On Saturday, Oct. 17, No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas all lost. Auburn won in Athens on the last play. Florida came back from 17-3 down in Austin. Kentucky won at Oklahoma, and LSU shut out Mississippi State.

Those four winners share something the standings do not show. Each has a head coach in his first season: Alex Golesh at Auburn, Jon Sumrall at Florida, Will Stein at Kentucky and Lane Kiffin at LSU. Each staff built a roster in one winter. And at the center of each win was a player who chose that staff: a quarterback who followed his coach, a defensive lineman who agreed to go back to tight end, a safety who left home after 34 straight starts, and a quarterback who picked his new team before his foot had healed.

Week 7: 15 of 26 for 150 yards and a touchdown, plus 26 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown, in a 27-24 win at No. 1 Georgia.

Road: Rolesville High in Rolesville, North Carolina; USF, 2022 to 2025; Auburn, January 2026.

USF offered Brown on an unofficial visit in high school, after watching him throw one 20-yard out. Within a year the coordinator who recruited him had left and USF had changed head coaches. Brown stayed, and the new coach was Alex Golesh. "I knew I just needed an opportunity," he said in 2023.

He came back from a broken leg that cost him eight games in 2024, and in 2025 he became the 12th FBS player to throw for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 in the same season. He graduated in December with a degree in public health. When Golesh took the Auburn job, Brown entered the portal on a Friday, visited that weekend and committed on Tuesday. "I trust in that man fully," he told WUSF.

Saturday, with the score tied at 24 and 58 seconds left, Auburn recovered a fumble at its own 44. Brown ran three times for 13 yards on the last drive, and Alex McPherson's 34-yard field goal won it on the final play. It was Auburn's first win in Athens in 31 years.

Week 7: Two touchdown catches from Tramell Jones Jr., making his first career start, in a 27-24 comeback win at No. 7 Texas.

Road: Lakeland High in Scott Township, Pennsylvania; Charlotte, 2023 to 2024; James Madison, 2025; Florida, January 2026.

At a small high school, Dippre played nearly every snap, punter and receiver included. He arrived at Charlotte as a tight end, then asked the defensive coordinator for a chance on defense and played all 12 games on the line in 2024. When he entered the portal, James Madison wanted him back on offense. "If you come down, it's offense," tight ends coach Drew Canan told him. Dippre weighed 275 on his official visit. He dropped 20 pounds in a month.

His first catch at James Madison was a touchdown against Louisville. He finished 2025 honorable mention All-Sun Belt, with a rushing touchdown in the Playoff at Oregon. Then he picked Florida and a staff in its first year. "I just wanted to go somewhere to win," he said in September.

Saturday, Florida trailed 17-3 in the second quarter. Dippre's first touchdown, with 18 seconds left in the half, made it 17-10. His second finished a 15-play drive in the third quarter. It was Florida's first road win over a top-10 team since 2012. It also puts one more name on the Harrisonburg tree The Ledger traced after Week 5.

Week 7: Nine tackles and two interceptions, one in his own end zone and one returned 41 yards for the touchdown that put away a 21-13 win at Oklahoma. SEC Defensive Player of the Week.

Road: West Orange High in Winter Garden, Florida; Florida, 2023 to 2025; Kentucky, January 2026.

Castell grew up in Orlando and stayed home. He was a Freshman All-American at Florida in 2023 and started 34 straight games there. With one season of eligibility left, he committed to Kentucky on Jan. 7, while Will Stein was still building his first staff.

Saturday turned on trust. Kentucky came up empty on a fourth down in the red zone, and Castell walked up to his new coach. "Coach, I got your back," he told Stein, who said afterward that it told him the team had bought in. Castell's first interception came on a field goal try that turned into a pass. His second came with Oklahoma driving late. "I caught the ball. I seen green grass. I'm going," he said.

He has four interceptions, which leads the SEC, and Kentucky is 6-1 and tied for first in the conference. His old team won in Austin the same day.

Week 7: 31 of 38 for 289 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 31-0 win over Mississippi State.

Road: West Linn High in West Linn, Oregon; Michigan State, 2023; Arizona State, 2024 to 2025; LSU, January 2026.

Leavitt was Oregon's Gatorade Player of the Year. He signed with Michigan State, moved to Arizona State after one season, and in 2024 threw for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns as the Sun Devils won the Big 12 and reached the Playoff. Seven games into 2025, a foot injury ended his season, and he had surgery in November.

He entered the portal still recovering. LSU had no scholarship quarterback returning, and on Jan. 9, while Leavitt was visiting Tennessee, Kiffin flew to Knoxville to meet him. Leavitt committed to LSU three days later.

He missed most of spring practice and was cleared in June. Saturday, he completed 82 percent of his passes in a shutout. In June, Kiffin had called him "an NFL-mindset quarterback from a preparation standpoint."

All four decisions were made in the same few weeks of January, by players weighing staffs that had not yet coached a game. Brown followed a coach he already trusted. Dippre, Castell and Leavitt chose coaches they had never played for. Auburn hosts LSU on Oct. 24, so two of them will share a field next.

How we count: Roads reflect the UpNext network's athlete records. Game details, quotes and backstory come from school releases and public reporting.