5 College Football Programs That Should Be Worried After Week 10
TJ Inman
Host · Writer
The calendar has turned to November, the coaching carousel is spinning out of control, and college football season has reached the final month of the regular season! Which five teams should be worried after ten weeks of the 2025 college football season?
1. Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers entered Saturday night’s contest against the Oklahoma Sooners as the 14th-ranked team in the country and knowing a win over Oklahoma would put them right into the thick of the College Football Playoff chase. They exited the weekend with three losses, no hope at the College Football Playoff, and, if we are being honest, a complete lack of quality on their resume. Joey Aguilar threw for 393 yards, and Tennessee outgained Oklahoma 456 yards to 351. Still, they only ran for 1.8 yards per rush and allowed Oklahoma’s Xavier Robinson to rip off 115 yards on the ground while the Sooners ran for 5.5 yards per carry. The Vols can still win nine games this season, but they have to play at Florida, a place they have not won since 2003, followed by a home game against rival Vanderbilt.
2. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Maybe teams should be careful going all-in on “dark mode” uniforms at home? Much like Tennessee, Nebraska wore black and asked the Big Red faithful to do the same. Black balloons were released as Nebraska took a 7-0 lead, and the atmosphere looked amazing. As has been the case all too often in the past 25 years in Lincoln, the product on the field did not match the heart and love the fans pour into the program. Just a few days after giving Matt Rhule an extension, despite it appearing that Penn State’s attention was focused elsewhere and the raise was not at all necessary, the Huskers fell at home to USC 21-17, managing only 98 yards passing. To make matters worse, Dylan Raiola is out for the rest of the season, and despite having a very manageable schedule, Nebraska is only 6-3 and could tank at the end of the season. Rhule is now just 2-24 against ranked teams as a head coach. That includes 0-8 against ranked teams as the coach at Nebraska.
Week 11: Nebraska at UCLA (-2.5)
3. Miami Hurricanes
Let’s all say this together: “Miami is so talented!" That’s true, but the Hurricanes continue to find ways to lose, and their College Football Playoff hopes are now on life support after dropping in overtime at SMU. The Hurricanes should not be losing to Louisville or SMU, but Mario Cristobal’s acumen as a head coach is now really being called into question. Cristobal is a heck of a recruiter, but Miami fans should be apprehensive about what happens when opponents have a chance to watch his teams play early in the season and then make adjustments that Cristobal does not see coming and fails to adjust to. Over the past two seasons, the Miami Hurricanes have been 14-1 before Halloween and a miserable 1-4 in November and December games. Miami will not be playing in the ACC Championship Game, and they’ll need some help to sniff the playoff. As a knock-on effect of this Miami loss, Notre Dame’s early-season loss to the Hurricanes could make it difficult for the Irish to squeak into the field as well.
Week 11: Syracuse at Miami (-28.5)
4. South Carolina Gamecocks
The South Carolina Gamecocks narrowly missed out on the College Football Playoff last season before losing to Illinois in the Cheez-It Bowl, and things have gone downhill very quickly since. Excitement was high entering the season as LaNorris Sellers returned, and there was hope he would be a Heisman Trophy winner. Fast-forward to November, and the Gamecocks are now in the basement of the SEC at just 3-6 and 1-6 in the league, and the offense has been a trainwreck all season. They lost to Ole Miss 30-14, did not record a sack, and totaled only 230 yards. Sellers had only seven passing touchdowns with five interceptions, and he’s averaging 1.35 yards per carry with only three rushing touchdowns. Shane Beamer is on the hot seat, and the Gamecocks will struggle to make a bowl game, but what do you do after this season? The offense lacks weapons, and the one thing they thought could be relied on (Sellers) has been a significant disappointment, but he’ll still command a large chunk of your NIL budget if you want to bring him back. There are no easy answers in Columbia.
5. Syracuse Orange
The Syracuse Orange were great in Fran Brown’s first season, but the bottom has fallen out for the ‘Cuse. On Friday night, Syracuse looked dreadful in a 27-10 home loss to North Carolina. Congratulations to Bill Belichick on notching his first ACC victory, but the story here is that Syracuse looked disinterested, and Brown has gone from a hot coaching commodity to a “one-hit wonder" candidate. Yes, Syracuse has issues at quarterback after starter Steve Angeli went down with an injury earlier this season. Still, the results have been unacceptable, and they look likely to go winless in a poor ACC.
Week 11: Syracuse (+28.5) at Miami
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