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...
Utahs BYU Win Showed Why Veteran Loyalty Still Matters
Utahs win over BYU was shaped by the kind of veteran presence that tends to show up in rivalry games, especially when the pressure spikes late. Linebacker Trey Reynolds and safety Nate Ritchie have both spent their careers moving through the Utah program, and their growth has made them trusted pieces on a defense that needed composure when the game tightened in the fourth quarter.
Reynolds came up with a huge takeaway near the end of the game, and Ritchie later added another interception to finish the job against Bear Bachmeier. Beyond the immediate swing in a rivalry result, the sequence served as a reminder of why programs still value players who stay, develop and wait for their moment, especially when the biggest plays arrive in the final minutes. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Is Fighting One Recruiting Hurdle Most Programs Never Face
Recruiting in Salt Lake City has always come with a layer of conversation that most programs never have to manage. For Utah, the questions are not just about depth charts or playing time, but about what life looks like off the field, how the campus and city feel to players from different backgrounds, and whether the program can offer the kind of environment recruits expect when they visit.
Current and former players and coaches have spent years trying to chip away at those assumptions, pushing back on stereotypes and showing that the locker room is not one-dimensional. The effort has been deliberate, too, with the program working to build a more diverse roster and make clear that Utah wants to be a place where recruits from a wide range of backgrounds can see themselves fitting in. [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Whittingham Just Sent A Clear Message About Jason Beck
Michigans offensive struggles reached a breaking point after a 15-6 loss to Michigan State, and the move that followed showed just how quickly Kyle Whittingham was willing to act. Whittingham said he made the decision on his own, pointing to the offenses regression and the need to better fit the personnel on hand, a blunt message about where he believed things had gone wrong.
For a program still trying to salvage its season, the timing matters as much as the change itself. Michigan now has to win one of its remaining games to become bowl eligible, and the pressure to find answers has only intensified as the offense searches for a workable direction heading into the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]