Get Ready for Week 10 of the NCAA Football Season

College Football’s week 10 slate is filled with some exciting matchups, classic rivalries, and more. With so much action on the schedule, it’s hard to keep up with everything going on, but we’ve got you covered with a preview that will get you ready for the biggest games on Saturday.

Oregon (1) at Michigan

The Oregon Ducks surged to the top of the NCAA rankings after last week’s decisive victory. Their first test as the top-ranked team in the nation will see them head across the country to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines.

This season was always going to be a struggle for Michigan, who is the defending champions. Most of the core that won the National Championship moved on to the NFL, and head coach Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers. Michigan has three losses through the first nine weeks of the season, matching their loss total for the previous three years combined.

Oregon is back atop the rankings for the first time since 2012, when Chip Kelly was in his final season in Eugene. The Ducks will go into this one heavily favored, as Vegas has them at -14.5. However, they can’t take the Wolverines lightly. Michigan’s interior pass rush is still great, and the Big House is no easy place to play.

Georgia (2) vs. Florida

The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party gets underway once again as the Georgia Bulldogs, who are ranked second in the nation, take on their most-hated rivals, the Florida Gators.

In the past, this game has had a major bearing on the way the SEC East would shake out, but that hasn’t been the case in quite some time as Florida has struggled during most of Georgia’s dominant run. “Struggled” might be an understatement, as at this juncture, Billy Napier is statistically the worst head coach in Gators history.

Florida’s offense has taken on a new look with DJ Lagway under center, but there’s no real reason to expect Florida to win this one. Carson Beck is one of the Heisman Trophy Favorites, and is going to get drafted some time in the top 10 when the NFL Draft rolls around next year.

Both teams are coming off a bye week, which means Kirby Smart has had two weeks to prep for Lagway and the Gators offense. On the other side of the ball, Florida will be without multiple starters who are out due to injury. Georgia is a 16.5-point favorite, and there’s little reason to think the team that juts knocked off Texas won’t cover.

Ohio State (4) at Penn State (3)

Perhaps the biggest matchup of the weekend, at least as far as playoff implications are concerned, will take place in the Big 10 as the Ohio State Buckeyes make the short trip to Pennsylvania to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Penn State currently sits at 7-0, and there were some pundits who believed they should’ve been ranked ahead of Georgia when the most recent rankings dropped. Ohio State has one loss on the season, as they dropped a game to #1 Oregon on October 12.

While this game will certainly have an impact on the playoff standings, the biggest story heading into Saturday is the health of Penn State QB Drew Allar, who left the team’s game against Wisconsin with an injury. James Franklin hasn’t offered much of an update on Allar, other than to say that he expects his QB to be a game-time decision.

Ohio State opens as a 3.5-point favorite on the road, which is certainly interesting. This one should be a close game between two excellent defenses. If Allar can’t go, it’s going to be hard for PSU to pick up the win at home in one of its biggest games of the season.

Ole Miss (19) at Arkansas

When the Ole Miss Rebels head to Arkansas to take on the Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks, it will be a battle between two SEC teams who haven’t enjoyed the results they’d hoped for when the season started.

Ole Miss was ranked sixth in the preseason rankings, and was considered a possible SEC champion and a near lock for the new 12-team playoff. Now, the Rebels have two losses on their record and pretty much need to win out to have any chance of sniffing the playoffs. Moreover, they’ll need some help from the teams ranked in front of them.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks, though not expected to win the SEC, certainly didn’t want to be sitting at 5-3 through eight games. While it’s unlikely that Arkansas makes the playoffs from this position, Arkansas is still looking to finish strong.

Bowl eligibility seems probable, and Pittman has been vocal about the fact that he would like to return for another season in Fayetteville. The best way for them to do that is to play spoiler against Ole Miss. Ole Miss is a 7.5-point favorite on the road, but Arkansas has a solid rushing attack that keeps getting better. This should be a close one.

Kentucky at Tennessee (7)

Speaking of teams who appear almost a lock to make the 12-team playoff, the University of Tennessee comes into week 10 ranked seventh in the nation and has only one loss on the year, an upset loss to Arkansas all the way back on October 5. Since then, the Vols have continued to roll, knocking off Oklahoma, Florida, and Alabama.

To say that Kentucky has struggled this season would be an understatement. Mark Stoops recently signed an extension at Kentucky and has a buyout north of $40 million, but that hasn’t stopped the disgruntled fans in Lexington from calling for his job. He could do a lot to earn himself some goodwill by knocking off Tennessee in Knoxville.

Unfortunately for Stoops and company, that appears unlikely. Tennessee is a 17.5-point home favorite, and based on what we’ve seen from both squads this season, there’s no reason to expect them not to cover that spread.

Texas A&M (10) at South Carolina

Multiple top-10 teams have bye weeks this week, so TAMU is the last of the teams in the top-10 to get into the week-10 action. They’ll head to South Carolina to take on Shane Beamer and the unranked South Carolina Gamecocks.

Mike Elko is in his first season as the head coach at Texas A&M, and has already turned a program that struggled under Jimbo Fisher around. The Aggies sit at 7-1 and have a great case to make the playoffs. Elko’s start in College Station is the best start by a TAMU head coach in over 100 years. TAMU hasn’t lost since their week-one defeat at the hands of Notre Dame, while South Carolina has had the up-and-down season that many Gamecocks fans have become accustomed to.

Marcel Reed is expected to start at QB for the Aggies, and while he’s split playing time with Conner Weigman throughout the year, Elko has indicated that the team is Reed’s going forward. That’s going to be tough for a South Carolina defense that has struggled to contain QBs who can extend plays through the season.

The Aggies are only favored by three points in this one, which means the sharks in Vegas may know something, though. Expect South Carolina to keep it close throughout the game.

Pittsburgh (18) at Southern Methodist University (20)

A battle between a pair of top-20 teams will see Pittsburgh make the long flight to Texas to take on Southern Methodist University. The winner of this one is in position to cement itself as the most likely team to challenge Clemson and Miami for ACC supremacy. Pittsburgh comes into the game at 7-0 for the first time since 1982.

The Panthers are coming off a 41-13 beatdown of Syracuse that saw them pick off Kyle McCord a staggering five times, including three consecutive pick sixes.

SMU is also having a great season, and finds itself in the midst of a five-game winning streak. The team dropped an early-season game to BYU that seems much less problematic now that the Cougars are ranked inside the top 10.

SMU lost QB Kevin Jennings to injury during last week’s victory over the Duke Blue Devils, and his status for the game is still uncertain. If Jennings can’t go, you should expect Pittsburgh to cover the spread, as they come into the game as 7.5-point favorites. If Jennings plays, SMU could overtake the Panthers in the rankings and position itself as an ACC contender.