Week 10 truths: Miami is a mess, Ohio State looks like a sure thing

Human knowledge is an ever-evolving thing. At points in history, the wisest among us believed, with some degree of certainty, that the earth was flat, that sea dragons consumed ships filled with gold, that Texas was back. In time, most of us who aren't Kyrie Irving have come to understand the folly of such ideas, but it's worth appreciating that those great thinkers of the past weren't fools. They simply lacked information. They took the facts available to them and posited a theory that best explained their reality, but as we learn more, we refine our notions of how the world works, and a new truth becomes clear.

This is to say, it's really not anyone's fault Penn State, Clemson, Florida and South Carolina all stink. Two months ago, Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik, DJ Lagway and LaNorris Sellers offered us all the proof we needed to buy into the hype. We were so young, naive and dizzy from Alex Warren ballads.

Who could've guessed that, by Week 10, we'd be living in a reality in which Arch Manning toppling Vanderbilt would constitute a massive shake-up in the SEC power structure?

What genius, as recently as a month ago, might've predicted that by the first week in November, Miami's playoff hopes would be on life support?

Even at halftime in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday we might've rightfully posited Georgia Tech was the one team who could afford the ACC some semblance of respectability, and who would've argued?

OK, fine, we all probably did see that Miami thing coming. Even the least aware of ancient humans saw the sun come up each day and began to expect it.

Still, if the world worked the way we were led to believe it should, Saturday might've looked much different.

Way back when, we assumed Ohio State-Penn State would be a season-defining showdown, believed the showdown between Georgia and Florida would've had major SEC implications, that Manning's Heisman campaign would've reached its apex when he threw three TDs against a top-10 foe. And while we might've expected the ACC would be at risk of getting just a single team into the playoff, it would've seemed a safe bet that team was Miami.

Instead, SMU stunned the Hurricanes 26-20 as Kevin Jennings threw for 365 yards and Carson Beck threw another deadly interception in overtime that proved Miami's death knell. Three weeks ago, the Canes were undefeated and had, arguably, the most compelling résumé of any team in the country. But, of course, ever since Mario Cristobal sold his soul to a mysterious stranger at a crossroads in West Palm Beach in exchange for a supernatural cellphone that allowed him to become the world's greatest recruiter, he has been afflicted with inescapably bad luck late in the season. The Canes are now 4-11 after Nov. 1 under Cristobal, including a 1-3 mark when ranked in the AP top 10.

play

0:56

SMU storms the field after upset OT win over No. 10 Miami

SMU defeats Miami in overtime to secure its first home win over an AP top-10 team since 1974.

Instead, Penn State was but a speed bump for Julian Sayin, Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith, as the Buckeyes breezed to a 38-14 win. The Nittany Lions lost for the fifth straight game, Penn State mustered just 200 yards of offense, and every coach whose name has been mentioned to fill James Franklin's vacant office space is getting a hefty raise and extension. Sayin, who looks young enough to get carded when buying tickets to a PG movie, carved up Penn State's veteran defense, throwing more touchdowns (four) than incompletions (three).

Instead, Florida's season devolved quickly, Billy Napier was fired, and the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party had all the cache of a book club meeting where your neighbor has too many glasses of rosé and spends a half an hour explaining the symbolism in Matthew McConaughey's new book of poetry. Never mind that Georgia still staggered through much of the contest, running headlong into a wall again and again until Chauncey Bowens finally broke through with a 36-yard touchdown run to secure the win. These Dawgs enjoy playing with fire, like the kid your parents wouldn't let you invite to your birthday party in third grade. This was Georgia's fourth win of the season after trailing in the second half, a sign that either we don't really know that much about the Dawgs' excellence or that they simply enjoy toying with their prey like a bored house cat.

Instead, NC State ran through Georgia Tech's defense like Sherman marching through Atlanta. That the Wolfpack had lost their past four games against FBS opponents, were without their two best skill position weapons in Justin Joly and Hollywood Smothers, and that QB CJ Bailey was playing with a bum ankle throughout the second half was utterly meaningless information. What mattered was only that an ACC team had flown too close to the sun, and the football gods were determined to smite poor Georgia Tech. If Haynes King, a man who once won a game of Connect 4 in two moves, cannot subdue the forces of ACC chaos, it is fair to assume the league's collective mediocrity might one day consume us all.

Instead, it wasn't Sellers chasing a Heisman Trophy in Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday, but rather Trinidad Chambliss, a guy who opened the year as the Rebels' backup after transferring from Ferris State, a school that could barely be considered one of the 10 best programs in Michigan and so irrelevant to the national conversation that you're just now learning Ferris State is in Michigan. Chambliss accounted for a pair of touchdowns, while Kewan Lacy ran for 167 yards and Ole Miss rolled to a 30-14 win. South Carolina, on the brink of a playoff berth a year ago, is now 1-6 in SEC play.

Instead, Clemson is reeling, Miami is a mess, and despite a win Saturday that salvaged Mike Norvell's job for another week, Florida State is a lost cause. Meanwhile, Pitt, Duke and Virginia are a combined 14-1 in ACC play. The ACC, as is its destiny, has devolved into a "Three Stooges" film, all slapstick and vaudevillian violence, and also Brent Key looks a little like Curly.

Saturday wasn't anything we should've realistically expected two months ago, but that's the beauty of college football. It is never the season we deserve, but it is always the season we need.

So now, 10 weeks into this unlikely reality, what do we really know? Ohio State and Indiana look like sure things. Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss appear playoff bound. The ACC, as a group, requires parental supervision when using scissors. These are our truths today.

And yet, there is a month of football still to be played, a month of data waiting to alter our concept of truth and rewrite the scripts we had convinced ourselves were canon.

To paraphrase the great philosopher Roddy Piper, just when you think you have the answers, college football changes the questions.

More:
Trends | Under the radar
Heisman five

Week 10 vibe check

Each week, the biggest games push us further toward clarity for the College Football Playoff, but dig a little deeper and you'll find smaller shifts in the sport's ecosystem that often have just as much impact. We try to capture those here.

Trending up: Fatalism in Death Valley

Dabo Swinney took over as interim coach at Clemson on Oct. 13, 2008, and proceeded to lose his first home game 21-17 to Georgia Tech. After that Swinney won 74 of his next 83 games vs. power-conference competition in Death Valley and established Clemson as one of the country's best programs, and Memorial Stadium as one of the most intimidating places for an opponent to take the field.

Now, Death Valley is more like a Motel 6, with Dabo leaving the light on for anyone interested in stopping by for a visit.

Duke jumped out to a 21-7 lead, converted all five fourth-down tries, used a controversial pass interference call to score with 40 seconds remaining and then completed a 2-point conversion to topple Clemson 46-45. It was Duke's first win at Clemson since 1980, and it was the Tigers' sixth straight defeat at home against a Power 4 foe, dating back to last year.

The good news for Clemson is Swinney can now stop by his home stadium and pick up one of those giant skeletons for, like, 75% off.

Trending down: The haters

Week 10 was a rough time for all those folks who like to laugh at the struggles of Bill Belichick or Arch Manning.

First, Belichick's North Carolina team picked up its first ACC win of the season on Friday 27-10 over a Syracuse team that started a lacrosse player at QB and, we think, a herd of mildly aggressive alpacas on defense. Belichick began his UNC tenure by promoting the notion the Heels would be "the 33rd NFL team" but, much like "fun-size" candy bars, the promise of the wording and the reality of what's inside the wrapper were dramatically different. But on Friday, Demon June accounted for 182 yards and two touchdowns, as Freddie Kitchens looked on like a guy playing Madden for the first time who just hit a bunch of buttons on the controller that somehow resulted in a 72-yard TD pass.

play

0:39

Demon June takes it to the house for 72-yard UNC TD

Gio Lopez connects with Demon June, who takes off for a 72-yard Tar Heels touchdown against Syracuse.

Meanwhile, after receiving official notice last week that he was being considered for demotion to the McCown family of QBs, Manning finally seemed to find his mojo, throwing for 328 yards and three touchdowns as Texas took down No. 9 Vanderbilt 34-31. Manning had been in concussion protocol earlier in the week, burnishing the possibility that his performance against Kentucky had actually just been a really vivid dream after eating too much Taco Bell, and he joked after the game that perhaps "the concussion helped."

Instead, head coach Steve Sarkisian said the improved protection from the Texas O-line was the difference in Manning's strong outing, then kindly returned left tackle Trevor Goosby's beloved pet cat he took, safe and sound, as promised only if the unit improved.

And as if that wasn't enough Hate-or-ade delivered to all the critics in Week 10, Arizona State QB Jeff Sims might have provided the week's ultimate comeuppance. Sims won his first college start (with Georgia Tech) in thrilling fashion over Florida State back in 2020, but his biggest highlight in the years that followed was getting to use Geoff Collins' 10% discount at Waffle House one time. On Saturday, he started for the injured Sam Leavitt and turned in a gem -- throwing for 177 yards and a touchdown and running for 228 and two more scores in a 24-19 win over Iowa State.

Afterward, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, who has already resurrected the stalled careers of Leavitt, Bo Nix and Jordan Travis, stood atop the tallest building in all of Iowa (a Tractor Supply in Des Moines) and exclaimed, "I could have made DJ Uiagalelei a Heisman winner! I am invincible! Kneel before your QB king!"

Trending up: Moral victories

A 43-yard run by Xavier Robinson helped Oklahoma stave off a late rally by Tennessee and escape Knoxville with a 33-27 win.

Tennessee racked up 105 more yards and nine more first downs than Oklahoma. The Sooners had 11 penalties for 104 yards. John Mateer threw for just 159 yards and a pick. The Volunteers were 7-of-13 on third down, and they had the ball deep in Oklahoma territory three times in the fourth quarter, and yet it's the Vols who likely saw their playoff hopes come to an end.

We can now look forward to Josh Heupel explaining that Tennessee was clearly the better team overall in this game, and Lane Kiffin retweeting the clip while tagging Brent Venables.

Trending up: ACC field storming budgets

After SMU kicked off Miami in overtime Saturday, the sell-out crowd in Dallas cascaded over the wall and onto the field.

After NC State pulled off the shocker in dominant fashion against Georgia Tech, the Wolfpack fans, too, stormed the field.

play

0:22

NC State storms the field after upsetting No. 8 Georgia Tech

Haynes King is intercepted in the end zone, and the Wolfpack fans storm the field as NC State knocks off No. 8 Georgia Tech.

That brings the ACC's total field stormings in 2025 to six -- with Florida State (after beating Alabama), Georgia Tech (after beating Clemson), Virginia and Stanford (both after beating FSU) already in the books.

All of this comes on the heels of the ACC announcing new fines for schools who allow a field storming.

The good news is, a few more shockers and that revenue gap with the SEC will be all but closed.

Trending up: Bowl excitement in suburban ATL

Kennesaw State moved up to FBS last year and proceeded to lose its first six games, all by double digits. It didn't get its first FBS win until Oct. 23, 2024 -- a little more than a year ago -- and yet, after Tuesday's 33-20 win over UTEP, the Owls are bowl-eligible.

To put that into perspective, if you had left Midtown when the Owls won for the first time last year, and drove north on I-75 toward Kennesaw in traffic, you would barely be past Marietta by now, and the Owls are already headed to a postseason game. Granted, heading to that game will require stocking up on canned goods and bottled water, and everyone can check their email when they hit the Panera off Exit 8 in Woodstock where there's free Wi-Fi.

Trending down: Certainty in the American

Caleb Hawkins ran for 197 yards and four touchdowns as North Texas toppled Navy 31-17 on Saturday, delivering another shake-up atop the American and, in upending a service academy, lending further credence to the theory that Texas could form its own state with a constitution written on the side of a 96-ounce rib eye and immediately become a global superpower.

As for the conference race, there are now six teams with one loss in league play -- Navy, South Florida, Memphis, East Carolina, Tulane and North Texas -- increasing the likelihood that the American will need to dig deep into its tiebreaker options. Perhaps setting up an epic rock, paper, scissors match between Jon Sumrall and Ryan Silverfield atop the Empire State Building, with the winner advancing to the conference championship game and the loser having to take the train back to Newark would work.

Trending down: Optimism in Boulder

A week ago, Colorado trailed Utah 43-0 at the half and was outgained by 416 yards. On Saturday, Colorado trailed Arizona 38-7 at the half, and was outgained by 154.

And, frankly, it's unfair that's all people will talk about rather than mentioning that Colorado was only outscored by seven combined points in the second halves of those two games. It's like the hate for Coach Prime is so deep that everyone refuses to look at the positives he's accomplishing every week.

Under-the-radar play of the week

Sometimes a great play is like watching ballet, precise and beautiful. A great play can feel electric, the entire crowd buzzing with so much palpable energy that it's as if a power beyond X's and O's is at work. Sometimes a win can be so close you can taste it. Sometimes, the simple smell of the grass on a crisp fall day is enough to make a football game feel epic.

But let's be honest, of all the ways a football game can appeal to the five senses, none is quite so enjoyable as the sound of a doinked kick, and Texas Tech delivered a banger on Saturday.

"Death" Valley pic.twitter.com/77Q4LRXj6v

Our only complaint is that we have yet to figure out how to create a goalpost that, when drilled by a football, makes the loser horn sound effect as if you had just overbid on a Nissan Sentra and lost the Showcase Showdown.

Under-the-radar game of the week

Idaho State handed UC Davis its first Big Sky loss of the season in dramatic fashion. Trajan Sinatra, who unfortunately is not some sort of hybrid of Frank Sinatra and former Duke basketball guard Trajan Langdon, drilled a 50-yard field goal with 52 seconds to play to put the Bengals up 38-36, and Nathan Reynolds picked off a Caden Pinnick pass to secure the win.

play

1:26

Idaho State Bengals vs. UC Davis Aggies: Full Highlights

Idaho State Bengals vs. UC Davis Aggies: Full Highlights

UC Davis' only prior loss this season had been to Washington, while Idaho State had been riding a three-game losing streak. The win assures the Bengals will now be the most talked-about team from Idaho in Week 10 whose field isn't painted a random color that isn't green.

Heisman five

The Heisman race may finally be starting to come into focus, and honestly it's possible the invitations to the ceremony are just all sent to Columbus, Ohio.

1. Ohio State QB Julian Sayin

Sayin threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns against former Ohio State DC Jim Knowles, which is a little like getting take out with your hot new paramour and finding your ex working the drive-thru. "Hey, Jim, great to see you again. You're looking ... well. We're just out here celebrating my four touchdown passes and ... oh, geez, sorry, but I actually ordered a Diet Coke, not Coke Zero."

2. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza

Indiana beat Maryland Terrapins 55-10, but Mendoza posted only a mundane 201 yards and a score. It's really unfair that, just because Maryland is so bad as to allow 367 yards rushing in the game, Mendoza's Heisman campaign has to suffer.

3. Notre Dame QB C.J. Carr

Carr threw for 299 yards and a pair of scores as Notre Dame toppled Boston College Eagles 25-10. And, sure, only beating BC by 15 and only throwing two touchdowns against a defense as bad as the Eagles have isn't exactly a earth-shattering news, but Notre Dame probably isn't going to lose again, so we're all stuck with the Irish being good, and we're going to have to learn to live with it.

4. Duke QB Darian Mensah

The Blue Devils knocked off Clemson in dramatic fashion Saturday as Mensah delivered a strike for a two-point conversion that proved the difference in a 46-45 game. Mensah threw for 361 yards and four scores in the game and now has 2,572 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and just two picks for the year. In the playoff era, the only other QB to hit each of those marks through his team's first eight games of the year was BYU's Zach Wilson. In conclusion, we're looking forward to 2028 when Mensah is 2-15 as the New York Jets starter.

5. Shirtless Bros

Oklahoma State may be a miserable 1-8 this year, and it may have now lost 18 straight games against Big 12 foes, and it may have fired Mike Gundy, and Pistol Pete may have Rickets, but never let it be said the Pokes haven't made their mark on the 2025 season. What started with a bunch of bored Oklahoma State fans in the midst of another blowout loss to Houston less than a month ago has now taken over the sport like some sort of bare-chested AI bent on world domination, with shirtless sections becoming more common in college football stadiums than The Wave, "Mr. Brightside" and horrendous ACC officiating combined.

This is a loudest DOINK of the season contender 🔊 pic.twitter.com/JGRZGpKv0M

It's certainly possible this trend is on the brink of becoming over-exposed -- not unlike some of the guys who've chosen to remove their shirts -- and will soon join the likes of The Dab, turnover accessories and Sam Pittman, quaint fads that came and went and now seem a little silly, if we're being honest. But in the meantime, we just hope to get to a point where a few dozen frat guys stave off hypothermia during an extended replay review amid a 6-3 game between Minnesota a