College Football Power Rankings: Indiana tightens grip on No. 1 position as Miami returns to top 10
The Hoosiers left little doubt about their No. 1 standing in the CBS Sports Power Rankings after trouncing UCLA
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1 min read
Several nationally ranked teams flirted with disaster in Week 9, Brian Kelly talked and coached his way out of a job and Indiana tightened its grip on No. 1 in the CBS Sports Power Rankings.
Six teams remain unbeaten, four now sit at 8-0, and every one of them not on a bye handled business by double digits. The loudest statement came from No. 4 Texas A&M, which stormed into Baton Rouge and wrecked LSU 49–25. That result ended LSU's playoff hopes and Kelly's tenure. The school fired him Sunday after only his second nighttime loss inside Tiger Stadium.
A coach who won 70% of his games at LSU is out. That's life in the SEC, where the Tigers' last three national championships were all won by coaches in their third or fourth seasons. Kelly didn't reach the finish line of his fourth year thanks, in part, to a third loss, which effectively eliminated the Tigers from the playoff.
Now the search is on for a new coach "who fits our culture and community and who embraces the excellence that we demand," athletics director Scott Woodward said in a statement Sunday.
Kelly never fully connected with Louisiana's culture or community, and that disconnect proved fatal. He was a riddle of a coach. Kelly was good enough to tease expectations but never enough to meet them and never truly one of them.
CBS Sports 136: Ole Miss rises in college football rankings, LSU tumbles as coaching search begins
Chip Patterson
Elsewhere, Ole Miss picked up a big win at Oklahoma, strengthening its case for the playoff with four games remaining against teams with a combined record of 13-18, including FCS The CItadel.
Curt Cignetti hushed the feel-good story of UCLA with a 56-6 trouncing of the Bruins. Texas survived again, defeating Mississippi State in overtime after trailing by 17 points. Steve Sarkisian's day started with a report tying him to the NFL, and it ended with him explaining away back-to-back overtime wins against cellar dwellers -- and a few choice words for the media.
Just another week of crazy finishes and gargantuan buyouts in college football, where more than $167 million is now tied up in payouts for coaches fired before the final week of October.
Biggest Movers
6
Cincinnati
7
Missouri
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Hoosiers drilled resurgent UCLA 56-6 for their third win by 50 points or more this season. Curt Cignetti has built a relentless machine in Bloomington with a Heisman Trophy frontrunner (QB Fernando Mendoza) and an equally impressive defense. Next up is a trip to Maryland. | -- | 8-0 |
| 2 |  | Ohio State rested this week and prepared for Penn State, a game which has so much less hype surrounding it than it did just a few weeks ago. | -- | 7-0 |
| 3 |  | Alabama was nearly the victim of the biggest upset of Week 9, but Ty Simpson led the Tide back from a 22-14 deficit in the final 3 minutes to win 29-22 at South Carolina. Simpson has thrown two-plus touchdowns in all eight starts, which is the most by an Alabama quarterback in the last 30 years. | -- | 7-1 |
| 4 |  | The Aggies made history - and set in motion Brian Kelly's ouster - with an incredible 49-25 victory at LSU. Mike Elko's crew outscored the Tigers 35-7 in the second half and handed Kelly only his second loss at night inside Tiger Stadium. Texas A&M is 8-0 for the first time since 1992. QB Marcel Reed tied his career high with four total touchdowns and is a legitimate threat in the Heisman race. | -- | 8-0 |
| 5 |  | Georgia's win against Ole Miss got a nice bump in the analytics during its bye week thanks to the Rebels' win at Oklahoma over the weekend. Two ranked teams remain on the schedule: Texas and Georgia Tech. | -- | 6-1 |
| 6 |  | Ole Miss picked up a signature win with a 34-26 victory at Oklahoma, snapping the program's nine-game road losing streak against AP-ranked opponents. Trinidad Chambeliss threw for 315 yards and rushed for 53 more. The schedule sets up perfectly for the Rebels to reach the playoff, with three of the last four games at home (South Carolina, The Citadel and Florida) before traveling to Mississippi State for the Egg Bowl. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 7 |  | Just call this Vandy squad the school's All-Century team because it continues to make history not seen since the early 1900s. The Commodores beat Missouri for their third win against an AP top 15 team for the first time in school history. Vandy is 7-1 before November for the first time since 1915. Next up is an intriguing trip to Texas. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 8 |  | The win wasn't pretty against Wisconsin, but that wasn't what had fans concerned at Oregon. Quarterback Dante Moore left the game in the third quarter after a hit to the nose. Running backs Jordon Davison and Noah Whittington combined for 199 rushing yards in the 21-7 win. The Ducks are on a bye this week. | 2 | 7-1 |
| 9 |  | The Yellow Jackets demolished Syracuse 41-16 to move to 8-0 for the first time since 1966. They're also 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1962 when Georgia Tech was a member of the SEC. QB Haynes King accounted for 395 yards and five total touchdowns. Also, why isn't King being mentioned in the Heisman race? | -- | 8-0 |
| 10 |  | The Hurricanes fell behind 7-0 against Stanford but then reeled off 42 unanswered points in a blowout of the Cardinal. Miami leaves the state of Florida for the first time this season (!) this week with a trip to SMU in what might be an elimination game in the chase for the ACC title. | 1 | 6-1 |
| 11 |  | Notre Dame sat at home during the bye week, and its path to the playoff still looks manageable. Undefeated Navy is on the docket Nov. 8 and a trip to Pitt after that is the most difficult challenge. First up is Boston College on the road this week. | 1 | 5-2 |
| 12 |  | There's something magical about the Cougars. Kalani Sitake's team rallied from a 24-10 deficit to defeat Iowa State 41-27 on the road Saturday. BYU has two 14-point comebacks this season after entering the year 1-29 when trailing by 14 or more points since 2016. The trip to Texas Tech in two weeks looms large in the Big 12 title chase. | 3 | 8-0 |
| 13 |  | Texas Tech got back on track with a 42-0 win against Oklahoma State for its biggest shutout victory in the Big 12 since 2000. They led from the outset, scoring on a 99-yard kickoff return by J'Koby Williams to open the game. Backup Will Hammond started at quarterback but left in the second quarter and is believed to now be out for the season with an injury. Starter Behren Morton has been limited by a lower leg injury. | 3 | 7-1 |
| 14 |  | Virginia just keeps winning with theatrics. This time the Cavaliers stopped North Carolina's Davion Gause short of the goal line on a 2-point conversion attempt in overtime to win 17-16. Virginia is off to its best start since 2007 and has already won more games (7) this season than it has since 2019. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 15 |  | Welcome back, Isaac Brown. Louisville's star running back, who many believed was one of the nation's best, scored his first touchdown since Week 2 and rushed for a career-high 205 yards on only 14 touches in a 38-24 victory against Boston College. The Cards are 6-1 for the second time in three seasons under coach Jeff Brohm. | 1 | 6-1 |
| 16 |  | The Vols rebounded from their 17-point loss at Alabama by trouncing Kentucky on the road in a 56-34 win. Joey Aguilar threw for a season-high 396 yards and three touchdowns. Coach Josh Heupel next hosts his alma mater, Oklahoma, in Knoxville this week. | 3 | 6-2 |
| 17 |  | Missouri still doesn't have a win against a ranked team, though both losses have come against top-10 opponents. That's not the worst news. QB Beau Pribula was carted off the field during the 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt with an ankle injury and could miss the rest of the regular season. True freshman Matt Zollers stepped in and threw for 138 yards and a touchdown and had the Tigers 1 yard short of possibly tying or winning the game on a Hail Mary. | 7 | 6-2 |
| 18 |  | Steve Sarkisian's bad day nearly got worse, but the Longhorns rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat Mississippi State 45-38 in overtime in Starkville. The day ended with the Texas coach calling out a report claiming he has communicated interest to NFL teams. That's two overtime wins in two weeks against arguably the worst teams in the SEC (Kentucky and Mississippi State). | 3 | 6-2 |
| 19 |  | Things could get bad for Oklahoma down the stretch because of a brutal schedule. The loss to Ole Miss stings, but the Sooners need to rebound quickly. Their next three opponents - Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri - are ranked in the AP top 20 and the next two are on the road. | 3 | 6-2 |
| 20 |  | Scott Satterfield has gone from preseason hot seat to potential coach of the year in the Big 12. The Bearcats have won seven straight since their loss to Nebraska in the season opener and are 5-0 in the Big 12 or the first time ever. They beat Baylor 41-20 on Saturday. They travel this week to Big 12 contender Utah, which has made it a habit of demolishing visiting teams in Salt Lake City. | NR | 7-1 |
| 21 |  | Watch out for the Hawkeyes. Iowa beat Minnesota 41-3 in a game coach PJ Fleck expected to be a "rock fight." Well, Iowa was doing the hurling with scores through the air, on the ground and on a punt return and pick six. Mark Gronowski is now the winningest quarterback in NCAA history with 55 wins in a career that started at South Dakota State. | NR | 6-2 |
| 22 |  | USC isn't entirely out of the playoff race. The Trojans can win out and get into the field, particularly with top-10 Oregon still on the docket as a road game. USC was on a bye week but returns to the road Saturday at Nebraska. | 2 | 5-2 |
| 23 |  | The Wolverines knocked off Michigan State for a fourth straight time. Justice Haynes didn't look hindered after being listed on the availability report as "questionable." He rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns, recording an FBS-leading sixth 100-yard rushing game. Jordan Marshall also added 110 yards. | 2 | 6-2 |
| 24 |  | Denzel Boston was a beast in Washington's 42-25 win against nationally ranked Illinois. He had 153 yards receiving and a touchdown catch to go along with a touchdown pass. Demond Williams Jr. threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns to snap the program's four-game losing streak against top 25 teams. | NR | 6-2 |
| 25 |  | Don't look now, but Houston is a threat in the Big 12. Willie Fritz has Houston on the rise following a 24-16 win against short-handed Arizona State. The Sun Devils played without leading receiver Jordyn Tyson. Cougars QB Conner Weigman threw for 201 yards and rushed for a career-high 111 yards to go along with three touchdowns. | NR | 7-1 |
