Seven matchups between ranked teams? 

That’s the adjustment after the first College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday. There are seven matchups between teams in the CFP rankings, and major shakeups will result from those games. 

In the noon window, No. 9 BYU visits No. 3 Utah in the “Holy War,” and No. 7 Texas takes on No. 18 Missouri in one of four SEC matchups between ranked teams. 

The 3:30 p.m. ET window features a SEC showdown between No. 5 Alabama and No. 14 LSU. Both teams have two losses. No. 23 Oregon travels to No. 12 Ohio State in the only Big Ten matchup between ranked teams. 

The prime-time window opens with No. 6 Kentucky at No. 13 Tennessee at 6:15 p.m. ET. 

That sets up a pair of 7:30 p.m. ET matchups that will draw huge ratings. No. 1 Miami faces No. 11 Notre Dame, and No. 2 Georgia meets No. 10 Ole Miss. It’s cover-to-cover excitement that will generate massive changes in the next set of rankings. 

Here are five things to watch in Week 10 of the college football season.

MORE: Winners and losers from CFP rankings release

1. Notre Dame’s chance to leave no doubt 

The CFP committee sent a message to the Irish by putting them seven spots lower in the rankings then their spot at No. 4 in the AP Top 25. College Football Playoff committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said the Irish need a “Signature victory.”

Enter No. 1 Miami. The Hurricanes have the top-scoring offense at 47.6 points per game, but quarterback Darian Mensah will be without receiver Malachi Toney, who suffered an ankle injury this week. It does not carry the magnitude of “Catholics vs. Convicts” in 1988, but in the present tense the implications are real. 

It’s a chance for Notre Dame to avenge a 27-24 loss to Miami in the season opener last season that eventually kept the Irish out of the College Football Playoff. It’s also a chance to beat No. 1 in South Bend, which the Irish have done twice since beating No. 1 Miami 31-30 on Oct. 15, 1988. That includes the legendary victories against No. 1 Florida State in 1993 and No. 1 Clemson in 2020.

Notre Dame vs. No. 1 since 1988 

*Denotes Orange Bowl 
**CFP semifinal 

All five matchups against No. 1 in South Bend have been decided by a touchdown or less. Something special should go down Saturday night.

MORE: College football Week 10 picks, predictions against the spread

2. Will BYU’s LJ Martin play vs. Utah? 

BYU running back LJ Martin has missed the Cougars’ last four games with an upper body injury. He returned to practice this week but his status remains uncertain ahead of the matchup against Utah in the “Holy War.” 

BYU had just 47 rushing yards against Arizona State in Week 9. Martin averages 5.8 yards after contact, which is well ahead of Texas Tech’s J’Koby Williams, the FBS leader at 5.0. Martin had 122 rushing yards in a 24-21 victory against Utah last season, and his presence would take pressure off quarterback Bear Bachmeier.

The Cougars will need that running game against the Utes, who average 247 rushing yards per game the last two weeks. This is the first top-10 matchup between Utah and BYU in the rivalry’s history. Martin likely will do everything he can to be on the field. 

3. Trinidad Chambliss takes on Georgia again

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss faced the Georgia defense twice last season. The Bulldogs won the regular-season matchup 43-35, but the Rebels won the CFP quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl 39-34. 

What was the difference in those games? Chambliss threw down the field better in the second game, when he was 8 of 14 for 225 yards and a TD on passes of 10 yards or more, according to PFF.com. He was 2 of 11 for 56 yards in the same situation in the first game.

How will Georgia defend Chambliss this time around? The Bulldogs rank 32nd in the FBS in pass defense at 186.6 yards per game, but Chambliss made Georgia uncomfortable last season, especially in the fourth quarter. 

4. Alabama, LSU look to avoid third loss   

How is this game, which has been the main event for most of the 21st century, so far down the list? Is this an elimination game between second-year coaches Kalen DeBoer and Lane Kiffin? How are the teams nine spots apart in the CFP rankings if the Tigers are favored to win the game?

It’s going to be high drama at Tiger Stadium for two coaches who are always the subject of intense scrutiny. If LSU is going to make the CFP in the first year under Kiffin, then they need to beat Alabama for the first time since Brian Kelly’s first season in 2022. That was a 32-31 thriller in Death Valley. 

A victory would shift the heat to Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide got the standard preferential treatment from the College Football Playoff committee, but a loss would mean their best victories were Kentucky and No. 21 South Carolina. Those teams were unranked when they played Alabama. 

MORE: What a 24-team playoff bracket would look like

5. Oregon vs. Ohio State: Backup QB battle 

Ohio State quarterback Luke Fahey makes his first home start against No. 23 Oregon (3:30 p.m., CBS). Cardale Jones, the backup quarterback who led the Buckeyes to a 42-20 victory against the Ducks in the first CFP championship, is the ceremonial bell ringer.

The Buckeyes were slotted at No. 12 in the first CFP rankings, which means there is no margin for error. Ohio State is 50-3 at home under coach Ryan Day, and that record includes a 35-28 loss to the Ducks on Sept. 11, 2021. 

Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola has a unique opportunity to sink the Buckeyes’ playoff hopes. Raiola is coming off a 336-yard, 3-TD performance against Northwestern in Week 9, and he nearly led Nebraska to an upset at Ohio Stadium on Oct. 26, 2024 in a 21-17 nail-biter. This isn’t the top-five matchup that was projected in the summer, but it’s still a piece of the playoff puzzle. 

Three and out 

– Texas travels to Missouri, and Kentucky is on the road against Tennessee. These are elimination games for the Tigers and Volunteers. Can Missouri get after Arch Manning, who has taken the second-most sacks (24) in the SEC? Can Kentucky break a five-game losing streak to Tennessee?

– If Virginia Tech can beat SMU on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN) and Stanford next week, the Hokies would be 8-2 under first-year coach James Franklin heading into a Nov. 21 matchup at Miami. Hokies edge rusher Aycen Stevens leads the ACC with eight sacks. 

– Michigan and Michigan State (7:30 p.m., Peacock) might not register in the playoff race, but first-year coaches Kyle Whittingham and Pat Fitzgerald are in a spot in this rivalry game. Will both coaches be back next season? There is more pressure on Whittingham here with the Wolverines looking to extend their winning streak in the series to five games. 

Week 10 CFP Top 25 schedule 

Here is a look at the Week 10 schedule with the top 25 teams in the College Football Playoff rankings: