Week 6 wasn't expected to have many surprises, so we were as blindsided as Michigan and Oklahoma by what transpired. Saturday was the third day in the past 10 seasons that at least two Associated Press top-10 teams lost at home to unranked opponents, as the seventh-ranked Wolverines and third-ranked Sooners each lost as home favorites.
It wasn't just about championship contenders having a bad loss delivered to their doorsteps. No lead -- not even an extra point -- was safe. We needed two overtimes in Austin and seven in Buffalo. Oklahoma was favored by 30.5 points over Iowa State and led 24-10 ... and lost.
Even Alabama committed its first turnover and had a punt blocked. (Afterward, Nick Saban likened positive media coverage for his team to "rat poison.")
Saturday didn't teach us a ton about where a lot of teams stand, but we did have a great time watching all the drama unfold. Today was about aesthetics, not necessarily substance. We're talking more "John Wick" than "Citizen Kane." And it kept us glued to our seats.
Oklahoma took its foot off the gas and watched helplessly as Iowa State erased a two-touchdown deficit, scoring on its final five possessions, in a 38-31 upset win. To make matters worse, the Cyclones celebrated by planting their flag in Baker Mayfield's house.
The Cyclones secured the largest FBS-over-FBS upset this season and snapped the Sooners' 14-game winning streak behind the arm of backup quarterback Kyle Kempt, who replaced starter Jacob Park after he took a leave from the team for undisclosed personal medical reasons this week.
Maybe we should have seen it coming: Saturday marked the seventh straight season in which Oklahoma has lost a game as a double-digit favorite.
"I think it's a sense of complacency," said Mayfield, the Sooners' quarterback. "We've been talking about it; it's not like we haven't addressed it. We've let teams come back in games and give them hope. When you do that to a team who has their back against the wall, it's something you can't do. When you have a chance to bury a team, you have to take care of it. The great teams take care of that business ... you have to do your job every play."
All of a sudden, No. 8 TCU is the leader of the pack in the Big 12. The eighth-ranked Horned Frogs have already beaten Oklahoma State but proved they were for real on Saturday by surviving No. 23 West Virginia in a back-and-forth, 31-24 win.
The Thrill is certainly back with quarterback Kenny Hill, as the former Texas A&M enigma has totally reinvented himself in Fort Worth. He scored touchdowns throwing, rushing and receiving to improve the overachieving Frogs to 5-0.
Saturday's second shocking home upset came in rain-soaked Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines' vulnerability as a true Big Ten contender was exposed as Michigan State stunned the home crowd with a hard-fought, 14-10 win. There wasn't a ton of excitement to this game, but now we know that Michigan's Week 1 domination of Florida was more of an aberration.
Speaking of the Gators, Saturday in the Swamp proved the old cliché about football being a game of inches. No. 21 Florida found out the hard way, as Eddy Pineiro's missed extra point was the difference in the Gators' 17-16 loss to a woeful LSU team. Florida was full of mistakes -- powered mostly by a sterile playbook -- but the Gators were upended by a special-teams mistake in a game they should have won.
A fraction of an inch was also the difference in Miami's last-second win over Florida State in Tallahassee after a magical fourth quarter. Miami quarterback Malik Rosier delivered the final blow with a perfectly thrown, 23-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Langham, who fell into the end zone with six seconds left, his knee just going down after the ball crossed the goal line. The Canes ended a seven-game losing streak to the Noles and jumped right into the thick of the ACC -- and, yes -- playoff race.
Two teams miles away from playoff talk are Western Michigan and Buffalo, but they were the darlings of the day with their seven overtimes and record-breaking 139 points. Western Michigan finally put Buffalo away 71-68 on a 12-yard run by Jarvion Franklin, but it was actually the Broncos' first overtime touchdown that stole the show. After quarterback Jon Wassink hit Donnie Ernsberger for a 14-yard touchdown to tie the game at 38, Ernsberger's sister ran onto the field and celebrated with her brother in the end zone before being escorted off.
There wasn't a rogue family member rushing the field in Austin, but it was certainly a Texas-sized family affair for the Longhorns with their 40-34, double-overtime win over Kansas State featuring their own "Bush Push" winner starring Chris Warren III and ever-improving starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
Saturday proved we don't always need compelling playoff storylines to have fun in this sport. It can be just as fun when a healthy dose of crazy is involved.
Here's the best of the rest from Week 6:
Paul Bunyan's new hat
Michigan State took over at the Big House ... again. pic.twitter.com/DQQriAReNu
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 8, 2017
Michigan State pulled off the upset of No. 7 Michigan at the Big House. That means Sparty gets the Paul Bunyan Trophy back. Paul and the Spartans celebrated accordingly.
Florida honors Gainesville native Tom Petty
This one's for you, @TomPetty. pic.twitter.com/OMUwJOnAgS
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) October 7, 2017
She missed a heck of a finish
In the middle of Western Michigan's wild, seven-overtime win over Buffalo, Western Michigan tight end Donnie Ernsberger had a TD catch. After the catch, his sister ran on the field -- from the stands! -- to celebrate. She was promptly escorted out of the arena.
oh my god the sister of a Western Michigan WR just RAN ON THE FIELD after he scored a touchdown and no the game was not over pic.twitter.com/JvnfiZFDGA
— Tom Martin (@TomKCTV5) October 7, 2017
The family that stiff-arms together ...
It's a Canes thing
Pro Football Hall of Famer and Miami Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin was understandably excited when Miami beat Florida State on a last-second TD pass to snap a seven-game losing streak.
long time coming but it's here now. @canesfootball beats @fsufootball we r really on r way back. my reaction in my suite when we scored🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/rnxEtjypEG
— Michael Irvin (@michaelirvin88) October 7, 2017
Look what you made them do
Baker Mayfield planted Oklahoma's flag at midfield in Columbus, Ohio, when the Sooners upset Ohio State. They loved the move in Norman, even prompting T-shirt tributes.
Oklahoma fans wearing these shirts, obviously commemorating Baker Mayfield's exclamation point at Ohio State
Well, they say that karma, it comes back around.
Iowa State stunned Oklahoma 38-31 on Saturday, then planted its own flag.
Iowa State plants the flag at Oklahoma. #Sooners #Cyclones pic.twitter.com/p6JJrWMXjh
— Carson Cunningham (@KOCOCarson) October 7, 2017
Speaking of flags ...
200 and counting from Fort Worth! @CollegeGameDay #GoCougs #WaveTheFlag pic.twitter.com/1mPNPwEcBX
— Ol' Crimson (@olcrimson) October 7, 2017
Coolest jerseys of the day
During today's game, every @UAB_FB player is wearing the name of a young patient at the nearby Children's Harbor Hospital.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 7, 2017
Awesome. pic.twitter.com/n6mC0EOxAp
She chomped yes
SHE SAID YES!#SECNation is live from Gainesville and these Gators are getting married. pic.twitter.com/hlhJVPBHo9
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 7, 2017
UNLV remembers Las Vegas shooting victims
A member of UNLV's equipment staff places on a helmet one of the large red-ribbon decals the football team will wear in Saturday's game against San Diego State. Inside the decal reads: "Las Vegas." It was important to school officials that the city be represented in this decal. On the other side of the helmet is the standard UNLV logo.
The UNLV football team is rallying together in support of its local community after the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip took the lives of 58 people and injured more than 500 on Sunday.
This weekend, ESPN will be providing continuing coverage of UNLV's tribute to the victims of the tragedy.