Brock’s 2023 College Football Top 25 – Week 10

1. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (8-0) (LW: 1)

The Bulldogs dispatched the Gators with ease on Saturday to remain undefeated as we approach the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings, which will come out on Tuesday.

2. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (8-0) (LW: 2)

The Wolverines had a well-deserved bye this week. After all, it’s gotta be tiring to go out there and chop teams down like a lumberjack week after week.

3. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (8-0) (LW: 3)

The Buckeyes, despite numerous mistakes on offense, were able to take down the Badgers 24-10. The offensive miscues aren’t anything to worry about. This team was coming off a huge win over Penn State last week, which surely played a factor. Also, despite being in that let down spot, the defense gave their typical stout performance.

4. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (8-0) (LW: 4)

The Seminoles put their offensive prowess on display, once again breaking 30+ points, despite the absence of WR Johnny Wilson. With the way this team has been playing, along with the chaos happening in the ACC, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this team make their first CFP appearance since earning a berth in it’s inaugural season.

5. TEXAS LONGHORNS (7-1) (LW: 6)

Saturday was a big day for the Longhorns. They smoked BYU at home despite Quinn Ewers not suiting up, and they saw Oklahoma drop a game to Kansas (a team Texas beat handily). If Texas can win out, avenging their loss to the Sooners in the process, they will give the CFP Committee a very tough decision to make come December.

6. WASHINGTON HUSKIES (8-0) (LW: 7)

The Huskies haven’t looked quite as dominant since their huge win over Oregon. This week they were only 2 points ahead of Stanford with under 2 minutes remaining before scoring a TD with 1:45 remaining to make it a 9-point game. Penix continued to build his Heisman resume, dishing out 4 TD passes and

7. OREGON DUCKS (7-1) (LW: 9)

The Ducks path to redemption is still intact, as Oregon throttled Utah in Salt Lake City 35-6. They still have USC, Oregon State, and a pesky Cal team on the schedule, but their dismantlement of the Utes has made it clear that they will be looking to avenge their loss to the Huskies come December.

8. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (7-1) (LW: 8)

Alabama was off this week. I would imagine Saban used the time off to prep for LSU this week, which is a huge game for both teams.

9. OKLAHOMA SOONERS (7-1) (LW: 5)

Boom-“er” bust. The Sooners saw their undefeated season vanish before their eyes on Saturday when they dropped a game at Kansas. This snapped an 18-game winning streak that the Sooners had against the Jayhawks, with their last loss coming back in 1997. This puts a huge dent in Oklahoma’s Playoff hopes, as any path to the 4-team playoff will surely require the Sooners being perfect from here on out, as well as some outside help.

10. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (7-1) (LW: 10)

Did Ohio State break this Penn State team? The Nittany Lions didn’t look great on Saturday. Penn State won by 2 scores against Indiana, but don’t let that fool you. This was a tied game with under 2 minutes remaining. Between the missteps on offense, and blatant blown coverages on defense, Penn State looked nothing like the dominant team we have seen all year up until last week – after all, they were 30-point home favorites in this game, yet found themselves walking a tight rope in the final minutes.

11. MISSISSIPPI REBELS (7-1) (LW: 11)

The Rebels cruised to a 33-7 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday. They will have a tougher task this week, though. They will host Texas A&M in a game that Ole Miss will be favored in, but the Aggies will be a tough out.

12. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (7-2) (LW: 12)

The Irish were cooking in all 3 areas of the game on Saturday. Despite two early Hart INT’s, Notre Dame racked up over 500 yards, Chris Tyree had a highlight reel 82 yard punt return TD, and the defense got in on the action by chipping in 2 TD’s as well on their way to a 58-7 thrashing against Pitt.

13. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (7-1) (LW: 18)

The Cardinals had a statement win on Saturday, throttling Duke 23-0. Pitching a shutout is a good sign for this team because if they do wind up in the ACC Championship, chances are they will be facing FSU, and containing that explosive offense will be no easy task. I might be getting ahead of myself, but given the fact that the other ACC teams near the top of the standings continue to drop games, Louisville has a visible path to Charlotte given that two of their three remaining ACC games are at home against Virginia & Virginia Tech.

14. LSU TIGERS (6-2) (LW: 15)

Like Bama, LSU was also off this week. They will face a huge test when they travel to Tuscaloosa for a game that they need to win in order to have a realistic chance at playing in Atlanta come December.

15. MISSOURI TIGERS (7-1) (LW: 17)

Missouri had a bye this past week at just the perfect time, as they will be playing “between the hedges” on Saturday.

16. OREGON STATE BEAVERS (6-2) (LW: 13)

Oregon State had an unfortunate slip-up against Arizona. The Beavers had more yards, more 1st downs, better 3rd down efficiency, they won the turnover battle 1-0, they were +3 in sacks, and had fewer penalties… but lost the game. Football is funny sometimes.

17. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (6-2) (LW: 21)

Tennessee bounced back from their blown game against Bama. They beat Kentucky 33-27 on Kroger Field, which isn’t the easiest accomplishment. They will face UConn this week before back-to-back matchups against Top 15 teams in Missouri & Georgia.

18. TULANE GREEN WAVE (7-1) (LW: 19)

Tulane did a wonderful job of closing out their game against Rice on Saturday. Rice scored a TD to make it a 2-point game with 8:16 remaining, but the next time they touched the ball was with 4 seconds left on their own 14 yard line due to Tulane’s ensuing, excellent, clock-draining drive.

19. AIR FORCE (8-0) (LW: 20)

The Falcons remained undefeated on Saturday after hitting the road to face Colorado State, who they handed a 30-13 loss.

20. UTAH UTES (6-2) (LW: 14)

Still no Cam Rising, still major problems. Utah only mustered up 6 points against Oregon, who whipped the Utes 35-6. Expect more losses to come after the shell game Utah played with their fans regarding the status of star QB Rising.

21. KANSAS JAYHAWKS (6-2) (LW: NR)

Kansas was able to take down Oklahoma for the first time since 1997 on Saturday. This was a huge win for the Jayhawks. This was evident considering the students tore down the goal posts and tossed them into a lake. Kansas is now 6-2, which is quite an accomplishment considering they have been without the services of starting QB Jalon Daniels.

22. UCLA BRUINS (6-2) (LW: 24)

UCLA beat Colorado 28-16 on Saturday. The Bruins only have 2 losses, but they will need some outside help if they want to compete for the PAC-12 title.

23. USC TROJANS (7-2) (LW: 23)

USC’s season almost turned into a nightmare (if it hasn’t already) on Saturday when they not only needed to erase a 14-point 4th quarter deficit, but they also needed to stop a 2-point conversion try by Cal with just over a minute remaining, in order to escape Berkeley with a win. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – USC should not be finding themselves in games like that against teams like Cal.

24. JAMES MADISON DUKES (8-0) (LW: 25)

James Madison finds themselves remaining in the Top 25 despite underperforming on Saturday. The Dukes were a 20-point favorite, but only wound up with a 3-point victory over Old Dominion.

25. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (6-2) (LW: NR)

The Pokes earned themselves a spot in this Top 25 after a 45-13 thumping of Cincinnati. Ollie Gordon III led the way with 272 yards on the ground, as well as 3 TD’s. They will have a huge test this week when they host a Sooners team coming off an embarrassing loss to Kansas.