Week 10 of the 2022 college football season certainly lived up to the hype. This was yet another upset-filled week, and the College Football Playoff picture has completely turned on its head. Coming up with new rankings after this chaos is a daunting task, but that doesn't mean we can't try.
The first domino to fall was No. 3 Georgia upending No. 1 Tennessee 27-13 at home in a battle of the SEC's elite. Then, the primetime games brought even more chaos with both No. 4 Clemson and No. 6 Alabama losing on the road, with the Crimson Tide picking up their second loss of the season. These two teams have been the most dominant in the College Football Playoff era, and they are likely both out of the race in the first week of November.
Many other teams lower down in the rankings lost this weekend as well, including Kansas State, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Oregon State. While it would be fun to re-rank the entire top 25, let's just stick to the best teams for now.
Without further delay, here is our College Football Playoff top-10 following a chaotic Saturday in college football.
10. Ole Miss Rebels (8-1)
Ole Miss had the luxury of sitting back on a bye week while chaos engulfed the college football world. The Rebels were one of the teams most affected by LSU's win over Alabama, in both good and bad ways.
On one hand, the Tigers' win makes Ole Miss' loss to them look much better than it did when it happened. However, the Rebels no longer control their own fate in the SEC West and now need LSU to slip up. If that doesn't happen and the Rebels miss the SEC Championship Game, their playoff hopes are dead.
With Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State coming up, Ole Miss will need to be perfect from here on out. The Rebels' playoff hopes may be hanging by a thread, but they are still alive. Only a few teams in the country can say that, and Ole Miss is one of them.
9. UCLA Bruins (8-1)
Like their cross-town rivals, the Bruins' Week 10 game against Arizona State fell victim to a late start time. UCLA won 50-36 in a shootout after taking a 42-18 lead in the fourth quarter. Although the Sun Devils made the game slightly too close for comfort, the Bruins held on to win by two scores.
UCLA's rushing game was the main story on Saturday night, as the Bruins ran for 402 yards and five touchdowns. Dorian Thompson-Robinson continued to shine with 289 yards and four touchdowns in total, all without star running back Zach Charbonnet. The Bruins are still firmly in the Pac-12 race, and the playoff picture as well.
8. USC Trojans (8-1)
USC flew under the radar on Saturday thanks to its game against California starting at 10:30 ET. The Trojans defeated the Golden Bears 41-35, although they led 34-14 entering the fourth quarter. Caleb Williams was spectacular once again with 398 total yards and five total touchdowns to boost his Heisman campaign.
Still, USC continues to let inferior opponents hang around longer than they should. In the last two games, the Trojans have defeated California and Arizona, two teams that are 1-5 in conference play, by a combined 12 points. Upcoming games against UCLA and Notre Dame give the Trojans a strong chance to boost their resume, but they will need to be sharper to do so.
7. LSU Tigers (7-2)
LSU continues to defy reality this season. Everyone left the Tigers for dead after a 40-13 blowout loss to Tennessee a month ago, but convincing wins over Florida and Ole Miss got them back on track. Many questioned the Tigers placing 10th in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, but they backed it up on Saturday night.
LSU stunned Alabama for its first home win over the Tide since 2010, winning 32-31 in overtime. The Tigers are now in the SEC West driver's seat, and appear to be on a collision course with Georgia for the conference championship game. If they win out, the Tigers will likely be the first two-loss team to ever make playoff.
6. Oregon Ducks (8-1)
Another week, another strong performance for Oregon. The Ducks walked into Colorado and embarrassed the Buffaloes in front of their own crowd with a 49-10 win. Bo Nix continued to shine with five total touchdowns, while the defense forced three turnovers and held Colorado to three second-half points.
Since a Week 1 drubbing against Georgia, Oregon has has been one of the undisputed best teams in college football. The Ducks have a chance to earn some quality wins, with Washington, Utah and Oregon State to close out the regular season. If the Ducks can beat all of those teams and win the Pac-12 title, it will be difficult to keep them out of the playoff.
5. Tennessee Volunteers (8-1)
Tennessee's magical undefeated run came to an end at the hands of defending national champion Georgia on Saturday. The offense struggled to get anything going while the Bulldogs seemingly scored at will in the first half. By the time both sides found a bit of rhythm, it was already too late.
The Volunteers should be the highest-ranked one-loss team, but their playoff hopes took a massive hit on Saturday. Georgia all but locked up the SEC East with Saturday's win, and Tennessee's remaining schedule of Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt doesn't allow the Volunteers to pick up another big win. They are still definitely in playoff contention, but now need some help to get there.
4. TCU Horned Frogs (9-0)
The selection committee drew heavy criticism with its decision on Tuesday to rank TCU behind Clemson and especially Alabama. Both the Tigers and Crimson Tide lost on Saturday while TCU won to move to 9-0 on the season. Funny how these sorts of problems tend to work themselves out.
TCU played another hard-fought game on Saturday, defeating Texas Tech 34-24 at home. The Horned Frogs found themselves trailing 17-13 entering the fourth quarter, but scored three touchdowns to put the game out of reach. The Horned Frogs may be winning close, but they're still undefeated, which few other teams can say at this point in the season.
3. Michigan Wolverines (9-0)
Michigan looked vulnerable in the first half against Rutgers on Saturday night, but dominated late to pull away for a 52-17 blowout win. The Wolverines' vaunted running-back duo of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards combined for 218 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense held the Scarlet Knights to just 180 total yards and three turnovers.
This game may have been closer than initially expected, but the Wolverines erased any doubt with a spectacular second half.
The committee's decision to rank Clemson ahead of Michigan confused many, but that problem solved itself. The Wolverines' potential resume took a hit with Illinois losing, but they'll cross that bridge when they get to it. As long the Wolverines keep winning, they'll make the playoff without question.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0)
Ohio State looked uncharacteristically sloppy in Saturday's game against lowly Northwestern. C.J. Stroud put up just 76 passing yards on a windy day and the Buckeyes ended the first half in a 7-7 tie. They eventually pulled away, but this was by far their worst performance of the season.
Yet, the Buckeyes manage to retain the No. 2 spot in the rankings for a couple of reasons. For one, Notre Dame picked up a signature win over Clemson on Saturday night, meaning the Buckeyes' Week 1 win over the Fighting Irish continues to look better. Secondly, the committee clearly doesn't think very highly of arch-rival Michigan, who placed fifth behind Clemson in the initial rankings.
The Buckeyes hang on to their spot here, but just barely. If they continue to struggle against inferior competition, then they will undoubtedly drop in the rankings.
1. Georgia Bulldogs (9-0)
After Saturday's performance, there's no debate that Georgia deserves the top spot. The Bulldogs welcomed the top-ranked team in the country to Athens and made the Volunteers look like amateurs.
Georgia's defense was the star of the show on Saturday, holding the high-flying Tennessee offense to just 13 points when its previous low was 34. The Bulldogs made life difficult for Heisman Trophy favorite Hendon Hooker, holding him under 200 yards with no touchdowns for the first time this season. With a manageable schedule to close the season, Georgia should cruise to another College Football Playoff appearance.
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