College Football Saturday Roundup: Quick Thoughts on a Massive Week 10

This wasn’t the Saturday to have a wedding to attend, a kid’s soccer game, or any other thing that could take you away from the TV for even a moment. It’s Week 10, it’s what college football fans have been waiting for, and it’s delivering.
Here are our quick thoughts and what it all means for BYU at Utah, UCLA at Minnesota, Texas at Missouri, Alabama at LSU, Georgia at Ole Miss, Oregon at Ohio State, Kentucky at Tennessee, Iowa at Northwestern, and the big one, Miami at Notre Dame
Jump to each game
BYU at Utah | Texas at Missouri
UCLA at Minnesota | Alabama at LSU
Oregon at Ohio St| Georgia at Ole Miss
Iowa at Northwestern | Miami at Notre Dame
Kentucky at Tennessee
– College Football Week 10 Scoreboard

College Football Week 10: Quick Thoughts on Saturday’s Biggest Games

BYU at Utah

Final Score: Utah 28, BYU 20
It was truly about the momentum. Utah started great, couldn’t do anything, BYU roared back, couldn’t do anything, and the Utes held on with a great defensive performance to shut out the Cougars in the second half.
This was the moment Utah football had to have. It struggled against BYU for years at the end of the Kyle Whittingham era, and after a good start, it looked like the moment was too big for the Utes. Under Morgan Scalley, this was the moment that turns the program into a true player. It overcame the in-game adversity, played its style, and now the Big 12 is theirs for the taking.
What it all means for the College Football Playoff: This hurts Notre Dame, mainly because the committee, in the end, will rank BYU higher than the Irish if the two teams have the same record. BYU is hardly dead, mainly because of that win over Notre Dame, but it has to win out against Baylor, at Kansas, and Cincinnati.
Now Utah has a buffer. It just has to win one of the last three games to almost certainly be in the CFP, even with a showdown at Arizona next, and at TCU to follow before ending with West Virginia.

Texas at Missouri

Final Score: Texas 34, Missouri 20
To get this out of the way, yeah, there were several questionable moments. Mizzou didn’t get a lick of luck when it came to reviews going its way, but it also had several chances to overcome the breaks that leaned the other way – to be nice about it.
Give Texas credit here. That was a jacked up Missouri team in a fantastic environment, and the Longhorns kept their cool – especially 16. For all of the criticism – Arch still plays so overcoached; you can just see him trying to do 19 things at once instead of just playing – Manning was able to come up big with star receiver Cam Coleman on the sidelines, hitting 28-of-38 passes for 297 yards and three scores.
The Texas defense was better on third downs, held up better late, and the time of possession mattered, with the Longhorns keeping it for almost five minutes more.
What it all means for the College Football Playoff: There will be plenty of talk about a 9-3 SEC team probably getting in. Texas still has just two losses, and with this win, along with the wins over Ohio State, Tennessee, and Ole Miss, its resume is CFP-worthy even if there’s a loss at LSU. Losing at Texas A&M, though, might not be as forgiveable.
That’s it for Missouri. It’s 6-3 with a trip to Georgia next, and with Kentucky, and Oklahoma to close. This was the win it had to have.

UCLA at Minnesota

Final Score: UCLA 34, Minnesota 20
Uh oh … now UCLA can throw the ball.
The running game has been the hammer all year for the Bruins – they ran for 163 yards averaging over four yards per carry against the Gophers – but this was Ty Dieffenbach’s day. It’s not like the Bruins have been hiding their backup quarterback, but they didn’t turn him losses because they hadn’t needed to. The openings were there against Minnesota, and he made the most of them throwing for 303 yards and three scores on just eight completions.
This was a dangerous trap moment for the Bruins. Remember, the game started at around 9:30 am Pacific time, and it was about 30 degrees colder in Minneapolis than it was in LA. None of it seemed to bother UCLA.
Minnesota has been great at home, and pushed Indiana on the road, but UCLA was able to hold up, play its game, and always had a response.
What it all means for the College Football Playoff: UCLA deserves more credit than the No. 8 spot in the next round of College Football Playoff rankings.
This is a Minnesota team that beat Iowa and Michigan, and again, had the Hoosiers in trouble. Now at 9-0, UCLA has to just win one of its last three – Illinois, at Michigan, USC – to reasonably expect a spot in the CFP. But at this point, playing for the Big Ten Championship is a real, live expectaton.

Oregon at Ohio State

Coming

Alabama at LSU

Coming

Georgia at Ole Miss

Coming

Kentucky at Tennessee

Coming

Miami at Notre Dame

Coming