Josh’s College Football Rankings 2025–Week 10

I thought it would be fun to do a little throwback with the logos. These are the logos from the 1975 season, which was fifty years ago. Quick shout-out to SportsLogos.net for providing such a thorough database of all the logos over the years for free!

This week saw a decent amount of shakeup in the rankings. A few teams have finally convinced me they should be ranked much higher, whereas a few others are working their way out of the Top 40. Unfortunately, watching games was a little difficult because of the Disney/YouTubeTV battle. If this continues for another week, I may have to figure out a different option. Funny enough, I am grandfathered into the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle, but I did not know that ESPN changed ESPN+ to just random online programs, and that if you want to watch the channels, you have to have ESPN Unlimited. So, I looked at upgrading to it. They were running a special for Disney+/Hulu/ESPN Unlimited for $29.99/month (I think my bundle is like $26.47). Okay, a $3 upcharge, no worries. BUT NO. To upgrade, they wanted to charge me $44/month. If I was a new customer, I get a deal, but an existing customer? Nope. So yeah, I did not switch anything. I will wait to see what happens with this battle, and then make a decision. Especially since it sounds like Disney is going to do away with Hulu anyways, and just bring all of that content over to Disney+ (which makes sense honestly)…

Sorry, that was a bit of a rant.

1. Ohio State (8-0)–#1–W 38-14 Penn State. The Buckeyes look unstoppable right now.
2. Texas A&M (8-0)–#2–BYE
3. Indiana (9-0)–#3–W 55-10 Maryland. Okay, the Hoosiers also look unstoppable.
4. Alabama (7-1)–#4–BYE
5. Georgia (7-1)–#6–W 24-20 Florida. I love rivalry games, anything can happen, especially when one team has nothing to lose. Good job Bulldogs on the win.
6. Oregon (7-1)–#7–BYE
7. Ole Miss (8-1)–#8–W 30-14 South Carolina. I did not see much about this game, looks like the Rebels played well.
8. BYU (8-0)–#10–BYE
9. Texas Tech (8-1)–#15–W 43-20 Kansas State. The Red Raiders gave the Wildcats a beating, and look to be back on track.
10. Texas (7-2)–#22–W 34-31 #9 Vanderbilt. Arch Manning looks like he has figured it out, especially coming off a head injury. I know this is a big jump, but the Longhorns still have all that talent that had them at #1 preseason, it looks like they are putting it together at the right time.
11. Virginia (8-1)–#12–W 31-21 California
12. Louisville (7-1)–#13–W 28-16 Virginia Tech
13. Notre Dame (6-2)–#16–W 25-10 Boston College. The Irish will need to block out the noise about Coach Marcus Freeman (every team looking for a coach has mentioned him on their short lists).
14. Oklahoma (7-2)–#18–W 33-27 #19 Tennessee. I watched this game (it was complicated how I watched it, haha), and even though the score was close, it never felt like the Sooners were in trouble (that last field goal did make it a one score game with like 52 seconds left).
15. Vanderbilt (7-2)–#9–L 34-31 #22 Texas. They almost had one of the greatest comebacks, outscoring Texas 21-0 in the 4th quarter, and coming very close to recovering an onside kick at the end of the game.
16. Georgia Tech (8-1)–#5–L 48-36 NC State. Ugh, I was really high on the Yellow Jackets, but they need to get Jamal Haynes going again. Haynes King cannot do everything himself, although he does try.
17. Missouri (6-2)–#17–BYE. Can we talk about how stupid their logo was in 1975? Just an M, exactly like Michigan, except black. LAME
18. Utah (7-2)–#26–W 45-14 #14 Cincinnati. Okay, fine, I will start believing in this Utah team.
19. Michigan (7-2)–#20–W 21-16 Purdue. It was ugly, but a win is a win.
20. Miami (6-2)–#11–L 26-20 OT SMU. Ahhhh, the yearly Hurricane loss that probably kills their playoff hopes.
21. Pittsburgh (7-2)–#28–W 35-20 Stanford. The Panthers have my attention now, and I am not going to lie, I am rooting for them to win the ACC. I know, I hate Pitt, but I also like all of my friends who are Pitt fans, so I think it would be cool for them to experience the CFP Playoffs.
22. Washington (6-2)–#21–BYE. I LOVE THIS RETRO LOGO!
23. Iowa (6-2)–#23–BYE. What the hell is that? Looks like a vulture head on a hawk’s body.
24. USC (6-2)–#24–W 21-17 #35 Nebraska. Good win for the Trojans (love the logo, much better than the SC), going on the road and winning against a solid Cornhuskers team.
25. James Madison (7-1)–#31–W 52-20 Texas State. JMU is rolling through the Sun Belt (come on people, can we get them into a bigger conference? The AAC, or maybe the ACC?)
26. Cincinnati (7-2)–#14–L 45-14 #26 Utah. I was high on the Bearcats, how can the rebound after that beating?
27. TCU (6-2)–#27–BYE
28. Tennessee (6-3)–#19–L 33-27 #18 Oklahoma. This team is good, hence the ranking here. They are the best 3-loss team.
29. Memphis (8-1)–#33–W 38-14 Rice
30. South Florida (6-2)–#39–BYE
31. North Texas (8-1)–HM–W 31-17 #30 Navy
32. San Diego State (7-1)–#40–W 24-7 Wyoming
33. LSU (5-3)–#32–BYE
34. Illinois (6-3)–#34–W 35-13 Rutgers
35. Houston (7-2)–#25–L 45-35 West Virginia
36. Arizona State (6-3)–#36–W 24-19 #37 Iowa State
37. Tulane (6-2)–#29–L 48-26 UTSA
38. Navy (6-1)–#30–L 31-17 North Texas
39. Nebraska (6-3)–#35–L 21-17 #24 USC
40. Northwestern (5-3)–HM–BYE

Honorable Mentions
Miami OH (5-3)–HM–BYE
Minnesota (6-3)–NR–W 23-20 OT Michigan State
SMU (6-3)–NR–W 26-20 OT #11 Miami
Kennesaw State (6-2)–NR–W 33-20 UTEP. The Owls have won six in a row. Crazy how much they have turned things around after their first few years at the FBS level.
Southern Miss (6-2)–NR–BYE

I am excited for this week. First of all, this is the beginning of our weekday MACtion! Tuesday night is Miami OH at Ohio. That is always a good game. Then on Thursday we have UTSA at #30 South Florida. The Roadrunners just upset Tulane, can they take down the Bulls? Then we have two good games on Friday night. #40 Northwestern heads out west to battle with #24 USC. And we also have #37 Tulane at #29 Memphis, in a key AAC match-up. 

On Saturday, we have the top two teams of the Big Ten heading on the road for games that they better not overlook. #3 Indiana heads to Happy Valley to face Penn State. I am not saying the Nittany Lions are going to win, but they could pay the Hoosiers a little revenge for 2020 by pulling off the improbably upset. The #1 Buckeyes travel to Purdue. Yes, this should be an easy game, but does anyone remember 2018? Ohio State was ranked #2, went to West Lafayette and got absolutely crushed 49-20. The Boilermakers have a reputation as giant killers.

Some other big games include #33 LSU at #4 Alabama, the Crimson Tide could really crush the spirit of the Tigers by blowing them out, or it could end up being one of the biggest upsets of the year. Last year and undefeated Navy team faced off with Notre Dame and got absolutely destroyed. Can the #38 Midshipmen fare better at South Bend this year? #2 Texas A&M travels to #17 Missouri, this will be a nice test for the Aggies. #6 Oregon heads to #23 Iowa. The Ducks won 44-6 the last time they came to Iowa City, back in 1989, but this Hawkeye team can score points nowadays, maybe it will be a different result. 

The big game is #8 BYU going down to Lubbock to face #9 Texas Tech. The Cougars won last year, but they lost their only time playing in Lubbock, back in 1940. Honestly, I think this will be a great game. Maybe it will be a night game….oh wait, it is a noon kickoff. Which means it will be like 10:00 a.m. there. Scheduling is stupid.

Tiny But Mighty
There was an exciting game on Thursday between Norfolk State (1-7) and Delaware State (5-3). Why was this exciting? Well the coaches are Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson respectively. They both played for the Eagles, and the game was moved to Lincoln Financial Field, which attracted 47,000 fans. I ended up watching it for a bit after Trick-or-Treating, and it was an exciting game. Hope these two coaches have a successful career. 

Coaching Carousel
You know a name that does not get mentioned at all in regards to being fired? Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes head coach has gotten blown out the past two weeks. They have given up 105 points in those games. I know, he has some close losses this year to good teams (lost to BYU 24-21 & GT 27-20, they beat Iowa State). It feels Coach Prime has coasted off that opening victory over TCU two years ago. Turns out that TCU was meh that year. The Buffaloes had a good year last year, so I do not think his job is in trouble. BUT, it is crazy that his name is mentioned (mostly by fans) 

Heisman Watch
1. Fernando Mendoza (QB)–Indiana
2. Julian Sayin (QB)–Ohio State
3. Ty Simpson (QB)–Alabama
4. Marcel Reed (QB)–Texas A&M
5. Jeremiah Smith (WR)–Ohio State

Smith is just so good. As they said during the game, maybe he is not the Heisman leader, but he is the best player in college football. He is the receiver that everyone thought Marvin Harrison Jr. was. Let me explain. My brother pointed out that MHJr. was the crossing-route king, and would just gain a ton of yards that way. But he did not have tons of catches over top of defenders, or straight out burning a defender. But, his numbers looked great, and you saw him scoring a bunch. Smith? He can do it all. I watched as two DBs were with him, then he turned on another gear and the next thing you know, he has separation, and it able to haul in a 50-yard bomb from Sayin.