RJ Young
FOX Sports National University Football Analyst
We can’t let the College Football Playoff selection committee mess this up — I don’t think so. The Oregon Ducks have been the No. 1 ranked team in this area for the past few weeks, and the CFP should follow suit. And behind Oregon State should be Ohio State, another Big Ten powerhouse whose only loss happened to be to the Ducks.
What I’m interested in is what the committee will do for Indiana. The selection committee will select the best 12 teams, using criteria centered around winning conference championships, winning marquee games during the regular season, and what each voting member believes to be the best team. I’m on a mission – the scoreboard is terrible. Even with five losses, Georgia will qualify for the CFP if it is considered one of the best 12 teams in the sport by the committee.
However, Indiana has no precedent here. The Hoosiers improved to 9-0 for the first time in program history. They have scored 41 points or more in six of their last seven games, and their win margin against teams is similar to what you would expect from Georgia, Clemson, or Alabama in the pre-CFP era. But Indiana has never benefited from tax exemptions for blue bloods. In fact, if you dressed up the Hoosiers as Penn State, you’d be far more likely to believe they were a team capable of winning a national title than the Penn State program you’ve seen during the James Franklin era.
However, like Penn State, if Ohio State can continue to perform well with less than a month left, the Hoosiers will have a chance to finish in the top five this season. And the Hoosiers might make this simple. But it’s important to note where you start in the CFP rankings. Because of roster instability, the influence of name, image and likeness, and a power conference that has grown to 16 nations, I suspect we’ll see more stories like Indiana’s in the future. More teams.
So let’s take a look at my top 25 rankings after week 10. college football season:
1. Oregon (9-0)
Week 10 results: 38-17 win over Michigan
Despite losing star wideout Tez Johnson early in the win, Dillon Gabriel completed 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards and a touchdown. Wideout Traeshon Holden had six catches for 149 yards, and tailback Jordan James carried the ball 23 times for 117 yards.
The Ducks are the only undefeated team this season with a win against a top-five opponent.
2. ohio (7-1)
Week 10 results: Defeated Penn State 20-13
The Buckeyes were trailing Penn State 10-0 with 5:37 left in the first quarter. And Ohio State responded. The penalty allowed the Buckeyes to score 14 unanswered points and they ended up leading 14-10 at halftime and holding on to win 20-13.
If you give cookies to Ohio State University, the bakery will be robbed.
3. georgia (7-1)
Week 10 results: 34-20 win over Florida
Despite losing quarterback DJ Ragway to a “pretty significant” hamstring injury, Florida beat Georgia at halftime of the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party, according to Gators coach Billy Napier. They led 13-6.
The Dawgs defeated the Gators 28-7 in the second half for their seventh win of the season. Carson Beck threw for 309 yards, two touchdowns, and three picks in the win.
4. Miami (Florida) (9-0)
Week 10 results: Defeated Duke 53-31
The Hurricanes found themselves in the game again, trailing Duke 21-17 at halftime. Heisman hopeful Cam Ward completed 25 of 41 passes for 400 yards, five passing touchdowns and one interception, keeping the Hurricanes undefeated.
5. texas (7-1)
Week 10 results: idle state
6. Indiana (9-0)
Week 10 results: Defeated Michigan State 47-10
Quarterback Curtis Rourke threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns in his return. The Hoosiers have scored at least 41 points in six of their last seven games. They will seek their 10th win of the season, the first in school history, when they play the University of Michigan on Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.
7. BYU (8-0)
Week 10 results: idle state
8. tennessee (7-1)
Week 10 results: 28-18 win over Kentucky
It wasn’t always a good result, but the Vols found a way to win again and won their third straight SEC title. Dylan Sampson continued to show why he is one of the best backs in the country, rushing for 142 yards and scoring two scores in the win.
9. pennsylvania state university (7-1)
Week 10 results: Lost to Ohio State 20-13
The Nittany Lions were trailing Ohio State 14-10 at halftime. And despite pick-sixes from the PSU defense, the offense failed to score a single TD against OSU.
James Franklin went 1-13 against top-five teams.
10. notre dame cathedral (7-1)
Week 10 results: idle state
11. Alabama (6-2)
Week 10 results: idle state
12. LSU (6-2)
Week 10 results: idle state
13. iowa (7-1)
Week 10 results: Lost to Texas Tech 23-22.
Iowa State led late in the game, but Texas Tech moved down the field and took the lead on Taj Brooks’ rushing touchdown with 20 seconds left. He gained 125 rushing yards in the win.
14. SMU (8-1)
Week 10 results: Defeated Pitt 48-25
SMU is a good soccer team. The Mustangs proved that again on Saturday, racking up 467 yards of offense and 48 points against a Pitt team that was undefeated heading into this matchup.
15. boise state (7-1)
Week 10 results: Defeated San Diego State 56-24
Boise State running back Ashton Giunty rushed 31 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He leads the FBS in rushing with 1,525 yards (190.6 yards per game) and 20 TDs.
He needs to rush for 1,104 yards over the next four games to break Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record.
Giunty has yet to rush for 300 yards in a game. Sanders rushed for over 300 yards in four of the 11 games needed to set the record.
With an extra game in hand, Giunty will need to have a 300-yard game if he wants to break the record set by one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
San Diego State Aztecs vs. No. 15 Boise State Broncos Highlights
16. Texas A&M (7-2)
Week 10 results: Lost to South Carolina 44-20.
After a memorable victory over LSU last weekend, Mike Elko’s team suffered a crushing loss at South Carolina. Marcell Reed threw for 206 yards with a touchdown and an interception and added 46 yards on the ground. However, the Aggies were unable to stop the Shamcocks’ offense, losing 530 yards.
17. Ole Miss (7-2)
Week 10 results: Defeated the University of Arkansas 63-31
Quarterback Jackson Dart completed 25 of 31 passes for 515 passing yards and six touchdowns in the team’s rout of previously No. 1 Tennessee earlier this season, and wideout Jordan Watkins caught eight passes for 254 yards and five TDs.
18. missouri (6-2)
Week 10 results: idle state
19. Clemson (6-2)
Week 10 results: Lost to Louisville 33-21.
All signs pointed to an ACC title game between Miami and Clemson, but the Tigers looked far from a championship-worthy team on Saturday night. Louisville halfback Isaac Brown ran through the Clemson defense and ran for 151 yards. The loss drops Clemson to 5-1 in the ACC and behind both Miami and SMU in the conference standings.
20. army (8-0)
Week 10 results: Defeated Air Force 20-3
With Bryson Daley out due to an undisclosed illness/injury, Dwayne Coleman started at QB for the Black Knights. In the first game without him, Army failed to score on its first offensive possession for the first time this season. Kanye Udoh led the Black Knights’ offense with 158 total rushing yards and two rushing TDs.
twenty one. pit (7-1)
Week 10 results: Lost to SMU 48-25.
Pitt entered Saturday’s game looking to improve to 8-0 for the first time since 1981, when Dan Marino was the program’s quarterback. Instead, they gave up 467 yards of offense in a game that wasn’t actually as close as the scoreboard said.
twenty two. Kansas (7-2)
Week 10 results: Lost to Houston 24-19
The Wildcats lost a chance to take advantage of Iowa State’s first loss of the season and slide into second place in the Big 12 standings. Now, Kansas State will have to hope it can do the same thing against Colorado next week as Texas Tech did against Iowa State this week in order to get back into Big 12 title contention.
Of course, if BYU loses before the season is over, all hell will break out for the Big 12 this season with the situation turned upside down.
No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats vs. Houston Cougars Highlights
twenty three. colorado (6-2)
Week 10 results: idle state
twenty four. Vanderbilt (6-3)
Week 10 results: Beat Auburn 17-7
The Commodores went 6-3 for the first time since 1982, and with this win they defeated Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955.
twenty five. washington state (7-1)
Week 10 results: idle state
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” please follow him @RJ_Young.
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