Played in/Played out: Auburn, Washington State, Penn State rise
Each weekend during the regular season, USA TODAY Sports will be highlighting the race for the College Football Playoff. Here are three teams moving up and three teams moving down in the sprint for the four-team field after Week 10 of the regular season:
TEAMS THAT PLAYED THEIR WAY IN
Auburn. It wasn’t the nature of the win but the mere win itself: Auburn was able to get past Vanderbilt despite a series of injuries that could’ve derailed the Tigers’ push for an SEC title. Better yet, when combined with Texas A&M’s loss, Auburn is now in sole possession of second place in the SEC West Division. That means a potential matchup with Alabama in late November to decide the division and a spot in the conference title game. Hello, Iron Bowl.
Washington State. And hello, Apple Cup. It would’ve been laughable to project the Cougars for Playoff contention after a season-opening loss to Eastern Washington. Well, here we are. Seven wins in a row, six coming in Pac-12 play, have Washington State in line to meet rival Washington in the year-ending rivalry with the Pac-12 North Division on the line. It’s amazing what a difference two months can make.
College football's Week 10 winners and losers
Penn State. The Nittany Lions took care of business against Iowa, racking up nearly 600 yards of offense to steamroll the slumping Hawkeyes. There’s still a path for the Big Ten title game: PSU needs Michigan to lose once before the Ohio State game and then lose to the Buckeyes, but it’s possible. Either way, this looks like a very successful season for James Franklin.
TEAMS THAT PLAYED THEIR WAY OUT
Texas A&M. Hey, at least the Aggies waited until November before running off the rails. But it’s all the same: Whether in November, October or September, the Aggies are and have been pretenders. And with Mississippi and LSU still to come, A&M is staring at the potential for a 4-4 record in SEC play. That would be a disaster.
Snap judgments from college football's Week 10
Baylor. There are few things TCU coach Gary Patterson loves more than beating Baylor, and very likely nothing he loves more than a 62-22 shellacking of the Bears. Say goodbye to those hopes of winning the Big 12 and making the Playoff. But we should’ve known this was coming during Baylor’s 6-0 start, which was built on the back of one nice win, against Oklahoma State, and five wins against nobodies.
Florida. The SEC East Division is an embarrassment. Florida might still win the division — should, in fact — but the damage to the Gators’ title hopes already has been done. Saturday’s ugly loss to Arkansas dropped Florida to 6-2 with LSU and Florida State still to come, meaning a best-case scenario might be matching the 10 wins from Jim McElwain’s debut. That’s fine, but the Gators have some distance to go before competing for national championships.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 10
