Josh’s College Football Rankings 2024–Week 10

Three of the eight undefeated teams lost this week. And of the fourteen 1-loss teams in my rankings, five of them lost. I am sure some of you want to know my thoughts on the Penn State loss, but honestly, what is there to say that I have not said every year since 2016. I wish we were getting blown out in these losses, then at least we would know that we are not good enough to compete with the elite teams. But that is not the case, we are always right there and just so close to winning. The expanded playoff means this is not a make-or-break game, the Nittany Lions win out, and they will most likely make the CFP. 

1. Oregon (9-0)–#1–W 38-17 Michigan. Easy to keep the Ducks at the top spot. They keep winning, they deserve #1.
2. Georgia (7-1)–#3–W 34-20 Florida. This game was closer than the score shows, but good teams find a way to pull away.
3. Ohio State (7-1)–#4–W 20-13 #2 Penn State. I debated on putting the Buckeyes #2, but realize that maybe the Nittany Lions should have been below Georgia all along. Georgia beating #1 Texas, and losing to #1 Alabama is better than Ohio State beating #2 Penn State, and losing to #5 Oregon (if I am going by where I had them ranked at the time).
4. Miami (9-0)–#5–W 53-31 Duke. It is hard to dismiss this Hurricanes team. They have squeaked past some teams, and maybe gotten lucky with a few calls, but they are undefeated, and continue to put up tons of points.
5. Texas (7-1)–#6–BYE
6. BYU (8-0)–#11–BYE
7. Indiana (9-0)–#13–W 47-10 Michigan State. The Hoosier outscored the Spartans 47-0 after going down 10-0. This team is for real. It is hard to rank them below a few teams that have a loss.
8. Penn State (7-1)–#2–L 20-13 #4 Ohio State. I am sorry Nittany Lion fans, but it is hard for me to put them above BYU or Indiana. Are they a better team? Most likely, but do I think they would win against either one? Doubtful.
9. Notre Dame (7-1)–#7–BYE
10. Tennessee (7-1)–#10–W 28-18 Kentucky. Rivalry wins are always good for the resume, even when the rival is having a down year.
11. Alabama (6-2)–#14–BYE
12. Ole Miss (7-2)–#16–W 63-31 Arkansas. Many experts circled this game as a potential upset. Lane Kiffin’s team had something to say about that.
13. SMU (8-1)–#19–W 48-25 #15 Pitt. The Mustangs have beat Louisville, Duke, and Pitt. All teams that I have ranked at some point. Only loss? BYU by a field goal.
14. Texas A&M (7-2)–#8–L 44-20 South Carolina. This was a shocking loss. Or maybe it was a little premature to bump the Aggies up so high in the rankings.
15. LSU (6-2)–#17–BYE
16. Boise State (7-1)–#20–W 56-24 San Diego State
17. Clemson (6-2)–#7–L 33-21 Louisville. The Tigers made me look stupid with this loss. Thanks Dabo!
18. Army (8-0)–#21–W 20-3 Air Force
19. Iowa State (7-1)–#12–L 23-22 Texas Tech. I was always hesitant to get onboard the Cyclone Hype Train, and they proved my suspicions correct this weekend.
20. Colorado (6-2)–#22–BYE
21. Missouri (6-2)–#24–BYE
22. Washington State (7-1)–#25–BYE
23. Vanderbilt (6-3)–HM–W 17-7 Auburn. Bowl eligible. Great job, Vandy!
24. Kansas State (7-2)–#18–L 24-19 Houston
25. Pitt (7-1)–#15–L #19 SMU

Honorable Mentions

• Tulane (7-2)–HM–W 34-3 Charlotte
• Louisiana (7-1)–HM–W 23-17 Texas State
• South Carolina (5-3)–NR–W 44-20 #8 Texas A&M
• Iowa (6-3)–NR–W 42-10 Wisconsin
• Minnesota (6-3)–NR–W 25-17 #23 Illinois
• Syracuse (6-2)–NR–W 38-31 OT Virginia Tech
• Illinois (6-3)–#23–L 27-17 Minnesota
• Duke (6-3)–HM–L 53-31 #5 Miami
• Louisville (6-3)–NR–W 33-21 #9 Clemson
• UNLV (6-2)–NR–BYE

Watch List
MACtion time! We have MAC games early in the week. Tuesday we have Bowling Green at Central Michigan and Miami OH at Ball State, then on Wednesday you can watching Northern Illinois at Western Michigan and Ohio at Kent State (could this be the week Kent State wins???). Thursday night you get one of my favorite Sun Belt matchups: Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina. I swear someday I will make it to that game. Friday night we get Iowa at UCLA, and Rice at Memphis (there are other games, but those are the ones I think you should watch). 

There are two huge games this week: #2 Georgia at #12 Ole Miss, and #11 Alabama at #15 LSU. If Ole Miss wins, they would silence doubters about winning against the big SEC teams, and it would keep them in the SEC Championship Game hunt. Alabama is basically in the same boat (minus winning big games). LSU only has one loss in the SEC, and a win would be huge for them, but would they get in the playoffs by just making the SEC Championship game? Would those two losses look pretty bad? I am curious to see where the committee ranks them on Tuesday.

There are some interesting games as well this week. Washington heads to Happy Valley for the annual White-Out Game. The Nittany Lions need to bounce back from this loss, and win out. They are in a good position to make the CFP. But, they cannot lose to the Huskies. Another big game is Michigan at #7 Indiana. The Hoosiers can continue to impress people with a big win over the Wolverines, but do not get caught thinking about that bye week before their big showdown with Ohio State. Another fun game should be South Carolina at #23 Vanderbilt. It is tough not to cheer for the Commodores. Finally, we have two games that I think could be upsets. I am not saying these will be upsets, but one of them could end up as one. Purdue at #3 Ohio State, and Florida at #5 Texas. The Boilermakers have ruined Ohio State’s season before, could they do it again? Billy Napier needs a win against a high-quality opponent to keep his job. Beating the Longhorns would do it. 

Coaching Hot Seat
James Franklin has to be on the hot seat. I have defended Coach Franklin for years. I am not quite ready to give up on him yet. On the one hand, losing to Ohio State every year is bad. But, if they finish 11-1 and make the playoffs? That is a win. My argument for keeping him is that there is no one out there that would be available to Penn State that would be a clear upgrade. Names I have heard floated: Lane Kiffin, Matt Rhule, Urban Meyer, Jon Gruden. Kiffin is basically just James Franklin in the SEC (0-4 against top five teams). Matt Rhule? Oh yeah, they almost beat Ohio State, but then they lost to UCLA. Nebraska got destroyed by Indiana. Urban Meyer??? No thank you. Jon Gruden? Brilliant football mind, he was interested in the job at one point, but is he interested now? Would he be able to adapt to the college game? One name that people have also mentioned is Curt Cignetti. I do like him, and if he can do this at Indiana, imagine what he does with major resources. But, I would maybe wait to see if he beats Ohio State before rushing out to make him an offer. 

I do get tired of hearing about Franklin’s record against top five teams. How many wins should a coach have against the top five? Kirk Ferentz has been at Iowa since 1999. His record against top ten teams is 12-28. Coach Franklin is 3-17. Again, it is not great, but as I have said before, how many coaches have a great record against the top ten? 

NOW, if the Nittany Lions come out this week and lose to Washington? I think he should be fired on the spot. 

Awful Losses
There were some terrible Big Ten losses. Wisconsin played a tough game against Penn State, but then gets absolutely destroyed by Iowa. The Hawkeyes are not known for their offense, but somehow managed to put 42 on the Badgers. Okay, that is not fair to Iowa since they have been scoring points this year. Their run game has been good. As I mentioned above, Nebraska lost to UCLA…at home. The Bruins are a bad team, and yet the Cornhuskers could not do anything against them. And finally we have Illinois. They lost to Minnesota at home. I think I said this a few weeks ago, Illinois will have a great record, and then lose their last four or five games.