Winner and defeat college football: With Alabama rate, will Ohio State or Texas go to number 1?

A team ranked in the top two of the AP Top 25 lost for the second straight Saturday.

A week ago, No. 4 Alabama defeated No. 2 Georgia 41-34 in what turned out to be a thriller. On Saturday, Alabama was the team that upset the No. 1 Crimson Tide in a 40-35 loss at Vanderbilt. It was the Commodores' first win over Alabama in 40 years and the school's first against a team ranked in the top five, let alone a team ranked No. 1.

We don't need to say that there will be a new number 1 team on Sunday's AP Top 25. It is clear. Two candidates are clear after No. 4 Tennessee's loss at Arkansas. It would be a surprise if Texas or Ohio State weren't No. 1 on Sunday.

And what is the guess? There is a decent chance that one of these two teams loses in Week 7, as does Alabama and Tennessee on Saturday.

Texas is currently the No. 2 team and does not play Saturday as it prepares for its Red River rivalry with No. 19 Oklahoma. Texas will be favored in that game, but neutral-site rivalry games can be weird. Just ask the Longhorns. No. 12 Oklahoma beat No. 3 Texas a season ago with a late touchdown. In 2022, Texas devastated Oklahoma between 49-0 among the non-ranking parties. One of the last five games in the Cotton Bowl series has won one of the four.

Texas can move up just one spot without a game. But Ohio State could jump on the Longhorns for an easy 35-7 victory over Iowa. The Hokies were Ohio State's biggest test so far. And, well, they had an easy test. Iowa could not score until the fourth quarter because Ohio State's defense was dominated and the crime was kicked in the third quarter in the gear. OSU QB Will Woward thrown for four touchdown. Three went to Emeka Egbuka and the other was a one-handed catch by freshman Jeremiah Smith.

Ohio State has been very good so far this season, even if its fans want more. The Buckeyes' 28-point win on Saturday was their shortest of the season. Granted, the schedule includes Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall and Michigan State in addition to Iowa. But that's still pretty impressive.

It's hard to see Ohio State winning its next game by four scores. The Buckeyes travel to Eugene in Week 7 to play No. 6 Oregon in the biggest game of the weekend. The Ducks moved to 5-0 on Friday, taking on Michigan State and could even be in their favor by the time the game started.

It's a game that could be a preview of the Big Ten title game — and will go a long way toward determining who's in that game. Ohio State still has both Penn State and Michigan remaining on its schedule, and the Ducks also face the Wolverines in November.

Whatever the number 1 on Sunday, it may not last too long to stay at their top. Texas has Georgia on the week 8 and will play the rest of the penny on November 2. The way the 2024 season has been exposed so far, the top five are about to change quite frequently.

Here's a list of the rest of this week's winners and losers:

the winners

Army and Navy: Service academies are rotating. Both Army and Navy are 5-0 for the first time since 1945. It's not out of the realm of possibility that both Navy and Army qualify for the AAC title game and meet for the conference title a week before playing each other in their traditional rivalry game. That would be awkward. But pretty funny too.

Pit: The Panthers are 5-0 for the first time since 1991 after a 34-24 win at North Carolina. Alabama transfer Eli Holstein was 25-42 for 381 yards and three touchdowns and led the Panthers with 10 carries for 76 yards and a score. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has always been a run-first kind of guy, but his offense has been at its best with Holstein slinging it. Pitt hosts Cal in Week 7 before playing Syracuse in Week 9. Bowl qualification is not far off.

Ceracus: Speaking of the Orange, they got a TD pass from Kyle McCord to Jackson Meeks with 23 seconds left to force a 44-41 overtime win over No. 25 UNLV on Friday night. After the Rebels made a field goal to open overtime, LeQuint Allen won the game with a 1-yard TD run. McCord threw the ball 63 times and completed 40 passes for 355 yards and three TDs. The Orange are now 4-1, and UNLV's time in the top 25 will be very short. for now

Sam Houston: The bearkats are on the rise. Sam Houston moved to 5-1 with a 41-21 win at UTEP on Thursday night. The former FCS powerhouse is headed to its first ever FBS bowl game with another win DJ McKinney rushed 14 times for 138 yards and two scores as the Bearcats now have in-state wins over Rice, Texas State and the Miners. Sam Houston is a Conference USA title game contender.

Virginia: The Cavaliers are now 4-1 and 2-0 in the ACC after a 24-14 home win over Boston College. Virginia scored 18 straight points in the fourth quarter to build a 14-6 Boston College lead to 10-points in an eight-minute span. Virginia turned a three-point lead into a two-possession game on Jonas Sanker's 40-yard fumble return.

S.M.U.: The Mustangs are acquitting themselves nicely on the South. Thanks for the help of a controversial replay call, SMU has gone 5-1 with a 34-27 win against Luisville No. 22. Kevin Jennings' QB switch paid off, as Jennings was 21-of-27 for 281 yards and rushed 10 times for 113 yards and a score in the win. SMU doesn't have a ranked team on its schedule and is more than a sleeper candidate for the ACC title game.

Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks ended James Madison's undefeated season with a 21-19 win over the Dukes. ULM overcame a 10-0 first half deficit before halftime and turned in what turned out to be the game-winning score in the fourth quarter when Aidan Armenta found Jake Godfrey for a 12-yard TD. ULM is now 4-1 and two wins away from a bowl game. It's been a heck of a turnaround under former UAB interim coach Bryant Vincent.

defeated

Oklahoma State: What's going on in Stillwater? Cowboy was devastated by the West Virginia team 38-14, which entered the game in 2-2. Mountaineers had a clear game plan on Saturday: Run the curse ball. And it's out of work. WVU rushed 65 times for 389 yards and four scores. Oklahoma State had 21 carries for 36 yards as last year's All-American Ollie Gordon had 13 carries for 50 yards. After making the Big 12 title game in 2023, OSU is now 0-3 in the conference and has little hope of returning to the title game.

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze: The Tigers lost to No. 5 Georgia on Saturday. It was not a surprise. It was also no surprise that Freeze once again blamed his quarterback for a key failure.

The refrigerator may be opened, but he is putting a lot of blame on his players during the 2-4 start of Abarne. Auborne players are not performing according to their feasibility? This is very possible But it also seems unlikely that it's all about the players and little to do with coaching.

South Carolina: Gamecocks had a chance to hit a reeling Ole Miss and lay an egg on Saturday. The No. 12 Rebels had no problem in a 27-3 win over the Gamecocks. JJ Pegus had two fast scores for the rebels because South Carolina had less than five yards on the pass and turned it twice. USC travels to Alabama in Week 7 and then visits Oklahoma in Week 8 before a game at home against Texas A&M in early November. Can the Gamecocks steal a game to avoid a 1-5 start in SEC play?

UAB: The Blazers make the loss column for the second week in a row. We usually avoid bagging teams in consecutive weeks, but a 71-20 loss at home is hard to ignore. Yes, Tulane is a very good football team, but UAB was once a very good football team. The Blazers are far from good under Trent Dilfer and it's hard to see his recruitment being anything other than a failure.