Number of Undefeated Teams Shrinks to Four as Playoff Picture Gets Shaken Up

The Yellow Jackets stripped the Hurricanes of their 10th win.

    The slate of weekend games began with a stunning upset as Georgia Tech held on to weather the Hurricanes' comeback, handing Miami its first loss of the season. Michigan and Utah pushed Indiana and BYU to the brink in their contests, but the Hoosiers and Cougars held on to remain undefeated. BYU needed a last-second field goal to avoid a loss to their hated rival, while Indiana picked up just their second win over the Wolverines since 2000. Army fell behind 3-0, then their defense took over to win 14-3 and Oregon took care of business against Maryland to round out the four undefeated teams.

Ole Miss won a rainy mess of a game in Oxford over Georgia.

    Pitt, Iowa State, and Georgia all found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard to hand each team their second loss of the season. Alabama avoided its third loss of the season when it pummeled LSU in the Bayou 42-13, to give the Crimson Tide a boost in the playoff race. Boise State struggled to put away Nevada, 28-21, but Ashton Jeanty still managed almost 200 yards and 3 touchdowns to keep his Heisman hopes afloat. The Broncos are battling it out with Army and Washington State (who won big over Utah State to go 8-1) for the at-large qualifying spot.

Could there be a rematch of this 2023 thriller in the playoffs?

    After the dust settled in the early hours of Sunday morning, the Pool Poll Playoff Picture has reset. Oregon, Indiana, BYU, and Army earn the first-round byes as they remain undefeated. IU and Army both have a bye week to prepare for their next daunting tasks against fellow playoff hopefuls Ohio State and Notre Dame respectively. The Hurricanes would see Washington State in the first round, Texas would take on SMU, Penn State would square up with Tennessee, and the Buckeyes would take on the Irish.

    With the Big Ten dominating the Top 10, let's see who else rounds out the Top 25 in this week's Pool Poll.

   

Oregon is making its presence felt in year one in the Big Ten.

1. Oregon (10-0, 64.5 WA, 0 LA)

Last Week Rank: 1

Last Week: The Ducks had turtle soup on a cool weekend, devouring the Terrapins 39-18.

Up Next: Wisconsin (5-4, 67)

2. Indiana (10-0, 72.8, 0)

LWR: 3

LW: The Hoosiers built a 17-3 lead going into halftime, but only mustered three points in the second half. Fortunately, the Wolverines offense is as scary as a baby kitten surrounded by feathers and balloons, and IU held on 20-15.

Up Next: Ohio State (11/23)

3. BYU (9-0, 77.8, 0)

LWR: 4

LW: Poor clock management made BYU fall behind 21-10 at the half, but the defense locked in. Utah thought it had the game locked up when they sacked Jake Retzlaff, but a defensive holding negated the celebration. Retzlaff responded by getting the ball to mid-field and then eventually got the Cougars in a spot to kick a game-winning field goal to win 22-21. Despite their record, the Jayhawks are no easy win, just ask Iowa State.

Up Next: Kansas (3-6, 101)

4. Army (9-0, 107.8, 0)

LWR: 5

LW: The Black Knights are still riding the undefeated wave after a rather pedestrian 14-3 win over North Texas. Now they await their toughest challenge yet.

Up Next: Notre Dame (11/23)

The Hurricanes' upset loss led to one of the goalposts ending up in the pool of the Georgia Tech University President.

5. Miami (9-1, 72.6, 60)

LWR: 2

LW: The Hurricanes have been known for their ability to comeback late in games and nearly did when Cam Ward found Xavier Restrepo to cut the lead to 28-23. After the Canes forced a punt, it looked like more of the same for Miami as they had done this before against Cal and Duke to name a few. However, the Yellow Jacket defense swarmed Ward, punched out the ball, and recovered to seal the upset victory in Atlanta.

Up Next: Wake Forest (11/23)

6. Texas (8-1, 61, 27)

LWR: 8

LW: Quinn Ewers was leading the Longhorns up and down the field in the first half to have one of the best performances at the Swamp by an opponent. The Longhorns were spotted a 35-0 halftime lead on their way to a 49-17 victory.

Up Next: Arkansas (5-4, 68)

7. Penn State (8-1, 62.6, 19)

LWR: 9

LW: The Nittany Lions punched the Huskies in the gut right out the gate and then held the lead en route to a 35-6 win.

Up Next: Purdue (1-8, 131)

8. Notre Dame (8-1, 69.5, 76)

LWR: 7

LW: The Fighting Irish continued the dismantling of the Florida State legacy that Mike Norvell was trying to build last year, winning 52-3.

Up Next: Virginia (5-4, 55)

9. Ohio State (8-1, 74.3, 3)

LWR: 10

LW: Jeremiah Smith is a problem and he's just a Freshman. Smith has now set the record for yards and touchdowns by a Freshman, passing Cris Carter. It was all easy street for the Buckeyes in their 45-0 beatdown of Purdue.

Up Next: Northwestern (4-5, 93)

The Volunteers go from one Bulldog to another next week.

10. Tennessee (8-1, 76.6, 72)

LWR: 11

LW: The Volunteers handled their business and did not fall into a trap game against Mississippi State, 33-14.

Up Next: Georgia (7-2, 22)

11. SMU (8-1, 76.6 , 84)

LWR: 6

LW: The Mustangs had a bye week and now sit atop the ACC after losses by Miami and Pitt.

Up Next: Boston College (5-4, 54)

12. Washington State (8-1, 82.1, 68)

LWR: 13

LW: The Cougars feasted on whatever an Aggie is in their 49-28 win over Utah State.

Up Next: New Mexico (4-6, 99)

13. Boise State (8-1, 84.9, 5)

LWR: 14

LW: The Broncos allowed Nevada to hang around the whole game with blunders, but Jeanty saved the day again to bring his season total to 23 touchdowns.

Up Next: San Jose State (6-3, 46)

14. Louisiana (8-1, 96, 102)

LWR: 17

LW: It's weird to imagine that the best record in the state of Louisiana resides in Lafayette, although Tulane, LSU, and Louisiana Monroe all boast winning records (pick up the slack La Tech). The Ragin' Cajuns continued to roll in the Sun Belt with a 55-19 win over Arkansas State.

Up Next: South Alabama (4-5, 89)

The Rebels are moving back toward the playoff race.

15. Ole Miss (8-2, 77.9, 54.5)

LWR: 20

LW: The Rebels looked like they would get into a dogfight with Georgia, but the weather and a stout defense allowed them to earn their largest win over a Top-5 opponent, 28-10.

Up Next: Florida (11/23)

16. Tulane (8-2, 94.5, 25.5)

LWR: 21

LW: The Green Wave crashed down hard on the Temple Owls in a 52-6 victory.

Up Next: Navy (7-2, 31)

17. Memphis (8-2, 97.3, 75)

LWR: 22

LW: The Tigers were sweating more than they would've liked to, but a win's a win, and that's what a 27-20 mark over Rice is.

Up Next: UAB (2-7, 125)

18. Alabama (7-2, 39.6, 52)

LWR: 24

LW: The Crimson Tide wanted to remind everyone that Jalen Milroe is alive and well in the Heisman conversation with four rushing touchdowns and 185 yards rushing to go with 109 passing. The Tide rolled to a comfortable 42-13 win at LSU. Now it's time for the annual sacrifice in Tuscaloosa.

Up Next: Mercer (9-1, 135, FCS)

19. Colorado (7-2, 65, 37.5)

LWR: 28

LW: The Buffaloes pulled away late to earn an impressive win over Texas Tech, 41-27.

Up Next: Utah (4-5, 88)

The Tigers won't go away and the ACC is becoming more wide open.

20. Clemson (7-2, 68.1, 21)

LWR: 27

LW: The Tigers took care of business against Virginia Tech, 24-14, and are now atop the ACC with Miami and SMU.

Up Next: Pitt (7-2, 26)

21. Kansas State (7-2, 69.6, 59)

LWR: 18

LW: The Wildcats were off, but now have to get ready for a surprising showdown with Arizona State that has Big 12 Championship implications.

Up Next: Arizona State (7-2, 24)

22. Georgia (7-2, 72.9, 11)

LWR: 12

LW: The Bulldogs were baffled by the Rebels defense and were defeated by an SEC team not named Alabama for the first time since they lost to Florida in 2020.

Up Next: Tennessee (8-1, 10)

23. Texas A&M (7-2, 73.7, 36.5)

LWR: 19

LW: The Aggies were on a bye this week to make sure that New Mexico State can't make it two years in a row that they upset an SEC team.

Up Next: New Mexico State (2-7, 124)

24. Arizona State (7-2, 75.1, 56.5)

LWR: 29

LW: The Sun Devils clung to a 35-31 victory over UCF to keep their Big 12 bid alive.

Up Next: Kansas State (7-2, 21)

The Jayhawks pushed the Cyclones further down the Top 25 with back-to-back losses.

25. Iowa State (7-2, 86, 79.5)

LWR: 15

LW: It was another ugly upset for the Cyclones as the Jayhawks kept their bowl hopes alive by storming the endzone repeatedly in a 45-36 victory.

Up Next: Cincinnati (5-4, 59)

Dropped Out: Pitt, Sam Houston State, and LSU

Waiting List: Pitt, Missouri, UNLV, WKU, James Madison, Navy, Sam Houston State, Liberty, Duke, UConn, Louisville, South Carolina, LSU, Syracuse, and Illinois

Bottom 10

UTEP got its second win, a double overtime thriller, over fellow Bottom 10 member Kennesaw State and still can't escape this list.

125. UAB (2-7)

126. Utah State (2-7)

127. UMass (2-7)

128. UTEP (2-8)

129. Mississippi State (2-8)

130. Kennesaw State (1-8)

131. Purdue (1-8)

132. Southern Miss (1-8)

133. Florida State (1-9)

134. Kent State (0-9)