By Eric Smithling | Last updated 11/2/24
Another weekend of college football is in the rearview.
From South Carolina’s massive home win over Texas A&M to the Big 12’s suddenly precarious playoff positioning, here are Week 10’s winners and losers.
Winner: Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, King of Alabama
The Commodores are going bowling. Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2 in SEC) became bowl-eligible with a 17-7 road win against Auburn (3-5, 1-5 in SEC). It completed Pavia’s sweep of the state of Alabama after he led Vandy to a 40-35 win against No. 14 Alabama (6-2, 3-2 in SEC) earlier this season.
Pavia also defeated Auburn in 2023 while at New Mexico State, giving him a 3-0 record over the 22nd state to join the United States.
When can he pick up his key to the city?
Loser: Penn State head coach James Franklin
Franklin was once again exposed against better competition in Penn State’s 20-13 home loss to No. 4 Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 in Big Ten).
Here’s Franklin’s record against Ohio State and ranked opponents after Saturday.
- 1-10 against Ohio State, including eight consecutive losses
- 1-14 against Associated Press top-five teams
- 3-18 against top-10 teams
- 13-27 against top-25 teams
No. 3 Penn State (7-1, 4-1 in Big Ten) squandered a 10-0 lead with an ugly offensive performance. It finished with 270 yards, 193.7 yards below its season average entering Week 10.
The Nittany Lions turned the ball over on downs with four chances inside the Ohio State 5-yard line in the fourth quarter, then allowed the Buckeyes to run out the final 5:13 with an 11-play (all runs except for one kneel down), 58-yard drive.
A soft schedule to end the regular season gives Penn State an easy path to a potential College Football Playoff berth. Its Week 10 loss suggests it will make an early exit.
Winner: Miami quarterback Cam Ward
Ward’s Heisman campaign improved with his excellent performance in Miami’s 53-31 win over Duke (6-3, 2-3 in ACC).
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The Hurricanes came back from a 28-17 deficit, and Ward finished 25-of-41 for 400 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He has 3,146 yards 29 touchdowns and six interceptions for Miami, the only ACC team without a loss.
Loser: Georgia quarterback Carson Beck
Meanwhile, Beck’s campaign has been suspended. He didn’t lead Georgia in its 34-20 win over Florida (4-4, 2-3 in SEC) as much as he was dragged to it.
Beck was 25-of-40 for 309 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, his third game this season with at least three interceptions. While his miscues weren’t enough to sink the Bulldogs against the Gators, Georgia likely needs better performances from its starting quarterback to win its third national championship in the past four seasons.
Winner: Army running back Kanye Udoh
No. 21 Army (8-0, 6-0 in AAC) was without darkhorse Heisman contender quarterback Bryson Daily, who missed the game due to an undisclosed injury.
Army leaned on Udoh with Daily sidelined, and he was up for the challenge. Udoh had a career-high 158 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns, leading the Black Knights to their best start since 1996.
Loser: Arkansas
The maddeningly inconsistent Razorbacks followed last week’s 33-point win at Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5 in SEC) with a 32-point home loss to No. 19 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2 in SEC).
Arkansas (5-4, 3-3 in SEC) allowed 694 yards in Saturday’s 63-31 loss, including 254 yards and five touchdowns on eight receptions to Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins.
Arkansas has rotated wins and losses in its six conference games, including losses to No. 10 Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1 in SEC) and No. 16 LSU (6-2, 3-1 in SEC) and a win over No. 7 Tennessee (7-1, 4-1 in SEC).
Good luck figuring out the Razorbacks. Head coach Sam Pittman hasn’t yet.
Winner: Toledo
The MACtion was hot on Saturday. Despite most of the conference having a bye, Toledo (6-3, 3-2 in MAC) and Eastern Michigan (5-4, 2-3 in MAC) delivered enough theatrics.
The Rockets erased a 12-point deficit entering the fourth quarter by scoring 22 points to take a 29-22 lead with seven seconds remaining. That’s when Eagles quarterback Cole Snyder completed a Hail Mary to wide receiver Terry Lockett Jr., cutting the lead to one. But instead of kicking the extra point, Eastern Michigan head coach Chris Creighton tried to win the game with a two-point conversion, which Toledo thwarted to preserve the 29-28 win.
Loser: Nebraska
The Cornhuskers are in the midst of another collapse under head coach Matt Rhule.
Nebraska (5-4, 2-4 in Big Ten) spoiled an excellent opportunity to become bowl-eligible with a 27-20 home loss to UCLA (3-5, 2-4 in Big Ten). Quarterback Dylan Raiola walked gingerly off the field following the game, leading to concern about his health.
It’s lost three in a row and ends the season with road games on Nov. 16 against USC (4-4, 2-4 in Big Ten) and Nov. 29 against Iowa (5-3, 3-2 in Big Ten, with a home game against Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 in Big Ten) sandwiched in between.
The Cornhuskers offense has stalled in recent weeks, averaging 14.5 points over their past four games.
Nebraska finished 2023 with a 5-7 record after losing its last four games following a 5-3 start. It is getting dangerously close to having an even worse collapse this season after beginning the year 5-1.
Winner: South Carolina
The Gamecocks faithful had an outstanding Saturday. While South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 in SEC) notched a top-10 win against Texas A&M, 44-20, its in-state rival, No. 11 Clemson (6-2, 5-1 in ACC), lost 33-21 to Louisville (6-3, 4-2 in ACC).
South Carolina is better than its record indicates, losing to LSU and Alabama earlier this season by a combined five points. It closes its SEC slate against Vanderbilt and No. 25 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 in SEC) over the next two weeks before ending the season against FCS Wofford and Clemson.
Based on Saturday night, South Carolina should like its chances of handing the Tigers a crippling defeat.
Loser: The Big 12
Are we sure the Big 12 will earn one of the four College Football Playoff byes?
Two of the league’s top contenders, No. 11 Iowa State (7-1, 4-1 in Big 12) and No. 17 Kansas State (7-2, 4-2 in Big 12) suffered upset losses, leaving the conference with only one undefeated team, No. 9 BYU (8-0, 5-0 in Big 12).
The Cyclones lost 23-22 at home to Texas Tech (6-3, 4-2 in Big 12), the Wildcats had a worse 24-19 loss to Houston (4-5, 3-3 in Big 12).
Unless the Cougars run the table, the Big 12 champion could play in the first round of the playoffs or be left out of the playoff entirely. The top five conference champions are guaranteed a playoff spot, and if Army and No. 15 Boise State (7-1, 4-0 in MWC) win out, they’ll have better resumes than a one- or two-loss Big 12 champion.