Believe it or not, we have already reached the tail end of the 2022 college football season.
It seemed this week that each team played with more urgency and was well motivated following the College Football Playoff Selection Committee's release of its Top 25 teams earlier this week. One thing that we can agree on is that when these rankings are released, it results in us questioning some of the teams in the top 4. Regardless of how each team feels, the objective remains the same: win games and prove worthy of a place in this year's playoffs.
Without further ado, here is a recap of what happened in Week 10.
What Did We Learn In Week 10?
The Tennessee Volunteers had no idea what had hit them. From the opening snap of the game, the Georgia Bulldogs dominated them and made Hendon Hooker looked more like an average quarterback than a Heisman Trophy favorite. Ultimately, we learned that Tennessee is not equipped to be a playoff team, let alone the No. 1 team in college football. Georgia is simply on a different level than everyone else.
There wasn't a louder stadium this week than Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In front of a sold-out crowd, Brian Kelly's LSU team gave Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide all that it could handle. In the end, the Tigers overcame the Crimson Tide in overtime with a successful point conversion. Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, the loss likely ended their playoff hopes. If there was a list of the top 10 games of the 2022 season, this particular game would be high on that list.
Slow starts have become a theme for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the last three weeks. At Northwestern, while facing winds of 40 mph, they were down almost an entire half until Emeka Ebuka's touchdown near the end of the second quarter. Give credit to the Wildcats for playing a top-ranked team till the bitter end. Despite pulling off a hard-fought win, it will be interesting to see how this will affect their playoff position.
Leading into Week 10, there was much controversy surrounding Clemson's top-four ranking from the Playoff Committee. Many believed that despite their undefeated record, they were not worthy of a playoff spot. Well, Notre Dame may have solved that issue, as they thoroughly beat the Tigers, likely resulting in them losing their No. 4 spot. In all honesty, D.J. Uiagalelei is not a playoff-quality quarterback; it is debatable if he is even the starting quarterback.
Texas Tech is one of those teams that plays much better than its record suggests. They gave the TCU all they could handle, but in the end, Max Duggan and the Horned Frogs prevailed. At 9-0, one should expect them to move up the polls.
With each passing game, the Oregon Ducks are looking more and more like a playoff team. Another dominant performance by Bo Nix and the crew should merit some consideration for a spot in the top 5. What we know is that no team in college football has evolved more this season than the Ducks.
After a heartbreaking loss last week against Ohio State, Penn State took their frustrations out on Indiana and dominated them. The Nittany Lions' defense registered six sacks in the contest.
Perhaps Tulane will not get the respect they deserve from the College Football Playoff Committee, but all they do is win. They remain undefeated after their win over Tulsa.
Whatever Hugh Freeze is doing to his Liberty Flames, it is resulting in wins. Hopefully their win over Arkansas results in them finding a spot in the AP top 25 because they have more than earned it.
What started like a dream season for the Syracuse Orangemen is turning into a nightmare as they lost their third straight game after being embarrassed by Pittsburgh.
Week 10 Top Performers
Offense
QB Tanner Mordecai - SMU
QB Austin Reed - Western Kentucky
QB Clayton Tune - Houston
QB Jayden Daniels - LSU
QB Caleb Williams - USC
QB Jack Plummer - California
QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson - UCLA
QB Bryce Young - Alabama
WR Nathaniel Dell - Houston
QB Anthony Richardson - Florida
QB Bo Nix - Oregon
RB Bijan Robinson - Texas
RB Miyan Williams - Ohio State
QB Austin Aune - North Texas
RB Devin Neal - Kansas
WR Sam Wiglusz - Ohio
RB Tyjae Spears - Tulane
RB Kendre Miller - TCU
QB Grayson McCall - Coastal Carolina
RB Miyan Williams - Ohio State
QB Kurtis Rourke - Ohio
Defense
LB Drew Sanders - Arkansas
DL Deslin Alexandre - Pittsburgh
DL Jalen Carter - Georgia
LB Xavier Cullens - Memphis
CB Benjamin Morrison - Notre Dame
LB John Michael Bertrand - Notre Dame
LB Jaylen Moody - Alabama
LB Cam Bright - Washington
DB Marquel Broughton - Army
LB James Jackson - Virginia
DE Caleb Tannor - Nebraska
LB Cal Haladay - Michigan State
LB Bryce Houston - Ohio
LB Aaron Brule - Michigan State
DL Dante Stills - West Virginia
DE Andre Carter II - Army
LB Dillon Doyle - Baylor
EDGE Dorian Williams - Tulane
LB Nick Herbig - Wisconsin
LB Keye Thompson - Ohio