College Football Top 10 Power Rankings Week 10 As it Should Be

For the third weekend in a row, we learn that no team in the College Football Top 10 Power Rankings Week 9 As it Should Be is safe from upsets. First, it was Georgia, followed by Wisconsin and now Oklahoma. I will note that Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas State is a better loss than Georgia’s to South Carolina who sported a losing record. The AP poll likely won’t reflect that and we all know why. Rankings should be fair and unbiased, but that’s not the world we live in when preseason polls ultimately affect the final rankings.

We always think there will be chaos in college football, but it rarely happens. However, this season it is clear that nothing can be taken for granted.

College Football Playoff

We now have enough information to start putting together CFB Playoff scenarios. So here is how it should shake out at this point.

1. Undefeated Big Ten Winner- (Ohio State/Penn State). But Minnesota could mess everything up by winning the Big Ten with one loss. Assuming that loss is to Penn State or Wisconsin, Minnesota would still have a real chance to get in.
2. SEC Champion- This gets a little complicated because Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and LSU could all win the conference and the winner could have 2 losses. Or you could have 1-loss Georgia or Florida beating an undefeated Alabama or LSU.
3. Clemson- They have no competition in the ACC so they will finish undefeated with a string of blowout victories.
4. Pac-12 Champion- (Oregon/Utah) If both teams finish the season 11-1 the conference championship game will featured a top 10 showdown.

The way this season is shaping up, everyone may be on board with an 8 team playoff. There will be so many 1 loss teams who will be deserving of a chance to play for a championship. Wouldn’t it just make more sense to have the five Power 5 champions and highest-ranked Group of 5 team to get automatic bids? There would still be two spots left for at-large bids. You would always get the best and most deserving teams in the tournament. That might actually cause teams to schedule better non-conference games because they would know they could still get in the CFB Playoffs with 1-2 losses. Fans would then get better games.

The Rules: No Bias, No Bull College Football Rankings

There is no more unbiased ranking out there than Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 6. I get criticized from time to time by people who only want to see the college football world through the lens of the AP Poll. These rankings are not going to look like the AP Poll. Open your eyes to see a different view of evaluating the top 10. Most polls including the College Football Playoff Committee give college blueblood teams a massive “benefit of the doubt.” I don’t believe in that. Teams are ranked by the correct criteria: quality wins, schedule played, and dominance. After the preseason rankings, only games played matter. No consideration is given for future games.

I re-rank the top 10 every Sunday from scratch. The previous week’s rankings do not factor into the next week. So, the rankings will change, sometimes drastically every week because we will have new information. So make sure to come back every Sunday. For reference, you can check College Football Top 10 Power Rankings Week 9.

College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 10:

Next Up: Minnesota, Georgia, SMU, Michigan

Before you even ask: Auburn led Oregon for :09 of that game and Bo Nix has been awful passing the ball against any team with a pulse. Georgia has to play their way back in the mix after losing to 2-3 South Carolina at home.

10. Oklahoma Sooners (7-1)

Last Week: at 41-48 (L) Kansas State

Bad Loss to a good opponent. This is a much better loss that Georgia losing to S. Carolina The Sooners just ran out of time on their comeback against Kansas State. There are still no concerns about the Oklahoma offense even though they were stalled for much of the 2nd and 3rd quarters. However, the same cannot be said about Oklahoma’s leaky defense. At one point K-State scored on seven straight drives.

Alex Grinch had Oklahoma’s defense playing better but we should have seen this coming. They got no turnovers in the last three games and none Saturday either. Good defenses get stops and turnovers.

People are writing the Sooners out of the playoff, but it’s much too early, and way too many games left to do that.

9. Baylor Bears (7-0)

Last Week: 45-27 (W) at Oklahoma State

Baylor is a clear case of why preseason rankings matter in college football when they really shouldn’t. If any big named Power 5 conference team was 7-0 they would have so much more buzz around them. People would be talking CFB Playoff and Big 12 championship. I would be willing to bet most college football fans can’t name two players off their team. So, I’ll help out…

QB: Charlie Brewer, RBs: John Lovett, JaMycal Hasty, WR: Denzel Mims, Tyquan Thornton

8. Utah (7-1)

Last Week: vs 35-0 (W) vs Cal

Over the last two weeks, Utah has given up a total of 3 points and 230 yards of total offense. There is no more suffocating defense in college football. My question about Utah has been surrounding their offense. Can they score enough points in a shootout? Can Tyler Huntley be great passing the ball when someone stops their running game?

Since their surprising loss to USC, the Utes have been lights out. They do not have any signature wins set, but their dominance has been top tier and they have knocked down the opponents on their schedule. Things are falling into place for a top 10 showdown with Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship.

7. Florida Gators (6-1)

Last Week: IDLE

This week off came at the perfect time for the Gators. They need to get a few guys healthy, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. And the Gators need to get their offense together during the first 3 quarters of the game. They are money in the 4th though!

Dan Mullens will have a chance to get his biggest win at Florida when they play Georgia this week.

6. Oregon Ducks (7-1)

Last Week: vs 37-34 (W) Washington State

Playing against the #1 offense in the nation is tough, but the Ducks passed the test. Injuries are starting to mount for the Ducks. They were without their best LB Troy Dye for the Washington State game and it showed. The Ducks offensive line is the reason this team is 7-1. If you have not watched Oregon’s left tackle Penei Sewell play please do so. He is the best OL in the country and he’s only a sophomore.

Justin Herbert’s stats aren’t eye-popping, but he is playing extremely efficiently and he’s not turning the ball over.

People thought the the Pac-12 was out of the CFB Playoff conversation. But ten weeks into the season Oregon and Utah are squarely back in the conversation.

Check out our Pac-12 Football Podcast, Pac-12 Apostles:

5. Clemson Tigers (8-0)

Last Week: 59-7 vs Boston College

DOMINATION. This was probably Clemson’s most complete game of the season. It was good to see Trevor Lawrence have a game without an interception. I know it was against Boston College, but Alabama played Arkansas, the same thing. Dabo Swinney knows that his team just has to make it through their rather soft schedule unscathed to get to the CFB Playoff. The only difference between the Tigers and Bama is that Clemson struggled against UNC and Bama has struggled against no one.

Without any obvious opportunities for quality wins on the schedule, it is crucial the Clemson’s dominance remains on max.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0)

Last Week: 48-7 (W) vs Arkansas

No Tua, No Problem. Mac Jones stepped in and threw three touchdown passes to help Bama cruise to victory. All eyes will be on Tua’s ankle health over the next two weeks. Will he be back for the LSU game? We do need to see Bama’s rushing game improve.

It sure will be nice to see the Crimson Tide play a good team this season. Eight wins and no games against teams currently ranked in the top 25. The fact they have been #1 in the AP poll makes ZERO sense.

3. Penn State (8-0)

Last Week: 28-7 (W) at Michigan State

Slowly but surely the Nittany Lions are getting the respect they deserve. They have knocked off Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State in consecutive weeks. Don’t even try to say Michigan is not good. They just blew the doors off Notre Dame who took Georgia to the edge. Penn State won’t be confused with an offensive juggernaut, but they do have serious big-play potential with WR KJ Hamler.

If Penn State finishes the season undefeated they will be the most battle-tested team in the nation. They would have beaten Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and the winner of the Big Ten West.

2. LSU (8-0)

Last Week: vs 23-20 (W) Auburn

We finally have seen someone slow down LSU’s explosive offense. Joe Burrow still finished 32-42 for 321 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers just keep passing every test thrown at them. A lot of people questioned their defense, but they showed up big against Auburn. Aside from one 70 yard run that didn’t score, Auburn got nothing.

Everything is on the line for LSU against Alabama next week. Will Ed Orgeron be able to dethrone Alabama even though they were crowned preseason champions?

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0)

Last Week: vs 38-7 (W) Wisconsin

A lot of people expected the Wisconsin game to be close because of the bad weather, but I knew the Buckeyes would blow them out. This was a case of styles make fights. OSU’s high-powered offense against Wisconsin’s run the ball with ball-control style. The Buckeyes’ defense was just lights out. Chase Young is clearly the BEST defensive player in the country right now. There is no reason he shouldn’t be one of the frontrunners for the Heisman trophy. He dominated a very good offensive line with 4 sacks and 5 tackles for loss.

OSU continues to prove they are the most complete team in the country. They are dominant on offense, defense, and special teams. Plus they have multiple top 25 wins. They are the #1 team in the country.

Check back next Sunday morning for the College Football Top 10 Power Rankings Week 10.