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College Football Playoff Rankings 2021: Projected Top 25, Week 10

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III runs for a touchdown against Michigan during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211030 Msu Michigan 228a
Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III runs for a touchdown against Michigan during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211030 Msu Michigan 228a /
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Oct 30, 2021; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears running back Abram Smith (7) celebrates his touchdown agains the Texas Longhorns in the second half of an NCAA football game at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Spillman-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2021; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears running back Abram Smith (7) celebrates his touchdown agains the Texas Longhorns in the second half of an NCAA football game at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Spillman-USA TODAY Sports /

player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. UTSA Roadrunners. BYE. Last Week: 23. 15. 2408

I don’t think UTSA gets enough credit based on its No. 23 ranking in the AP Top 25, but the Roadrunners could run the table and really impress the playoff committee. I see a similar ranking to the AP Poll in Week 10’s initial playoff rankings but it’d be hard to overlook a 12-0 UTSA team. That’s very possible right now.

With a handful of teams ahead of Baylor in the AP Top 25 losing this week, the playoff committee has to look at Dave Aranda and the Bears as the No. 3 contender in the Big 12, just behind Oklahoma State, especially after beating a solid Texas team in comeback fashion. The Bears made a statement against the Longhorns in Week 9 to improve to 7-1 and they’re a win over Oklahoma away from a top-10 spot.

Bo Nix is just a different quarterback when he plays at home and he led the Tigers to a big ranked win over Ole Miss on Saturday evening. The Tigers were up pretty much the whole game and Nix out-dueled Heisman contender Matt Corral en route to a 31-20 win. Auburn will approach that top-10 range in the first playoff rankings, but No. 13 seems right.

How will the playoff committee view a two-loss Texas A&M team with a win over Alabama? That’s the million-dollar question heading into Tuesday night’s rankings. Texas A&M is really good and the committee may take into account that the Aggies are doing all of this without their starting quarterback Haynes King. Would they be better with him healthy? More than likely. Will he be back? Who knows. I think the 10-15 range is about right.

I thought Michigan played well enough to win for most of Saturday’s game in East Lansing, but Michigan State made the plays down the stretch to pull this one off. The Wolverines have to like what they got from Cade McNamara, but that vaunted run defense got a wake-up call against Kenneth Walker III. Michigan might flirt with the top 10 in the first playoff rankings, but this was a monumental loss.

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