Potential Week 10 CFP Rankings: Oregon, Penn State Top Contenders
With just one week before the first College Football Playoff rankings are released for the new 12-team format, things are as tight as ever in the AP Top 25 poll. Number 1 Oregon looks to stay perfect on the road against struggling Michigan, while fellow unbeaten Penn State clashes with Playoff perennials Ohio State in Happy Valley. Both games have huge implications for the 12 teams that will make college football’s postseason on the road to the national championship.
Oregon is the top team in these preliminary rankings, which won’t be fully revealed until November 5, the start of Week 11 of the 2024 season. Despite a slow start with close wins against Group of Five Idaho and G5 powerhouse Boise State, the Ducks have shaken off those close calls, winning every game since, including a miraculous escape against second-ranked Ohio State, no thanks in part to the Buckeyes’ horrendous clock management. Their next three games after the Boise State escape saw them win easily, i.e., by double digits against the likes of rivals Oregon State, 49-14 in Corvallis, UCLA at the Rose Bowl, 34-13, and Michigan State by a score of 31-10. All very impressive showings for #1.
It’s also worth noting that the Ducks’ Michigan State win kicked off a four-game win streak over Big Ten teams, as they shoved aside the likes of #2 Ohio State, as mentioned earlier. This was followed by one-time big upsetters Purdue with a 35-0 shutout and then another dominant showing at #20 Illinois, 38-9. Now they face a Michigan team that is teetering on the edge of a postseason collapse, something borderline unthinkable for the defending national champions that were also a perfect 15-0 last season. Jim Harbaugh moving to the NFL must’ve really hurt them. Or maybe it was fallout karma for all the mystery recruiting violations that followed the title.
Now, who else challenges old Oregon to be in the top spot in the preliminary CFP? Meet the Penn State Nittany Lions, a Big Ten stalwart and another undefeated squad that’s picked up their second straight 6-0 start in a row going back to last season, where they finished 10-3 and nabbed a Peach Bowl appearance. It just goes to show you that back then, making the Playoff was really only possible if your team had less than such three defeats.
Penn State has had an easier schedule than Oregon, as they kicked off the season with wins over West Virginia, Bowling Green, and Kent State. Yes, two MAC teams. Their only challenges this season have been a 33-30 overtime escape at the LA Coliseum against USC, who blew a 20-6 halftime lead in that contest anyway. A two-touchdown win over Wisconsin last week in Madison was somewhat impressive but not the kind of dominance teams like Oregon have had. On top of that, PSU has another roadblock in front of them for the third week in a row when they visit Columbus to clash with Ohio State.
That contest against the Buckeyes has become one of the Big Ten’s lesser-known rivalries, and it has garnered some serious watch potential in the last few years. From JT Barrett’s game-winning drive in 2017, which initially started with an opening kickoff return by Penn State RB Saquon Barkley, to Grant Haley’s blocked kick scoop and score the year before, this Big Ten pseudo-rivalry has many memorable moments already etched in the sandstone found in Happy Valley.
Our last team to crack the top three in the preliminary CFP rankings is the 6-1 Georgia Bulldogs. True, they haven’t played as well as Oregon and Penn State, but they have steadily improved, especially since they might not have to run into another Alabama roadblock. After bravely holding off top-ranked and SEC newcomers Texas in Austin, where they were rewarded with a two-week break, the Dawgs head to Jacksonville to face the Florida Gators in the latest edition of the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” UGA is a 17-point favorite and faces a Florida team that was good last season but has drastically slipped in 2024, much like Michigan.
And just like Oregon, Georgia kicks off three straight juggernaut games after the Florida contest, traveling to Oxford to face Ole Miss and then back home to Athens to clash with Tennessee in what could become the game of the year. And they’ve already been a part of one, their lone loss to dastardly Alabama 41-34 back on September 28. I forgot how much I hate those elephant heads. Meanwhile, the last three that could get in with good results in the coming weeks are, in fact, Ohio State and two dark horses in the ACC and Big 12, 8-0 Miami with Heisman candidate QB Cam Ward and yet another undefeated squad, 8-0, 9th ranked BYU.
Though in the ACC and the Big Ten, for that matter, 7-0 Pittsburgh could also play a role along with 8-0 Indiana. You can’t ignore either of these two major surprises! It’s no longer just a 4 team Playoff- things just got tripled!
See also: Ducks are Two Touchdown Favorite Over Wolverines on Saturday
