College football chaos hit the bracket again in Week 10, and the playoff picture is getting a fresh shakeup. Notre Dame’s win over Miami forced a hard reset near the top of the 12-team field, while several conference races and at-large cases tightened in the process.
Georgia still sits in line for the No. 1 seed in this projection. The Bulldogs have been viewed all season as the most complete team in the country, and their convincing win over a strong Ole Miss team only reinforced that case.
Utah’s unbeaten run has them positioned as the projected Big 12 champion. The Utes knocked off rival BYU, picked up a second win over a ranked opponent, and now have a clear path to the conference title game.
Miami’s loss to Notre Dame changes the ACC conversation. Without a win over the Fighting Irish to lean on, the Hurricanes could take a hit in strength of record compared with undefeated Utah.
Indiana remains the projected Big Ten champion even after losing the head-to-head meeting with Ohio State. The injury to Julian Sayin in that game may have opened the door for the Hoosiers to get back into the Big Ten title race.
In the at-large mix, Alabama strengthened its grip with a convincing road win at ranked LSU. The committee is high on the Crimson Tide, and they remain second in the SEC behind Georgia.
Notre Dame’s victory in Miami put the Fighting Irish on the right side of the bubble. They still have to avoid a trap game against Boston College before finishing with SMU.
Texas also took a useful step with a road win at ranked Missouri, and Arch Manning did it without turning the ball over. The Longhorns now have four wins against ranked opponents, and they can add another major one at LSU this weekend.
UCLA stayed unbeaten by winning at Minnesota, and the Bruins are now within range of the Big Ten championship picture even with a backup quarterback.
Tennessee made a strong statement by beating up on one-loss Kentucky. The Vols were a little buried in the first rankings despite their 16-point win over Alabama, but that result, along with the dominant showing against the Wildcats, their run game, and their defense, all help their case.
Kentucky, meanwhile, has used up its cushion. With two losses now, the Wildcats can’t afford many more mistakes if they want to stay ahead of other at-large contenders.
BYU’s path is more complicated after the loss to Utah. The Cougars now need Texas Tech to lose again, either at Oklahoma State or at Baylor, to reach the Big 12 title game and set up a rematch with Utah. Their win over Notre Dame looks much better now, though.
In the Group of Six race, Boise State kept itself in the conversation with a 64-point rout of Colorado State despite not having a starting quarterback. The Broncos still need to beat Oregon State and stay unbeaten, though, because New Mexico is pushing hard in the Mountain West.
In Other News...
Alabama May Be Giving Austin Mack A Huge Chance At Vanderbilt
Keelon Russells ankle injury has opened the door for Austin Mack, and Alabama appears willing to let the former five-star recruit take some meaningful snaps against Vanderbilt. With Russell banged up, head coach Kalen DeBoer said Mack could see the field in an effort to protect the starter for the games ahead, giving the Crimson Tide a chance to see what they have in a quarterback who has spent most of his time waiting behind the scenes.
For Mack, the timing matters. He has had limited playing time since arriving in Tuscaloosa, but this could be the kind of opportunity that changes the conversation around his future, especially with a possible transfer in the background. Vanderbilt may not be the biggest stage on Alabamas schedule, but it could be a valuable one for a quarterback still trying to show he can handle real game action. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Defensive Front Just Got A Boost Fans Have Been Waiting For
Devan Thompkins gave Alabama a timely jolt in the win at LSU, finishing with two sacks and snapping a drought that had stretched back to Week 3. It was the kind of interior push the Crimson Tide have been trying to rediscover, and it came in a game where the defense as a whole finally looked disruptive again, piling up four sacks for its best total since Week 5.
Terrance Greens return from injury helped make that happen. He made his presence felt with a sack of his own and steady work against the run, giving Alabamas defensive front a more complete look and drawing praise from the coaching staff for the way he changed the lines energy. For a unit that has been searching for consistency up front, Greens impact may have been just as important as the numbers beside Thompkins name. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Just Forced A Playoff Ranking Debate Fans Will Obsess Over
Alabamas win over LSU has done more than pad the rsum in November. It has reopened the kind of playoff-rankings debate that gets college football fans arguing all week, with analysts split on where the Crimson Tide should land when the next set of rankings comes out. Some see the victory as the kind of statement that can push Alabama as high as No. 3 or No. 4, while others think the committee could still leave the Tide closer to the middle of the top 10.
The messier part is what it means for Tennessee, because the comparison between the two teams is now impossible to ignore. Head-to-head results and strength of schedule both have a way of complicating the conversation, and Alabamas latest win only sharpened the question of how much weight the committee will give each factor. However it shakes out, this is the sort of ranking fight that could linger well beyond Tuesday night. [Read more 🡒]