The first playoff poll of the season released on Tuesday night with some crazy places for some teams, a new number one, three teams ranked for the very first time, and madness in the top 10. The first week’s playoff poll has it all. Let’s dive right into it.
Week 10 College Football Playoff Rankings
- Tennessee
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Clemson
- Michigan
- Alabama
- TCU
- Oregon
- USC
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- UCLA
- Kansas St.
- Utah
- Penn State
- Illinois
- UNC
- Oklahoma State
- Tulane
- Syracuse
- Wake Forest
- Nc State
- Oregon State
- Texas
- UCF
These are the first rankings for the College Football Playoff Poll. Tennessee leads the way with 5 ranked wins and an undefeated record. This is Tennessee’s first time being ranked number one in the playoff poll. Ohio State comes in at number two in the spot many fans thought Georgia should have been ranked. Ohio State’s resume includes two ranked wins and an undefeated record. Georgia is number three after only having one ranked win on the year and struggling with lesser opponents. Clemson is number four with a resume of four ranked wins and an undefeated record.
The biggest matchup this weekend within the top 4 is Tennessee vs Georgia. Hendon Hooker looks to continue his Heisman level season against the stout Georgia defense. Georgia is the home team and is favored by 8.5 points. The dogs did lose defender Nolan Smith for the season, however, so someone will have to step up in his spot against the high powered Volunteer offense. Tennessee and UGA are fighting for the first place spot in the SEC East and a chance at SEC glory in Atlanta.
Another huge matchup this weekend is number 6 Alabama vs number 10 LSU. LSU got ranked really high for the resume they present. LSU has two losses on the year, one being against unranked FSU and the other to Tennessee. LSU has two quality wins by 20 plus points over Florida and Ole Miss which is why the committee thought they deserved the number ten spot. Alabama is ranked number six because of strength of schedule and only having one loss on the year, to Tennessee by three. Both teams look to prove where they stand in the playoff race with a heavyweight SEC West battle this weekend in Baton Rouge. Whichever team wins, is first place in the SEC West.
Three new teams entered the polls this year, #16 Illinois, #19 Tulane, and #23 Oregon State. Illinois has put together an impressive season behind quarterback Tommy Devito and running back Chase Brown. The fighting Illini also sport the number one scoring defense in the country only allowing an average of 8.9 points per game. Illinois does not have a ranked win this season, but they have a record of 7-1 making them first place in the Big10 West. #19 Tulane comes from the American Athletic Conference and is the biggest surprise team in the country currently. Tulane has a 7-1 record and sits at first place in the AAC while averaging 33.6 points per game. Quarterback Michael Pratt has led the Green Wave to their first ever college football playoff ranking, and their best season in a very long time. Tulane’s most impressive win on the season came in week 3 with a 17-10 victory of Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas. The third and final team to be ranked for the first time is Oregon State. Oregon State comes in at number 23 with a resume of a 6-2 record and conference record of 3-2. Oregon State’s only two losses came in conference to Utah and USC. The Beavers lost to USC 17-14 and Utah 42-16, but they have beat everyone else they have played. They definitely deserve the number 23 spot after bouncing back from that two game skid to win three in a row behind quarterback Ben Gulbranson.
The next poll will be revealed on November 8th, and it should have plenty of shake up. Tune into Quad Sports for an update and reaction to the new poll next week.
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