After a calm Week 9 of the College Football season, Week 10 brought absolute chaos, even on a week when plenty of Top 25 teams were on the bye. This weekend only had three matchups between ranked teams, and while they gave us important results, some of the upsets defined the weekend and shook the race for the College Football Playoff.
In the ACC, we saw Miami get stunned by SMU in overtime, while the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lost to NC State, which was without their two biggest stars. In the Big 12, Cincinnati was crushed by Utah, while Houston was truly stunned by West Virginia, which hadn't won a game in league play. This week will have a massive ripple effect on the rest of the season, even if it didn't have the headline game.
Table for 12 Week 10: Texas finally gave Arch Manning a chance
Predicting the AP Top 25 Poll: Indiana overtakes Ohio State for No. 1
Saturday night dealt a massive blow to Cincinnati‘s hopes of winning the Big 12 and making the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats were outclassed in every aspect of the game, and they now need to go back to the drawing board with three games remaining. With a test left against BYU as well as Arizona and TCU, who could win any weekend, it’s going to be tough for Cincinnati not to trip up one more time.
The Iowa Hawkeyes didn’t play this weekend but with all of the chaos around the country, they will break back into the AP Top 25. This team is playing their best football as of late and the next two games against Oregon and USC are going to have massive implications on the race for the College Football Playoff.
After making the college football playoff last season, Saturday night’s loss to Oklahoma likely sealed Tennessee’s fate as they’ll miss the College Football Playoff. Joey Aguilar getting strip-sacked for a touchdown early felt like it sunk Tennessee, as the offense never really got back on track. Tennessee has played three big games and they’ve lost all three, and even if they won out the rest of the way, they won’t have the resume as a three-loss team to make the College Football Playoff.
The Memphis Tigers took care of business on Friday night as they won in dominant fashion over Rice. With Navy and Tulane both losing this weekend, the race for the American is truly wide open, as there are no unbeaten teams remaining. The Tigers still have games left against Tulane and Navy as well as a frisky East Carolina team, but they’ve gotten right back in the race after their stunning loss to UAB.
The USC Trojans picked up a win to stay alive in the college football playoff race, but it wasn’t pretty. The Trojans were trailing until Dylan Reola suffered an injury that left Nebraska’s offense hopeless. Lincoln Riley has a ton to clean up with his offense, and they’ll need it with a tricky schedule the rest of the way.
The Miami Hurricanes have gone from a team that was in the conversation as one of the best teams in the country to potentially being out of the College Football Playoff race. The offense never looked right on Saturday and Carson Beck’s interception in overtime sunk this team. Given how Mario Cristobal’s teams have played in November, it’s hard to see this team finishing this season without dropping another game, especially as Beck has struggled.
The Utah Utes sent an absolute statement on Saturday night with a dominant win over the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Utes got it all with passing, rushing, defensive, and special teams touchdowns, winning 45-14. The Utes are very much still alive in the race for the Big 12 as well as the college football playoff as an at-large team if chaos continues throughout the country, as they only have two losses.
It wasn’t pretty on Saturday night, but the Michigan Wolverines survived a scare from Purdue. The passing attack struggled, but Jordan Marshall put the team on his back with 185 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. The next two games are very winnable for Michigan setting up for a potential win and in scenario against Ohio State.
Missouri spent the weekend on the bye after a disappointing loss to Vanderbilt last weekend. The results of the weekend will help the Tigers move up in the poll, but it’s going to be tough for this team to finish the season ranked with Beau Pribula missing time with an injury.
This weekend‘s game against Texas started in the worst possible fashion for the Vanderbilt Commodores as they found themselves in a 10-0 hole before they even really got in the game. The final score looks much closer than the game actually seemed, which will help the Commodores resume, as they didn’t get blown out. Losing this weekend hurts the Commodores as they won’t have a resume-building win, but they can still put together a great stretch down the run to stay in the playoff hunt.
The Texas Longhorns needed to pick up a big win after looking shaky last weekend, and they did just that, knocking off the top 10 team in Vanderbilt. The defense shut down the Commodores' rushing attack, taking them out of their game plan, allowing Texas to build a big enough lead to put this one away. This game should serve as a momentum builder for Steve Sarkisian’s team as they are going to have to play great football down the stretch to have a shot at the College Football Playoff.
Everything appeared to have shaken out perfectly for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets until they played on Saturday Night. The defense got cashed by NC State, who was without their two biggest playmakers on offense. Only having one loss on the season and in league play helps Georgia Tech playoff chances, but it’s not going to be easy the rest of the way.
After a disappointing game against Ole Miss last weekend, Oklahoma desperately needed to pick up a big win and an elimination game against Tennessee. The Sooners changed the trajectory of the game early on a strip sack that R Mason Thomas returned for a touchdown on an incredible effort play. The Sooners now take a bye week before a difficult stretch against Alabama, Missouri, and LSU.
Louisville struggled early as they trailed Virginia Tech at halftime, but they snapped into form in the second half out, scoring the Hokies 21-0 to win the game. The biggest concern for Louisville now is the health of star running back Isaac Brown as he continues to power this offense. The final four games of the season for Louisville are very winnable with the way Clemson has played as of late as well as SMU struggles at times, but it won’t be easy.
The Virginia Cavaliers haven’t played great football the last few weeks, but it doesn’t matter, as the ACC has shaken out perfectly for them and they continue to stack wins. The Cavaliers weren’t able to pull away from Cal until they scored on a pick 6 as Cal tried to go and tie it or win the game. As the lone team left in ACC play without a loss, Virginia has a great chance at not only making the ACC Championship Game, but also making the Playoff.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders won with some style for the second strike week as they outscored Kansas State 43-13 after a slow start. Behren Morton returned from injury and threw for 2 touchdowns while J’Koby Williams and Cameron Dickey powered the offense on the ground. This team is still leaps and bounds more talented than the rest of the big 12 but they have a big test next weekend against an undefeated BYU team.
All of the chaos around the Country has helped the Notre Dame Fighting Irish get back into the College Football Playoff race. It wasn't pretty for Notre Dame as they struggled at times with a bad Boston College team, but Jeremiyah Love showed why he's one of the best players in the Country, ripping off a 94-yard touchdown run to give the Irish the win.
After knocking off Iowa State, the BYU Cougars spent the weekend on the bye. While BYU didn’t play, they only moved closer to the college football playoff as Utah’s win over Cincinnati leaves the Cougars as the lone unbeaten team in Big 12 play, giving them a great chance to make the Big 12 Championship and the College Football Playoff.
Dan Lanning's team spent the weekend on the bye, and after a shaky showing against Wisconsin, where Dante Moore left the game with an injury, the team certainly needed it. This final stretch of the season isn't going to be easy, as Iowa has started to play its best football while Minnesota, USC, and Washington are all tough outs.
Lane Kiffin continues to block out the outside noise, leading his team to big wins as the Rebels practically punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff. The Rebels were dominant on defense, putting pressure on LaNorris Sellers every time he dropped back, racking up 6 sacks while forcing 2 interceptions. This team is getting hot at the right time, as Kiffin's team looks far different than the group that got knocked off by far inferior opponents' last season.
Kirby Smart's team faced the unique challenge of facing a team that underwent a ton of coaching changes. Florida gave Georgia plenty of issues, but Kirby Smart's team rose to the occasion late as Chauncey Bowens broke off a big touchdown run before the Bulldogs got the stop to win the game. Kirby Smart needs his team to start better, but they're also showing a ton by coming back every week.
The Alabama Crimson Tide were on a well-deserved bye week this weekend after beating 4 straight Top 25 opponents and South Carolina. Kalen DeBoer's team has done a total 180 after their loss to Florida State, which has them closing in on a bid to the College Football Playoff. Alabama only has one game left against a ranked opponent, but next week's game against LSU could be tricky after all the turnover they went through.
After demolishing LSU last weekend, the Texas A&M Aggies spent the weekend on the bye, preparing for the final stretch of the season. The last 4 games should see this team go at worst 3-1 as they'll face Missouri without Beau Pribula, South Carolina, who, like LSU, struggles up front, Samford, and Texas. A win next weekend could all but clinch the Aggies' ticket to the College Football Playoff.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were only 33 points ahead of Indiana in the AP Poll last week, and after struggling against Penn State, they may get dethroned in the AP Poll. The Buckeyes ended up pulling away with the win, winning the second half 21-0 after Penn State pushed them. The Buckeyes very well could be the best team in the Country, but Indiana has been so dominant it's impossible to ignore.
Saturday saw the Indiana Hoosiers dismantle another opponent as they've clearly played better than any team in the Country this season. The offense played most of this game without star wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, and they were still able to score 6 touchdowns. The defense was all over the field, forcing a pair of interceptions while scoring a touchdown of their own. Every week, Indiana comes out and dominates its opponent as they've played better than any other team this season.