College football rankings for 2024: Ohio State, Indiana rising; Clemson is falling

The College Football Playoff selection committee can’t mess this up – I guess. The Oregon Ducks were the No. 1 ranked team. 1 in this space for weeks, and CFP should follow. And behind Oregon should be another Big Ten powerhouse, the only loss of which was to the Ducks: Ohio State.

It’s what the committee decides to do with Indiana that interests me. The selection committee is tasked with selecting the top 12 teams while using the criteria regarding winning the conference championship, winning the marquee championships during the regular season, and then, what each voting member believes is the best team – the scoreboard should be decided. If Georgia had five losses but was ranked as one of the 12 best teams in the sport by this committee, they would make the CFP.

Indiana has never been seen here, though. The Hoosiers went 9-0 for the first time in program history. They’ve scored 41 points or more in six of their last seven games, and their margin of victory against teams looks like one we’d expect from Georgia, Clemson or Alabama in the CFP era. However, Indiana has never taken advantage of the blue blood tax exemption it has. In fact, if you dressed the Hoosiers like Penn State, you’re more likely to believe that’s a team capable of winning a national title than the Penn State program we’ve seen in the James Franklin era.

But like Penn State, the Hoosiers will have a chance to get a top-five win this season if Ohio State continues to roll with less than a month to play. And then the Hoosiers might make this easy. But it is important to note where they start in the CFP positions, because I suspect that we will see many stories like Indiana in the future due to the flexibility of the programs, the influence of the name, the image and the similarity, and the power conferences that increase to 16 or more groups.

With that, here’s a look at my top 25 rankings following Week 10 of college football season:

1. In Oregon (9-0)

Week 10 result: Lost to Michigan, 38-17

Despite losing star wideout Tez Johnson early in the win, Dillon Gabriel completed 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards with a touchdown. Wideout Traeshon Holden tallied six catches for 149 yards, while running back Jordan James carried the ball 23 times for 117 yards.

The Ducks are the only undefeated team with a win against a top-five opponent this season.

2. State of Ohio (7-1)

Week 10 result: Lost to Penn State, 20-13

The Buckeyes trailed Penn State 10-0 with 5:37 left in the first quarter. And of course, Ohio State responded. Penalties allowed the Buckeyes to score 14 unanswered points before taking a 14-10 lead into halftime and holding on for the win, 20-13.

If you give Ohio State a cookie, they’ll rob your bakery.

3. Georgia (7-1)

Week 10 result: Lost to Florida, 34-20

Despite losing quarterback DJ Lagway to a “significant” hamstring injury, according to Gators coach Billy Napier, Florida led Georgia 13-6 at halftime in the World’s Greatest Outdoor Party.

The Dawgs went on to outscore the Gators 28-7 in the second half and secure their seventh win of the season. Carson Beck threw for 309 yards, two touchdowns and three picks in the win.

4. Miami (Fla.) (9-0)

Week 10 result: Defeated Duke, 53-31

The Hurricanes found themselves playing games again, trailing Duke 21-17 at halftime. Heisman hopeful Cam Ward completed 25 of 41 passes for 400 yards with five touchdowns and one interception to keep the Hurricanes undefeated.

5. Texas (7-1)

Week 10 result: It doesn’t work

6. In Indiana (9-0)

Week 10 result: Lost to Michigan State, 47-10

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns in his return to action. The Hoosiers have scored at least 41 points in six of their last seven games. They will look to win their 10th game of the season – the first in school history – against Michigan on Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.

7. BYU (8-0)

Week 10 result: It doesn’t work

8. Tennessee (7-1)

Week 10 result: Lost to Kentucky, 28-18

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Vols found a way to win again, their third straight SEC victory. Dylan Sampson continues to show why he is one of the best quarterbacks in America, rushing for 142 yards and two scores in the win.

9. Penn State (7-1)

Week 10 result: Lost at Ohio State, 20-13

The Nittany Lions trailed Ohio State 14-10 at halftime. And despite six picks on PSU’s defense, the offense couldn’t score a single TD against OSU.

James Franklin dropped to 1-13 against top five teams.

10. Notre Dame (7-1)

Week 10 result: It doesn’t work

11. Alabama (6-2)

Week 10 result: It doesn’t work

12. LSU (6-2)

Week 10 result: Doing nothing

13. Iowa State (7-1)

Week 10 result: Lost to Texas Tech, 23-22

Iowa State was leading late in the game, but Texas Tech marched down the field and took the lead with 20 seconds left after a Tahj Brooks touchdown run. He finished with 125 yards rushing in the win.

14. SMU (8-1)

Week 10 result: Lost to Pitt, 48-25

SMU is a great football team. The Mustangs proved that again on Saturday, amassing 467 yards of offense and putting up 48 points against an undefeated Pitt team heading into the game.

15. Boise State (7-1)

Week 10 result: Lost to San Diego State, 56-24

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 149 yards on 31 carries with two touchdowns. He leads the FBS in rushing with 1,525 yards (190.6 yards per game) and 20 TDs.

To break Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record, he’ll need to rush for 1,104 yards over the next four games.

Jeanty has yet to rush for 300 yards in a game. Sanders rushed for 300 yards or more in four of the 11 games he needed to set the record.

Jeanty, who has an extra game, needs to have a 300-yard game if he expects to break the record set by one of the greatest players of all time.

16. Texas A&M (7-2)

Week 10 result: Lost to South Carolina, 44-20

After a memorable win over LSU last weekend, Mike Elko’s team hit the road in South Carolina. Marcel Reed threw for 206 yards with a touchdown and a touchdown, while adding 46 yards on the ground. But the Aggies couldn’t stop the Gamecocks’ offense, giving up 530 yards in the loss.

17. Ole Miss (7-2)

Week 10 result: Arkansas lost, 63-31

Quarterback Jaxson Dart completed 25 of 31 passes for 515 passing yards with six touchdowns, and wideout Jordan Watkins caught eight passes for 254 yards and five TDs in a win over top-ranked Tennessee earlier this season.

18. Missouri (6-2)

Week 10 result: It doesn’t work

19. Clemson (6-2)

Week 10 result: Lost to Louisville, 33-21

All signs point to a Miami-Clemson ACC title game, but the Tigers looked far from the top team on Saturday night. Louisville halfback Isaac Brown ran all over Clemson’s defense to the tune of 151 yards. With the loss, Clemson fell to 5-1 in the ACC, trailing Miami and SMU atop the conference.

20. The army (8-0)

Week 10 result: Defeated Air Force, 20-3

With Bryson Daily out with an undisclosed illness/injury, Dewayne Coleman got the start for the Black Knights at QB. In their first game without him, Army failed to score for the first time this season. Kanye Udoh led the way for the Black Knights offense, totaling 158 rushing yards and two rushing TDs.

21. Pitt (7-1)

Week 10 result: Lost to SMU, 48-25

Pitt entered Saturday’s game looking to go 8-0 for the first time since 1981 – when Dan Marino was the program’s quarterback. Instead, they gave up 467 yards of offense in a game that wasn’t as close as the scoreboard read.

22. Kansas State (7-2)

Week 10 result: Lost to Houston, 24-19

The Wildcats missed a chance to take advantage of Iowa State’s first loss of the season and move into second place in the Big 12 standings. Now, Kansas State will have to hope that Texas Tech can do at Colorado next week what it did at Iowa State this week to is back in the Big 12 title race.

Of course, if BYU gets a loss before the end of the season, all hell will break loose in what has been a downward spiral in the Big 12 this season.

23. In Colorado (6-2)

Week 10 result: Doing nothing

24. Vanderbilt (6-3)

Week 10 result: Lost to Auburn, 17-7

The Commodores are 6-3 for the first time since 1982 and, with this win, beat Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955.

25. Washington State (7-1)

Week 10 result: It doesn’t work

RJ Young is a national college football writer and commentator for FOX Sports and host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him on @RJ_Omusha.

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