Fox Sports college football expert Joel Klatt released his top 10 college football rankings after an awesome Week 10. There were several battles between ranked opponents and some near upsets this week, but most of Klatt’s rankings remain the same.
Week 10 featured a classic Big Ten duel between Ohio State and Penn State, with the Nittany Lions, despite an injury to Drew Allar, trying to break a long streak of losing to the Buckeyes. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be and the Pen State lost for the 12th time in the series’ last 13 meetings.
Penn State got their only touchdown of the day off a Will Howard pick. Penn State had two drives inside the Ohio State five yard line. The first drive was at the end of the second quarter, when Drew Allar threw a pick that was snatched from the grasp of his receiver. On the second drive, which was their last drive of the day, Penn State simply couldn’t convert.
While Penn State couldn’t get it done, there were several underdogs that won this week. Clemson was throttled 33-21 by Louisville in a game that was never close after the second quarter, SMU decimated Pitt 48-25 to gain significant ground in the ACC, Iowa State suffered their first loss of the season against Texas Tech thanks to a touchdown with 24 seconds left, and South Carolina blew the doors off of Texas A&M’s defense. The Gamecocks totaled 286 rushing yards in a 44-20 blowout.
With the first official College Football Playoff rankings coming out on Election Day, this week was super important for solidifying spots. With Iowa State’s loss, BYU takes over the top spot in the Big 12.
Oregon still rains supreme atop the Big Ten. Miami only has to beat Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Syracuse to earn the top spot in the ACC, and UGA got a big boost in clinching the SEC with the Texas A&M loss and their 34-20 win over Florida.
The Bulldogs can’t rest on their laurels yet. Next week, they go up against an Ole Miss team that just put up 63 points against Arkansas. In Week 11, Alabama also plays LSU in a battle with playoff implications.
Honorable Mentions: Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Boise State Broncos
Here are Joel Klatt’s top 10 teams:
No. 10: BYU Cougars
Record: 8-0 (plus-15.5 average point differential)
Result: Win at UCF Knights
Record: 6-2 (plus-19.0 average point differential)
Result: Bye
No. 8: Penn State Nittany Lions
Record: 7-1 (plus-15.8 average point differential)
Result: Loss vs. No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes 13-20
Record: 7-1 (plus-20 average point differential)
Result: Win vs. Kentucky Wildcats 28-18
No. 6: Indiana Hoosiers
Record: 9-0 (plus-27.8 average point differential)
Result: Win at Michigan Spartans 47-10
No. 5: Miami Hurricanes
Record: 9-0 (plus-22.1 average point differential)
Result: Win vs. Duke Blue Devils 53-31
No. 4: Texas Longhorns
Record: 7-1 (plus-26.1 average point differential)
Result: Bye
No. 3: Georgia Bulldogs
Record: 7-1 (plus-11.7 average point differential)
Result: Win vs. Florida Gators 34-20
No. 2: Ohio State Buckeyes
Record: 6-1 (plus-20.8 average point differential)
Result: Win vs. No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions 20-13
No. 1: Oregon Ducks
Record: 9-0 (plus-20.8 average point differential)
Result: Win vs. Michigan Wolverines 38-17
