College Football is once again hitting its regular season wind down. Week 10 brought us another great set of games where we saw accidental field-rushes, two fakes on special teams in a matter of minutes. In addition to Kansas forgetting they were a basketball school and taking down Texas. Overall, this season has yet to disappoint and we still have a good month and a half left before we finally have to say goodbye.
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No 1. Georgia (10-0) (8-0 SEC)
Why would this ever change? The Bulldogs dominated Tennessee in Knoxville, in a game where some actually predicted the Vols’ to come out with the upset. This was quickly not the case, however, and Georgia won by 34. They now look ahead to SEC cupcake week after wrapping up their undefeated SEC regular season with the win over Tennessee. Georgia just has Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech left. After that, they have a date with Alabama in Atlanta, in what should be a barnburner.
No 2. Ohio State (9-1) (7-0 Big 10)
Here’s where we get a little controversial. Sure, Alabama just throttled New Mexico State but no team has looked better than the Buckeyes since Week 2 (besides Georgia). Additionally, their 59-17 win over a ranked Purdue tells the whole story. Ohio State now looks forward to two top-ten matchups in the next two weeks, looking to disappoint everyone in the state of Michigan with potential victories over Michigan State and Michigan. If they win these then they are a virtual lock to be the Big 10 Champion but one slip up would make things very interesting.
No 3. Alabama (9-1) (6-1 SEC)
Naturally, the Tide roll in right after Ohio State. Their 56 point over New Mexico State was pretty enjoyable to watch if you like offenses just picking apart teams strategically but no one really expected Alabama to win by anything less than 50. This is another team that has a couple of tough weeks ahead. Playing Arkansas next followed by a trip to Auburn where they have struggled in the past.
No 4. Oregon (9-1) (5-1 Pac 12)
If the playoff were to start with these four teams today, it would be the only correct decision the committee could make. Oregon, while not looking amazing in a lot of their games, still has top-four caliber resumé. There’s no real argument for a Michigan or Michigan State to jump over the Ducks here because of Oregon’s win over Ohio State earlier in the year.
No 5. Michigan State (9-1) (6-1 Big 10)
Outrage struck social media this week when Michigan was ranked over Michigan State and understandably so. However, the committee’s decision isn’t as bad as people are making it to be. On the other hand, here Michigan State will be awarded the head-to-head with Michigan and be our first team looking in after they thumped Maryland by three scores last week.
No 6. Michigan (9-1) (6-1 Big 10)
Michigan did struggle in Happy Valley but pulled out the four-point victory against Penn State at the end of it. They now look forward to a really bad Maryland team and should come into Ohio State week at 10-1 with a chance to play for the Big 10 Championship if Ohio State beats Michigan State. This Maryland game is an essential tune-up to get the offense under control to even contend with the Buckeyes.
No 7. Cincinnati (10-0) (6-0 American)
The time for Cincinnati to make their case is running out. The Bearcats have simply just been unimpressive against quality opponents throughout this whole season. This doesn’t mean they are not a good team, in fact, 4-7 in these rankings could all beat each other any day of the week, but it’s got to be better and we should see that opportunity when they play a quality opponent in SMU this weekend.
No 8. Oklahoma State (9-1) (6-1 Big 12)
Oklahoma State defeated a TCU squad that was surging after their win against Baylor the prior week. They dropped 63 on a team that has been solid all year defensively until now. Not to mention, Baylor’s win over Oklahoma gives the Cowboys a boost resumé wise and they could be a silent dark horse for the playoffs if things get out of wack.
No 9. Ole Miss (8-2) (4-2 SEC)
Ole Miss landed their signature win of the season over a former top 10 team in Texas A&M. The Rebels really dominated in this one, having 400 yards of offense at the half but the most important factor was the defense. The defense only let up 19 to an offense that we have seen have huge games in the past. It was an all-around complete performance from Ole Miss and one that gets them serious points in the nation’s eyes.
No 10. Baylor (8-2) (5-2 Big 12)
Baylor had the win of the week (besides Kansas) in their top 25 defeat of Oklahoma. It was a thrilling atmosphere in Waco, one that got too thrilling when they stormed the field with one second left. Leaving Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley furious. The Bears should win out from here but will need some help from others to get into the Championship.
No 11. Notre Dame (9-1)
Notre Dame handled a beaten-up Virginia 28-3 on the road this week. They remain the quietest one-loss team of all time and don’t really have that signature win that’ll move them up in the ranks. The AP Poll does love this team but when you get blown out to the best team you play in a season (Cincinnati) there’s no real case for them to be raked higher.
No 12. Oklahoma (9-1) (5-1 Big 12)
Oklahoma battled with so much more than just the loss this week. The so-called prodigal son in Caleb Williams got benched for Spencer Rattler, who in turn did absolutely nothing. The quarterback battle in Norman appears to be back but they’ll need to figure it out soon before playing against Oklahoma State with the winner headed to the championship game.
No 13. Wake Forest (9-1) (6-0 ACC)
Wake Forest remained perfect in the ACC with a thrilling 45-42 win over North Carolina State. The Deacons might’ve been lucky with the refs, but the offense is one of the best in the country. Sam Hartman had a seriously off day throwing three picks and not being able to move the ball whatsoever but they still dropped 45 points on the Wolfpack and control the ACC Atlantic.
No 14. Texas A&M (7-3) (4-3 Big 12)
Just as the Aggies were on a roll, they fell to their same old offensive weaknesses. Jimbo Fisher and co. just could not get the ball moving and Texas A&M suffered their first loss since Week 3. This is still a pretty talented team that will hold their own against any team in the nation but any shot they had of a meaningful postseason is now over.
No 15. Houston (9-1) (6-1 American)
A 37-8 win over Temple wasn’t the greatest showing for Houston but they obviously handled their business when they needed to. The Cougars now seek a 7-1 American season with what should be a simple win over Memphis next week before they head to Connecticut to blow out UConn in the last game before the American Championship.
No 16. Pittsburgh (8-2) (5-1 ACC)
In the marquee quarterback matchup of the week between Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell, both showed out but Pitt was the ultimate winner. The Panthers almost blew the game in fact but they regrouped late to pull it out. Like Wake Forest, Pitt controls their destiny in their ACC division. They should likely win out against Syracuse and Virginia in the next two weeks.
No 17. Wisconsin (7-3) (5-2 Big 10)
If you told anybody that Wisconsin would be 7-3 after the start they had that person would think you’re lying. Wisconsin isn’t just winning these days, they’re blowing teams out and asserted that with their 35-7 win against Northwestern. The race in the Big 10 West is tighter than ever but Wisconsin just needs to beat Nebraska and Minnesota to head to Indianapolis.
No 18. UTSA (10-0)
The Roadrunners are 10-0 and the Cinderella story lives on. A 10 point win over Southern Miss isn’t too impressive, hence the small drop in their ranking this week. Their game with UAB this week is a sneaky one as the Blazers could pull off the upset with the talent that they have. It’ll be quite interesting to see where the committee puts this team and if they have a legitimate shot at an NY6 bowl game.
No 19. BYU (8-2)
Almost nothing to say about BYU this week coming off of a bye. The Cougars now have Georgia Southern and USC to finish off their regular season in what should be two easy victories. The big question is if Cincinnati makes the playoff, would BYU, UTSA, or Houston get the bowl bid. It seems the committee would give it to BYU as Houston would have to lose to Cincinnati for the Bearcats to make the playoffs.
No 20. Iowa (8-2) (5-2 Big 10)
Iowa seemingly refuses to win games in dominant fashion this year. Another one-score game this week, this time against Minnesota, where they weren’t as impressive as they could have been. As for this team’s postseason hopes, the Hawkeyes will not get anywhere valuable unless they get lucky and Wisconsin does in fact lose one of their two games left on their schedule.
No 21. Arkansas (7-3) (3-3 SEC)
Arkansas survived a scare against LSU when they won in overtime this week on the road. While LSU, doesn’t have a great record, they’re a team that’s played competitively the last few weeks. In short, that win still holds up. Now the Razorbacks will go into Tuscaloosa to most likely get dominated by Alabama and sent packing from our rankings.
No 22. San Diego State (9-1) (5-1 MWC)
The Aztecs had a beautiful 23-21 win over Nevada last week. Carson Strong had a great game for Nevada and San Diego State was still able to control the potential first-rounder enough to win the game. San Diego State has a great opportunity to win out from here but will have to overthrow Boise State, a very sneaky upset team this season en route to the conference championship.
No 23. North Carolina State (7-3) (4-2 ACC)
Lots of opportunities were missed by the Wolfpack last Saturday and they ended up falling short in a must-win game. There’s a lot to like about this team and program. They continue to take serious steps towards being very good but they did indeed blow it in Winston-Salem and now can only hope to win out against Syracuse and UNC and for some serious magic to happen.
No 24. Utah (7-3) (6-1 Pac 12)
Utah seems to come and go in our rankings every three weeks or so. The Utes most recently basically locked up the Pac 12 South with a 38-29 win over Arizona. They do have to go into Oregon this week, however, which should be a preview of the conference championship game. Should Utah lose this, they will be fighting for their postseason lives in two weeks against Colorado in a big-time rivalry game.
No 25. Louisiana (9-1) (7-0 Sun Belt)
Like Utah, Louisiana keeps entering and dropping out of our rankings. The Ragin’ Cajuns continue to absolutely run away with their division in the Sun Belt, with the next team (Texas State) sitting at 2-4. The team should meet Appalaiuchan State in the conference championship in what will be a very entertaining game to watch, one that could determine some pretty serious bowl game implications for both squads.
Outside looking in: Appalachian State, Penn State, Mississippi State, Purdue, Kansas State
New teams: Iowa (20), San Diego State (22), Utah (24), Louisiana (25)
Dropped out: Auburn, Penn State, Purdue, Coastal Carolina
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