- - Yahoo Top 10: How did wild college football Saturday shake up rankings?

Ross Dellenger November 2, 2025 at 5:07 AM

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Texas is normally a very hospitable place.

They are most welcoming to visitors. The barbecue is great. The Tex-Mex food too. And don’t forget about Buc-ees!

However, on Saturday, the Texans very rudely welcomed in top-10 ranked teams Miami (SMU) and Vanderbilt (Texas). The Canes, once our No. 1-ranked team, went down in Dallas (as well as SMU’s goal posts) for a second loss in the last three games, and the Commodores, just when you think they’re bound for the playoff, fell behind big and couldn’t catch up in a banner day for Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

The results usher two new teams into our Top 10. Welcome back, Notre Dame and Texas Tech!

The Irish won a sixth straight to break into our rankings, and the Red Raiders moved to 7-1.

Meanwhile, in two playoff elimination games, Oklahoma and USC won on the road to keep their postseason hopes alive. The Sooners beat Tennessee in Neyland, and the Trojans survived Nebraska’s “Black Out” Game.

Of note on Saturday, the Hoosiers (Maryland) and Buckeyes (Penn State) romped to wins to remain undefeated on a day when two unbeatens lost: Navy (North Texas) and Georgia Tech (NC State). The two results thrust the American and ACC into a cluster atop those conferences.

Clemson found a way to lose a fifth game (the first such occurrence in a season under Dabo Swinney in 15 years), Georgia climbed out of a hole to avoid an ugly loss to Florida and Louisville survived a scare in Blacksburg.

Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith had a monster day against Penn State on Saturday. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Mississippi State snapped a 16-game, two-year long SEC losing skid with a win at Arkansas that all but ruins Bobby Petrino’s chances to get the full-time job, and Michigan State dropped a fifth straight game, this one in painful fashion at Minnesota.

Out West, New Mexico stunned UNLV to reach bowl eligibility under coach Jason Eck and toss a wrench into the Rebels’ Mountain West title plans, and San Diego State moved to 7-1 with another impressive defensive showing (Aztecs have allowed 10 or fewer points in six games, including three shutouts).

1. Indiana Hoosiers

This week: beat Maryland 55-10

Next week: at Penn State

The Hoosiers continue to show that they are a complete football team. They can run, pass, block, tackle, defend and, perhaps most of all, they do not make too many mistakes. Curt Cignetti is now up to 20 wins in his first 23 games as the Indiana football coach. That’s more wins than the program had in the four seasons combined before Cignetti was hired.

Best win: 30-20 at Oregon

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

This week: beat Penn State 38-14

Next week: at Purdue

Perhaps we should start talking about Julian Sayin for the Heisman Trophy? The Ohio State QB threw for 316 yards on 20-of-23 passing with four touchdowns. He’s completing 80 percent of his passes, has 19 touchdowns and just three interceptions. On Saturday against lowly Penn State, receivers Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith had a field day, each rolling up at least 120 yards receiving and a score.

Best wins: 14-7 vs. Texas

3. Texas A&M Aggies

This week: Off

Next week: at Missouri

After a bye week, the Aggies get back at it with a trip to Columbia, Missouri, to face a team that’s very dangerous. The alignment and coaching in College Station appears to, finally, be matching the talent and resources. A trip to the SEC championship game and the College Football Playoff is within grasp.

Best win: 41-40 at Notre Dame

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

This week: Off

Next week: vs. LSU

This will be a different kind of Alabama-LSU game than we’re used to next Saturday. The Tide is on a hot streak and the Tigers are wounded and with an interim coach. Kalen DeBoer and Bama have found ways to win some tight games since a rough season-opening loss to Florida State. Can the Tide keep it rolling?

Best win: 24-21 at Georgia

5. Georgia Bulldogs

This week: beat Florida 24-20

Next week: at Mississippi State

The Bulldogs managed to win a fourth game this season in which they trailed in the second half. Kirby Smart’s team, trailing 20-17, mounted a seven-play, 82-yard drive late in the fourth quarter to take the lead on Chauncey Bowens’ 36-yard touchdown run. The drive featured an 18-yard catch from Zachariah Branch on third-and-8 — one of his 10 receptions on Saturday.

Best win: 43-35 vs. Ole Miss

6. Ole Miss Rebels

This week: beat South Carolina 30-14

Next week: vs. Citadel

All the Lane Kiffin job chatter didn’t slow down the Rebels. They rode RB Kewan Lacy to 167 yards — a 7-yard average — and the defense smothered QB LaNorris Sellers and the Gamecocks. The Rebels may have the easiest path to the playoff of any team in the country right now. They host the Citadel and Florida before finishing the regular season at Mississippi State.

Best win: 34-26 at Oklahoma

7. BYU Cougars

This week: Off

Next week: at Texas Tech

Kalani Sitake’s name is beginning to gain momentum in what’s expected to be, perhaps, the busiest coaching carousel in modern history of college football. Can Sitake and the Cougars stay focused for their toughest test of the season? Lubbock will be at the center of the college football world next week in a meeting that’ll go a long way to determining who qualifies for the Big 12 title game and a CFP spot.

Best win: 24-21 vs. Utah

8. Louisville Cardinals

This week: beat Virginia Tech 28-16

Next week: vs. Cal

Blacksburg is never an easy place to play, even with the Hokies having an interim coach and in the midst of a 3-6 season. Louisville needed to score 21 unanswered in the second half, getting 126 yards on the ground from Isaac Brown to avoid what would have been a terrible loss on the CFP resume.

Best win: 24-21 at Miami

9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

This week: beat Boston College 25-10

Next week: vs. Navy

This was a two-point game late in the third quarter — a surprisingly anxious situation for the Irish. However, there’s one thing that BC doesn’t have that Notre Dame does: Love. And lots of it! RB Jeremiyah Love scored touchdowns from three yards out and 94 yards out to close the game and secure the Irish’s sixth straight victory after starting the season with losses to Miami and Texas A&M.

Best win: 34-24 vs. USC

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders

This week: beat Kansas State 43-20

Next week: vs. BYU

The Red Raiders got back injured starting QB Behren Morton who tossed for 249 yards, and Tech’s defense did some damage. K-State was 0-for-4 on fourth downs, lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions. Joey McGuire’s talent-laden roster now faces one of the most surprising teams this season next week with unbeaten BYU.

Best win: 34-10 at Utah

Dropped: Vanderbilt (8), Georgia Tech (9)

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Source: “AOL Sports”