College Football Week 10 Takeaways: Julian Sayin’s Leap Makes Ohio State Team To Beat

The first group of College Football Playoff rankings this play are group to beryllium revealed connected Nov. 4 and 1 point is for certain: nan Ohio State Buckeyes will beryllium classed No. 1.

As they should be.

Ohio State’s quest to repetition arsenic nationalist champions successful January leads Sports Illustrated's takeaways for Week 10.

Ohio State starting backmost Julian Sayin looked every spot nan part of 1 of nan champion quarterbacks successful nan state connected Saturday, arsenic he completed 20 of his 23 passing attempts for 316 yards and 4 touchdowns successful a 38–14 location rout complete Penn State.

The Buckeyes boast nan nation’s apical defense down first-year protect coordinator Matt Patricia, and nan continued steps guardant from their first-year starter successful Sayin make this loaded Ohio State roster a reliable 1 to hit heading into nan last period of nan season. Ohio State’s coaching unit has been very precocious connected nan improvement of Sayin down nan scenes, and it’s clear he’s starting to make a leap connected nan section arsenic he continues to get much comfortable successful Brian Hartline’s offense.

Ohio State hasn’t garnered a ton of headlines this season, arsenic they’ve softly taken attraction of business each week. But amid a chaotic twelvemonth crossed nan sport, nan Buckeyes stay nan squad to hit arsenic they look to repetition arsenic nationalist champions.

Arch Manning is yet playing for illustration nan backmost everybody expected heading into nan season

No. 20 Texas kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive pinch a 34–31 triumph complete No. 9 Vanderbilt. The Longhorns took a 34–10 lead into nan 4th fourth acknowledgment to nan play of Arch Manning, who appears to beryllium yet rounding into shape and becoming nan backmost that everybody expected him to beryllium entering nan season.

The sophomore completed 25 of his 33 passes connected Saturday day for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns. Manning's standout capacity was 1 week removed from throwing for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns successful a chaotic overtime triumph complete Mississippi State.

Texas is simply a acold outcry from nan No. 1 AP ranking they were awarded earlier nan commencement of nan regular season, but nan Longhorns whitethorn still beryllium a threat down nan agelong successful nan SEC arsenic they look to seizure an at-large bid to nan playoff, aliases possibly moreover backdoor their measurement into nan convention title.

A important showdown awaits aft an disconnected week successful Week 11. The Longhorns recreation to Georgia connected Nov. 15.

Unfortunately for Georgia Tech fans, I wrote successful past Saturday’s column that nan Jackets should beryllium considered ACC title favorites.

The No. 8 Yellow Jackets followed up that prediction by allowing astir 600 yards of discourtesy to a middling NC State squad connected nan roadworthy successful Raleigh to suffer 48–36 connected Saturday night. The worst portion astir nan capacity by Georgia Tech’s defense was that NC State was down 2 of its champion violative players successful moving backmost Hollywood Smothers and tight extremity Justin Joly. Wolfpack moving backmost Jayden Scott filled successful admirably, rushing for 196 yards, while backmost CJ Bailey threw for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Elsewhere successful nan ACC, No. 10 Miami continued to do little pinch much nether Mario Cristobal, falling for nan 2nd clip successful 3 games by a last people of 26–20 successful overtime connected nan roadworthy against SMU. Carson Beck threw 4 interceptions successful nan nonaccomplishment to Louisville successful mid-October, and his 2 interceptions connected Saturday proved costly successful different conclusion for nan Hurricanes.

The nonaccomplishment efficaciously (but not officially) eliminates Miami from convention title contention, and thus, nan College Football Playoff.

Current leaders successful nan clubhouse to make it to Charlotte? None different than nan Virginia Cavaliers and ... personification else? The Hoos are 5–0 successful nan ACC heading into Week 11, while 5 others person 1 convention nonaccomplishment (Georgia Tech, Pitt, Louisville, SMU and Duke).

Where nan ACC chaos stops, cipher knows. But nan ACC will very apt beryllium a one-bid convention for nan CFP.

The SEC will person respective bids into nan CFP, but Auburn surely won’t beryllium 1 of them

Let's do a speedy basking spot cheque connected Hugh Freeze astatine Auburn.

Fired.

What happened astatine Jordan-Hare Stadium connected Saturday nighttime was wholly inexcusable for Freeze and his Tigers, who elected to commencement Stanford transportation Ashton Daniels. That determination for Freeze, and his inherent inability to create quarterbacks during his clip connected The Plains, will apt costs him his job.

Daniels showed nary marked betterment complete Jackson Arnold successful Saturday's start. He completed conscionable 13 of his 28 passes for 108 yards and an interception successful a 10–3 nonaccomplishment to Kentucky, who entered nan title pinch a 2-5 record.

Auburn is now 0-for-2 successful trying to switch erstwhile caput coach Gus Malzahn. The Bryan Harsin research proved to beryllium a bad fresh some on-and-off nan field, and Freeze's tenure has been mediocre successful its ain respect.

For context, Malzahn mislaid conscionable 11 location games successful 8 seasons astatine Auburn. Freeze has now mislaid 11 location games successful 3 years.

Auburn appears to beryllium nan adjacent large occupation to unfastened successful an already crowded market. Freeze’s clip is up.

No. 14 Tennessee played big to No. 18 Oklahoma connected Saturday nighttime successful what was viewed arsenic an elimination crippled for an at-large bid to nan College Football Playoff. The Sooners recovered a measurement to support their hopes of making nan bracket alive, acknowledgment to timely stops defensively passim nan crippled and 192 rushing yards betwixt starting moving backmost Xavier Robinson and prima backmost John Mateer.

The Vols will rue their 3 turnovers and missed section goal, which proved costly successful nan six-point location loss. After making nan College Football Playoff a twelvemonth ago, it will beryllium a spread twelvemonth for Josh Heupel’s programme successful a competitory SEC.

More College Football connected Sports Illustrated

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