Bama losing to Vandy is a timeless statement of an upset, up there with USC losing to Stanford (and yes, another upset from opening weekend season that is probably more iconic...took me a long time to get over it. Probably only got over it after we won the national title in January).
In all 3 of those cases, a dominant blue blood program that was not too far past their peak got beaten by a program that hasn't merited national attention since 1936. In Michigan's case it was an FCS team, in USC and Bama's case, it was a historic cellar dweller in their league. Also in USC and Bama's case, these were programs that had dominated the sport from perceived unassailable advantages for the past X years. In the previous cases, it was a surprising moment that presaged a fall from grace - not immediate, but Michigan and USC both spent a decade in the wilderness, Stanford spent the next decade as one of the best programs in the country, and Appy St used that win to vault from the best program in FCS to a solid Fun belt contender.
I think this is part of the DeBoer experience, but I don't think losing a ton of football games will necessarily follow. As for Vandy, they've had 3 last place finishes under Clark Lea. They certainly look better this year - even before the Bama loss. It'd be crazy if it suddenly got figured out in year 4 since we're fully in the portal era. But who knows? If Stanford under Harbaugh and Shaw could be a consistent top 10 program, perhaps Vandy can be a consistent top 25 program and actually have a winning record in the SEC (last one was in 2012 under James Franklin).
I grew up in a diehard ACC Football household, son of a rabid UVA fan who never went to UVA (which probably explains a lot things about why I am the way I am). That particular game caused my father--who was prolific in cursing to begin with-- to invent new and exciting words and phrases that probably should have landed him on a watchlist.
Bama losing to Vandy is a timeless statement of an upset, up there with USC losing to Stanford (and yes, another upset from opening weekend season that is probably more iconic...took me a long time to get over it. Probably only got over it after we won the national title in January).
In all 3 of those cases, a dominant blue blood program that was not too far past their peak got beaten by a program that hasn't merited national attention since 1936. In Michigan's case it was an FCS team, in USC and Bama's case, it was a historic cellar dweller in their league. Also in USC and Bama's case, these were programs that had dominated the sport from perceived unassailable advantages for the past X years. In the previous cases, it was a surprising moment that presaged a fall from grace - not immediate, but Michigan and USC both spent a decade in the wilderness, Stanford spent the next decade as one of the best programs in the country, and Appy St used that win to vault from the best program in FCS to a solid Fun belt contender.
I think this is part of the DeBoer experience, but I don't think losing a ton of football games will necessarily follow. As for Vandy, they've had 3 last place finishes under Clark Lea. They certainly look better this year - even before the Bama loss. It'd be crazy if it suddenly got figured out in year 4 since we're fully in the portal era. But who knows? If Stanford under Harbaugh and Shaw could be a consistent top 10 program, perhaps Vandy can be a consistent top 25 program and actually have a winning record in the SEC (last one was in 2012 under James Franklin).
USC losing to Oregon State is more iconic to me
The craziest thing about that 1990 week is the fact that UVA was ever ranked number 1.
I grew up in a diehard ACC Football household, son of a rabid UVA fan who never went to UVA (which probably explains a lot things about why I am the way I am). That particular game caused my father--who was prolific in cursing to begin with-- to invent new and exciting words and phrases that probably should have landed him on a watchlist.
I remember #1 Mizzou (and I think they beat like #3 KU in the Border War?) - but #1 UVA was before my time and a shock to the system.
1990 looks like an awesome season (and unlike this year or 2007 - Michigan looked kinda good!)