College Football Playoff: Utah Extends Winning Streak While Notre Dame Secures Spot
Week 10 results shuffle the rankings, with the Utes reaching 10-0 and the Irish defeating Miami to cement their position.
By Natalia Costa ·
The College Football Playoff rankings released this week reshaped the landscape for contenders, leaving no team with a guaranteed path to the 12-team field.
The season started with a clear hierarchy that teams with multiple losses rarely overcame. Early in the year, analysts and fans often dismissed programs with two or three defeats. That assumption collapsed this weekend. The committee’s first rankings of the season placed Notre Dame at No. 11, a shock to many given the Irish had only one loss. The low seed forced the team to treat its game against No. 1 Miami as a mandatory victory. Notre Dame controlled the contest and won 31-24. With Boston College, SMU, and Syracuse remaining on their schedule, the Irish are effectively locked into the playoff.
Other teams rebounded from recent struggles to regain momentum. Alabama had lost consecutive games to Georgia and Tennessee in October. They returned to the top five at No. 5 and followed that with a 31-13 win over No. 14 LSU. Texas experienced a similar dip before climbing to No. 7 and beating No. 18 Missouri 34-20. Oregon defied expectations after dropping two games in a row. The Ducks, now with three losses, upset Ohio State to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Utah’s performance stands out amid the chaos. The Utes defeated No. 9 BYU 28-20 in the first top-10 matchup in the Holy War. This victory extended Utah’s winning streak to 14 games. Head coach Morgan Scalley improved to 10-0 in his first season. He is the sixth FBS coach in the past 40 years to start a career with 10 straight wins. The team is now 9-0 for the third time in program history. Previous undefeated seasons occurred in 2004 and 2008.
In the Big Ten, UCLA defeated Minnesota 34-20. Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach threw for 303 yards on just eight completions. The win keeps UCLA in contention for the conference title. They must win two of their final three games to secure the spot. In the SEC, No. 2 Georgia crushed No. 10 Ole Miss 42-7. The result positions the Bulldogs to reclaim the No. 1 national ranking. The conference remains tight, with four teams holding two losses and four others sitting at three.
The next set of games will further clarify the field. Teams like Florida State, which fired head coach Mike Norvell, must find stability. Nebraska faces Rutgers next week after four straight losses. The schedule continues to produce upsets that make prediction difficult for the committee.
The upcoming weeks will determine which teams capitalize on their current standing and which fall away. The data from this week suggests the race is tighter than at any point this season.
