Week 10 college football winners and losers: Ole Miss sizzles, Big 12 at-large CFP bid hopes to be kept alive

Week 10 seemed to start slowly, but then two Big 12 underdogs dealt killing blows to the top conference championship contenders. Suddenly, Iowa State and Kansas State’s place in the College Football Playoff was in question and the race for the league title shifted.

Elsewhere, No. 3 Penn State lost its 10th game to Ohio State in 11 tries as the Nittany Lions once again proved to be a step behind top contenders. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze lost to a familiar foe to really get behind the 8 ball during the Tigers’ rebuild. Nebraska failed to secure bowl eligibility for another week and now could be at risk of missing the playoffs again.

In the evening, SMU and Pittsburgh face off in a battle of hopes for the ACC championship. Texas A&M hopes to live up to its stellar top-10 finish against South Carolina. Clemson also hopes to stay on track against Louisville. Here are the biggest winners and losers of Week 10 so far.

Winner: QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

Has there ever been a coach as individually and specifically tortured by a specific player as Diego Pavia’s Hugh Freeze? For the third straight season, a team coached by Pavie faced a team coached by Freeze. Surprisingly, all three featured different matchups (Liberty vs. New Mexico State, New Mexico State vs. Auburn, Auburn vs. Vanderbilt). Not only is Pavie 3-0 against the Auburn coach, but he has absolutely embarrassed Freeze every time.

Pavie played all three games on the road and was an underdog each time. It didn’t matter. The Pavia teams dominated the Freeze teams by a total of 97-31. Pavia has scored 11 touchdowns with zero interceptions in the three games.

By the way, Vanderbilt had never beaten Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium before today. The Commodores have now beaten Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955. Pavie is on his way to becoming a college football folk hero. In Auburn, Alabama, however, he could become a perpetual scarecrow.

Loser: the Big 12

The Big 12 was in an incredibly strong position heading into November, with two undefeated teams and one losing team all in contention for the College Football Playoff. After Week 10, the dream of a two-bid Big 12 is probably out of the question.

No. 11 Iowa State played with fire a week ago against UCF, and it ultimately burned them in a heartbreaking 23-22 loss to Texas Tech. The Cyclones outgained Texas Tech by nearly 70 yards, but two turnovers and poor efficiency on third down ultimately doomed them. Less than an hour later, No. 17 Kansas State lost a shock 24-19 to Houston.

While the losses are important to each team’s Big 12 title chances, the implications will extend beyond this week. Now, BYU is the only undefeated team in the conference. More importantly, any team that lost to the Cougars in the Big 12 title game would suffer at least two losses. There’s still a narrow path to getting two teams (that involves an upset in the Big 12 title game), but it’s not as simple as it was before Saturday’s games.

Winner: Ole Miss

After a tough few weeks, it was nice to see Ole Miss shake off some rust and put an opponent through a table. Quarterback Jaxson Dart became the first quarterback in program history to throw for 500 yards and six touchdowns as the Rebels obliterated Arkansas 63-31 to improve to 7-2 and stay alive in the playoff race before a monster battle against No. 2 Georgia. Despite the absence of receiver Tre Harris and the loss of running back Henry Parrish Jr., the Rebels nearly reached 700 total yards and managed an absurd 16.5 yards per pass attempt. Ole Miss complicated its CFP case by dropping a clunker against Kentucky, but a home win against the Bulldogs next week can change the fortunes.

Loser: Penn State receivers

Penn State has fielded some of the best recruiting classes in the country and has stockpiled talent at nearly every position. But in a 20-13 loss to No. 4 Ohio State, the gap at wide receiver couldn’t have been greater. The Nittany Lions completed just three total passes to wide receivers for 49 yards, a brutal total for the No. 3 team in the country. Quarterback Drew Allar wasn’t great, but he played well enough to win. Outside of tight end Tyler Warren, he received no help.

Granted, Ohio State is at the opposite extreme with its embarrassment of riches, but receivers are more important now than ever. Ohio State struggled in several aspects of the game, but got key plays in the red zone from Brandon Inniss and Emeka Egbuka to score. Penn State simply won’t be able to compete at the highest level until it makes a major upgrade to its front office.

Winner: Minnesota

Don’t look now, but the Golden Gophers are quietly putting together a strong season. Minnesota came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to surprise No. 24 Illinois with a touchdown from quarterback Max Brosmer to Jameson Geers. It was Minnesota’s fourth straight victory after victories over USC, UCLA and Maryland. Outside of a 17-point loss to Iowa earlier this season, the Gophers’ other two losses came by a total of five points. PJ Fleck is quietly putting together one of his best coaching jobs.

Loser: Memphis

The Tigers had an opportunity to solidify their path to an AAC championship game by defeating a struggling UTSA team. Instead, a series of poor performances ultimately ended in defeat. The Tigers lost a stunning 44-36 to the Roadrunners as Memphis turned the ball over twice and gave up over 400 yards. UTSA quarterback Owen McCown threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns in his 10th career start. Memphis is headed to a breakout year behind senior quarterback Seth Henigan and senior running back Mario Anderson Jr. Now, any chance of challenging for the top spot in the CFP is gone.