Ohio State’s slip in the Coaches Poll was the headline of Week 10, and it came with a hard landing.
The Buckeyes dropped from No. 2 to No. 10 after a 30-18 loss to unranked USC, the week’s biggest upset. Ohio State is still alive in the College Football Playoff conversation, but the ranking drop reflected just how damaging that defeat was. The offense with backup quarterback Luke Fahey has drawn plenty of attention, but the source of the trouble has been the defense, which has been giving up too many points.
USC, meanwhile, got the kind of bump that comes with a statement win. The Trojans climbed eight spots to No. 17 and kept their playoff hopes moving in the right direction.
At the top, Miami held onto No. 1 after surviving a 38-35 road win at North Carolina, its first road victory as the nation’s top-ranked team since 2002. The Hurricanes now turn to a major test Saturday night at No. 6 Notre Dame.
Georgia also made a move near the top. After beating Florida 27-8 in Atlanta, the Bulldogs jumped from No. 3 to No.
- Florida’s loss was costly in the other direction, knocking the Gators out of the poll after they had been sitting at No.
Indiana kept climbing, too, even after the wildest finish of the week didn’t alter the rankings much. The Hoosiers edged Minnesota in overtime after the teams traded 60-yard field goals late in regulation - the first time in FBS history that two 60-yard field goals were converted in the same game.
Backup quarterback Grant Wilson then threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Becker to finish it off. Indiana’s offense has been stuck in a rough stretch, averaging only 17.8 points over its last four games in October, but the wins have kept stacking up, and the Hoosiers moved up one spot to No.
Indiana gets an open date before hosting Lincoln Riley’s USC in a matchup that could go a long way toward deciding who reaches the CFP.
There were other notable shifts throughout the poll. Texas Tech bounced back one spot to No. 13 after a 34-26 home win over Arizona, a week after dropping nine places.
SMU took a major hit after losing at Syracuse, falling from No. 16 to No. 24 and likely slipping out of the playoff race. New Mexico also cracked the rankings, rising from the “others receiving votes” group to debut at No.
Here is the full Coaches Poll top 25 for Week 10:
- Miami (68) 8-0 1,818 points
- Georgia (4) 7-1 1,719
- Indiana 8-1 1,597
- Utah 8-0 1,590
- UCLA 8-0 1,501
- Notre Dame 7-1 1,498
- Kentucky (1) 7-1 1,344
- BYU 7-1 1,278
- Alabama 6-2 1,131
- Ohio State 6-2 1,101
- Texas 6-2 1,057
- Ole Miss 6-2 1,034
- Texas Tech 7-1 962
- Wake Forest 7-1 897
- LSU 6-2 886
- Tennessee 6-2 761
- USC 7-2 570
- Houston 6-2 556
- Missouri 6-2 488
- Iowa 6-2 448
- Boise State 7-1 445
- Arizona 6-2 174
- Northwestern 6-2 150
- SMU 6-2 146
- New Mexico 7-1 119
Others receiving votes: South Carolina 91; Florida 81; UTSA 76; Duke 76; Virginia Tech 53; Oregon 41; Minnesota 10; Oklahoma State 9; Liberty 6; North Texas 4; Wisconsin 3; Memphis 2; North Dakota State 1; Nebraska 1; Cincinnati 1.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Created A Ranking Debate Fans Wont Ignore
USCs rise and fall in the AP Top 25 has already made for one of the more interesting early-season twists, but the latest shakeup has only added to the conversation around where the Irish fit in the national picture. The Trojans slipped out of the poll after losing to Wisconsin, then turned around and stunned No. 2 Ohio State at home, a result that immediately complicated how voters view both teams and the teams around them.
Ohio States offense never looked settled without its starting quarterback, and the Buckeyes slide in the rankings reflected how much that absence mattered. With several other ranked teams also winning or losing, the poll saw plenty of movement, leaving Notre Dame fans with a fresh reminder that the margin between a top-tier spot and a drop can change quickly when the results start stacking up. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A New Playoff Debate Fueling Fans
Notre Dames place in the national conversation got a fresh jolt after Week 9, when ESPNs Football Power Index was updated and pushed the Irish to No. 1. The predictive model, which uses simulations and team strength to forecast the rest of the season, flipped the order at the top and sent Ohio State down to No. 2, giving Notre Dame fans another data point to point to as the playoff debate starts to sharpen.
The rest of the updated top five includes Miami, Georgia and LSU, but the Irish are the ones now sitting at the center of the discussion. FPI is only one measure, of course, and it is built to project what comes next rather than reward what has already happened, but any time Notre Dame lands at the top of a national ranking, it adds another layer to the case being made for where the season could go from here. [Read more 🡒]
Jerome Bettis Jr. Just Made Notre Dames WR Pecking Order Interesting
Jerome Bettis Jr. gave Notre Dame another useful wrinkle in the passing game against Navy, turning in the most productive outing of his career with six catches for 78 yards and his first touchdown. It was the kind of performance that tends to change how a receiver is viewed in the rotation, especially for a team still sorting out where the targets are going and who can be trusted when the ball comes their way.
Marcus Freeman and CJ Carr both singled out Bettis for the steady way he has handled his chances, and that matters in a receiver room where opportunities can shift quickly. His expanded role has become one of the more interesting developments for the Irish, not just because of the numbers from one game, but because he looks like a player who can keep forcing his way into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]