Week 10 is loaded with upset potential, and the warning signs are flashing all over the country.
Last weekend already gave college football a jolt, with six ranked teams going down and No. 2 Ohio State getting knocked off by unranked USC. Now the calendar has turned, the stakes are tighter, and a handful of heavyweights are walking into games that could go sideways fast.
Miami is the biggest name on the board. The No. 1 team in the country is 8-0 and has only one loss in the last year, that coming against Indiana in the national championship game.
The Hurricanes have been electric on offense, but the cracks have started to show over the last couple of weeks. The trip to South Bend gets even tougher with star wide receiver Malachi Toney expected to miss the rest of the regular season, which puts more pressure on Darian Mensah to lean on other targets and keep the rushing game rolling.
Notre Dame is hardly in a forgiving mood. The Fighting Irish still haven’t beaten a ranked opponent this season and are coming off a 28-24 loss to BYU.
Even so, they bring the No. 1 defense in the country into a matchup that should turn into a real tactical battle with Miami’s offense. For Notre Dame, the math is simple: win or likely miss the College Football Playoff again.
The other huge collision comes in the Holy War. Utah has started to settle in after beating a ranked opponent for the first time and then going on the road to handle Cincinnati, which had just upset undefeated Texas Tech.
There was no letdown from Morgan Scalley’s team, just another clean performance. But now the Utes face BYU in a rivalry game that carries extra weight.
For the first time in the history of the series, both teams are ranked in the top 10. That alone gives this one a different feel, and with both sides in the playoff picture, it plays like an early elimination game.
BYU has also owned the recent history, winning three straight against Utah, including a 22-21 result in Salt Lake City in 2024.
Texas is dealing with a different kind of pressure. The Longhorns have drawn plenty of heat in Mississippi after beating both Ole Miss and Mississippi State in back-to-back games, and they’re back on a winning streak.
But the road gets rough from here, with three of their final four games away from home. This is only the second true road game of the season for Steve Sarkisian’s team, and the sample size outside Austin is thin.
Texas beat Tennessee 20-17 in Knoxville in September and also dropped a neutral-site game to unranked Oklahoma. Missouri, meanwhile, has been perfect at home in 2026 and has already shown it can spring a surprise, blasting No.
8 Florida 45-17 before taking care of Texas A&M in Columbia the next week. The big question hanging over this one: Which version of Arch Manning shows up?
UCLA is in the top 10 and has already matched its win total from the previous two seasons combined, but there’s still some uncertainty around the program. The Bruins rolled past Nevada last week, as expected, yet the buzz around their hot head coach is starting to build, fair or not.
That noise lands at an awkward time, because UCLA is already without its starting quarterback for the rest of the year. Backup Ty Dieffenbach has thrown only three total touchdowns in three starts, even though he’s attempted more than 30 passes in each game.
Minnesota is no pushover either. The Golden Gophers have already upset Iowa and Michigan, and they pushed Indiana to overtime last weekend before falling just short.
Now they’re back home, and UCLA has to make a long trip into a tricky spot.
Then there’s Ohio State, which is suddenly staring at real playoff danger. The Buckeyes couldn’t get it done with a backup quarterback in last week’s 30-18 loss to USC, and another defeat would make a 12-team berth feel unlikely.
Julian Sayin won’t be back anytime soon, a major blow for an offense that now has to keep moving without its Heisman Finalist and game-changer. Oregon comes in with some issues of its own at quarterback, but the Ducks did beat No.
20 Northwestern last weekend and could carry that momentum into Columbus. With Ryan Day under the microscope, this is one of those games that tells you a lot about a team’s backbone.
Are the Buckeyes pipes or diamonds?
In Other News...
Miami Can Attack The One Notre Dame Flaw That Really Matters
Notre Dame arrives with the kind of defensive reputation that usually changes the tone of a matchup before kickoff, sitting first nationally in total defense. But the deeper numbers show a softer spot where Miami can make this game uncomfortable, because the Irish have struggled badly once opponents get inside the 20. Red-zone defense has been a problem all season, and that kind of weakness tends to matter most when the opponent has the ball-moving ability to keep drives alive.
Miami has been one of the nations most efficient offenses in that same area, turning red-zone chances into points at an elite rate. That makes the matchup inside the 20 especially important, even more so with Malachi Toney unavailable. If the Hurricanes can keep finishing drives instead of settling for empty possessions, they have a clear path to stress the one part of Notre Dames defense that has not matched its overall ranking. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Suddenly Faces A Bigger Malachi Toney Question Than Expected
Malachi Toneys absence has turned into more than a week-to-week concern for Miami, with the freshman receiver recovering from tightrope surgery on his ankle and facing at least a month on the sideline. The Hurricanes are treating the rehab cautiously, and the medical staff is working to make sure he comes back healthy enough to help later in the season rather than rushing him into action too soon.
Toney also did not travel with Miami to Notre Dame after doctors advised against flying so soon after the procedure, a reminder of how delicate the recovery timeline is right now. The best-case return window points toward the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5, but for Miami the bigger question is how much of his season remains available once he is cleared to play again. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Trying Everything To Rattle Miami Saturday Night
Notre Dame is pulling out a new kind of home-field wrinkle for Saturday nights matchup with Miami, turning to LED wristbands to help create a coordinated visual show inside the stadium. The technology, already familiar from big-time entertainment events, is new to college football and will let the crowds wristbands act like pixels, flashing words and images as part of the atmosphere.
Marcus Freeman has also made it clear he wants the noise level to be a factor, urging fans to make life difficult for Miamis offense. For the Hurricanes, that means walking into a setting built not just for pageantry, but for disruption, with the Irish trying every possible way to tilt the night in their favor. [Read more 🡒]