Another week of the college football season is in the books. What changes in our Top 25 College Football Rankings after the Week 10 action? Eight Top-25 teams lose, and four fall off the board in our latest rankings edition.
Week 10 College Football Rankings | 1-5
Who comes in the top five in our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings? The No. 1 team should be of no surprise to anyone.
1) Georgia Bulldogs (–)
Rinse and repeat. Georgia crushes Missouri 43-6. They’re allowing just over 6.5 points per game. No discussion needed. Moving on.
2) Oklahoma Sooners (–)
Georgia is the consensus No. 1 — and one of the strongest consensus No. 1 teams you’ll find. But behind the Bulldogs, it’s murky. On a bye, Oklahoma doesn’t do anything to lose or gain ground from their previous spot. They have questions regarding execution — particularly on defense — but Caleb Williams alone warrants a great deal of respect.
3) Alabama Crimson Tide (–)
A stronger win against LSU might have given Alabama a chance to vault over Oklahoma for the No. 2 spot. Instead, however, the Crimson Tide suffered a scare, winning a close 20-14 battle.
It wasn’t a bad game for Alabama; the team rarely has those. But it was close enough to generate pause when pondering a move up in our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings.
4) Ohio State Buckeyes (–)
Ohio State isn’t the only team Nebraska has spooked this season. Nevertheless, Ohio State’s win over the Cornhuskers was a bit too close for comfort. The defense had its lapses, and the offensive line also looked worse than in weeks past. Still, with this win and MSU’s loss, Ohio State is in the driver’s seat in the East.
5) Cincinnati Bearcats (+1)
It felt odd when College GameDay was held in Cincinnati this week. Then Tulsa came out and made it a game against the Cincinnati Bearcats. That reflects well on Tulsa, but it also reflects poorly on Cincinnati, a team that’s supposed to be a playoff contender. I won’t judge them too harshly for it, however. They were able to outlast Tulsa with their talent in the end.
Week 10 College Football Rankings | 6-15
Which teams take up the 6-15 range in the Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings?
6) Oregon Ducks (+1)
Lamenting at Oregon’s high spot in our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings feels like an old exercise. Nevertheless, it’s tough to accept that the Ducks can be ranked this high The nature of the season has demanded it, however. The loss to Stanford hurts, but Oregon has taken care of business outside of that. Travis Dye is coming alive.
7) Michigan State Spartans (-2)
Well, that was a short victory lap. Less than a week after being introduced in the initial playoff field, Michigan State lost to the Purdue Boilermakers by a score of 40-29. It’s the first loss on the Spartans’ record, tying them with Ohio State. They still have a chance to make some noise, but the defense is a serious issue — one the Buckeyes can surely exploit.
8) Michigan Wolverines (–)
Week 10 offered a routine win for the Michigan Wolverines, beating the Indiana Hoosiers 29-7. David Ojabo had yet another strip-sack, and running back Hassan Haskins dominated on the offensive side of the ball. With MSU’s loss to Purdue, there’s still time for Michigan to regain divisional control. The margin for error, however, is very slim.
9) Texas A&M Aggies (+1)
The matchup between Texas A&M and Auburn was hyped up a little bit too much, as it turns out. The Tigers struggled to get anything going against a strong Aggies defense. Tyree Johnson had 2 more sacks, and Jaylon Jones piled on with an interception in a 20-3 win. Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M looks less bad with every passing week.
10) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+1)
I’ve been piling on Notre Dame a lot in these Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings. So it’s time to give the Fighting Irish some respect. I still don’t love their offense, but Kyren Williams is a great running back with an NFL future.
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And even without Kyle Hamilton, the defense held Navy to 6 points. At the very least, they’re solid. That counts for a lot this year.
11) Ole Miss Rebels (+2)
The “Matt Corral vs. Malik Willis Bowl” turned out to be not much of a bowl game at all. The Flames never stood a chance against a Rebels team that simply had a higher baseline of talent. The Rebels picked off Willis 3 times and logged 9 sacks. Meanwhile, Corral and Jerrion Ealy alone combined for over 400 yards and 3 scores.
12) Oklahoma State Cowboys (+4)
The Georgia defense is the best in the league by a wide margin, but Oklahoma State’s defense has taken its performance up a notch over the past two weeks. They’ve allowed a combined 6 points to Kansas and West Virginia. Most recently against the Mountaineers, the 8-1 Cowboys’ defense logged 8 sacks and a pick. It’s a dangerous unit.
13) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-4)
Wake Forest finally got their first loss of the season at the hands of the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels have been up and down all season, but they felt like a potential spoiler team in the right scenario. Sam Hartman performed admirably, but his 2 interceptions swung the game just enough for UNC to take hold. Wake Forest only moves down four, but they’re no longer a top-10 team in our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings.
14) Pittsburgh Panthers (+1)
Pitt rebounded from its loss against Miami with a strong win over the Duke Blue Devils. The defense remains an issue at times, but the offense is still humming along behind Kenny Pickett‘s arm. Over the next two weeks, Pickett has to outduel Sam Howell and Brennan Armstrong. Pitt’s ACC hopes will hinge on that stretch.
15) Houston Cougars (+2)
South Florida led at the half, but Clayton Tune made sure that wouldn’t last in the second half. The Houston quarterback wound up completing 21 of 26 passes for 385 yards and 3 scores in one of his best career games. When Tune is on, he has the talent to go toe to toe with anyone. And lately, he’s been on. Houston is tough to stop when that happens.
Week 10 College Football Rankings | 16-25
Here’s who rounds out our Top 25 College Football Rankings after the Week 10 action.
16) UTSA Roadrunners (+3)
It’s not time to put respect on UTSA’s name — it’s long past time to do so. The Roadrunners are one of the few undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA. And when faced with a potentially problematic opponent in UTEP, they cruised, winning 44-23. UTSA has plenty of talent — perhaps enough to give a Power Five team headaches in bowl season.
17) Purdue Boilermakers (N/A)
We might have to rank David Bell separately on our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings because he’s single-handedly defeated two top-five teams this year. Bell went off again versus Michigan State’s maligned secondary, catching 11 passes for 217 yards and a score. If Aidan O’Connell can stay on the money like he was this past Saturday, Purdue can win the West.
18) NC State Wolfpack (N/A)
The loss to Miami bumped NC State out of the Top 25 College Football Rankings a few weeks ago, but they’re back in the mix after stacking two straight wins against Louisville and Florida State. The Wolfpack is 7-2, but a game against Wake Forest next week will truly test their mettle.
19) Iowa Hawkeyes (+2)
Not many wins will feel more “meh” than a 17-12 win against Northwestern. That’s what Iowa got to celebrate on Saturday. Wins are nice no matter the context, but this one comes against a below-average team on the heels of two straight double-digit conference losses. Iowa moves up because other teams fell below them, but that’s the only reason.
20) Auburn Tigers (-8)
If Auburn had put up a fight against Texas A&M, they might’ve avoided a more dramatic slide. However, the Tigers only scored 3 points, and the Aggies were almost in full control of the game. Auburn still resides within our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings, but they’re not held in such a high regard after their uncompetitive outing.
21) Baylor Bears (-7)
The Baylor Bears incurred a surprising loss against a TCU team that had just fired longtime head coach Gary Patterson. That loss hurts Baylor’s chances of making a New Year’s bowl, and it also sends them down seven spots in our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings. This time, the Baylor defense uncharacteristically allowed almost 600 yards of total offense.
22) BYU Cougars (+3)
Full speed ahead with the BYU hype after the Cougars’ 59-14 thrashing of *checks notes* Idaho State. Okay, so it wasn’t the strongest opponent. But 8-2 BYU doesn’t have much more to prove. They’ve already beaten teams like Utah, Arizona State, and Virginia. This is just another routine win tacked onto the record. 10 wins is very possible.
23) Wisconsin Badgers (N/A)
You’ll never see me caping feverishly for those old-school teams that can’t adapt, but we have to give credit to Wisconsin. Since starting 1-3, they’ve won five straight, with wins against both Purdue and Iowa. That résumé, combined with a recent 52-3 throttling of Rutgers, is worthy of a spot in our Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings.
24) Utah Utes (N/A)
This feels like a cameo from our initial Top 25 College Football Rankings. A lot has changed through 10 weeks, but the Utes are finally back in the Top 25 to provide a bit of familiarity. They’re 6-3 and coming off a dominant win against Stanford. The offense is well-balanced, and the defense has a legitimate star in Devin Lloyd.
25) Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (-2)
Louisiana’s most recent game result — a 21-17 win against Georgia State — came in before our earlier Week 10 Top 25 College Football Rankings. That win is enough to help them stay put in the Top 25. But you can’t convince me the Cajuns should be ranked over Iowa or Wisconsin. They’re a talented team, but not at the level of UTSA or Houston.
Moving Out
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- SMU Mustangs
- Fresno State Bulldogs
Closing In
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Appalachian State Mountaineers
- Nevada Wolf Pack
- Coastal Carolina Chanticleers