Week 10 of the college football season is in the books, and it provided clarity in the race for the College Football Playoff -- especially in the SEC.
Georgia survived its biggest test of the season, outlasting a quality Missouri team 30-21. First-year starting quarterback Carson Beck continued his development into a star with an efficient 254 yards passing and two touchdowns. Alabama looked like a title contender Saturday night in its 42-28 home win over LSU. The Crimson Tide have taken control of the SEC West and need only to beat either Kentucky or Auburn to reclaim the crown and earn a berth in the SEC Championship Game.
The last scheduled edition of the Bedlam rivalry was wild as Oklahoma State handed rival Oklahoma a 27-24 loss and, for all intents and purposes, ended the Sooners' quest for the College Football Playoff.
So, how did the College Football Playoff National Championship contenders grade out throughout Week 10? It's time to check out the report card for every top team with odds of +10000 better heading into Saturday's action.
Odds via SportsLine consensus.
College football grades: Week 10 report card
Team | Odds | Grade | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|
23/10 | It's been a rough several weeks for Michigan off of the field, but it is still cranking right along on the gridiron. The Wolverines looked like national title favorites in the 41-13 win over Purdue. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy had 335 yards passing and Roman Wilson had 143 yards receiving in what became a rout early when the Wolverines went up 17-0 after the first quarter. | A | |
27/10 | Georgia got punched in the mouth early by a good Missouri team, but it held strong and pulled away in the second half thanks to a solid performance from quarterback Carson Beck. The first-year starter completed 21 of his 32 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. The Georgia defense forced two huge Brady Cook interceptions in the second half to pull away from the Tigers. | A- | |
11/2 | The 24-7 score doesn't really indicate how much Florida State dominated Pittsburgh. The Seminoles racked up 501 yards -- without two of their best receivers, no less -- and their defense held the Panthers to 0 for 10 on third down. | A | |
7-1 | Ohio State jumped to the No. 1 spot on Tuesday when the initial College Football Playoff Rankings were announced, but it didn't play like it on Saturday. The Buckeyes trailed Rutgers 9-7 at the half in an incredibly sluggish 30 minutes of football. Luckily for coach Ryan Day, running back TreVeyon Henderson put the team on his shoulders with 128 yards rushing and one score to give the Bucks the 35-16 win. | B- | |
12-1 | Oregon quarterback Bo Nix accounted for six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) in the emphatic 63-19 win over California. More importantly, though, the Ducks defense held the Bears to 3 of 14 on third downs and just 3.8 yards per rush. | A | |
14-1 | The good news is that Texas kept its national title hopes alive in the 33-30 overtime win over Kansas State. The bad news is that we still don't know if it's a championship-level team without Quinn Ewers. Maalik Murphy only completed 51% of his passes (19 of 37) on the day. We don't know how long Ewers will be sidelined with his shoulder injury, so the jury is still out. The defense, however, was lights-out, holding the Wildcats to 1.1 yards per rush and just 2 of 14 on third down. | B | |
14-1 | There was a noticeable lack of defense in Washington's 52-42 win over USC, which has become a trend for the Huskies. Even if "just enough" defense wins championships, Washington is playing with fire. However, running back Dillon Johnson was a rock star with his 256 yards and four rushing touchdowns in a track meet from the moment toe met leather. | B | |
14-1 | Alabama coach Nick Saban called this his team's most complete game of the season. The 42-28 win over LSU featured four rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jalen Milroe -- an Alabama record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. The defense had trouble slowing down the Tigers offense, but tightened up after Jayden Daniels left the game with a concussion early in the fourth quarter. The game could have been different had Daniels not been injured, but the Crimson Tide defense already generated some momentum prior to the hit. | A- | |
22-1 | Championship-caliber teams have to win emotional rivalry games. Oklahoma couldn't get the job done in the 27-24 loss to rival Oklahoma State in the last scheduled edition of the Bedlam rivalry. The Sooners have struggled with the target on their backs since beating Texas, but now that target might be gone. | D | |
30-1 | LSU fell 42-28 to Alabama, and as has been the theme all season, the defense let the Tigers down. It was as clear as day that the Crimson Tide were going to let Milroe cook on the ground, and the Tigers couldn't find any way to stop him. The offense hung as long as it could but started to run out of gas shortly before Daniels left the game with concussion symptoms. | B- | |
75-1 | Penn State closed as a 7.5-point favorite over Maryland ... and then proceeded to dismantle the hapless Terrapins 51-15. We have been waiting to see what quarterback Drew Allar's ceiling is, and the first-year starter tossed four touchdowns and threw for 240 yards on the afternoon. It was an all-around solid performance and exactly what the Nittany Lions needed as they head into the final month of the season. | A |