Still Standing Weekly · Through Week 7 · Oct 24, 2026

Upset Saturday: the day the top of the poll fell over

Survivor players love a big favorite. On October 17, college football punished that instinct harder than it ever has.

Shakeup Saturday, by the numbers

• Five of the AP's top seven lost on the same day, the most from that group since the poll began in 1936.
• No. 1 Georgia lost 27-24 to Auburn on a field goal as time expired.
• No. 2 Notre Dame lost 28-24 at BYU as a 10.5-point favorite. BYU moved up to No. 2, its highest ranking since its 1984 national title season.
• No. 5 Indiana lost 19-15 at home to Ohio State, which ended the longest active winning streak in the country.
• No. 6 Alabama lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2007, the second one 26-10 at Tennessee.
• No. 7 Texas lost 27-24 at home to Florida, its second straight loss to an unranked team, and fell 12 spots to No. 19.
• Eight ranked teams lost that Saturday.

Every one of those top-seven teams except Indiana was favored to win outright by at least a touchdown. That's exactly where survivor players park their picks.

A bad year to be No. 1

Georgia was the third No. 1 team to lose this season, after Ohio State and Texas. It was also the first time in poll history that No. 1 lost on the final play two weekends in a row. Texas did it the week before. Miami is the new No. 1, its first time at the top since December 2002. Meanwhile preseason No. 2 Oregon is 4-2 and hanging on at No. 25.

How it compares

2021 still holds the record for volume, with 47 losses by ranked teams in the first seven weeks. 2026 is going after a different record: the damage is happening at the very top of the poll.

What it means for survivor pools

College survivor is a different animal from the NFL version. With 138 FBS teams and plenty of lopsided games every week, a one-pick-a-week pool can carry half its field into November. That's why so many college pools use multi-pick weeks. It's also why a Saturday like October 17 does so much damage, since every extra pick is another chance to be holding Georgia or Notre Dame.

Our own college pool shows how fast it goes. It started in Week 6 with 79 entries, every one making four picks a week. Two Saturdays later, 5 are left.

If your entry went down with one of them, you're in very good company. The playoff field gets set on Selection Sunday, December 6, and a playoff pool starts everybody over.

Knocked out? Start a playoff pool.

Still Standing runs private survivor pools for the playoffs. You set the rules and send one link. We handle the picks, live scores and reminders, and draft a recap of your pool after every round.

Something unclear, or a rule you’d like us to add? Send us feedback.