Week 10 witnessed numerous tightly-contested top-25 matchups with major implications for the College Football Playoff. Duke won a shootout at Pittsburgh, 51-48. As a result of this victory, the Blue Devils advanced two spots in this week’s AP Poll.
Blue Devils win double-overtime thriller, climb to No. 22 in the nation
Duke traveled to Pittsburgh Saturday for a critical Coastal Division matchup with the Panthers. Throughout regulation, neither team’s defense was very effective as both offenses scored at will. With the score tied at 38 and just a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Pitt offense drove deep into Blue Devil territory. The Panthers (4-5, 2-3 in the ACC) set up kicker Chris Blewitt for a 26-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left, but Blewitt missed the kick wide left after his attempt was delayed by two timeouts called by Duke head coach David Cutcliffe.
After narrowly escaping defeat, the Blue Devils (7-1, 3-1 in the ACC) powered their way to a 51-48 victory with a five-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Thomas Sirk in the second overtime. The Blue Devils advanced from No. 24 last week to No. 22 in this week’s AP Poll.
Close calls at the top of the rankings
Many of the nation’s top teams escaped challenging matchups this week. Undefeated Mississippi State hosted Arkansas Saturday, and despite an early 10-0 Razorback lead, the Bulldogs fought back and secured a 17-10 victory to maintain their No. 1 ranking. No. 2 Florida State had its own troubles when it traveled to Louisville Thursday. The Seminoles fell behind 21-0 as quarterback Jameis Winston threw two interceptions in the first half, but then the team bounced back with touchdowns late to escape with a 42-31 victory.
A late 37-yard field goal by kicker Jaden Oberkrom lifted TCU to a 31-30 victory in a sloppy, turnover-heavy game at West Virginia to keep the Horned Frogs in contention for a Big 12 title and a berth to the College Football Playoff. TCU jumped from No. 10 last week to No. 6 in this week’s poll, and the Mountaineers fell from No. 20 to No. 24. Notre Dame blew a 28-7 second quarter lead against Navy but managed to beat the Midshipmen 49-39 due in large part to the six total touchdowns contributed by senior quarterback Everett Golson. The Fighting Irish fell from No. 6 last week to No. 8 in this week’s poll.
The marquee game of the week occurred Saturday night in Oxford, Miss., when top-5 teams Auburn and Ole Miss met in a huge SEC West showdown. The back-and-forth contest was decided when Auburn linebacker Cassanova McKinzy recovered a fumble by Ole Miss receiver Laquon Treadwell in the Tigers’ end zone. Treadwell’s reception was initially called a touchdown but upon review was ruled a fumble, securing the 35-31 Auburn victory. The star receiver broke his leg right before he crossed the goal line and dropped the ball just before it broke the plane. As a result of this outcome, the Tigers climbed to No. 3 nationally and the Rebels fell to No. 12. Auburn’s advancement in the polls displaced Alabama, who had a bye, one spot to No. 4.
Oregon cruised to a blowout victory against Stanford to maintain the Ducks’ No. 5 ranking, and Michigan State advanced one spot to No. 7 after a bye week. Georgia fell to No. 17 following a disappointing 38-20 blowout loss against rival Florida.
Domination in the Big 12
Aside from TCU’s narrow victory in Morgantown, W. Va., other top teams in the Big 12 won their games in convincing fashion. Kansas State hosted Oklahoma State on Saturday night. Cornerback Morgan Burns ran back a kickoff for a touchdown in the first quarter, and that set the tone for the Wildcats, who went on to rout the Cowboys 48-14. Kansas State climbed two spots to No. 9 in this week’s poll. In another display of offensive dominance, Baylor scored on eleven consecutive possessions to defeat Kansas in Waco, 60-14. Baylor is No. 10 in this week’s poll, a two-spot improvement from last week. Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight passed for three touchdowns and rushed for three more as the Sooners routed Iowa State 59-14 in Ames, Iowa. Oklahoma jumped from No. 19 last week to No. 16 this week.
Pac-12 South teams face off
Week 10 pitted against each other four teams in the Pac-12 South division, all of which were ranked in the top 25 nationally. Arizona State hosted Utah in a game that turned into a kicking contest late. Kicker Zane Gonzalez made a 36-yard field goal to secure for the Sun Devils the 19-16 overtime victory and give them control of the division. Arizona State climbed four spots to No. 11 in this week’s poll, and Utah slipped to No. 20. A stifling performance by the UCLA defense lifted the Bruins to a 17-7 home victory against Arizona Saturday night. Both teams experienced large movements in the polls following this game—UCLA jumped seven spots to No. 18 in the nation and the Wildcats fell seven positions to No. 21.
Strong showings in the Big 10
A few teams in the Big 10 turned in impressive performances in the week 10 games. Ohio State defended its home field in dominant fashion Saturday night—the Buckeyes opened the game with 48 consecutive points and ended up routing the Illini 55-14. Ohio State remained at No. 13 in this week’s poll. Despite star running back Ameer Abdullah leaving the game early with a knee injury, Nebraska cruised to a 35-14 home victory against Purdue Saturday.
The Cornhuskers climbed two spots to No. 15 in this week’s poll. Big performances from running backs Corey Clement and Melvin Gordon along with dominant defense helped Wisconsin deal Rutgers its first shutout loss since 2002—the Badgers traveled to Piscataway, N.J., Saturday and blanked the Scarlet Knights 37-0. This victory earned Wisconsin a No. 25 ranking, an improvement from the Badgers’ unranked position last week.
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