Bill Connelly Nov 5, 2026, 07:00 AM ET

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Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.

For 19 years, a pocket of college football fans has been desperate to relive 2007. I know this because I'm one of them. Every time we get a huge upset, every time there's a particularly messy Saturday, every time some usurper however briefly ( or not so briefly ) enters the top five, I tilt my head, stroke my chin and think, "This sure is putting off 2007 vibes."

The 2007 vibes have been pounding us over the head of late. They aren't being subtle. The first two weeks of the season saw wins from underdogs of 29.5 points ( UMass over Rutgers ) and 24.5 points ( Oklahoma State over Oregon ), and a top-two team has lost to an unranked foe for four straight weeks -- a streak that will sadly end this Saturday, since No. 1 and No. 2 are playing ranked opponents.…