Top 5 costliest losses in Week 6 that will create a drastic shift in the College Football Playoff picture

With an expanded College Football Playoff format this season, there's a lot of anticipation on which teams will secure a spot. A total of 12 teams get to participate in the postseason competition, offering further excitement.

However, the 2024 season has been full of surprises, leading to playoff projections not going as expected. The Week 6 schedule saw a couple of upsets that brought some drastic changes in the playoff outlook. Here's a look at the five costliest among them.

Five costliest Week 6 losses bringing drastic changes to the College Football Playoff picture

#5, Missouri @ Texas A&M

Missouri suffered its first loss of the 2024 college football season on Saturday and it was a blowout. The Tigers were defeated 41-10 by Texas A&M in College Station in a game that had the Aggies as 2.5-point favorites.

Eli Drinkwitz's team was seen as a potential contender for a spot in the College Football Playoff during the offseason following their performance in 2023. Their chances suffered a major blow with the loss on Saturday.

#4, USC @ Minnesota

USC suffered its second loss of the season on Saturday against Minnesota. The Trojans record a 24-17 loss on the road to the Golden Gophers, marking their second defeat in three games in Big Ten play.

Lincoln Riley's team hasn't had a brilliant start to life in the Big Ten and this comes with a lot of consequences. The chances of the Trojans making the College Football Playoff have become much more difficult as a result.

#3, Michigan @ Washington

Michigan squared up against Washington on Saturday in a rematch of last season's national championship game. The Wolverines couldn't repeat the win in January as they suffered a 27-17 loss to the Huskies.

Sherrone Moore's team seemed to have bounced back from the disappointing loss to Texas with a hard-fought win against USC. However, a loss on Saturday gave them two losses on the season, putting their hopes of retaining their national title in further doubt.

#2, Tennessee @ Arkansas

Tennessee started the 2024 college football season on a brilliant note, amazing everyone with their performance. The Volunteers confidently won their first four games of the season, blowing out the first three opponents.

However, Josh Heupel’s team was stunned by Arkansas in Week 6, suffering a 19-12 loss to the Razorbacks. The Volunteers had been considered a potential dark horse contender for the playoffs with their early-season performances, but this defeat comes as a big blow to their hopes.

#1, Alabama @ Vanderbilt

No. 1-ranked Alabama suffered a disappointing defeat on Saturday to lowly-rated Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide fell to a highly unexpected 40-35 loss to the Commodores in Nashville following a heroic victory against Georgia in the previous week.

It was the first time Alabama lost to Vanderbilt in 40 years, and it was also the Commodore’s first win against a top-five team in 68 games. This upset figures to be a big dent in the Crimson Tide's College Football Playoff hopes as it limits their margin of error moving forward.