The most loaded college football Saturday in recent memory wasted no time bringing the fireworks — and turning the College Football Playoff picture on its head. Utah jumped out to a two-score lead early on rival BYU, then gave it all back, and then finally grabbed the game for good thanks to the fourth-quarter heroics of do-it-all QB Devon Dampier. The other marquee matchup of the early slate saw Texas fall down in the second half to Missouri only to pick themselves up off the mat, riding key throws from Arch Manning and a ferocious defensive effort to a 34-20 victory on the road.
With the first CFP rankings released earlier this week, every result means major movement. How will the early results in Week 10 reshape the bracket? Let's get into it.
Projected College Football Playoff rankings after Utah beats BYU, Texas outlasts Missouri
- Miami Hurricanes
- Utah Utes
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Texas Longhorns
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Kentucky Wildcats
- UCLA Bruins
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Tennessee Volunteers
- LSU Tigers
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons
- Houston Cougars
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- USC Trojans
- Arizona Wildcats
- BYU Cougars
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Oregon Ducks
- Florida Gators
- Missouri Tigers
- Boise State Broncos
Utah stakes its claim to the No. 1 spot in College Football Playoff rankings with big win over BYU
Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you enjoyed the full Devon Dampier Experience. Utah's diminutive QB came out firing en route to a 14-0 Utah lead. Unfortunately, then Bad Dampier showed up for a couple of quarters, including a strip sack, as BYU scored 20 unanswered.
But then, just when it seemed like the Cougars might shock their hated rivals once again, Dampier put on his cape. He was darn near impossible to tackle in the second half, throwing for one TD while running for another and generally exasperating BYU's pass rush. Final score: Utah 28, BYU 20, and the Utes remain unbeaten for another week.
Of course, there's still a ton of football to be played Saturday, highlighted by CFP No. 2 Georgia's trip to Ole Miss in prime time. If the Dawgs win there, they'll almost certainly remain no lower than second, pending the results of Miami-Notre Dame in South Bend. For now, though, Utah finally has its long-awaited signature win, and at 9-0, they deserve to sit second in the rankings.
As for BYU, this might well be the end of the line. Yes, the Cougars still have only two losses, one of which was on the road at a top-five opponent. But it's going to be very hard for this team to make it to the Big 12 title game given that Texas Tech is still sitting on only one loss, and 10-2 doesn't feel like it'll be quite good enough given where the committee had them entering the week.
Texas silences the doubters with gutsy win at Missouri
Was it pretty? Not really, no. Arch Manning got sacked three times, and Texas trailed Missouri 20-13 in the third quarter. But given all the injuries and adversity these Horns have gone through of late, they'll no doubt take a two-score road win over a top-20 opponent — especially one in which Manning throws for 297 yards, three TDs and no picks.
Texas finally figured something out on the ground, with Raleek Brown keeping them on schedule all afternoon. And this defense continues to be ferocious even with Colin Simmons compromised, bottling up Jamal Roberts and harassing Austin Simmons. The Horns made good on the committee's faith and could well find themselves in the CFP top five when the day is done. Missouri, meanwhile, is more or less cooked in both the conference title and Playoff pictures with three losses.
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