Week 10 Power Rankings

1. Oregon Ducks - This team just continues to improve and the scary thing is that it’s not a matter of “peaking too early” - they have the talent to continue and/or surpass this level of play.  With Illinois coming to town, the Ducks were favored by a whopping 21.5, yet looked even better than that. Evan Stewart does like to avoid blocking downfield for his teammates, but who cares if they bulldoze the defenders over anyway! Jokes aside, the Ducks have earned every bit of my respect and deserve their ranking. The Big House is a cool environment, but my brain can’t compute a way that Michigan upsets them this week. Undefeated looks good in green.

2. Georgia Bulldogs - No alarms were needed last Saturday as the Bulldogs were on a bye week. They now continue their 2024 campaign against the quietly rising Florida Gators for the featured 2:30 ABC game. My concern level for Georgia isn’t high, but Florida is an overtime away from being victors in 4 straight, and we've seen crazier things happen. It wasn’t talked about much, but how can Beck rebound after a poor 3 interception effort against Texas? It will be a scary sight if Georgia can put together a complete offensive performance, which might be necessary with Ole Miss and Tennessee on the horizon. 

3. Penn State Nittany Lions - Zac’s a Penn State hater this. Zac’s a Penn State hater that. Drew Allar played a clean game + the duo of backs in Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton continue to play well, but let’s not forget they were in a tight 14-13 game with Wisconsin going into the 4th. They appear to play their best ball in the 2nd half, which is great, but their first legitimate test is finally here. No more talking, we finally get to see if they can beat Ohio State. Last time they did so, Barack was milly-rocking in the oval office. 

4. Ohio State Buckeyes - These ding dongs nearly lost as 25.5 point favorites at home and their identity in the trenches was exposed. Nebraska played valiantly, holding the Buckeyes to 2.1 yards per carry on 31 rushing attempts and that’s a glaring concern. Will Howard wasn’t Superman, but that is now 2 straight games that he has been OSU’s best player. No disrespect, but you can’t sleep well at night knowing that if your aspirations are to win it all. I’ve talked about this upcoming game with Penn State plenty, just get ready to watch the backlash that the losing coach will receive. True cinema. 

5. Miami Hurricanes - I am no genius for saying this, but a couple weeks ago I mentioned they’d have a tight fought game with Louisville, then they could finally relax against Florida State. Surely enough, that’s exactly what happened. This game was seconds away from being 36-7 in favor of the Hurricanes and Cam didn’t need to throw for 400 to do it. I have some intrigue for their upcoming game with Duke, but I expect an offensive masterclass to be too much for the Blue Devils to handle. Get past this week and they are nearly a lock for the playoff, but history tells us not to get our hopes up with ACC teams.

6. Texas Longhorns - All respect to Vanderbilt and what they have accomplished this year, but if Texas is as good as they think they are, this shouldn’t have been as tight as it was. The Longhorns were outplayed in the 2nd half (with a special shoutout to Eli Stowers) and Quinn continued to dish passes 3 yards down the field. With all these weapons, surely they can look SLIGHTLY more explosive on offense, right? Don’t fret, they’re still certain they beat Georgia in a rematch at the SEC championship game so let’s take their fans' word for it! They get this week off to hold hands with Matthew McConaughey and ask Tennessee for advice about the daunting Florida & Arkansas stretch coming up in November. Hook em!

7. Clemson Tigers - Mr. Sweeney had the week off but gets back to it with a matchup against Louisville this Saturday. The O/U for this one is set at 61.5 but there is a chance this hits by the middle of the 3rd. Louisville has given up over 30 per game in ACC matchups and Clemson is scoring 45 per game. Seems pretty obvious right? Excited to rip a bet on this one and it ends up being 20-17, but we ride. Clemson draws a much more challenging final month of the season than Miami, but we still like them as the top of the ACC and to meet in Charlotte for the conference crown. 

8. Tennessee Volunteers - Rumor has it the air in Neyland is still fogged with Romeo & Juliet smoke, but I’m not complaining. Tennessee had the week off to enjoy still being alive in the SEC race and are rewarded with a matchup this week against Kentucky. The Wildcats are painful to watch, but I suppose their best football has been against their toughest opponents this year. That said, all eyes are on November 16th as they head to Athens to face Georgia where both teams are likely to be 8-1 and in the top 5 of the national rankings. The Vols have a legitimate shot to stamp their ticket to the SEC championship game but need Nico to find his early season form for that to happen.

9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - I, a tax-paying citizen, was told to put some of my hard-working American money on Navy to cover +13.5 last week. Well, nothing short of war crimes happened in Annapolis this weekend as the Irish ragdolled them 51-14. What did I previously say? Like Clemson, since suffering their lone loss, Notre Dame has crushed everyone that they’ve played. Marcus Freeman’s team seems to have found their rhythm and have helped all of us Aggie fans feel better about what happened in the season opener. The Catholics get the week off, but Christmas came early! Florida State is on the menu next and that will be Norvell’s final night wearing Seminole gear. Book it.

10. Indiana Hoosiers - No QB, no problem. Coach Cig had to roll out a guy who looks like he can’t decide between 14 different ethnicities and they still controlled the game against Washington. If this guy doesn’t win Coach of the Year, I’d be shocked. I’m not worried about anything else except their trip to Ohio State on November 23rd. I will be sporting the classic red and white pinstripe pants and will hang a fake IU diploma up in my house if they can get the job done.

On the cusp:

Texas A&M Aggies - A tale of two halves, but ultimately the boys in maroon took down LSU on Saturday to secure outright possession of 1st place in the SEC. Job is far from done, but what a season to remember for Aggie faithful. Crazy things are happening in College Station: when else has a team bounced back and forth between two quarterbacks and had a 7-1 record to show for it? Things are looking up for this sleeping giant, but no time to rest. The Fighting Elko’s head to Columbia for another ABC primetime game against South Carolina. Make it out of there alive, and we will likely witness the biggest Lone Star Showdown in history. As always, be sure to read Anonymous Aggie’s article breaking down last Saturday, linked HERE. PS - when is Elko getting his own Swagcopter?

• Zac Bryan, the guy with a newfound love for Crockpots