College Football Plus: Week 10 Recap
Five Questions
Q. Is there any debate that Georgia should be ranked No. 1 now?
Las Vegas oddsmakers essentially laughed at the College Football Playoff selection committee's decision to rank Tennessee No. 1 -- and Georgia No. 3 -- last week by making the Bulldogs an 8-point favorite against the Vols. Georgia covered, of course, because the Vegas sharpies are really the ones who should be in charge of the playoff rankings.
The top four will be easy this week with just four unbeaten teams left -- Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU. But what happens in the coming weeks, since Michigan and Ohio State will play and because TCU seems to be begging to lose? What if Georgia and the Ohio State-Michigan winner are the only two unbeatens left? It's going to be fun to see the selection committee trying to decide the final two spots among a slew of once-beaten teams. Really, how many people trust them to get it right?
Q. Is Auburn paying attention to what Hugh Freeze is doing at Liberty?
If the Tigers can lure Lane Kiffin away from Mississippi it would be the best-case scenario for the struggling program. But also remember this: Kiffin has lasted more than three years during his five head coaching stops just once -- and that was a four-year stay at USC. He is always looking for the next job. That's his track record.
Freeze and Liberty came away with a 21-19 win at Arkansas on Saturday, the Flames' first win over an SEC school. Liberty is 8-1 with the only loss coming by one point in week three to Wake Forest. Overall, he is 34-12 in four years at Liberty.
Freeze's five years as head coach at Ole Miss were a mess off the field, from the phone calls to escort services to the NCAA violations, but he was 39-25 during his time there, knows the league and the only baggage they care about in the SEC is made by Samsonite.
Auburn should swing for the fences with Kiffin, but failing that is Freeze -- who has seemingly cleaned up his act -- such a bad fallback option?
Q. Is Stetson Bennett now the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy?
Taking nothing away from new Heisman darling QB Bo Nix, who has had a sensational season for Oregon -- he passed for two TDs, ran for two and caught a TD pass for a score in the Ducks' 49-10 win at Colorado on Saturday -- but no player delivers as consistently in big games as the Georgia quarterback.
Saturday's performance in the 27-13 win over No. 1 Tennessee was more of the same from Bennett: 17-of-25 for 257 yards and two TD passes, no interceptions, and a 13-yard touchdown run.
Oh, and he is 23-0 as a starter, including a 49-3 season-opening rout of Nix and the Ducks. Shouldn't that count for something?
Q. Have they stopped scoring yet in the SMU-Houston game?
Imagine passing for seven touchdowns, 527 yards and running for a score -- and being on the losing end of a 77-63 score. That's what happened to Houston QB Clayton Tune on Saturday, in large part because SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai passed for nine touchdowns -- seven in the first half. Mordecai set school and AAC records for with his nine TD passes and the teams set an NCAA record for combined points in a regulation game.
Q. Has everyone been over-rating Alabama all season?
The signs have been there are along that this is not a typical Alabama team -- the one-point win over Texas, the four-point win over a bad Texas A&M team, the loss at Tennessee and now the loss at LSU. The latter two are tough environments, no doubt, but this Crimson Tide team has seemed to be out of synch most of the season. And the coaching has been highly questionable at times. Alabama deserves the benefit of the doubt when the rankings start because of its history, but this is just an average Alabama team. The best win was by a single point at Texas. The only two challenging SEC games the Crimson Tide had this year -- Tennessee and LSU -- were losses.
Much as Penn State is headed for a hollow 10-2 regular season the same appears to be likely for Alabama -- if the Tide can beat Ole Miss this Saturday.
Who's Hot
Devin Neal, Kansas RB
The freshman rushed for 224 yards and a score and had 110 yards receiving -- both career highs -- as the Jayhawks became bowl eligible for the first time since 2008 with a 37-16 victory over reeling Oklahoma State.
Edward Sadie, Temple RB
Through the first eight games of the season, the sophomore had rushed for 280 yards. Then he went for 265 and three touchdowns on 23 carries in the Owls' 54-28 victory over USF.
Willie Fritz, Tulane head coach
Enjoy the 8-1 start and national ranking while you can, coach. The Green Wave defeated nemesis Tulsa on the road on Saturday, but now comes the telling part of the season: home to UCF, home to SMU and at Cincinnati to close out the regular season.
Who's Not
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest QB
What has happened to the talented junior? A week after committing six turnovers and being sacked seven times in a loss to Louisville, he was intercepted three more times in a loss at N.C. State. He had three interceptions the first six games. He has six the past two.
Sean Tucker, Syracuse RB
Another clunker for someone who was once touted as one of the ACC's top running backs because he rushed for 232 yards against 1-8 Wagner. Tucker had 24 yards on 10 carries in a loss to Pitt and has 133 yards on 31 carries combined the past three games. The hype can stop now.
Adrian Martinez, Kansas State QB
You can take the player out of Nebraska, but you can't take the Nebraska out of the player. Martinez, a turnover machine with the Huskers, had a costly fumble and an interception that led to a touchdown in the Wildcats' 34-27 loss to Texas.
On the Rise
North Carolina
Tar Heels improved to 8-1 and have their first 5-0 ACC start since 2015 after winning at Virginia. They're 5-0 on the road this year -- by a combined 18 points. That's the first time since 1997 that they have won five straight road games.
Notre Dame
Kudos to Marcus Freeman for weathering a tough start in his first year as head coach of the Irish. He now has a signature win: Saturday's 35-14 rout of previously unbeaten Clemson. Irish are a fast-rising 6-3 now.
Florida State
Credit to Mike Norvell, who pulled the Seminoles out of a potentially season-ruining three-game losing streak to get to 6-3 and bowl eligible after a 45-3 rout of hapless Miami. It was Miami's worst home loss since 2015.
On the Decline
State of Oklahoma football
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa all lost on Saturday, bringing their combined record to 14-12. Not a Top 25 team among the three either. They're all mediocre at best.
Northwestern
Wildcats were game in a windy 21-7 loss to Ohio State, but here is the reality: They have lost eight straight for the first time since 1998 and are 5-17 since facing the Buckeyes in the 2020 Big Ten title game.
Miami
Mario Cristobal faces a daunting challenge getting this mess straightened out. Sure, there have been injuries, including at QB, but the 45-3 home loss to Florida State gave the Hurricanes four straight home losses. That's the first time that has happened since 1973. They have not scored a TD in nine consecutive quarters.
Playing it Forward (all times Eastern)
UCF at Tulane, ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
Time to start the weeding out process for the AAC championship game. Tulane is 8-1 and 5-0 in league play; UCF is 7-2 and 4-1 (with Cincinnati also 4-1 in the conference).
Alabama at Mississippi, CBS, 3:30 p.m.
Can the Crimson Tide bounce back from a wrenching loss at LSU against the 8-1 Rebels? A key showdown in the SEC West.
Georgia at Mississippi State, ESPN, 7 p.m.
A dangerous road game for the Bulldogs following the win over No. 1 Tennessee. Georgia needs rebound quickly -- emotionally and physically.
TCU at Texas, ABC, 7:30 p.m.
Is this TCU's last major obstacle to an unbeaten season (along with next week's game at Baylor)? Longhorns can be wobbly on defense but are talented.
Washington at Oregon, TBA
The Ducks, 8-1, close with a challenging stretch: Washington, Utah and Oregon State. Huskies are 7-2 and can be dangerous.
Tom Luicci covered college football for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. from 1979-2014,
