the first loss by the No. 1 team to an unranked foe since Oregon State stunned No. 1 USC in 2008.
Never a doubt. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/2VX732zvyn
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 10, 2021
2. All-time Red River Showdown
When Texas and Oklahoma meet in the Cotton Bowl it's always a good time. The 2021 edition of this rivalry was no slouch as the No. 6 Sooners came back from a 21-point deficit to beat the No. 21 Longhorns, 55-48. Freshman QB Caleb Williams was the story of the day for Oklahoma as he replaced Spencer Rattler. Williams put up 300 total yards and three total touchdowns.
The play of the day came in the last seconds of the game when Oklahoma RB Kennedy Brooks took a direct-snap run 33 yards to the house to win the game for the Sooners. Oklahoma is 16-7 since 2000 in this rivalry.
BOOMER SOONER: Here's the full recap of No. 6 Oklahoma's big win over No. 21 Texas
3. Last-minute victories
There were more final-second wins outside of Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
No. 17 Ole Miss went down to the wire in order to get its 52-51 win over No. 13 Arkansas. Ole Miss QB Matt Corral gave his team the lead with a huge 68-yard touchdown to WR Braylon Sanders. On the ensuing drive, the Razorbacks decided to go for two and the win after coming within one of Lane Kiffin's squad with no time left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss got the stop to earn its fourth win of the season.
No. 19 Wake Forest needed a bit more time than Ole Miss to remain undefeated with a 40-37 win at Syracuse. The Demon Deacons were locked in a back-and-forth duel with the Orange all day. It came to a crescendo in overtime as Syracuse came up with only a field goal on the first possession, Wake Forrest WR A.T. Perry finished off the game with a stellar 22-yard touchdown catch to walk it off in the Carrier Dome.
GAME.#GoDeacs 🎩 pic.twitter.com/bxbMfzahdt
— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) October 10, 2021
4. No. 3 Iowa battles back to beat No. 4 Penn State
No. 3 Iowa clawed its way back into their game against No. 4 Penn State to win 23-20. The Nittany Lions were leading the majority of the game, but Penn State QB Sean Clifford had to leave the game up 17-3 with an injury. The Hawkeyes took over from there and finally got get the go-ahead touchdown with 6 minutes left. Iowa then stood tough on defense — the Hawkeyes had four interceptions in the game — to remain undefeated.
IOWA PREVAILS: No. 3 Iowa comes rallies past No. 4 Penn State to stay undefeated
5. Boise State pulls off the upset at No. 10 BYU
No. 10 BYU was undefeated coming into their matchup against Boise State. But the Cougars fell to the Broncos 26-17 in Provo, Utah. Boise State's defense came up big in the win with three fumble recoveries, an interception and two turnovers on downs. The Broncos now improve to 6-3 all time against top-10 teams.
6. Big Ten, big picks
The Big Ten is full of ball hawks on defense. Two teams with no shortage are No. 3 Iowa and No. 7 Ohio State. The Hawkeyes have 12 interceptions on the season — and 10 of those have come in the last two games. That surpasses 1997's Michigan team, which recorded nine in a two-game span.
The Buckeyes have had more interceptions of the pick-6 variety. They have recorded at least one pick-6 in their last four games. The most recent one came against Maryland this week when Craig Young intercepted Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa and took it 70 yards to the house.
4⃣ straight weeks with a Pick-6. 🤯@Craig_Young11 extends No. 7 @OhioStateFB's absurd streak. pic.twitter.com/eUl8cwffXK
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 9, 2021
