17 hours ago
3
ESPN staffNov 1, 2025, 07:21 PM ET
Winning games is the most important thing in sports. But there's such a thing as winning news conferences as well.
In Week 10 of the college football season, like in every other week, many coaches won both -- or at least offered some fiery words to reporters. From Rhett Lashlee's thoughts on SMU's now-torn-down goalposts to Dabo Swinney's ire at a controversial pass interference call, wit and passion abounded on Saturday.
Here are some of the top quotes from around the college football world in Week 10:
"It gives me something to rip their ass about." -- Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian
It was a "put up or shut up" game for Texas against a top-10 Vanderbilt squad, and the Longhorns made the most of the opportunity in Austin.
The win wasn't without some late stress, however -- after Texas amassed a 34-10 lead entering the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt stormed back with three consecutive touchdowns to cut the Longhorns' lead to three with 30 seconds remaining. The ensuing onside kick produced even more chaos, but Texas ultimately survived to earn a big win.
Speaking about the late-game anxiety, Sarkisian looked at the positive -- the final quarter will give him and his staff the opportunity for some constructive criticism heading into next week.
"Hope there's one in Deep Ellum and one in Downtown Dallas." -- SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee
SMU pulled off Week 10's biggest upset against Miami on Saturday, forcing a Carson Beck interception in overtime before finding the end zone to earn a 26-20 victory.
The win, as is customary for such upsets, prompted a field storm by the Mustang faithful. Fans also opted for the extra step of tearing down a goalpost. In addition to talking about his team's performance, Lashlee offered up some light-hearted commentary on the prospective future location(s) of the stolen goalpost.
"If there's two better receivers in the country, I'd like to see them." -- Ohio State head coach Ryan Day
Jeremiah Smith's greatness was well established entering the season -- the sophomore was No. 1 in ESPN's preseason ranking. But Carnell Tate has been excellent for the Buckeyes as well this fall, with Ohio State's Week 10 game against Penn State marking the third time in four games that the junior has exceeded 100 receiving yards and found the end zone.
Day shouted out his star wide receiver tandem after the Buckeyes dispatched the Nittany Lions in Columbus, Ohio.
"That's one of the worst calls I've ever seen in a game ever in my entire coaching career." -- Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney
An early afternoon showdown between Duke and Clemson proved to be one of Week 10's most exciting games -- the two squads combined for 91 points as the Blue Devils' late score and 2-point conversion helped them earn a 46-45 win.
Clemson seemingly had wrapped up the game with a fourth-down stop on Duke's final drive but was called for pass interference to give the Blue Devils a fresh set of downs. After the game, Swinney acknowledged his squad had other chances to win the game, but he still was incandescent at the flag.
"He ran possessed today." -- West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez
Before his squad's trip to face a ranked Houston team on the road, Rodriguez had a directive for running back Diore Hubbard: "Make them tackle you."
Rodriguez wanted physicality from his backfield, and he got it. The Mountaineers ran the ball 53 times for 246 yards in their win over the Cougars, with Hubbard -- who accounted for 29 carries himself -- tallying 108 of those yards (as well as a touchdown). Rodriguez said his back was under a spell during the bruising effort.
