The Top Ten

1. Utah (10-0) — Survived a 40-39 thriller at Arizona; 16 straight wins, the longest streak in the country.

2. Georgia (9-1) — Rolled Missouri 48-21 at home, a second straight ranked rout after last week's 42-7 win at Ole Miss.

3. Notre Dame (9-1) — Routed Boston College 41-7 at home; still owns the season's best win, 31-24 over No. 1 Miami.

4. UCLA (10-0) — Beat Illinois 22-14 at the Rose Bowl; still unbeaten, still without a ranked win.

5. Miami (9-1) — Beat Duke 36-25 at home; the only loss is at Notre Dame.

6. Indiana (9-1) — Beat No. 15 USC 27-13 at home, the Hoosiers' first ranked win of the season.

7. Wake Forest (9-1) — Demolished SMU 49-7 on the road, 42-0 by halftime; the weekend's biggest statement.

8. Texas (8-2) — Won 22-21 at LSU on a touchdown with three seconds left.

9. Tennessee (8-2) — Won 22-7 at Texas A&M behind a defense that closed the door late.

10. Texas Tech (9-1) — Won 52-27 at Oklahoma State; nine wins, two over ranked teams.

Knocking on the door: Alabama (8-2), BYU (8-2), Iowa (8-2), Boise State (9-1).

Utah Survives the Desert

Two teams are still unbeaten, and only one had to sweat on Saturday. Utah escaped Tucson with a 40-39 win over Arizona in a game with seven lead changes. Arizona led 39-33 late after a deep ball to Isaiah Mizell, set up by a muffed punt, but Utah answered with a long touchdown strike to Creed Whittemore, and the Wildcats could not answer late. It was the Utes' 16th straight win, the longest streak in the country, and it keeps Utah alone at the top — the only unbeaten with a ranked win.

Georgia keeps doing what Georgia does in November, beating Missouri 48-21 at Sanford Stadium for a second straight ranked rout after last week's 42-7 win at Ole Miss — 90 points to 28 across the two games. That is why Georgia stays right behind Utah despite the October loss at Auburn.

Notre Dame made it look easy, beating Boston College 41-7 at home as CJ Carr threw touchdown passes of 26 yards to Malachi Gilbert and 13 yards to Jordan Faison. The Irish still own the season's best win — 31-24 over No. 1 Miami — and their only loss is a four-point game at BYU, 28-24.

UCLA is the other unbeaten and the toughest call of the week. The Bruins beat Illinois 22-14 at the Rose Bowl to move to 10-0, and nobody can take the zero away from them. But they still have not beaten a ranked team, and that is the difference between fourth and first. An unbeaten record earns a high floor. It does not earn the top spot by itself.

The Middle Packs a Punch

Miami bounced back the way a contender should, beating Duke 36-25 at home. The Hurricanes still lead the ACC race, and their only loss is on the road against the team ranked third here.

Indiana finally got the ranked win its record was missing, beating No. 15 USC 27-13 in Bloomington after Jayden Maiava threw two interceptions down the stretch. Indiana's only loss is a four-point game against Ohio State, 19-15, and the Hoosiers have already survived two overtime escapes against Michigan and Minnesota.

Then there is Wake Forest, the loudest noise of the weekend. The Demon Deacons went to SMU and won 49-7 — 42-0 by halftime. Gio Lopez returned from a one-week injury absence and threw for 201 yards and a touchdown while running for 34 yards and two more scores, the Deacons ran for 286 yards as a team, and the defense forced three turnovers. Wake's only loss is to Miami, and after a road win like that the Deacons belong in the top ten on merit, not reputation.

Texas earned its spot the hard way, beating LSU 22-21 in Baton Rouge as Arch Manning led a 2:16 game-winning drive that ended in a touchdown with three seconds left — even after Manning threw three interceptions, matching LSU's Sam Leavitt throw for throw.

Tennessee did it with defense, beating Texas A&M 22-7 in College Station before two fourth-quarter interceptions iced the game. It is the Vols' second win over a top-ten opponent this season, after the 34-6 demolition of Kentucky.

Texas Tech rounds out the ten, beating Oklahoma State 52-27 in Stillwater after jumping out to a 22-0 lead. Thomas Castellanos threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns before leaving early as a precaution. Tech is 9-1 with ranked wins over Houston and Arizona, and its only loss is at Cincinnati.

Just Outside

Alabama beat Vanderbilt 21-6 on the road, with Keelon Russell throwing all three Crimson Tide touchdowns. BYU bounced back from the Utah loss by beating Baylor 28-7, with Bear Bachmeier scoring three rushing touchdowns in the first half while the defense held Baylor to 238 total yards. Iowa beat Purdue 28-7 behind a second-half shutout. Boise State stayed in the hunt at 9-1, outlasting Oregon State 46-41, but the Broncos still have no ranked win and a Group of 6 schedule, so they wait.

Around the country, Arkansas stunned South Carolina 34-6 in Fayetteville, forcing four turnovers with the Gamecocks' LaNorris Sellers sidelined by an ankle injury. UNLV rallied from 14-0 down to beat No. 23 New Mexico 21-17 in Albuquerque. Stanford snapped a 15-game road losing streak with a 40-22 win at Virginia Tech, and UTSA shut down the nation's top offense in a 35-16 win over North Texas.

The weekend is not quite over: Ole Miss visits Oklahoma on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network, a rare Sunday game that pushes the AP poll release to Monday afternoon. Next Saturday: Georgia goes to South Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET, LSU visits Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. ET, and SMU visits Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. ET. Two weeks left, two unbeatens.

Who you got at No. 1 — Utah or Georgia? Drop your top ten in the comments. 👇

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