Bold predictions for Week 10 in college football
The USA TODAY Sports college football staff — Nicole Auerbach, Paul Myerberg, George Schroeder and Dan Wolken — weighs in with some bold predictions for Week 10 of the college football season:
Nicole Auerbach
Three Big Ten teams will essentially get knocked out of the College Football Playoff picture this weekend. The first set of midseason rankings couldn’t have gone any better for fans of the conference, with five teams inside the top 12. But, like we all thought entering the season, Michigan and Ohio State will be the league’s best — and only — shots at the four-team Playoff when all is said and done. And, in effect, all will be said and done by the end of the night Saturday. Wisconsin will suffer its third loss, Nebraska will fall on the road to Ohio State and Penn State will be beat by a resurgent Iowa team.
Week 10 games that will most impact the College Football Playoff
Paul Myerberg
The seat under Oregon coach Mark Helfrich will get even hotter come Sunday, after the Ducks get swamped by Southern California. A loss would leave Oregon needed three wins in a row to end the year to salvage bowl eligibility. Meanwhile, I predict that the biggest story in the Pac-12 won’t be Washington but rather USC youngster Sam Darnold, who has been spectacular since ascending into the starting job in September.
USA TODAY Sports college football staff picks for Week 10
George Schroeder
Whether Oregon can win enough this month to save Mark Helfrich’s job remains in question. But the Ducks have found a quarterback; true freshman Justin Herbert shows plenty of promise for the future – and he’s pretty good in the present. After rebounding from a rough start, USC is favored big over Oregon. But the Ducks snapped a five-game losing streak last week. They’re probably not going to a bowl game, but they’ve got at least one surprise win left. It comes Saturday in a wild shootout (see: Oregon’s defense remains terrible) at the L.A. Coliseum.
Dan Wolken
Nebraska showed some surprising toughness and verve in that loss to Wisconsin last week, which sets the Cornhuskers up to go into Columbus and knock off Ohio State. Let's face it: The Buckeyes aren't playing very well right now, they're still kinda of searching for answers on offense, and their inability to get the vertical passing game unlocked is a major vulnerability. They're running out of time to get in the right kind of form to beat Michigan and make a playoff run, and it just doesn't really feel like it's going to happen this year. This is a young team, and they're vulnerable both physically and mentally against a Nebraska team that is much more mature (albeit less talented overall) and should have a lot of confidence coming off that good performance in Madison. Look out for Tommy Armstrong grabbing the signature win of what feels like a 10-year career as Nebraska's starting quarterback.
TOP 10 GAMES FOR WEEK 10 IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
