The first College Football Playoff rankings come out on Tuesday, so it is probably appropriate that this weekend’s slate of games throws one last monkey wrench into the mix.

Clemson seemed like it was heading for a battle with Miami for ACC supremacy but faltered. Now, darkhorse SMU is emerging as the biggest threat.

Texas A&M was the last unbeaten in the SEC and it was throttled by South Carolina, so that one is up for grabs, too.

About the only thing that seems to be a sure thing is Boise State as the Group of Five representative.

BYU, Texas and Notre Dame all were off.

Our top four teams haven’t changed: Oregon, Georgia, Miami and BYU. But there is plenty of movement elsewhere. The top four conference champions earn first-round byes. There has to be a Group of 5 school. This is what our 12-team field would look like if the season ended today.

1. Oregon (9-0, 6-0)

The Ducks got an efficient performance from Dillon Gabriel and coasted to a 38-17 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor. Gabriel went 22-for-34 for 294 yards with a touchdown and sprinted home 23 yards for one that gave Oregon an 18-point halftime lead. Jordan James ran for 117 yards and the Ducks never looked back.

Last week: 1. Next: vs. Maryland on Saturday.

2. Georgia (7-1, 5-1)

The Bulldogs had a tougher-than-expected time with rival Florida but ended up with a 34-20 victory. The contest was even at 20 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs went ahead for good on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Carson Beck to Dominic Lovett with 4:01 to go. Beck threw for 309 yards but was intercepted three times.

Last week: 2. Next: at Mississippi on Saturday.

3. Miami (9-0, 5-0)

The Hurricanes were challenged early but ended up with a 53-31 win over Duke. The Hurricanes trailed 28-17 but rallied. Miami scored the last 21 points of the contest, two of those coming on touchdown passes by Cam Ward who threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns on the day. Ward now has 29 touchdown passes, tying Steve Walsh’s Hurricanes single-season record set in 1988.

Last week: 3. Next: at Georgia Tech on Saturday.

4. BYU (8-0, 5-0)

The Cougars had a week off to brace for their in-state rival, Utah, which has had the better of the battle of late. This appears to be a season BYU can exact some revenge and keep its conference title hopes alive, not to mention further its cause for a playoff berth.

Last week: 4. Next: at Utah on Saturday.

5. Ohio State (7-1, 4-1)

The Buckeyes held Penn State to 270 total yards and got some timely field goals in hanging on for a 20-13 win in a Big Ten battle of title contenders. Ohio State led 14-10 at the half and neither team was able to score a touchdown in the second. The Buckeyes got field goals of 46 and 39 yards from Jayden Fielding to give them some breathing room.

Last week: 8. Next: vs. Purdue on Saturday.

6. Texas (7-1, 3-1)

The Longhorns had a bye and, with Texas A&M losing, remained in the hunt for a berth in the SEC championship game. Texas A&M was the last unbeaten in the conference.,

Last week: 6. Next: vs. Florida on Saturday

7. Tennessee (7-1, 4-1)

The Volunteers chalked up a 28-18 win over Kentucky with Nico Iamaleava throwing for 292 yards. Kentucky led 10-7 at the half, but Tennessee scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to take the lead for good. Tennessee had 478 yards total offense and benefited from three Kentucky turnovers.

Last week: 11 Next: vs. Mississippi State on Saturday.

8. Notre Dame (7-1)

The Fighting Irish had a bye and will be looking to extend their win streak to seven games next weekend. They had that early loss to Northern Illinois but have slowly crept back into the picture, but as an independent are not eligible for a first-round bye.

Last week: 12. Next: vs. Florida State on Saturday.

9. Boise State (7-1, 4-0)

Sophomore quarterback Maddux Madison threw for a career-high 307 yards and four touchdowns and Ashton Jeanty ran for 149 and two touchdowns as the Broncos cruised to a 56-24 win over San Diego State in Mountain West Conference play Friday. It was Jeanty’s eighth straight game of 100 yards or more, breaking the school record set by Jay Ajayi in 2014. Boise State’s lone loss was a 37-34 setback at now-No. 1 Oregon on Sept. 7.

Last week: 9. Next: vs. Nevada on Saturday.

10. Penn State (7-1, 4-1)

The Nittany Lions were upended by Ohio State 20-13, with their hopes of reaching the Big Ten championship dealt a serious blow. A berth in the the 12-team College Football Playoff still looks to be on solid ground. Penn State’s last win over Ohio State came in 2016. Penn State converted only three of 11 third-down tries and managed only 270 yards total offense.

Last week: 5. Next: vs. Washington on Saturday.

11. Clemson (6-2, 5-1)

The Tigers were soundly beaten by Louisville 33-21 and, with Miami and SMU still unbeaten, that is a significant setback for their ACC championship aspirations. It marked the first win over Clemson by Louisville in nine tries. Clemson saw its six-game win streak snapped, with its other loss being in the season opener against Georgia.

Last week: 8. Next: at Virginia Tech on Saturday

12. Indiana (9-0, 6-0)

Are the Hoosiers for real? It remains to be seen. There is no Penn State on the schedule. No Oregon or USC, either, so they have benefited from a light schedule. Indiana beat Michigan State 47-10 but that’s another mediocre foe at best. We’re pumping the brakes on boosting them too high, and the only reason they’re in is the number of losses by teams previously ahead of them in the pecking order.

Last week: Not ranked: Next: vs. Michigan

Dropped out: Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1, lost to South Carolina 44-20)

Bubble watch: Iowa State (7-1, 4-1, lost to Texas Tech 23-22), Kansas State (7-2, 4-2, lost to Houston 24-19), Pittsburgh (7-1, 3-1, lost to SMU 48-25), Alabama (6-2, 3-2, had a bye).

What the bracket would look like:

No. 12 Indiana vs. No. 5 Ohio State

No. 9 Boise State vs. No. 8 Notre Dame

No. 11 Clemson vs. No. 6 Texas

No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 7 Tennessee

That would give us quarterfinals

No. 12 Indiana-No. 5 Ohio State winner vs. No. 4 BYU

No. 9 Boise State-No. 8 Notre Dame winner vs. No. 1 Oregon

No. 11 Clemson-No. 6 Texas winner vs. No. 3 Miami

No. 10 Penn State-No. 7 Tennessee winner vs. No. 2 Georgia

CLARK COUNTY Wash. (KPTV) – A man is wanted after he was mistakenly released by the Clark County Jail last week instead of being returned to Oregon custody, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections on Sunday.

Officials with Clark County said 27-year-old Maurice Xavier Haynes was mistakenly released after a court appearance with Judge Gregerson in connection to a Clark County Superior Court case.

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Officials said Haynes was supposed to have been returned to the Oregon State Penitentiary after his sentencing in Clark County, but that information was not entered correctly at the time of booking, and he was released to the street on Oct. 28 at 8 p.m.

“We are reviewing and analyzing how this occurred to prevent this from happening in the future. It is with our sincerest apologies to you that this occurred,” Clark County officials said in a message to ODC that ODC forwarded to FOX 12 on Sunday.

Haynes is about 6-feet, 3-inches tall and 160 pounds. He also has a tattoo on the inside of his right forearm that reads “Markisha.”

Copyright 2024 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.

In the last AP Top 25 before the College Football Playoff selection committee weighs in, Oregon became the first team to be a unanimous No. 1 during the past three regular seasons and No. 8 Indiana and No. 13 SMU both surged up the rankings Sunday.

The Ducks received 62 first-place votes, winning over the last remaining holdout after getting 61 last week with Georgia receiving one. The Bulldogs were the last team to be unanimous No. 1 during the regular season, holding the top spot for eight straight weeks in 2021.

During the CFP era, the national champion has typically been a unanimous No. 1 in the final poll.

Georgia remained No. 2 with a win against Florida, seven points ahead of Ohio State after the Buckeyes beat Penn State 20-13 on Saturday in Happy Valley. No. 4 Miami and No. 5 Texas each moved up a spot. Penn State dropped three spots to No. 6 after losing for the first time this season, and Tennessee held at No. 7.

Indiana jumped five places into the top 10 for the first time this season. The Hoosiers are 9-0 for the first time in program history. Indiana last cracked the top 10 and peaked at No. 7 for four weeks of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Before that, the Hoosiers’ last top-10 appearance was in 1969.

Others receiving votes: Missouri 81, South Carolina 58, Tulane 41, UNLV 9, Louisiana 9, Washington 4, Arizona State 3, Iowa 2, Texas Tech 2

SMU was the biggest mover up, climbing seven spots from No. 20 to a season-high 13th after routing previously unbeaten Pitt. The Mustangs have their highest ranking since pre-NCAA death penalty in 1987. SMU began the 1985 No. 3 in the nation before finishing unranked. During its time in the American Athletic Conference, the Mustangs had four seasons during which they were ranked at some point, with a peak of No. 15 in 2019.

BYU is No. 9 and Notre Dame rounds out the top 10. After both Iowa State and Kansas State lost to unranked opponents Saturday, BYU is the only Big 12 team in the top 16. The Cyclones are 17th, Colorado is 21st and Kansas State is No. 22.

Undefeated Army is up to No. 18, its highest ranking since reaching the top 10 in 1962.

How will the poll compare to the CFP rankings?

The first CFP rankings in the expanded 12-team playoff will be released Tuesday night. During the 10 years of the four-team format, the selection committee’s initial rankings and the previous AP poll have had the same No. 1 team five times.

In only three instances, including last year, were the same four teams ranked in the top four in both the AP poll and first CFP Top 25 — but never in the same order.

Small differences seem huge when the cut-off is the top four. Generally, the two rankings are not drastically different. This season, the hot spot will be Nos. 10-14.

The AP’s 10-14 was shaken up this week with three upsets. Texas A&M, Clemson and Iowa State all lost to unranked teams Saturday. That cleared the way for No. 11 Alabama and No. 14 LSU to move up ahead of their matchup in Baton Rouge, La., next Saturday night.

Boise State is up three spots to No. 12, its highest AP ranking since 2011. The committee has historically been less bullish on Group of 5 teams, but where they land in the rankings has high stakes attached to it.

The 12-team CFP format reserves spots for the five highest-ranked conference champions, guaranteeing a spot for at least one team from outside the Power 5 conferences. Those teams are also eligible to receive at-large bids, but in the four-team system with no automatic access for conference champions, only once did a non-Power 5 team make the field: Cincinnati out of the AAC in 2021. — Ralph Russo, national college football writer

In and out

Illinois (6-3) ended a seven-week run in the rankings, tumbling out after losing to Minnesota on Saturday.

No. 25 Louisville (6-3) jumped back into the Top 25 after spending five weeks ranked earlier this season. The Cardinals beat Clemson for the first time in program history on Saturday night in Death Valley.

No. 24 Vanderbilt (6-3) is back in the poll after the Commodores broke an 11-year drought earlier this season. Vandy won at Auburn on Saturday, giving the school victories against both Alabama SEC teams for the first time since 1955.

Missouri, which had been barely hanging on to its ranking at No. 25, dropped out during an idle week.  — Russo

How I voted this week

• Indiana has been the most underrated team in the poll for a while, but voters are finally coming around to giving the season’s biggest surprise team respect. No, the Hoosiers haven’t played a daunting schedule, but they dominate opponents week after week. They rank second in yards per play differential and first in point differential. In other words, they do what a good team is supposed to do. I have Indiana all the way up at No. 5 on my ballot, and it finally moved up five spots in the poll to No. 8 after its 47-10 win against Michigan State moved it to 9-0 for the first time.

• A case could be made to jump Ohio State ahead of Georgia for No. 2 after winning at Penn State, especially given the Bulldogs’ struggles to pull away from Florida for much of Saturday. Then again, Ohio State had the same problem against Nebraska last week. Ultimately, they feel similar, both among the most talented teams in the country and capable of winning the national championship, but neither consistently hitting its full potential. I kept Georgia at No. 2 but moved the Buckeyes up two spots after I had them lower than the poll at fifth last week. It’s a close call. Georgia can strengthen its position with a win against Ole Miss next week.

• I moved Louisville in at No. 23, one spot ahead of Clemson. Clemson had been getting the benefit of the doubt with its only loss coming to Georgia, but it was blown out in that game and had feasted on a weak ACC slate. Though Louisville has one more loss, its three losses have come by seven points each to ranked teams (Notre Dame, Miami and SMU), and now it owns a dominant road win against the Tigers — its largest road win against a ranked team since 2000. Clemson hasn’t done anything to deserve being ranked ahead of the Cardinals, who did at least crack the poll at No. 25.

• I’m also higher on SMU than most of the rest of the voting panel. I vaulted the Mustangs to No. 10 on my ballot after their largest win against a ranked team since 1985. Not only did they blow out Pitt, which is still ranked, but their win against Louisville got a boost by the Cardinals’ big night at Clemson. Plus, SMU’s only loss is by three to unbeaten BYU.  — Matt Brown college sports managing editor and AP Top 25 voter

What’s next in Week 11?

No. 1 Oregon will be heavily favored in hosting Maryland next Saturday, as will No. 3 Ohio State against Purdue. In the rest of the top five, No. 4 Miami visits Georgia Tech and No. 5 Texas hosts Florida, which may be down to its third-string quarterback. The week has a pair of ranked matchups, both in the SEC:

No. 11 Alabama at No. 14 LSU. The Tigers and Tide will meet as ranked teams for the 32nd time, including 17 of the past 19 meetings.

No. 2 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss. This will be the third straight meeting dating back to 2016 the Bulldogs and Rebels will both be ranked.

Required reading

(Photo of Traeshon Holden: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)