College Football 2024: Winners and Losers from Week 10
The first weekend of November started in style.
Ohio State traveled to Penn State for a Top Five showdown, where the result had a significant impact on both the Big Ten and College Football Playoff races.
That matchup headlined an interesting day around college football. Miami escaped once again, but the Big 12 saw a couple of massive upsets—and Hugh Freeze can't stop losing to Diego Pavia.
Best of all, there was more to come on Saturday.
#TeamChaos came for Texas A&M and Clemson, and SMU destroyed Pitt in a battle of unbeaten ACC squads.
Winner: Boise State's CFP Hopes
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Last week, Boise State took an important step toward the College Football Playoff with a Friday night win.
And the Broncos just did it again.
The most important part for Boise State is that it handed another Mountain West team its first conference loss of the season. First, it was UNLV. This time, it was San Diego State in a 56-24 rout while Heisman Trophy contender Ashton Jeanty rumbled to 149 yards and two scores.
As a result, the Broncos—who are the reigning league champions—are in great position to make the MWC title game. In addition to owning tiebreaker edges on UNLV and SDSU, they're guaranteed to get separation from Colorado State or Fresno State because of an upcoming regular-season clash between those two schools.
Boise State will likely be the highest-ranked Group of Five program in the first CFP rankings of the season. If the Broncos win out, they're unlikely to relinquish that status, too.
Loser: James Franklin, Again
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Look, the narrative exists for a reason.
Bill O'Brien stabilized Penn State when the school desperately needed it, and James Franklin has since made the Nittany Lions a respected team every year. In the 12-team Playoff era, a regular 10-win program like Penn State is built to capitalize on the greater access.
To be a true national threat, however, you need to beat top teams. Franklin has been in Happy Valley for 11 years, and Saturday's 20-13 loss to fourth-ranked Ohio State carried on all-too-familiar trends.
Franklin is now 1-10 against the Buckeyes and 1-13 against Top Five opponents while at Penn State.
It's simply not good enough.
Franklin's job security will inevitably be a major question in the aftermath of yet another big loss. Penn State may close the regular season at 11-1 and make the CFP anyway. The grass isn't always greener.
But there's simply no denying Franklin's issues in marquee games.
Winner: Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss
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Well, hello again, Ole Miss!
I have no problem acknowledging my hesitation around the Rebels on Saturday. They dominant lesser competition early in the season, but a very talented offense mostly had not impressed in SEC action. They could've been tested by a solid Arkansas team.
Instead, the Rebels won a laugher behind a resurgent performance from quarterback Jaxson Dart. After totaling three touchdowns in his last four games, Dart tossed six scores while totaling 562 offensive yards.
Oh, and a nominee for Box Score of the Week: Jordan Watkins made eight catches for 254 yards and five touchdowns.
Seen worse!
Ole Miss cruised to a 63-31 blowout of Arkansas and will be plenty confident when Georgia comes to Oxford next weekend.
Loser: Hugh Freeze vs. Diego Pavia
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I can only imagine that if Hugh Freeze has a recurring nightmare, it always includes Diego Pavia.
Seriously, this streak is wild.
During the 2022 campaign, Pavia totaled 339 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-14 blowout for New Mexico State opposite a Freeze-led Liberty team. Last season, Pavia collected 236 yards and three scores while propelling NMSU to a 31-10 upset of Freeze-led Auburn.
Pavia transferred to Vanderbilt this offseason, and on Saturday he guided the Commodores—who officially will be playing in a bowl for the first time since 2018—to a 17-7 victory at Auburn.
Fortunately for Freeze, this is Pavia's final year of eligibility. He won't be on the field when Auburn travels to Vandy in 2025.
Winner: Cam Ward's Heisman Hopes
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Earlier in the week, Miami unveiled an official Heisman Trophy campaign for star quarterback Cam Ward. No matter what happened between now and December's ceremony, he certainly deserves that hype today.
Well, it was almost until today.
Miami jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Saturday afternoon, but Duke—led by former UM boss Manny Diaz—put a massive scare into the undefeated 'Canes. Duke scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives, ultimately building a 28-17 advantage early in the third quarter.
But then, as he's done all season, Ward responded. He quickly led three straight touchdown drives, finishing with 400 passing yards and five scores in what ended up being a comfortable 53-31 victory.
He threw another mind-numbing, across-the-field interception and lost an inconsequential fumble, yes. Ward was not perfect.
Miami, nevertheless, improved to 9-0 and remains the nation's most consistently dangerous offense. It's a team game, but the Hurricanes' success would not be happening without Ward.
Loser: Iowa State's Perfect Record
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Perhaps it was only fitting that rain poured onto the field as Texas Tech sealed a 23-22 upset win at Iowa State.
The gloomy weather helped mask the tears in Ames.
For a moment, the 11th-ranked Cyclones seemed they might get away with another close victory. Rocco Becht hit Carson Brown for a go-ahead 44-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, giving ISU a late 22-17 lead.
Texas Tech, however, slowly marched down the field. Running back Tahj Brooks took a direct snap and scampered past the right pylon for a game-winning five-yard score in the closing seconds. The defense held on the desperation drive, pouncing on a fumble as time expired.
On the bright side for the Cyclones, the loss doesn't completely ruin their season. They can still bounce back and reach the Big 12 Championship Game, where a victory would result in an automatic CFP berth.
But the dream of a perfect year is over.
Winner: Willie Fritz's Signature Upset
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As first-year coaches try to sell their vision to recruits, on-field results may be a struggle. There is a reason, after all, that a program had to hire somebody else—and it's usually not a positive one.
Such is the case at Houston, which moved on from Dana Holgorsen after a 4-8 season and hired Willie Fritz.
He officially has a signature win.
Despite trailing 19-10 in the fourth quarter, the Cougars roared back to upset 17th-ranked Kansas State. Two interceptions and Zeon Chriss' late 41-yard touchdown run keyed UH's dramatic 24-19 victory.
Houston, which entered Week 10 ranked last in the country at 14.1 points per game, remains a major work in progress.
This victory, though, is a much-needed catalyst for Fritz and his staff to improve their pitch on the recruiting trail.
Loser: Georgia's Offense
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Georgia won. That's what the Dawgs care about.
As their fans celebrate a fourth consecutive win over rival Florida, though, the concern about UGA's offense is undeniable.
Carson Beck tossed three interceptions, which he'd already done in both the loss at Alabama and last week's victory over Texas. The worst part is Beck, who's thrown 11 picks in eight contests this year, made a few truly terrible decisions. It wasn't just a string of bad luck.
The context of Saturday's game meant the mistakes weren't crushing.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, a talented true freshman yet a replacement for the injured Graham Mertz, exited with a potentially serious injury of his own. After that, it always felt inevitable that UGA would escape, and two UF mistakes—a botched snap on a field goal and a late interception—aided the Dawgs in their 34-20 triumph.
Georgia's defense is good enough to beat anyone. Conversely, if Beck continues to have a turnover problem, just about anyone may be able to steal one from the Dawgs.
Winner: South Carolina's Upset
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The recipe was there: Elite defense, home-field advantage, night game. We've watched this movie before.
And the Gamecocks cooked up that familiar upset.
With a pair of critical 4th-and-1 stops, their defense provided the edge. Those turnovers on downs in Texas A&M's own territory led to 10 points for South Carolina, which pulled away late for a 44-20 rout.
Now, don't be mistaken, the Gamecocks' offense had an excellent night, too. LaNorris Sellers threw for 244 yards, scampered for 106 yards and totaled three touchdowns. Raheim Sanders rushed for 144 yards and two scores, also reeling in five passes for 92 yards.
Add in Alex Herrera's three field goals, and it was a complete team win.
After being so close against LSU and Alabama earlier this year, South Carolina left no doubt and handed 10th-ranked A&M what could be a season-altering loss for the Aggies.
Loser: Clemson's Offense
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Back in Week 1, Clemson lost to Georgia in ugly fashion. Cade Klubnik mustered 142 yards on 29 pass attempts, and the Tigers totaled just 188 yards in a 34-3 beatdown.
Since then, the offense had thrived. Clemson averaged at least 6.6 yards per snap in each of the last six games.
All of that progress disappeared Saturday in a 33-21 loss to Louisville.
Louisville held Klubnik to a meager 4.1 yards per throw, limiting him to 228 yards on 56 passes. Phil Mafah picked up a quality 171 yards on the ground, but Clemson's rushing attack was basically a non-factor until after Louisville had built a 19-point advantage.
Even the Tigers' two late scoring drives were slogs; they needed a combined 28 plays and nearly nine minutes to cover 136 yards.
Clemson is suddenly on the fringe of both the ACC and Playoff races.
Winner: SMU's ACC Statement
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Ready or not, here comes SMU!
In the program's debut year as a power-conference team, the Mustangs have elevated their game. They've risen from a preseason sleeper to a prime ACC contender, navigating an in-season QB change to put themselves on the brink of a shot at the league title.
Last weekend, SMU was extremely fortunate to escape Duke in overtime despite committing six turnovers in the game. This week, however, the Mustangs dominated Pitt all night in a 48-25 annihilation.
And that's probably an understatement.
Kevin Jennings passed for 306 yards and two scores. Brashard Smith rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns. The defense nabbed two takeaways and forced two turnovers on downs. You could be forgiven for not believing Pitt entered with a perfect 7-0 record.
Now 8-1 overall with a 5-0 mark in conference, SMU is set to play Boston College, Virginia and Cal following an open Saturday. One at a time, yes, but the Mustangs will be favored in each matchup.
This dominant win combined with Clemson's loss means SMU is officially an ACC front-runner next to Miami.
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