CFB Week 6 winners, losers: Stunning victories define weekend

Loser: Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer’s honeymoon

172-13. That was the combined score of Alabama’s four wins against Vanderbilt in the Nick Saban era. The Tide outgained the Commodores 2,095-629. 

It only took one offseason without Saban for Vanderbilt to close the gap.

Vanderbilt not only beat Alabama; it went toe-to-toe with the college football heavyweight, taking every punch Bama threw at it and delivering ones that landed twice as hard.

The Commodores outgained the Tide 418-394, including 166 rushing yards to Bama’s 84, while winning the time of possession battle, 42:08-17:52.

It was bad enough for DeBoer that Vanderbilt was competitive against Alabama; the last time the Tide trailed in a game against the Commodores prior to Saturday was in 2006.

But losing to the Commodores evaporates any goodwill DeBoer had accumulated during Alabama’s 4-0 start.

Winner: Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty

At this rate, Jeanty will have run away with the Heisman by November. In No. 21 Boise State’s 62-30 romp over Utah State (1-4, 0-1 in MWC), Jeanty gained 186 yards and scored three touchdowns on 13 carries.

His numbers through five games are staggering. He has 95 carries, 1,031 yards (10.9 yards per attempt) and 16 touchdowns. While it’s still early, Jeanty is currently outpacing Barry Sanders’ historic 1988 season. 

In Sanders’ first five games that season, he had 130 carries for 1,002 yards. He averaged a ridiculous 271 rushing yards per game over his final six regular season games to set the single-season rushing record (2,628 yards).

That seems like an impossible record to break. However, Jeanty’s already shown that when he touches the ball, anything is possible.

Loser: Missouri

The (paper) Tigers were blown out at Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0 in SEC), 41-10. The Aggies jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and added a 75-yard touchdown run from running back Le’Veon Moss on the first play of the third quarter to seal the blowout.

Alabama’s loss to Vandy ensured No. 9 Missouri (4-1, 1-1 in SEC) didn’t suffer the week’s worst loss. But for a team with playoff aspirations, a 31-point loss gives Missouri little margin for error the rest of the season.

Winner: Indiana

Congratulations are in order for the Hoosiers, who became the first bowl-eligible team of the season with a 42-24 win over Northwestern (2-3, 0-2 in Big Ten).

Indiana (6-0, 3-0 in Big Ten) has been one of the best stories of the season’s first half, and ESPN’s Football Power Index suggests it could get even better.

The Hoosiers have a 38.1 percent chance to reach the CFP in head coach Curt Cignetti’s first season leading the program. With the offense averaging 47.5 points per game and quarterback Kurtis Rourke playing the position as well as anyone in the country, Indiana is a force to be reckoned with.

Loser: Temple

The Owls invented an excruciating way to lose against UConn (4-2). Facing a fourth-and-goal from the Huskies’ one-yard line with three seconds left, Temple attempted a quarterback sneak for the go-ahead score. 

Pretty simple, right? Not for a 1-5 team.

Temple quarterback Tyler Douglas fumbled, and UConn defensive back Jordan Wright recovered the football and returned it 96 yards for a meaningless touchdown. Well, meaningless for everyone besides those who bet on the game’s over-under (48.5).