Week 10 was a frustrating experience for many college football fans across the country, as a dispute between YouTube TV and ESPN led to millions not being able to watch games on ESPN or ABC on Saturday.
This writer was included in that mix, and still isn’t happy about it. If you were able to avoid the latest streaming drama, there was a good chance you watched your team come up short.
There were plenty of upsets, from Houston falling to West Virginia to SMU potentially knocking Miami out of the playoffs one week after the Mustangs lost to Wake Forest.
Was the chaos enough to get TCU back in the Associated Press Top 25 despite the Horned Frogs having a bye week?
Here’s how the Star-Telegram’s Steven Johnson voted on his latest AP Top 25 ballot:
Steven Johnson’s AP Top 25 ballot
1. Ohio State (8-0): The Buckeyes make a move up over Indiana thanks to their season-opening win over Texas starting to age better. Ohio State pulled away from Penn State 38-14 on Saturday. Last week: 2
2. Indiana (9-0): The Hoosiers dominated Maryland 55-10 and only fell because of the Longhorns’ win over Vanderbilt, which helped the Buckeyes. Last week: 1
3. Texas A&M (8-0): The Aggies had a bye. Last week: 3
4. Alabama (7-1): The Crimson Tide had a bye. Last week: 4
5. Georgia (7-1): With another controversial call in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs avoided an upset to Florida. Last week: 5.
6. Ole Miss (8-1): The Rebels pulled away in the second half to defeat South Carolina 30-14. Last week: 6
7. BYU (8-0): The Cougars had a bye. Last week: 7
8. Notre Dame (6-2): The Fighting Irish got a big game from running back Jeremiyah Love to defeat Boston College 25-10. Last week: 9
9. Texas Tech (8-1): The Red Raiders defeated Kansas State 43-20. Last week: 11
10. Texas (7-2): Despite some close calls, the Longhorns have won four straight after holding on to beat Vanderbilt 34-31. That was a second Top 25 win for Texas. Last week: 19
11. Oregon (7-1): The Ducks had a bye. Last week: 13
12. Virginia (8-1): The Cavaliers continued their surprising run with a 31-21 win over California. Last week: 15
13. Louisville (7-1): The Cardinals defeated Virginia Tech 28-16, but star running back Isaac Brown got banged up in the process. Last week: 16
14. Oklahoma (7-2): The Sooners added a quality win on the road at Tennessee and remain in the College Football Playoff race. Last week: 21
15. Miami (6-2): A late penalty on fourth down doomed the Hurricanes in overtime at SMU. It may prove difficult for Miami to get back into the CFP mix. Last week: 8
16. Utah (7-2): The Utes made a big jump after blowing out a red-hot Cincinnati team 45-14. Last week: 25
17. Memphis (8-1): The Tigers handled their business Friday night with a convincing win over Rice. Last week: 20
18. Vanderbilt (7-2): The Commodores’ rally against Texas came up just short, but by avoiding a blowout, Vandy’s playoff hopes are still alive. Last week: 10
19. USC (6-2): The Trojans stormed back in Lincoln to defeat Nebraska and overcome a rowdy blackout environment. Last week: 22
20. Michigan (7-2): The Wolverines had an underwhelming 21-16 win over Purdue; the passing game remains a question mark. Last week: 23
21. Washington (6-2): The Huskies had a bye. Last week: 24
22. Georgia Tech (8-1): The Yellow Jackets’ defense couldn’t get off the field in a 48-36 loss against N.C. State. Last week: 12
23. Cincinnati (7-2): The Bearcats were humbled in a 45-14 defeat at Utah. Last week: 14
24. Pittsburgh (7-2): The Panthers make their debut on the ballot after defeating Stanford 35-20. Last week: NR
25. Arizona State (6-3): Backup quarterback Jeff Sims had a career game — 177 yards and a touchdown passing, 228 and two TDs rushing — as the Sun Devils shocked Iowa State in Ames. Last week: NR
Moved out: Houston (17), Tennessee (18)
Moved up: Pittsburgh, Arizona State
Explaining the decisions
There wasn’t much movement on the ballot this week in terms of teams falling out, but many teams made big jumps up or down. After Houston laid an egg at home against West Virginia, it was an easy call to have the Cougars fall off the ballot, and Tennessee has no argument to be ranked aside from having “good” losses to Alabama, Georgia and now Oklahoma. We want to reward wins at this point of the season.
The Longhorns moving up to No. 10 does feel like a big jump, but wins over Vanderbilt and Oklahoma are hard to ignore.
Pittsburgh has been flying under the radar all season and has one of the best freshman quarterbacks in the country with Mason Heintschel. Arizona State is without quarterback Sam Leavitt for the rest of the year and hasn’t had star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, but the Sun Devils showed they’re still capable of winning games by upsetting Iowa State.
Why TCU isn’t ranked
The Horned Frogs got a quartet of good results with SMU, Baylor, North Carolina and West Virginia all winning on Saturday. It’s enough to get TCU within this writer’s top 30, but still not quite good enough to be ranked.
If TCU beats Iowa State this Saturday and has the right results happen, the Horned Frogs will likely be back on the ballot next week.