A wild Saturday of college football delivered on its promise, as four schools in the College Football Playoff top 10 went down to defeat, headlined by Notre Dame's 31-24 victory over No. 1 Miami. It marked the first time since 1990 that the No. 1 team in the AP poll has lost four times in a regular season, and a top-two team has now fallen in five consecutive weeks, tied for the longest such run in AP and CFP poll history.
The Fighting Irish emerged as the biggest winners of Week 10 in the playoff picture. Already a -475 favorite to reach the postseason, Notre Dame is now priced at -4000, with only Georgia, the new No. 1 in both the AP and CFP rankings, holding shorter odds at -9000. The Irish earn an automatic berth as long as they finish in the CFP top 12, and their remaining regular-season games are at home against Boston College and SMU and on the road at Syracuse.
Saturday's result also carried a bit of symmetry for the program. It came exactly six years to the day after Notre Dame's previous win over a No. 1 team, a victory over Clemson during the 2020 COVID season, when the Irish spent one year as a full-time ACC member.
Quarterback CJ Carr is now the +190 favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, improving from +500 as the third choice entering the weekend. The junior completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Hurricanes, becoming only the fifth FBS quarterback in the past 30 years to throw for at least 300 yards and three scores without a pick against the nation's No. 1 team. The others were Ohio State's Will Howard against Oregon, Alabama's Bryce Young against Georgia, and Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson against Alabama. None of them won the Heisman, though none produced their performance during the regular season.
One factor working against Carr is that Notre Dame will not play in a conference championship game, denying him a national showcase on the final weekend before votes are due on Dec. 7, the Monday after championship Saturday. Notre Dame has not had a Heisman winner since Tim Brown in 1987, its last quarterback winner was John Huarte in 1964, and no Irish quarterback has finished in the top three since Brady Quinn in 2006.
Miami's Darian Mensah entered the weekend as the +170 second favorite and remains second at +250. The absence of star wideout Malachi Toney, who will miss the rest of the regular season and the ACC title game, was felt across the Hurricanes offense. Mensah posted a season-worst 55.8% completion rate with a season-high 19 incompletions after entering the game with only 45 all year. Miami's remaining schedule of Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College offers few signature opportunities.
Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith, the +150 favorite entering Saturday, slipped to +280 and is the only other player under +1500 in the odds. The Buckeyes were stunned 41-28 at home by Oregon, their second straight double-digit loss and third overall, leaving them effectively out of the playoff race. An injury to quarterback Julian Sayin in the Oct. 17 win at Indiana derailed the season and likely Smith's Heisman hopes, even though he caught seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown against the Ducks.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier made the weekend's biggest jump, moving from +10000 to +1500 after the Utes beat BYU 28-20 to end a three-game skid in the Holy War. The senior threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 87 yards and two more scores in Utah's 15th straight win, his 17th consecutive game with at least two touchdowns. The Utes, one of only two unbeaten teams remaining alongside UCLA, are now -700 to reach the playoff, but face a tricky test Saturday at No. 22 Arizona before closing at TCU and at home against West Virginia. The best Heisman finish by a Utah player remains Alex Smith's fourth place in 2004.
Georgia's Gunner Stockton sits at +2700 despite leading the new No. 1 team, raising questions about whether his individual numbers are strong enough to close the gap on Carr, Mensah or Dampier in the final weeks.
