This was supposed to be the quiet weekend, the calm before the November 3rd storm. Well nobody told college football as nine of the 11 teams ranked 15-to-25 went down, there was a shock defeat for a top ten team, and a number of wild finishes including probably the craziest denouement of the season so far in Columbia, Missouri.

We’ll get to Kentucky’s comeback, Colorado’s collapse and a mouth-watering slate of games this weekend, but let’s start with the College Football Playoff rankings, the first of which are revealed Tuesday evening in an all-singing, all-dancing ESPN show.

Realistically, with Florida’s loss to Georgia at the weekend, it means that there are now only ten to twelve teams that can make the playoff, so let’s get to our list and see how close we are:

Alabama and Clemson are obviously in the top four as it stands. ‘Bama are unbeaten and untested with a quarterback who’s yet to play into the 4th quarter this season. They face their first challenge this weekend against an LSU side who’ve beaten three top ten teams and yet find themselves 14-point underdogs. Clemson only survived against Texas A&M and Syracuse, but remain the class of the ACC. Trevor Lawrence looks more and more comfortable each week, and Travis Etienne and Tee Higgins have emerged as real playmakers. A rejuvenated Boston College would seem like their only remaining hurdle.

Notre Dame are also unbeaten and have a major win against Michigan to their record. In fact, if the Irish were to lose and the Wolverines win out, Brian Kelly’s side may well still get in ahead of the Men of Harbaugh based on that victory. However, the question remains: are the Irish one of the top four teams in college football on a neutral field? Unlikely. But that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

Oklahoma have two solid wins against a good Iowa State side and 6-2 Army and the unique problems they bring, and their one loss came by three points to Texas on a neutral field. Although they still have three tough games – Texas Tech, West Virginia and the Big 12 title game – they should get in. That said, however, if the three Power 5 teams who are unbeaten stay unbeaten and the Big 10 produces a one-loss champion, the Sooners will be on the outside looking in.

Michigan are the biggest threat to almost everyone. But they also have the toughest schedule from here on out, including Penn State, Ohio State and, potentially, Northwestern in the title game. Washington State could find themselves missing out even as conference champions, but the arguments will run long if they do. Their one defeat – to USC – was hugely controversial because of a terrible call at the end of the game that probably cost them the win and, in QB Gardner Minshew, they have a legitimate Heisman candidate. Their strength of schedule is weak but, as Pac 12 winners, they’ll be hard to overlook should someone in the top five falter.

The road to the SEC title still goes through Baton Rouge and, if LSU can beat Alabama this weekend, then all bets are off. If they’re not in the top four during tonight’s announcement, then they can consider themselves monstrously hard done by.

BEST OF THE REST
While those are the teams that will be in the running for the playoff, the remaining teams have an outside shot if all hell breaks loss up above.

Ohio State can re-energise themselves if they beat Michigan, but that Purdue defeat was the worst for any big school with title ambitions for a very long time. West Virginia can still get in, but they were dominated by Iowa State and they’d need to win out against Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to stand any chance which seems unlikely. Georgia can get a foothold if they beat Kentucky this weekend, but they’d then need to beat Alabama in the SEC title game. Their win over Florida was decisive, but was it enough? The Wildcats also have a shot, and their 7-1 season has been one of the best stories in all of college ball, but realistically are they going to beat Georgia and then Alabama for the SEC title? Probably not. They’ve beaten a good Florida team, whacked a strong Mississippi State side and lost in OT to a dangerous Texas A&M – beat Georgia on Saturday and let’s talk.

The last team are the most difficult to rank because of the weakness of Central Florida’s schedule. A 31-point win against Pittsburgh was eye-opening, but it was only Pittsburgh, who also lost by 45 to Penn State. Interestingly, I think UCF could beat Notre Dame on a neutral field, but I don’t see them beating any of the SEC giants, or Clemson or Michigan. They’ll be on the outside looking in almost regardless of what happens elsewhere. You could even envisage a scenario where, if they were the only unbeaten, they’d still miss out.

THE WEEKEND
So, what of the weekend? It’s official: Texas aren’t back. They’re probably who we thought they were at the start of the season and the 38-35 defeat to Oklahoma State underlined why. Tom Herman’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the game, the near fight with Mike Gundy and the fact that the Longhorns almost beat themselves as much as anything else, will be of little comfort. The season-opening defeat to Maryland looms larger than ever, and to be trailing 31-7 – as they were at one point – was a damning indictment of just how bad this was from Texas…

Jake Fromm looked every inch a very high NFL draft pick as he tore Florida apart for a great bounce-back win by Georgia. Despite fairly ludicrous calls for his benching – he’s fifth in the nation in passing efficiency – he picked apart the Gators to give Georgia some life…

The Bulldogs game against Kentucky this weekend is massive. It’s the biggest home game for the Wildcats since Bear Bryant was coaching them in the 1950s. How Kentucky are still alive for this one is anyone’s guess as they barely survived against Mizzou. Trailing 14-3, they turned the ball over on downs with around seven minutes to go, only to get it back, score, and then get it back again at their own 19 with less than 90 seconds left. Terry Wilson, who’s one of the worst passing quarterbacks at a Power 5 school, completed five straight and then hit CJ Conrad for the game winner. But that told little of the actual story. The touchdown came after an untimed down because, on what should have been the final play, Missouri CB DeMarkus Acy was controversially called for pass interference in the endzone after an incompletion. One play to save a season – which the Wildcats duly took. In truth, they were lucky and the call itself was a horror show. But they survive…

Colorado started so brightly, but injury to Laviska Shenault has derailed their season. With the star receiver again missing due to the foot injury he suffered in the game against USC that had put him in the Heisman race, the Buffs conspired to throw away a 31-3 lead late in the 3rd against a 1-6 team, before losing in OT…

Both Notre Dame (against Navy) and Oklahoma (against K-State) avoided possible banana skins with comfortable wins, but Florida State’s 59-10 loss to Clemson was one of the most embarrassing in school history. The TV camera shot of a bored, shirtless FSU professor reading a Gillian Flynn novel in an empty stand is the defining picture of a truly dreadful season for Willie Taggart, who watched players quit on him as the defeat worsened. FSU is in danger of missing out on a Bowl Game for the first time since 1981…

We’ve been critical of the Pac-12 for much of the season and number 15 Oregon’s 44-15 blowout defeat to Arizona underlines what a disappointing season it’s been on the west coast. But some dap for 20th-ranked Fresno State, who ran up a 50-burger on Hawaii, including a kick-six missed field goal touchdown.

And love also for Utah and Utah State. The 16th-ranked Utes thumped UCLA 41-10 thanks in large part to another monster game from Zack Moss, who had 211 yards rushing. The 18th-ranked Aggies, meanwhile, ran up 61 on New Mexico thanks to 448 yards passing and four touchdowns from Jordan Love.

GRIDIRON TOP 10:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. LSU
4. Notre Dame
5. Michigan
6. Oklahoma
7. Washington State
8. Georgia
9. UCF
10. Ohio State

GAME OF THE WEEK
Unquestionably the game of the season is in Baton Rouge this weekend, as LSU host Alabama. A win for the Tigers would surely give them a playoff berth, and this will be a huge test to see just how good ‘Bama really are. They start, as aforementioned, as two touchdown favourites which seems ludicrous in a game that should never be that comfortable for the Tide, especially when you consider that nine of the last 10 meetings between the two have come down to less than 14 points. LSU will need to establish Nick Brosette and Clyde Edwards-Helaire and rely on their defense to keep Tua Tagovailoa and that offense in check. If Alabama get up early, you don’t want LSU having to rely on the arm of Joe Burrow to bring them back.

There are so many great match-ups to watch all over the field: Greedy Williams against Jerry Jeudy, the interior of that ‘Bama defense against the LSU run game and two top 20 NFL draft pick MLBs in Mack Wilson and Devin White although, critically, White will miss the first half of the game after a targeting penalty. Watch also for the two brilliant free safeties, Grant Delpit of LSU and Deionte Thompson of Alabama, who could help decide this game in a close one.

BACK-UP GAME OF THE WEEK
So many choices – Michigan/Penn State in a game we’ll be at, Texas/West Virginia, Arizona State/Utah and Northwestern/Notre Dame to name but a few. But Georgia vs Kentucky for the SEC East title stands out and should be a doozy, but the Wildcats will need career games from their two stars, TB Benny Snell and DE/OLB Josh Allen. Snell leads the conference in rushing, but has had back to back games under 70 yards, while Allen was dominant yet again against Mizzou and will need to be in Jake Fromm’s face all game if Mark Stoop’s team are to do the unthinkable. Despite the late heroics from Terry Wilson, Kentucky will need to keep this game tight with great defense and a ball control run game.

NFL WATCH
There are so many prospects on offer in the big games this weekend, but with the proliferation of passing offenses in the NFL, here’s three names to watch from the defensive backfield in that SEC East title game. Kentucky DBs Mike Edwards, Derrick Baity and Darius West will all be tested by Fromm, but all three will be on NFL rosters. West is a strong safety who can play at the FS spot too. He’s an aggressive downhill player with a good feel for coverages. Baity is a long-bodied corner with speed and good transition skills, while Edwards isn’t flashy but could end up having a ten-year career. He’s Tyrann Mathieu-lite with the ability to play nickel corner or free safety. These three will have to come up big if Kentucky are to win the division on Saturday.

HEISMAN FIVE
Tua Tagovailoa was on a bye week but he remains the comfortable favourite to lift the trophy. His coronation could come in Baton Rouge with a(nother) big performance. Expect to finally see him in the fourth quarter against a defense that leads the nation in interceptions.

Dwayne Haskins falls away after the Purdue loss and OSU’s bye, allowing some new names to emerge. D’Eriq King might be the most explosive player in college football. The converted wideout was 28-40 passing for 419 yards and five touchdowns for Houston, with another 134 yards and two scores on the ground. Nobody outside Tagovailoa is playing the QB position better than Minshew, however, whiel Zack Moss has emerged as the dominant force at TB in the country as Darrell Henderson has been slowed by injury.

1. Tua Tagovailoa – Alabama
2. Kyler Murray – Oklahoma
3. Gardner Minshew – Washington State
4. Dwayne Haskins – Ohio State
5. D’Eriq King – Houston

Others: Zack Moss – Utah, Jake Fromm – Georgia, Will Grier – West Virginia, Travis Etienne – Clemson.