Michigan keeps rolling, Georgia clinches the SEC East and Clemson keeps topping itself, putting up 77 points against an overmatched Louisville squad.
What else have we learned in Week 10? Check back all day as games go final.
No. 2 Clemson 77, Louisville 16
The Tigers went into the game against Louisville as 39-point favorites and quickly showed why, easily scoring on their first four possessions to get the rout started. There was no need for Trevor Lawrence to do much, not when the Tigers ran up and down the field on the Cards without any resistance. That includes a touchdown for a second defensive tackle this season: Dexter Lawrence barreled in for his own 2-yard score. Trevor Lawrence played a little more than two quarters, and finished with 59 yards passing. Clemson scored at least 70 points against an ACC opponent for the second time in school history, and this is now consecutive weeks where the Tigers embarrassed a conference opponent, after handing Florida State a historic home loss a week ago. Next week should provide a more difficult challenge at Boston College, with the Atlantic Division title on the line.– Andrea Adelson
No. 5 Michigan 42, No. 14 Penn State
The Wolverines are growing stronger at the outset of November. The return of Rashan Gary helped the Wolverine defense jump from dominant to darn-near unfair this Saturday. They sacked Trace McSorley four times and held the Nittany Lions to negative rushing yards in the first half. They’ve surrendered a total of two touchdowns in their last three games – all against ranked opponents. The offense continues to gain confidence, between a steady rushing attack and some blossoming receivers, which has Michigan looking more and more like the Big Ten’s best bet at earning a playoff spot. — Dan Murphy
James Franklin’s team has lost three divisional games, but this is the first where it looked truly overmatched. The Nittany Lions missed a couple key opportunities to keep the game close in the first half against a team that doesn’t provide many second chances. Trace McSorley, playing with a banged-up knee, wasn’t the running threat he usually is, which kept the offense from every establishing a rhythm in Ann Arbor. This team should have what it takes to handle its final three opponents and finish the season with a solid 9-3 record, but Saturday made it clear that it is a tier below the most competitive teams in the country this season. — Murphy
No. 6 Georgia 34, No. 9 Kentucky 17
The Bulldogs, who found themselves at No. 6 in the first playoff committee rankings earlier this week, clinch the SEC East and are in great position for the home stretch. What’s most impressive about these Bulldogs? Their ability to run the football despite a banged-up offensive line. Center Lamont Gaillard and right guard Cade Mays both left the game with injuries on Saturday but the unit still kept paving the way for D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield, who each surpassed the 100-yard mark and led the Bulldogs to more than 300 rushing yards. That’s not to say the o-line was without flaws; there were two fumbles on shotgun snaps that resulted in turnovers, and one of those snaps – by freshman reserve Trey Hill – was a tad high and they had issues in one fourth-quarter series at the goal line trying to run it in, but this Georgia team is getting better at an important time. — Sam Khan Jr.
The Wildcats’ SEC East dreams faded on Saturday night as they took an ugly gut punch from the Bulldogs. Georgia’s defense keyed on running back Benny Snell and forced Terry Wilson to do the lion’s share of the work and that turned out to be a winning formula. In reality, Kentucky wasn’t going to be able to continue to get away with scoring as sporadically it has, having not scored more than 15 in the month of October. And the defense — which hadn’t allowed a team to rush for 200 yards and hadn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 20 — had its worst day at the worst time. The loss aside, Kentucky can still have a 10-win season: Tennessee, Middle Tennessee and Louisville are the Wildcats’ final three opponents. If they were to win 10, it would be historic — they haven’t done that since 1977 — and would secure them a quality bowl destination. — Khan Jr.
No. 10 Ohio State 36, Nebraska 31
Many of the same issues that have plagued Ohio State this season came up against Nebraska on Saturday. Despite winning the game, the Buckeyes still saw mistakes on defense that almost cost them the game. Missed tackles, big plays and allowing over 400 yards of offense made this a close game. Ohio State also had three turnovers that led to 14 points and some costly penalties that set the team back throughout the game. There were some bright spots as the offense scored three touchdowns on four trips to the red zone and the team had over 200 yards rushing in the game, both of which had been points of contention in previous games for Urban Meyer. Those mistakes that were made, however, still need to be addressed as Ohio State has Michigan State and Maryland before Michigan comes to town to close out the season. — Tom VanHaaren
No. 12 UCF 52, Temple 40
The Knights trailed Temple at halftime on Thursday night, the second time in three games they needed a second-half comeback to win. Just like the Memphis game, the UCF defense allowed Temple to go up and down the field, but this is a team that has thrived in the third quarter all season. For the fifth time in eight games, UCF did not allow any points in that period, paving the way for its 21st straight victory. As great as McKenzie Milton (312 yards, three TDs) and running back Greg McCrae played (188 yards, one TD), there are lingering questions about the defense — especially as the schedule gets more challenging over the final few weeks. Temple set a program record for total offense (670 yards) and ended up outgaining UCF. It was the type of performance that will not win anyone over as the Knights keep pressing their case for inclusion into the College Football Playoff. — Andrea Adelson
Purdue 38, No. 16 Iowa 36
A 25-yard field goal by Spencer Evans with eight seconds to play sent the Hawkeyes to their second straight loss and third in Big Ten play, stripping control from Iowa in its bid to reach the Big Ten title game. The Hawkeyes two weeks ago looked like the team to beat in the West. They’ll need lots of help now, starting with a home win next week over Northwestern. More pressing for Iowa, it was torched on Saturday by Purdue’s David Blough for 333 yards and four touchdowns. Iowa’s Nate Stanley regained some of his form from a few weeks back, but the Hawkeyes will win with defense and a strong ground game. And they ran for just 118 yards against the Boilermakers. — Mitch Sherman
No. 19 Syracuse 41, Wake Forest 24
The Orange had been boom-or-bust with QB Eric Dungey for so much of the past three years, but one of the real differences this season is the improvement of the ground game, and that showed Saturday in a dominant win over Wake Forest. Syracuse had five rushing TDs, scored by four different players, including two from Jarveon Howard. For the season, the Orange have scored 27 times on the ground — the most they’ve had in a year since 2003. — David M. Hale
Auburn 28, No. 20 Texas A&M 24
The latest SEC foe with a shot to put away the slumping Tigers, A&M could not close the deal, surrendering two touchdowns in the final six minutes. The Aggies, after their worst performance of the season in a loss to Mississippi State, allowed Jarrett Stidham to throw Auburn to victory with a late two-play drive to take the lead. And now the Aggies head down the stretch, with much of their momentum squashed and hopes for an eight-win debut season for Jimbo Fisher in doubt. — Mitch Sherman
No. 24 Iowa State 27, Kansas 3
The Cyclones are a real contender to play in the Big 12 title game. Nothing about this rout of the Jayhawks, coming off a home win over TCU, told us different. Iowa State used its Brock Purdy-to-Hakeem Butler combination, for which few teams nationally would have an answer, to score on strikes of 83 and 51 yards in the first eight minutes. After a perfect October that included wins over two ranked teams, ISU owns the tiebreaker over West Virginia and remains on a collision course with Texas in Week 12 for a battle that may send a team to Arlington on Dec. 1. — Mitch Sherman
Pitt 23, No. 25 Virginia 13
The Cavaliers’ Coastal Division hopes took a big hit after a disappointing home loss to Pitt on Friday night. Virginia, which has had issues slowing down the Pitt run game over the past several seasons, once again allowed Pitt to run all over the field. Darrin Hall ended up with more than 200 yards rushing, but it wasn’t until an inexplicable horse-collar penalty in the third quarter that kept a Pitt drive alive where the Panthers really took control of the game. Virginia lost several key defenders, including safety Juan Thornhill, so that didn’t help matters. But neither did the Cavaliers’ undisciplined performance, featuring 10 penalties and a turnover. Virginia has made strides under Bronco Mendenhall, but the performance against Pitt showed this program still has a way to go to find the type of consistency it wants. — Andrea Adelson