This week brought us the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year. SEC powers Georgia and Alabama are in good shape, at Nos. 1 and 2 in the country respectively, with Michigan State and Oregon rounding out the ever-important top four.
Sparty has launched itself into the Playoff discussion after beating rival Michigan in a clash of unbeaten teams. Oregon, of course, holds perhaps the best win of any team in college football this year, knocking off Ohio State in Columbus back in September.
Ohio State comes in at No. 5 in the initial playoff rankings, while Cincinnati is in rough shape at No. 6. The Bearcats have been incredibly impressive, and have a great win at Notre Dame, but once again the selection committee is not presenting a top AAC team with much to work with. They’ll need a lot of help, and some big upsets down the stretch this year, to break into that top four.
Week 10 of the season gives us some very fun games. Undefeated Wake Forest looks to keep things rolling with a trip to North Carolina. Sparty is at Purdue. Texas A&M and Auburn have a ranked battle in the SEC West. Alabama has its annual rivalry against LSU. Out West, Washington looks to sink Oregon’s playoff hopes, and Texas looks to get the monkey that is its current three-game losing streak off its back with a trip to Iowa State.
UCF’s Gus Malzahn thinks Cincinnati (@GoBearcatsFB) can compete with the best of the SEC.
Do you agree? https://t.co/kCYTU8iX4t
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 4, 2021
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Once again, Andrew McCarty and Steve Driscoll are out ahead of the pack. McCarty clings to a one-pick lead entering Week 10.
Here are the standings after Week 9:
1. Andrew McCarty: 278-81
2. Steve Driscoll: 277-82
3. Zach Koons: 271-88
4. Alek Arend: 270-89
5. Dan Lyons: 269-90
6. Matt Audilet: 267-92
7. Chris Rosvoglou: 265-94
T-8. Matt Lombardi: 262-97
T-8. Tzvi Machlin: 262-97
10. Matt Hladik: 258-101
11. Andrew Holleran 257-102
Major divides this week include Boston College–Virginia Tech, UNC-Wake Forest, Texas A&M-Auburn, and Texas-Iowa State.
Here are our picks for Week 10 of the 2021 college football season:
Each week, we pick every college football game involving Power Five and/or ranked teams. Check back with The Spun each week for updated standings.