College Football Rankings: Projected Top 25, Week 10 – Big 12 gets wild

Wake Forest made a surprise return to the AP Top 25 after holding on for a 22-20 victory at home against Florida State in Week 8. The Demon Deacons gave up 449 yards of offense and three touchdowns to the Seminoles, but the defense forced two turnovers that killed drives deep in Wake Forest territory. If Willie Taggart’s team turns even one of those two drives into a field goal, the Demon Deacons would have lost the contest.

Sam Hartman threw for 306 yards on 21-of-38 passing, but he was unable to get the ball in the endzone. Cade Carney ran in Wake Forest’s only touchdown of the game, and otherwise they were left to rely on five Nick Sciba field goals. Sciba was perfect on his attempts, but the fact that all five came from 27 yards or less was a testament to the inability of the Demon Deacons to finish drives with touchdowns as much as it was a tribute to Sciba’s accuracy.

But Wake Forest punched their ticket into the AP Top 25 at a perfect time, with a bye week closing out October and effectively sealing their spot in the rankings. NC State comes to Winston-Salem next weekend to start off November play. The real fun begins with a two-game road swing to Virginia Tech and Clemson that will determine whether the Demon Deacons remain ranked in 2019.