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ESPN staff
Just when the College Football Playoff field looked somewhat solidified, an upset-fueled Week 10 hit college football.
For the second time this season, the Purdue Boilermakers played spoiler against an undefeated Big Ten team. First it was Iowa last month; this time it was Michigan State on Saturday. The Spartans — who were an unanimous top four selection last week — fell behind early in West Lafayette and couldn’t ever recover in a 40-29 loss. The defeat knocks Michigan State off the ballots and makes Ohio State the new Big Ten CFP favorite.
The Buckeyes were far from dominant at Nebraska but survived, 26-17, to climb into the top four on seven ballots.
Luckily for teams in the playoff hunt, most of the upsets fell just short on a day filled with age-old rivalries. Alabama got all it wanted from a formerly listless LSU team in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers took it down to the wire but a desperation pass was batted away and the Crimson Tide escaped, 20-14. The win moved Nick Saban’s squad to 8-1 and onto every ballot this week.
Oregon overcame a slow start in Seattle and dropped rival Washington, 26-16. It wasn’t a pretty game but with the Ducks being rated No. 4 in the first CFP rankings, they’re an unanimous selection for the first time in over a month.
It was also close for Cincinnati after a disappointing first round of CFP rankings. The Bearcats needed two goal-line stands to hold on against Tulsa, 28-20. With the No. 6 ranking in the first CFP poll, Cincinnati ended up with only seven votes this week.
The No. 1 team in the country dismissed any idea of an upset early. Georgia rolled to a 43-6 win against Missouri and are the top ranked team on every ballot once again.
Oklahoma had a bye week and made got just one vote despite a perfect 9-0 record.
Andrea Adelson: 1. Georgia, 2. Cincinnati, 3. Alabama, 4. Oregon
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Oregon, 4. Ohio State
Bill Connelly: 1. Georgia, 2. Cincinnati, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Alabama
Heather Dinich: 1. Georgia, 2. Oregon, 3. Alabama, 4. Ohio State
David M. Hale: 1. Georgia, 2. Cincinnati, 3. Alabama, 4. Oregon
Chris Low: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Oregon, 4. Cincinnati
Ryan McGee: 1. Georgia, 2. Oregon, 3. Ohio State, 4. Alabama
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Oregon, 4. Cincinnati
Alex Scarborough: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Oregon, 4. Ohio State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Oregon, 4. Ohio State
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Oregon, 4. Cincinnati
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Cincinnati, 4. Ohio State
Dave Wilson: 1. Georgia, 2. Oregon, 3. Ohio State, 4. Alabama
