1) Mississippi State Bulldogs
Week 10 Result: Beat Arkansas Razorbacks 17-10 at home
Last Week's Ranking: 1
We've known for a few weeks that the Bulldogs are beatable, but I think this game showed that it is almost an inevitability at this point. Arkansas is not a very good team and it took an interception in the endzone to seal the victory for the Bulldogs. Prescott played a very mediocre game, throwing for over 300 yards but also throwing a couple of critical interceptions. He was off the mark a bit in this game and a more potent offense would have been able to turn that into points. The running backs also struggled a bit in this game as well. They only managed to muster 3.7 yards a game and no run went for more than 13 yards. That is a bit surprising for a team that has ran the ball very efficiently and should have had more success against a weak front seven. Defensively, they played a pretty good game and while they allowed over 400 yards, but only allowed ten points. Arkansas looked as though they were going to be able to to tie the game up at the end of the game, but an interception in the endzone ended the game and saved them from the humiliating upset. Mississippi State gets an easy game next week against Tennessee-Martin before getting a visit from Alabama in a game that they must win. Any loss from this point on puts them on the outside looking in as they need to stay in the top four or so to get playoff consideration.
2) Auburn Tigers
Week 10 Result: Beat No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels 35-31 in Oxford
Last Week's Ranking: 3
Auburn got pretty lucky that Ole Miss's receiver suffered a gruesome injury right at the goal line that caused them to fumble or they would be out of the picture at the moment. But they pulled out a really tough, gritty win that has earned them a high ranking in almost all of the polls. Auburn's defense has been pretty susceptible recently and it came close to costing them dearly in this game. They gave up almost five hundred yards of offense and allowed Bo Wallace to have himself a great evening. They missed a lot of tackles and were extremely poor in coverage. Three receivers had more than 100 yards in this game. As bad as the defense was for Auburn, their offense continues to operate as one of the most efficient in the nation. Nick Marshall had a great game, accounting for four touchdowns and more than 300 yards of offense. He made some huge plays and had a connection going all night with Sammie Coates. Coates has had up and down games this season as Auburn doesn't throw the ball with any sort of consistency, but he came up huge in this game , especially with a touchdown right before halftime to tie the game at 14. Coates and Duke Williams are an incredibly dangerous pair of receivers who would really should be used more often than just getting a few looks a game. Next week should be an easier game against an imploding A&M team before they go on the road to face a Georgia team that got embarrassed by a bad Florida team.
3) Michigan State Spartans
Week 10 Result: Bye Week
Last Week's Ranking: 4
4) Oregon Ducks
Week 10 Result: Beat Stanford Cardinal 45-16 at home
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Oregon looks like they have figured out some of the weak spots in their team and they have been rolling recently. Mariota was very aggressive in this game, taking off with the ball nine times and not trying to force throws as he has been recently. He did have an interception, but made up for it with four total touchdowns and some real explosive plays. He completed a pass to nine different players which made it almost impossible for the Cardinal to defend them. Stanford has had a lot of success against Oregon in recent years, but they just did not have the athletes on defense to slow down Oregon's offense. The Ducks ran the ball 46 times in this game and averaged almost six yards per carry against Stanford. Freshman Royce Freeman got the bulk of the carries, but sophomore Thomas Tyner had two big touchdowns to put some comfortable distance between Oregon and Stanford. Defensively, they played well against a team that has really struggled this year. Stanford still gained 428 yards, but they allowed only one touchdown on the day. They weren't going to let Stanford play the clock control game and run the ball down their throat. They tightened up and forced Kevin Hogan to beat them which he was not able to do. Oregon plays at Utah next week and cannot slip up in this one. The rest of the schedule is a cake walk.
5) Alabama Crimson Tide
Week 10 Result: Bye Week
Last Week's Ranking: 5
6) Florida State Seminoles
Week 10 Result: Beat No. 25 Louisville Cardinals 42-31 in Louisville
Last Week's Ranking: 2
God I hate this team. I never thought that I could hate a team as much as I hate Michigan or Notre Dame, but this team has really done everything it possibly can to be loathed. Fuck their rapist, dickhead quarterback. Fuck their woman beating running back. And triple fuck their head coach who allows this to persist and then acts like the victim when he gets called out on it. I hope they get their ass kicked in the playoffs, Jameis becomes the next Jamarcus Russell, and their championship season gets vacated. Eat shit Florida State.
7) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Week 10 Result: Beat Navy Midshipmen 49-39 in Annapolis
Last Week's Ranking: 8
I don't really know how to explain the fall in defensive prowess for Notre Dame over the past few weeks. What had once been a stifling defense has given up more than 30 points in the last three games. The Irish had gone up by as much as three touchdowns in the second quarter, but their defense allowed some points to cut the lead to 11 right before half and even allowed Navy to take the lead or keep close the rest of the game. It has been very disappointing for a team that held five straight teams to less than 17. Offensively, this is probably I've seen them play under Brian Kelly this year. They lit up UNC, played a tough game with a very simplistic game plan against Florida State, and rolled to seven touchdowns against Navy. Everret Golson continues to be one of the most improved quarterback in the NCAA by a staggering margin. He passed 315 yards and three touchdowns on only 18 completions while running for three more touchdowns to give him six on the day. Tarean Folston continues to prove that he is the go to running back for this team as he ran for almost 150 yards and a touchdown at 7.5 yards per carry. Notre Dame doesn't have a lot standing in its way to a double digit season. They're loss really hurt them however as they don't have a signature win on the season. They are going to need a lot of help to make the playoffs.
8) Texas Christian Horned Frogs
Week 10 Result: Beat No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers 31-30 in Morgantown
Last Week's Ranking: Outside Top Ten
This team could be a playoff crasher. They have only one loss to a Baylor team that knows how to rack up points and they got their first signature win of the season in a hostile environment in Morgantown. Gary Patterson built a powerful team at TCU during his first few season by having a stifling defense, but this season has been a complete 180. TCU gives up close to 23 points a game and has given up more than 30 in three games, something I never thought I'd see from a top ten TCU team. But as inconsistent as their defense has been, their offense has been a juggernaut this season. They are second in the nation in scoring offense, pumping out 48 points a game while ranking fifth in passing yards and 33rd in rushing yards. Quarterback Trevone Boykin is the cog of the offense, a converted receiver who has really hit his stride in his second year under center. Boykin has passed for 22 touchdowns and rushed for another four while throwing only four picks on the season. He has not had a multi-interception game either. If they can beat Kansas State next week at home, they will make the playoffs. Mark my words.
9) Kansas State Wildcats
Week 10 Result: Beat Oklahoma State Cowboys 48-14 at home
Last Week's Ranking: 10
While Kansas State is undefeated in conference play, I have TCU just ahead of them because they have been unstoppable. Kansas State's loss is more "impressive" since it came against Auburn by less than a touchdown, but there is no doubt they deserve to be in the top ten. Bill Snyder continues to game plan in the most impressive ways possible. He held a dangerous Cowboys offense to just 14 points 260 total yards of offense. They also to continue to be insanely tenacious, forcing three turnovers in this contest. And while they are not the most flashy team on offense, their grinding and grueling efficiency has them in a great place to be in the playoffs. Jake Waters is the do everything quarterback that Snyder loves and has mastered the offense since last year. His rapport with all-everything player Tyler Lockett makes this offense very dangerous. Unfortunately, I think the magic of this season will come to an end next week against a Horned Frogs team that has looked unstoppable for the most part this season.
10) Baylor Bears
Week 10 Result: Beat Kansas Jayhawks 60-14 at home
Last Week's Ranking: Outside Top ten
It's Kansas. This was supposed to happen.
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