College Football Power Rankings: SMU makes big leap amid massive reshuffling after eventful Week 10 slate

Oregon
Dillon Gabriel continues to deliver and likely solidified himself a top-four Heisman Trophy contender with an impressive 38-17 win at Michigan. He threw for 294 yards with a touchdown and also rushed for another – a 23-yard scamper that gave the Ducks a 28-10 lead in the second quarter. This was Oregon’s biggest road test yet, and they passed with exceptional marks. But let’s keep an eye on Oregon’s injury situation. Top receiver Tez Johnson, who also returns punt, was injured early in the game and didn’t return; also, offensive tackle Marcus Harper II left the game with injury in the fourth quarter. — 9-0
2

Ohio State
Ohio State passed Penn State in the Big Ten race, and with Indiana on the horizon later this month, the path to the Big Ten Championship Game is no longer crowded. Listen, it wasn’t pretty, but the Buckeyes beat Penn State with a championship effort at critical moments, a defining trend of this rivalry over the last decade. They overcame a pick six and fumble into the end zone by Will Howard – who still threw two touchdown passes back in his home state – with stellar defensive stands inside the 5-yard line on two possessions and then salted the game away with 11 straight runs. 1 8-1
3

Georgia
Georgia looks invincible one week and human the next but remains the top dog in the SEC. Quarterback Carson Beck threw three interceptions but the Dawgst still escaped with a 34-20 win against Florida, which was forced to play walk-on quarterback Aidan Warner for most of the game after DJ Lagway was carted off the field with a left hamstring injury in the second quarter. Next up is a trip to Ole Miss, which seems revitalized and will be battling for its playoff life Saturday in Oxford. 1 7-1
4

Miami (FL)
Duke made it interesting for a time, and then Cam Ward took over (again) as Miami cruised to a 53-31 win. Ward threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns, hooking up with Xavier Restrepo for three of those scores, as the Hurricanes erased a 28-17 deficit in the third quarter. The future Heisman Trophy finalist already co-owns the school record with 29 passing touchdowns in a season. Miami is averaging 47.4 points per game through nine games, the best average in school history. — 9-1
5

Texas
Texas was off this week but moved into the five-team pileup atop the SEC standings thanks to rival Texas A&M’s 44-20 loss at unranked South Carolina. The Longhorns will be favored in their next three games, and should they win, it sets up a potential SEC championship play-in game against the Aggies in College Station. 1 8-1
6

Indiana
Indiana has left little doubt in most of its wins, but for a quarter Saturday, we began to wonder if the magical ride was nearing an end. Oh, boy, what a mistake. The Hoosiers scored 47 points to overcome an early 10-0 deficit and crushed Michigan State on the road to move to 9-0 for the first time in school history. Indiana hadn’t allowed a point in the first quarter all season before the Spartans’ early lead. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke was solid in his return from injury, throwing four touchdowns. The Hoosiers’ defense is on a roll, too, with seven combined interceptions in the last three games. Bring on Michigan. 1 9-0
7

Notre Dame
Notre Dame’s strength of schedule took a slight hit with Navy and USC losing, but Louisville upset Clemson on the road and Army remained undefeated during the Irish’s bye week. Notre Dame could be double-digit favorites in each of their remaining four games, including the unexpected top-20 showdown against the Black Knights in three weeks. 4 7-1
8

Tennessee
Tennessee just finds ways to win, even if it doesn’t necessarily look like a playoff team in most performances. The Vols finally scored in the first half Saturday in the win against Kentucky, breaking an incredible three-game scoreless streak in the first half of games dating back to Sept. 21. While they pulled away from Kentucky to win, the game was in question most of the night at Neyland Stadium. At this point, it’s foolish to refer to the Vols as a top-15 scoring offense. They have failed to score more than 28 points in an SEC game while the defense has carried them (top five nationally, including No. 1 on third and fourth downs). Still, they beat Alabama in Week 8 – their only ranked win – and can prove themselves with road games remaining at Georgia and Vanderbilt. 4 7-1
9

Penn State
The power rankings were correct again to slot Penn State below Ohio State heading into last week’s showdown. James Franklin has been given the benefit of the doubt at every turn, but why? The lack of wins against top-five opponents (1-13) and the ineptness on offense in big moments against the nation’s best teams has to be pegged on the head coach, not his players. The 20-13 loss to Ohio State was nothing new. The Nittany Lions managed only 2 yards on eight plays in the red zone and were stuffed four straight times inside the 5-yard line. The good news is Penn State is probably still a playoff team, just as it would have been six times in the first iteration of the playoff era (if it was a 12-team field). 4 7-1
10

Alabama
Alabama rested this week ahead of its playoff elimination game at LSU. The Tide blanked Missouri 34-0 in Week 9, rebounding from a devastating road loss at Tennessee. They opened as 2.5-point favorites over the Tigers. 3 6-2
11

BYU
Two teams benefitted more than others by sitting at home on bye weeks: BYU and Colorado. The Big 12 contenders solidified their spots with Iowa State and Kansas State falling to mid- to low-tier conference opponents. Only BYU controls its destiny in the Big 12 as the lone remaining undefeated team, however. The Holy War at Utah is up next. It’s crazy, but the toughest games of the season might actually be at the end of the schedule: at Arizona State and vs. resurgent Houston. 3 8-0
12

Boise State
The dream is still alive for Boise State. No, not the playoff dream. The Broncos are in the driver’s seat, after all. Might Boise State do enough down the stretch to snag a top-eight ranking and host a first-round CFP game? We’ll get there when we get there, but the Broncos were galloping again with a 56-24 laugher against San Diego State. Ashton Jeanty rushed for 149 yards, and though his average is slipping, consider he is playing injured. Boise State’s only loss is a three-point setback at No. 1 Oregon. If both teams keep winning, the Broncos’ resume may be strong enough to garner an on-campus playoff game. 3 7-1
13

SMU
SMU had the most impressive win of Week 10 with its 48-25 bludgeoning of undefeated Pitt, cementing itself as an ACC contender. The Mustangs have made the transition from the Group of Five to the Power Four with ease and sit at 5-0 in the ACC with three winnable games remaining. Quarterback Kevin Jennings has been a revelation since supplanting Preston Stone as starter in Week 4. He threw for 306 yards and two scores Saturday. SMU has won three straight games against top 25 opponents and 14 straight conference games dating back to its 2022 season in the AAC. 6 8-1
14

Texas A&M
The Aggies were set up to lose with a night game at South Carolina, which was oh-so-close to upsetting top-15 teams twice earlier this season.The Aggies fell behind 14-0 and rebounded, but they couldn’t slow South Carolina’s rushing attack led by quarterback LaNorris Sellers and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, who combined for 250 yards on the ground. The SEC Championship Game is still in play for the Aggies, who are now in the five-team fray with one loss in the conference. 6 7-2
15

Iowa State
The Cyclones flirted with disaster two times too many. Two weeks after rallying to beat UCF in the final minutes, Iowa State rallied against Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders stormed back and scored with 20 seconds remaining to keep the Cyclones from reaching their first 8-0 start in school history. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht was great, again, and delivered a go-ahead touchdown pass with 2:11 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Red Raiders marched down the field for the win. 5 7-1
16

LSU
LSU sat at home this week in preparation for its showdown with Alabama, a de facto playoff elimination game in Baton Rouge. The Tigers’ hopes likely rest on the arm of Garrett Nussmeier, who was shaky two weeks ago in the second half of the disheartening, 15-point loss at Texas A&M. 2 6-2
17

Ole Miss
Has Ole Miss rediscovered its offensive mojo? The Rebels broke at least seven school records in their 63-31 win at Arkansas, surpassing 600 yards for the fifth time this season. Lane Kiffin believes his team is one of the nation’s best when they cut down on mistakes, and it’s hard to argue when you watch this offense in person. More impressive is that defense, which has sacked the quarterback 18 times the last two weeks. The biggest game of the season against Georgia this week will determine whether the Rebels reach the playoff or sit at home in December wondering what went wrong earlier in the season. 4 7-2
18

Army West Point
Army simply wasn’t as sharp as it has grown accustomed to in a 20-3 win against Air Force. Quarterback Bryson Daily sat out the game with an undisclosed injury as the Black Knights remained undefeated to push its nation-leading winning streak to 12. Backup Dewayne Coleman tallied 90 combined yards in his first start and Kanye Udoh picked up the slack with a career-high 158 rushing yards. Will Daily return this week for the road trip to North Texas? 2 8-0
19

Pittsburgh
SMU jumped on Pitt early and the offense couldn’t muster much of a response, confirming fears that the early-season success in the nonconference schedule buoyed the offense’s real identity as an average unit. Pitt played so many close games before its breakthrough against Syracuse a week ago when three pick sixes led to a blowout. Pitt is scoring 19 points less in the ACC than it does against nonconference teams, a stark stat that should have convinced more of us that a result like the one at SMU was on the horizon. 2 7-1
20

Kansas State
Houston kept it 100, as the kids used to say. Zeon Chriss completed 100% of his throws in the 24-19 upset of Kansas State, completing 11 passes for 103 yards while rushing for 75 yards and accounting for two touchdowns. The Wildcats led 19-10 in the fourth quarter, but turnovers rued the night, including a career-high two interceptions from quarterback Avery Johnson. The most concerning aspect of the loss, however, was how Houston held DJ Giddens to only 50 yards on 17 carries. K-State didn’t eclipse 100 yards rushing for the first time this season. 4 7-2
21

Colorado
Colorado moved up in the Big 12 while sitting at home as the Buffaloes jumped into a tie for second place in the conference (4-1) after Iowa State and Kansas State lost Saturday. If Iowa State loses one more time and Colorado wins out, including the Big 12 Championship Game, the Buffaloes will fulfill Deion Sanders’ dream of reaching the CFP. 1 6-2
22

Clemson
Clemson fattened up on the ACC’s mid-tier teams and threw up all over itself when Louisville punched the Tigers in the gut Saturday. The Cardinals came close to knocking off ACC leaders Miami and SMU earlier this season, and they took out their frustrations on Clemson in a 33-21 win on the road. The first win ever against the Tigers was led by Isaac Brown’s career-high 151 rushing yards. The 12-point loss is the third-largest at home in the Dabo Swinney era and his largest ever against an unranked opponent in Death Valley. 13 6-2
23

Washington State
Washington State’s resume isn’t overly impressive, but the Cougars own wins against Texas Tech and Washington, which are borderline top-30 teams at this point in the season. 1 7-1
24

Louisville
Louisville would probably be a top-15 team if it was able to knock off SMU or Miami at home earlier this season. The Cardinals finally had their breakthrough performance against overrated Clemson, which we were guilty of bumping up in the power rankings as they bludgeoned the middle and bottom of the ACC. The Cardinals have three winnable games remaining on the schedule, meaning a 10-win season is on the table with a bowl win. That’s quite the coaching job by Jeff Brohm this season. NR 6-3
25

South Carolina
You could sense South Carolina was going to knock somebody off in the SEC, and it finally happened Saturday night in the Land of Sandstorm. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains called his best game of the season, feeding running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders to the tune of 236 all-purpose yards as run-first quarterback LaNorris Sellers combined for 350 yards (244 passing) in the 44-20 crushing of Texas A&M. The Gamecocks lost to LSU and Alabama by a combined five points earlier this season. Three games against ranked (and beatable) teams potentially remain on the schedule. South Carolina is a dangerous team. NR 5-3