College football winners and losers, Week 9: Is Texas back? Is Miami cooked?

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While Week 10 wasn't the action-packed weekend of college football we expected it would be when looking at the schedule before the season, it still delivered plenty of fun.

It wasn't a Saturday of massive upheaval within the top five, but several teams that were previously in solid College Football Playoff positioning — notably ACC contenders Georgia Tech and Miami — suffered losses that could make that path a bit trickier, particularly in the case of the Hurricanes, which now have a pair of losses in ACC play.

We saw an SEC team be all but eliminated from playoff contention as Tennessee took its third loss of the year at home against Oklahoma, while Vanderbilt's playoff chances look a lot shakier after it couldn't get the job done on the road against Texas.

We even had a few results with potentially major impacts on the Group of Five playoff race.

Let's break it all down. Here are the winners and losers from Week 10.

Winner: Oklahoma's run game finally proves itself

I'll be honest with you: I was pretty bearish on Oklahoma's chances of getting a win in Knoxville.

Though Tennessee's defense had proven itself to be a weakness time and time again, I didn't think John Mateer and this offense had the juice to take advantage of those deficiencies. It was another lackluster outing through the air for Mateer, who had 159 yards and an interception, but he did run for 80 yards with a touchdown.

The real star of the show, however, was running back Xavier Robinson. For much of the year, the Sooners have struggled to manage production on the ground outside of Mateer, but they seem to have found something in Robinson.

After going for 109 yards in last week's loss to Ole Miss, he ran for a season-high 115 yards on 16 carries, pacing an Oklahoma rushing attack that totaled 192 yards. Though OU's vaunted defense certainly gave up its fair share of big plays — Joey Aguilar threw for 392 yards — it also forced three turnovers, including two Aguilar picks.

The Sooners eliminated Tennessee from the CFP hunt while keeping their own hopes alive. With remaining games against Alabama, Missouri and LSU, it's going to take some work to remain in contention down the stretch. Still, this was a massive win for Brent Venables' squad.

Loser: Georgia Tech's defensive collapse complicates its path to the postseason

The Yellow Jackets entered Saturday with an 8-0 record for the first time since 1966, but their undefeated start was spoiled by an absolute defensive meltdown in a road loss to NC State.

It was a Herculean performance from quarterback Haynes King, who threw for 400 yards and ran for 100 more with four total touchdowns. However, the Georgia Tech defense didn't hold up its end of the bargain, allowing 583 total yards to the Wolfpack, including 243 yards on the ground.

NC State was 7 of 11 on third downs and ultimately punted just twice in the 48-36 win, and the loss makes things complicated for the Yellow Jackets as far as the CFP goes.

Brent Key's team still has a tiebreak win over Duke, and it is currently on track to play in the ACC title game. However, it still has to face a resurgent Pitt team, and given its regular-season finale comes against rival Georgia, GT probably can't feel great about its hopes of earning an at-large.

It's still win-and-in for Georgia Tech, but it lost considerable margin for error on Saturday night.

Winner: Is Texas back?

A 21-0 Vanderbilt run in the fourth quarter made this one a bit closer than it looked like it would be, but Texas held on for a massive home win over the Commodores that kept its playoff hopes at least technically alive.

It's hard to believe a win over Vanderbilt could change the way we evaluate a Longhorns team, but that's a testament to how solid the Commodores are this season. Texas is still far from perfect, but its limitations that held it back earlier this year have now been at least partially mitigated.

The Longhorns had a solid rushing output from Quintrevion Wisner and got an efficient day out of Arch Manning, who had a turnover-free outing with 328 yards and three touchdowns. There are some concerns defensively after allowing a big day through the air to Diego Pavia — as well as the comeback — but this is a win Steve Sarkisian's team absolutely had to have.

Texas probably isn't a playoff team this season, but with remaining games against Georgia and Texas A&M, it certainly has the chance to make its case down the stretch this season.

Loser: What am I supposed to make of Mario Cristobal at Miami?

Despite losing Heisman finalist quarterback Cam Ward, Miami looked like a clear-cut College Football Playoff team for much of the first half of the season. Now, after taking another loss — this time in overtime to SMU — those hopes are in serious jeopardy.

Losing to a good Louisville team at the end is one thing, but this was a Mustangs team that was coming off a loss to Wake Forest. But after kicking a field goal to send it to overtime and intercepting Carson Beck in the first frame of overtime, it was Rhett Lashlee, not Mario Cristobal, who walked away as the winning coach.

It leaves us in an impossible position as we try to evaluate Cristobal. He has acquired talent at an elite level at his alma mater, and he has undoubtedly raised the ceiling. But year after year, he continues to take inexplicable losses, many of which have come as a direct result of coaching decisions.

Cristobal has given himself a massive talent advantage in the ACC. To outright miss the conference title game, once again, with this roster, is a hard pill to swallow.

I don't know what you do with him. Should you fire him? Absolutely not. But at the same time, it doesn't feel like any amount of talent will preclude Cristobal from taking losses that ruin his team's chances of competing for a title.

That's a tough spot to be in as a program.

Quick Hitters

Loser: Tulane

The Green Wave aren't entirely out of the American race (and therefore, the CFP race) but their hopes took a major hit with a blowout loss to UTSA on Thursday night.

Winner: North Carolina

It may have taken a matchup against a quarterback who was third on the depth chart entering the season, but Bill Belichick finally has an ACC win after the Tar Heels took down Syracuse on Friday night.

Winner: Indiana

Maryland is by no means a bad team. That's what makes Indiana's 55-10 demolition of the Terrapins even more impressive. The Hoosiers are just flat-out elite.

Loser: Vanderbilt

It's been a fun story for the Commodores, and they remain in CFP contention. However, it's going to take winning out, which includes a rivalry game against Tennessee in Knoxville.

Winner: SMU

The Mustangs are clearly not the same team that reached the playoff last season, but beating the Hurricanes was a massive win for Rhett Lashlee's squad.

Winner: Texas Tech

Credit the Red Raiders for taking care of business on the road against Kansas State in a game that looked potentially tricky.

Loser: Tennessee

The Vols could still have a very good season, but being eliminated from the CFP as a favorite on your home field is a tough break.

Winner: Utah

Utah can still physically dominate inferior opponents, which it proved in a systematic beatdown against Cincinnati.

Loser: Cincinnati

The Bearcats remain a contender in the Big 12, but it's hard to be bullish after what we saw in Salt Lake City.

Loser: Houston

The Cougars were also nominally in the Big 12 mix. Not so much anymore after a loss to a previously 2-6 West Virginia team.

Winner: USC

The Trojans aren't getting a ton of hype, but they got a big road win against Nebraska and remain in the hunt for a CFP spot out of the Big Ten.

Loser: Nebraska

Losing another big game was tough enough. Losing Dylan Raiola for the season makes this one excruciating.

Winner: Duke

The Blue Devils benefitted from a questionable pass interference call, but Manny Diaz's gutsy decision paid off as Duke surprisingly has a great shot at the ACC title game with a 4-1 record in league play after beating Clemson.

Loser: Clemson

Dabo Swinney hasn't lost five games at Clemson since 2009. Now, even reaching a bowl game will be a challenge. It's time for some major changes in how Swinney operates this offseason.

Loser: Navy

The Midshipmen were in pole position in the American, but that's no longer the case after a loss to North Texas.

Winner: North Texas

Coach Eric Morris deserves more credit for what he's done this season. The Mean Green are squarely in the playoff race.

Loser: The Mountain West's playoff hopes

It already seemed as if the American champion was all but guaranteed the G5 playoff bid, and with both Boise State and UNLV taking losses on Saturday, that will now almost certainly be the case.

Winner: Mississippi State

After heartbreaking results the last two games against Florida and Texas, Jeff Lebby finally has his first SEC win after hanging on to beat Arkansas.

Loser: Arkansas

I think we can table any talks of Bobby Petrino getting the full-time gig here.

Loser: Colorado

The Buffs are having a rough season, and it got worse with a 52-17 loss to an Arizona team that itself has struggled in Big 12 play.

Loser: Auburn

The Arkansas win provided a stay for Hugh Freeze, but he couldn't survive a 10-3 loss at home to Kentucky. The Tigers will now search for their fourth head coach since 2019.

Winner: Oregon State

It's been a rough season for the Beavers, but they hold Pac-12 bragging rights (for now) after winning the first of its two matchups against Washington State.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: College football winners and losers from Week 10 include Texas, Miami

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