3 most important Week 10 games for College Football Playoff implications

The last few weeks of college football have been riveting to say the least. We were teased with Vanderbilt’s upset win over, then-top-ranked Alabama. And since then, it’s been mayhem in college football as the first College Football Playoff rankings loom over eager teams. 

No game is bigger than Ohio State vs. Penn State this week. This game isn’t necessarily an elimination game (more on that later), but it can create a whole lot of chaos if one team in particular loses. 

The winner of that game is in the driver seat of their own CFP destiny. 

Around the rest of college football, there’s one other game that sticks out as a game that could determine the seedings for the College Football Playoff and there’s at least one other game that could be a trap game for one SEC team that looks to get back into CFP contention. 

Here are the games to keep an eye on this week with the College Football Playoff rankings on the horizon. 

3. No. 19 Ole Miss at Arkansas

Ole Miss is a two-loss team on the CFP bubble. The Rebels will have to win out to have a shot, that’s obvious. But with No. 2 ranked Georgia in two weeks, the Rebels can’t overlook Arkansas. They didn’t look overwhelmingly convincing in their win over Oklahoma. And currently don’t have a good win. 

They’d have to beat Georgia to gain some traction in the conversation. But that’s still a long shot. And looking ahead to that game could mean they fall short to Arkansas and the Georgia game wouldn’t matter anyway. 

So yeah this game specifically doesn’t affect the rankings, but it could very well end whatever chances Ole Miss had of storming the CFP.

2. No. 18 Pitt at No. 20 SMU

This is a very intriguing matchup. Pitt is coming off a resounding 41-13 win over Syracuse in which the Panthers picked off transfer portal acquisition Kyle McCord five times including three returned for touchdowns. This is one of just two chances to prove to the CFP committee they deserve to be invited to the 12-team playoff. 

The Panthers haven’t played a ranked opponent yet so this will be a win they’ll need to crash the CFB playoff. They’ll also have a chance in a couple of weeks against No. 11 Clemson, but that game might not matter if they don’t take care of SMU.

As for the Mustangs, their only loss is to BYU, which now looks like a good loss with the Cougars ranked in the top 10. Like Pitt, SMU has to win and knocking off a ranked, undefeated team could give them some brownie points as the committee makes final decisions over the next couple of weeks. 

This could be their final chance to make a point. 

1. No. 3 Ohio State at No. 4 Penn State

This game should be fun. Not just because it’s Ohio State vs. Penn State, but because Penn State has a chance to create a whole lot of chaos in the College Football Playoff conversation. Because if the Nittany Lions win, Ohio State then becomes an outsider on the CFP bubble. 

On top of that, it sets up a must-win game for the Buckeyes against Indiana, which is undefeated and the first team currently out of the playoff, ranked No. 13. Ohio State could end up being the one team that forces the CFP to decide if a three-loss team deserves a spot in the playoff. 

Assuming Ohio State loses to Penn State and Indiana, is it truly realistic for them to get in? Probably not. They wouldn’t play in the Big Ten title game and would need way too many things to happen to get in.

Their game against Penn State won’t really affect their standings, but it will be another notch against them as they would have lost two top 5-ranked games this season. 

This rivalry usually humbles Penn State. This season, it could be the game that actually humbles Ohio State. Not only could it show Ohio State’s weak schedule hurt them more than helped, it could also tell them maybe this isn’t their year to prove they're one of the 12 best.