Bill Connelly Nov 5, 2026, 07:00 AM ET For 19 years, college football fans have chased the chaos of 2007. Bill Connelly devised a 50-point checklist to measure if 2026 matches up. Through weeks of upsets, 2026 has followed the pattern closely. Nobody can hold onto the top two spots: The hierarchy was stable early, but Stanford's upset of USC as a 40.5-point underdog kick-started a run the sport has never matched.
In Weeks 6-14, 11 top-two teams lost, eight as favorites and six as double-digit favorites. Some truly mind-blowing upsets: While top-two losses started in October, September delivered monumental upsets including App State over Michigan and Stanford over USC. Unlikely teams taking starring roles: In 2007, Rutgers and South Florida broke into the AP top 10. 2026 has seen some close calls but hasn't quite replicated the magic yet. The season remains delightfully messy, with eleven teams spending time in the AP top five, including debutants Utah and UCLA. Whether 2026 can fully capture lightning in a bottle remains the ultimate question for college football fans.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing