It’s hard to believe, but college football is already five weeks into the season.

It seems like just yesterday we were suffering through the summer heat waiting for the year to start.

Now that the season is a few weeks in, certain storylines are starting to take shape in the Southeastern Conference and across the country.

The first storyline is that, just like last season, you never know what is going to happen in college football.

This weekend, especially, was a tribute to just how unpredictable college football can be.

Top ranked Southern Cal, thought to be invincible, loses on Thursday to an Oregon State team that lost to Stanford and was crushed 45-14 by Penn State.

The upsets didn’t stop there. Saturday began with another enormous upset, when Houston Nutt got his signature win as the Ole Miss head coach, and his Rebels shocked Florida 31-30 in The Swamp.

The surprises kept on coming Saturday night, when Alabama took Georgia to the wood shed, outscoring the Bulldogs 31-0 in the first half on their way to the rout.

While those games were shockers, there have also been some lesser-known surprises within the SEC.

There is one team in the SEC Eastern Division with a perfect conference record and sole possession of first place.

It’s not the usual powers of the conference, but little ole punching bag Vanderbilt that is in first.

The Commodores are 4-0 and 2-0 in the SEC, and are primed to go to a bowl game for the first time since 1982.

While Vanderbilt is riding high, the Mississippi State Bulldogs are sliding in the other direction.

Before the season, MSU players were openly talking about winning the SEC West for the first time since 1998.

However, after Saturday’s loss to LSU, the Bulldogs sit 1-4 and 0-2 in the SEC and appear to be right back where they were before last year’s magical 8-5 season.

Whoever said you need a top quarterback to win in college football is being proven wrong by the LSU Tigers.

LSU has risen to a 5-0 record and a presumed top five ranking behind a rotation of a Harvard transfer (Andrew Hatch) and a freshman (Jarrett Lee), the Tigers haven’t missed a beat from last year’s national championship team.

Of course, it helps when you are stacked with NFL talent at almost every other position.

LSU passed its first major test of the season by going to Auburn and defeating the Tigers 26-21 and will be tested once again in two weeks when they travel to Gainsville to take on the wounded Florida Gators.

While LSU keeps rolling, the Ole Miss Rebels have a new life under Nutt.

After three years of painful losses under former coach Ed Orgeron, Ole Miss finally closed out a big win against a top five opponent — on the road no less.

Ole Miss is a last second field goal by Wake Forest and a fumbled ball on the 1-yard line against Vanderbilt from being 5-0.

Now the cupboard wasn’t bare by any means, but it’s amazing what Nutt has accomplished in less than half of a season.

The Rebels are just one of many surprises throughout the college football world, and with most of the season left to go, it should only get better.

I can’t wait for what’s in store next week.

Jeff Edwards is the sports editor for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3632 or jeff.edwards@natchezdemocrat.com