November always sharpens the College Football Playoff picture, and this year’s first rankings only turned up the pressure. The committee’s opening reveal left a few teams sitting uncomfortably close to the cut line, with No.
11 Notre Dame barely in the field, No. 12 Ohio State on the outside, and No.
9 BYU getting a clear warning sign despite its win over the Fighting Irish.
That backdrop makes Week 10 feel loaded. In the SEC especially, the margin for error is disappearing fast, and a handful of games now carry real playoff consequences.
No. 1 Miami’s trip to No.
11 Notre Dame lost some of its shine when wide receiver Malachi Toney was ruled out with an ankle injury, but the stakes didn’t go anywhere. Notre Dame needs this one badly if it wants to stay on the playoff track after hovering at the edge of the bracket.
Miami, meanwhile, is trying to protect a top seed with a résumé that still looks thin: an unimpressive schedule and only one top-25 win. One loss could send the Hurricanes tumbling from No. 1 straight into bubble territory.
BYU’s showdown at No. 3 Utah carries a similar sense of urgency.
The Cougars have beaten No. 11 Notre Dame and No.
22 Arizona, but the loss to UCF is still dragging them down, and another defeat would almost certainly knock them out of the postseason picture. Utah, for its part, has climbed to No. 3 on the strength of steady dominance and strong advanced metrics, even with just one ranked win.
But that standing would take a major hit with a loss at home, especially with more difficult games still ahead.
No. 5 Alabama’s visit to No.
14 LSU is another game with the power to reshape the rankings. Alabama has been labeled the most overranked team in the CFP Rankings by a fairly wide margin, and LSU gets the chance to back that up in Death Valley.
The Tigers are still outside the field and don’t have a ranked win, but their defense has been a monster under Lane Kiffin. Alabama’s offense has been strong, yet the Tide have been uneven since beating Mississippi State nearly a month ago.
They were blown out by 16 points against Tennessee - a team ranked eight spots lower despite the same number of losses - and also fell to Georgia. Another loss could trigger a major slide.
No. 2 Georgia’s trip to No.
10 Ole Miss has the feel of a straight-up elimination game for the Rebels. Ole Miss has flashed real upside at times, including a blowout of Missouri and a win over LSU, but the bad stretches have been just as glaring.
A flat outing against Florida and a first-half collapse against Texas have left questions about how high this team’s ceiling really is on defense. Georgia will find out quickly whether Ole Miss is ready for this stage.
No. 23 Oregon at No.
12 Ohio State is essentially Ohio State’s last chance to keep its playoff hopes alive. The Buckeyes already have two losses, and the 30-18 showing against USC only deepened the concerns.
With Luke Fahey under center, Ohio State hasn’t looked like a playoff team, and the defense is starting to slip as well. Oregon doesn’t have much of a path itself, but it has enough talent to spoil the Buckeyes’ season.
The Big Ten also has a quieter but important proving ground in No. 19 Iowa at Northwestern.
The conference didn’t get much love in the first rankings, with 6-2 Northwestern left outside the top 25, but there’s still a route for a 10-2 team to force its way into the conversation. Iowa is coming off a 30-0 win over Wisconsin and seems to be finding offensive momentum.
Northwestern, after losing by six on the road at Indiana, now gets No. 19 Iowa and No.
12 Ohio State in back-to-back weeks. If the Wildcats can win both, they’re likely in the CFP picture.
UTSA at FAU rounds out the slate.
In Other News...
Utah Already Faces A Concerning Early Test At Home
Utah had to dig itself out of an ugly first half to get past Long Beach State, rallying from a 17-point deficit and escaping with a 66-63 win. Trey Campbell was a major part of the turnaround, helping steady the Utes when the game threatened to get away from them, but the result did little to soften the edge in the building after the final buzzer.
Alex Jensen made it clear he was not satisfied with how Utah opened the game, even in victory, and now the Utes turn around for another home test with Towson coming in. The Tigers dropped their opener 89-70 at Santa Clara, and Pat Skerry said the effort was there even if the execution was not, which makes this an early chance for Utah to show it can start cleaner before the margin for error gets any smaller. [Read more 🡒]
Utahs Offense Just Gave BYU One More Problem To Worry About
Utahs offense has become a moving target under coordinator Kevin McGiven, and thats part of what makes it so difficult to pin down from week to week. The Utes have leaned into versatility all season, with backup quarterback Byrd Ficklin showing up in the run game and even lining up at receiver, while seven different players have already cleared 100 receiving yards. Braden Pegan has been the most productive target in the passing game, and the balance has given Utah more ways to stress a defense than just one featured option.
Hunter Andrews also gave the group a boost in a recent game, adding another layer to an offense that has found production from all over the formation. Daniel Bray chipped in with a rushing touchdown as well, underscoring how many pieces can matter in a given week. With BYU next on the schedule, McGiven pointed to the Cougars defensive complexity, which only adds to the intrigue for a Utah attack that already seems comfortable making opponents account for just about everyone. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Utah Just Turned Into A Very Different Game Day
The early alarm clock is part of the deal this week in Salt Lake City, where Utah is set to face BYU at 10 a.m. MST. It is a different kind of game day for the Utes and their fans, who are used to building their Saturdays around a later kickoff and now have to rethink everything from breakfast to tailgating.
Around town, the adjustment is already showing up in real time. Fans are reshaping their pregame routines to fit the morning start, with some leaning into breakfast-style gatherings, while local bars and restaurants are opening earlier to catch the crowd before and during the game. For a rivalry weekend that already carries plenty of energy, the timing adds a fresh wrinkle to the usual script. [Read more 🡒]