The College Football Playoff selection committee can’t mess this up — I think. The Oregon Ducks have been the No. 1-ranked team in this space for weeks, and the CFP ought to follow suit. And behind Oregon should be another Big Ten powerhouse, whose only loss happened to be to the Ducks: Ohio State.
It’s what the committee will decide to do with Indiana that interests me. The selection committee is tasked with selecting the 12 best teams while using a criteria that revolves around winning the conference championship, winning marquee matchups during the regular season, and then, what each of the voting members believes is the best team — scoreboard be damned. If Georgia had five losses but was deemed one of the 12 best teams in the sport by this committee, they’d make the CFP.
Indiana is unprecedented here, though. The Hoosiers are 9-0 for the first time in program history. They’ve scored 41 or more points in six of their last seven games, and their margin of victory against teams looks like one we’d expect from Georgia, Clemson or Alabama in the previous era of the CFP. However, Indiana has never benefited from the blue-blood tax exemption that they have. In fact, if you dressed the Hoosiers as Penn State, you’re much more likely to believe that’s a team capable of winning the national title than the Penn State program we’ve seen in the James Franklin era.
But like Penn State, the Hoosiers will have a chance to notch a top-five victory this season if Ohio State continues to roll with less than a month to play. And then the Hoosiers might just make this simple. But it’s important to note where they start in the CFP rankings, because I suspect we’ll see more stories like Indiana’s in the future due to the volatility of rosters, the influence of name, image and likeness, and power conferences bloating to 16 or more teams.
With that, here’s a look at my top 25 rankings following Week 10 of the college football season:
1. Oregon (9-0)
Week 10 result: Defeated Michigan, 38-17
Despite losing star wideout Tez Johnson early in the win, Dillon Gabriel completed 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards with a touchdown. Wideout Traeshon Holden accounted for six catches and 149 yards, while tailback Jordan James carried the ball 23 times for 117 yards.
The Ducks are the only undefeated team with a win against a top-five opponent this season.
2. Ohio State (7-1)
Week 10 result: Defeated Penn State, 20-13
The Buckeyes trailed Penn State 10-0 with 5:37 left in the first quarter. And then, Ohio State responded. Penalties allowed the Buckeyes to score 14 unanswered points before eventually taking a 14-10 lead into the half and holding on to win, 20-13.
If you give Ohio State a cookie, they’re gonna rob your bakery.
3. Georgia (7-1)
Week 10 result: Defeated Florida, 34-20
Despite losing quarterback DJ Lagway to a “pretty significant” hamstring injury, according to Gators coach Billy Napier, Florida led Georgia 13-6 at halftime at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
The Dawgs went on to outscore the Gators 28-7 in the second half and secure their seventh win of the season. Carson Beck threw for 309 yards, two touchdowns and three picks in the win.
4. Miami (Fla.) (9-0)
Week 10 result: Defeated Duke, 53-31
The Hurricanes were found playing with matches again, trailing Duke 21-17 at halftime. Heisman hopeful Cam Ward completed 25 of 41 passes for 400 yards with five passing touchdowns and one interception to keep the Hurricanes unbeaten.
5. Texas (7-1)
Week 10 result: Idle
6. Indiana (9-0)
Week 10 result: Defeated Michigan State, 47-10
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns in his return to action. The Hoosiers have scored at least 41 points in six of their last seven games. They’ll look to win their 10th game this season — for the first time in school history — against Michigan on Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.
7. BYU (8-0)
Week 10 result: Idle
8. Tennessee (7-1)
Week 10 result: Defeated Kentucky, 28-18
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Vols found a way to win once again, their third straight SEC victory. Dylan Sampson continues to show why he’s one of the best backs in America, rushing for 142 yards and two scores in the win.
9. Penn State (7-1)
Week 10 result: Lost to Ohio State, 20-13
The Nittany Lions trailed Ohio State 14-10 at halftime. And despite a pick-six from the PSU defense, the offense could not score a single TD against OSU.
James Franklin fell to 1-13 against top-five teams.
10. Notre Dame (7-1)
Week 10 result: Idle
11. Alabama (6-2)
Week 10 result: Idle
12. LSU (6-2)
Week 10 result: Idle
13. Iowa State (7-1)
Week 10 result: Lost to Texas Tech, 23-22
Iowa State was leading late in the game, but Texas Tech marched down the field and took the lead with 20 seconds remaining behind a Tahj Brooks rushing touchdown. He finished with 125 rushing yards in the win.
14. SMU (8-1)
Week 10 result: Defeated Pitt, 48-25
SMU is a good football team. The Mustangs proved it once again on Saturday, racking up 467 yards of offense and putting up 48 points against a Pitt team that was undefeated heading into this matchup.
15. Boise State (7-1)
Week 10 result: Defeated San Diego State, 56-24
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 149 yards on 31 rushes with two touchdowns. He leads the FBS in rushing with 1,525 yards (190.6 yards per game) and 20 TDs.
To break Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record, he’ll need to rush for 1,104 yards over the next four games.
Jeanty has yet to rush for 300 yards in a game. Sanders rushed for 300 yards or more in four of the 11 games he needed to set the record.
Jeanty, who has the extra game, needs to have a 300-yard game if he expects to break the record set by one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen.
San Diego State Aztecs vs. No. 15 Boise State Broncos Highlights
16. Texas A&M (7-2)
Week 10 result: Lost to South Carolina, 44-20
After a memorable win over LSU last weekend, Mike Elko’s team fell flat on the road at South Carolina. Marcel Reed threw for 206 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while adding 46 yards on the ground. But the Aggies couldn’t stop the Gamecocks’ offense, giving up 530 yards in the loss.
17. Ole Miss (7-2)
Week 10 result: Defeated Arkansas, 63-31
Quarterback Jaxson Dart completed 25 of 31 passes for 515 passing yards with six touchdowns, while wideout Jordan Watkins caught eight passes for 254 yards with five TDs in a rout of a team that knocked off previously top-ranked Tennessee earlier this season.
18. Missouri (6-2)
Week 10 result: Idle
19. Clemson (6-2)
Week 10 result: Lost to Louisville, 33-21
All signs pointed to us getting a Miami-Clemson ACC title matchup, but the Tigers looked far from a championship-caliber team on Saturday night. Louisville halfback Isaac Brown ran all over Clemson’s defense to the tune of 151 yards. With the loss, Clemson fell to 5-1 in the ACC, trailing both Miami and SMU in the conference standings.
20. Army (8-0)
Week 10 result: Defeated Air Force, 20-3
With Bryson Daily out with an undisclosed illness/injury, Dewayne Coleman got the start for the Black Knights at QB. In their first game without him, Army failed to score on its opening offensive possession for the first time this season. Kanye Udoh led the way for the Black Knights’ offense, totaling 158 rushing yards and a pair of rushing TDs.
21. Pitt (7-1)
Week 10 result: Lost to SMU, 48-25
Pitt entered Saturday’s game looking to go 8-0 for the first time since 1981 — when Dan Marino was the program’s quarterback. Instead, they gave up 467 yards of offense in a game that really wasn’t as close as the scoreboard reads.
22. Kansas State (7-2)
Week 10 result: Lost to Houston, 24-19
The Wildcats lost the chance to take advantage of Iowa State’s first loss this season and slide into second place in the Big 12 standings. Now, Kansas State will have to hope Texas Tech can do to Colorado next week what it did to Iowa State this week in order to get back into the race for the Big 12 title.
Of course, if BYU catches a loss before the season ends, all hell will break loose in what has been an upside-down Big 12 this season.
No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats vs. Houston Cougars Highlights
23. Colorado (6-2)
Week 10 result: Idle
24. Vanderbilt (6-3)
Week 10 result: Defeated Auburn, 17-7
The Commodores are 6-3 for the first time since 1982 and, with this win, beat Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955.
25. Washington State (7-1)
Week 10 result: Idle
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him at @RJ_Young.
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