College Football Rankings: Week 10

Another week, another time to post my rankings based on everyone’s resume. We saw many upsets, including Wake Forest and Michigan State suffering their first losses. How will those losses affect their resume? Does Michigan State still have a chance to make the College Football Playoff? Those questions will be answered in the coming weeks. For now, here are my rankings going into a pivotal Week 10:

  1. Georgia (9-0) (PREV: 1)

Georgia keeps their status as the #1 team as they blew out Missouri 43-6. Their next game is against Tennessee, so don’t get your hopes up for a huge Georgia game yet. With a 9-0 record and the best defense in college football, there’s no question they’re #1.

  1. Alabama (8-1) (PREV: 3)

Alabama moves up to the #2 spot despite losing to Texas A&M early this season and almost losing to LSU on Saturday. They play New Mexico State this week, which should let the Crimson Tide catch their breath a bit before playing Arkansas and Auburn in back-to-back weeks.

  1. Oklahoma (9-0) (PREV: 4)

When I saw that the Sooners were #8 again, even after many of the teams looked bad ahead of them last week, I couldn’t believe it. They’re in the Big 12, they’re undefeated, and they have a reliable quarterback in Caleb Williams. I guess the College Football Playoff committee thinks you need to lose to put a team in the top 4. Stupid. Oklahoma has their biggest game yet on Saturday, as they take on Baylor in Waco.

  1. Oregon (8-1) (PREV: 7)

I realized that putting Ohio State over Oregon made no sense. Oregon beat them, but that loss to Stanford is brutal. Oregon took care of Washington last weekend, and look ahead to Washington State before playing their toughest Pac-12 games against Utah.

  1. Ohio State (8-1) (PREV: 6)

Ohio State moves ahead of Cincinnati, but I’ll explain that when I talk about Cincinnati. Ohio State didn’t do too well last week, escaping Lincoln with a ten-point win over Nebraska. The Buckeyes have their hardest three-game stretch coming up: Purdue, Michigan State, and Michigan.

  1. Cincinnati (9-0) (PREV: 5)

Cincinnati remains as one of the remaining undefeated teams after a close call against a bad Tulsa team. That Notre Dame win is a huge boost, but their strength of schedule outside of that game is boring. They play USF this weekend, with games against SMU and East Carolina after.

  1. Michigan State (8-1) (PREV: 2)

The Spartans suffered their first loss of the season when they traveled to West Lafayette to take on the scary Purdue Boilermakers. They still have a chance for the College Football Playoff, but the road gets tougher with Ohio State having an edge in my ranking. They will host Maryland on Saturday, then face Ohio State in their biggest game of the season. It could affect the College Football Playoff. To wrap up the season, they will play Penn State Week 13.

  1. Michigan (8-1) (PREV: 11)

Michigan is right behind the Spartans, something that the College Football Playoff committee got wrong last night. The Wolverines handled a bad Indiana team on Saturday night, and now face rival Penn State in Happy Valley. After that, they play at Maryland, then host arch-rival Michigan. With their loss to Michigan State, it’s a no-brainer that they’re ranked lower than them.

  1. Notre Dame (8-1) (PREV: 8)

Notre Dame moves down mainly because Michigan moved up. It has nothing to do with them. They blew out Navy on Saturday 34-6. Their remaining schedule is weak, with the highlight game coming this week at Virginia. The loss to Cincinnati hurts the Fighting Irish, but they are still top-10 worthy.

  1. Oklahoma State (8-1) (PREV: 10)

Oklahoma State stays where they are, as they blew out West Virginia as the college football world expected. With their only loss coming against Baylor, the Cowboys will need to win out to keep themselves in the top 10. They take on TCU, who upset Baylor last week. After that, they’ll have Texas Tech before the biggest Big 12 game of the season between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

  1. Texas A&M (7-2) (PREV: 14)

Texas A&M earned a huge win over Auburn at Kyle Field on Saturday, which boosts their resumé big time. They’re the only team to beat Alabama, but losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State hurt them a bit. They have another huge game this weekend when they take on Ole Miss in Oxford.

  1. Wake Forest (8-1) (PREV: 9)

Wake Forest fans fear the Tar Heels. They experienced deja vu on Saturday, as a shootout with North Carolina ended in a loss again for the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest’s defense is abysmal compared to their terrific offense, which led to their chances to be in the College Football Playoff gone. The Deacs play their most important game of the season as they host NC State in a battle of the two best ACC teams. After that, they face Clemson, who has one of the best defenses in the country despite their horrific offense. They wrap the season up by going to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College.

  1. Ole Miss (7-2) (PREV: 15)

After Ole Miss suffered their second loss of the season against Auburn, they bounced back against Malik Willis and the Liberty Flames. Matt Corral is still one of the country’s best quarterbacks, but he needs to prove he is better than Bryce Young. They host the biggest game of the day when Texas A&M comes to town. After that, they face Vanderbilt before going to Starkville to play arch-rival Mississippi State.

  1. Baylor (7-2) (PREV: 13)

Baylor suffered a bad loss on the road against TCU, but their win against BYU earlier this season prevents the Bears from moving down very far. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for Baylor with wins over BYU, West Virginia, and Texas. Their biggest game of the season, and perhaps the biggest game in the Big 12 so far, is when Baylor hosts Oklahoma. If Oklahoma beats Baylor, maybe the Sooners will get the respect they deserve. But, if Baylor wins, it boosts the Bears’ resume and makes the Big 12 Championship spots more available. It will also prove if I was wrong about Oklahoma.

  1. BYU (8-2) (PREV: 16)

BYU suffered two losses to Boise State and Baylor back-to-back in mid-October. Now, the Cougars are on a three-game winning streak, with power 5 wins against Virginia and Washington State. Those aren’t great wins by any means. Their most recent win came against Idaho State, whom they blew out. They have two games remaining: Georgia Southern and USC. Win out, and they stay in the top 15.

  1. Auburn (6-3) (PREV: 12)

The Tigers lost so badly that I nearly forgot to include them in my top 25. However, the loss was against Texas A&M, who has been red-hot since beating Alabama. That ended Auburn’s undefeated record at Kyle Field and prevented them from having a three-game winning streak. Don’t forget, the Tigers recently beat Arkansas and Ole Miss, two teams in this top 25. They will have a crucial game this Saturday as they host Mississippi State. That’s the game where we find out where Auburn stands in college football this season. It’s virtually a must-win for their resume.

  1. NC State (7-2) (PREV: N/A)

NC State could be the top team in the ACC, but suffering a bad loss to Miami put them behind Wake Forest. Their only loss is a good one: Mississippi State. The Wolfpack have won two straight against Louisville and at Florida State. Their signature win was supposed to be Clemson, but that isn’t even a good win anymore. Their biggest game of the season is Saturday as they take on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. After that, they host Syracuse and North Carolina to wrap up the regular season.

  1. Wisconsin (6-3) (PREV: 21)

Wisconsin is one of the hottest teams in the country, currently on a five-game winning streak. That streak includes wins against ranked Iowa and Purdue, which is why they are ahead of both on here. The Badgers will host Northwestern and Nebraska back-to-back, then finish the season at Minnesota. If Wisconsin can win out, they’re in good shape.

  1. Purdue (6-3) (PREV: N/A)

Purdue comes back into my top 25 after a huge upset win over Michigan State on Saturday. They have lost to Wisconsin, which is why they’re right behind them, but beating Iowa helps bring their ranking to be right before the Hawkeyes. The biggest game of their season comes when they head to Columbus to face Ohio State. After that, the last two games should be a breeze, hosting both Northwestern and Indiana.

  1. Iowa (7-2) (PREV: 17)

Iowa moves down to #18 after the Hawkeyes barely beat Northwestern by five. Purdue picked up an upset win over Michigan State, which brings the Boilermakers back into the top 25. The game against Northwestern was indeed a scare for the Hawkeyes, but it is a much-needed win after losing two straight to Purdue and Wisconsin.

  1. Houston (8-1) (PREV: 22)

Houston jumps up to #19 in my top 25, especially with their undefeated American Athletic Conference record. Is Houston good by any means? No, but they haven’t lost since their opening game against Texas Tech, so watch out for the red-hot Cougars. They play at Temple before hosting Memphis these next two weeks. After that, they wrap up their season against UConn, one of the worst teams in FBS.

  1. Utah (6-3) (PREV: 23)

Utah moves up three spots after a blowout win in Palo Alto against Stanford. They’re going to need wins to keep control of the Pac-12 South, with Arizona State on their tail. However, the Utes beat the Sun Devils earlier this season, which helps create even more distance in the division. They’ll travel to Tuscon to face Arizona, a team having a historically bad season. The biggest game is next week when the Utes host Oregon in the battle of the top two Pac-12 teams. To wrap up the season, Utah will host Colorado, second-to-last in the Pac-12 South.

  1. Pittsburgh (7-2) (PREV: N/A)

Pittsburgh jumps back into the top 25 after many teams lost. They handled Duke on Saturday but now face a threatening North Carolina team tonight. After that, they will host Virginia before going to the Carrier Dome to take on Syracuse. Watch out for Kenny Pickett these next few weeks, who is looking to end Pittsburgh’s regular season on a good note. The problem about Pitt is that they have two bad losses: Western Michigan and Miami (FL).

  1. Arkansas (6-3) (PREV: N/A)

The Razorbacks are on a two-game winning streak after losing three straight. One of these wins comes against Mississippi State, a team now out of my top 25. It will be a battle of the bottom two SEC West teams this week when Arkansas plays at LSU. Yes, that division is loaded. They’ll face Alabama after that, which is almost a guaranteed loss. The Razorbacks will wrap up the regular season when they host Missouri in a few weeks. However, if they can win two of their last three games, it looks good on their resume.

  1. UTSA (9-0) (PREV: 23)

Due to their poor resume, UTSA will remain at the bottom of the top 25, even though they are one of the only undefeated teams left in college football. The Roadrunners certainly have a shot at finishing the regular season undefeated. The #25 spot is devoted to UTSA, for now. Yes, I kept my analysis from last week in. It still stands as true. Also, congratulations to UTSA for being ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25. That’s a huge milestone for the program.

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