10 Things Shaping College Football's Playoff Race After Week 10

College football's Week 10 slate produced a clearer picture of the playoff race, with Georgia routing Ole Miss 42-7 in Oxford and UCLA extending its unbeaten start with a 34-20 win at Minnesota. The results, along with several upsets and near-misses, have reshaped the conversation about which teams can still reach the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Big spending is paying off, mostly

Teams that invested heavily in their rosters this season have generally been winning. CBS Sports reported that 12 programs spent about $40 million on players this fall, and most of them are still in contention. Only Michigan (5-4) and Texas A&M (4-5) were described as outside playoff contention entering Week 11.

Among the seven programs at or above the $40 million mark, only Miami and Notre Dame have one loss. Georgia, just under that line, also has one loss. Several outliers, including Wake Forest, Kentucky and Utah, have made it work without the same level of spending.

Georgia's statement win

No. 2 Georgia dominated No. 10 Ole Miss 42-7 in Oxford. Gunner Stockton completed nine passes, four of them to Talyn Taylor, who finished with 140 yards and three touchdowns. Georgia has won seven of its last eight games against AP-ranked teams.

Defensive back KJ Bolden said the team could have scored far more. "I feel like we could have put up 60," Bolden said. Georgia's October home loss to Auburn remains the season's most puzzling result, though the Bulldogs' recent performances have eased doubts about their form.

Texas gains ground as Missouri falters

Missouri, which had entered the day with two losses and playoff hopes, lost at home as Texas pulled out a 34-20 win. Austin Simmons threw an interception in a Missouri comeback attempt, and the Longhorns scored on a short touchdown run that sealed the result.

The Tigers have now lost 11 of their last 12 games against ranked opponents. CBS Sports' projections put Missouri's playoff chances at 1.8 percent, rising to 9.4 percent with a win over Georgia next week, a scenario the outlet viewed as unlikely. Simmons also announced he would return for the 2027 season, news that arrived on the eve of the game.

UCLA's unbeaten start

UCLA (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) is one of two unbeaten FBS teams and is off to its first 9-0 start since 1998. Coach Bob Chesney is only the second FBS coach to start 9-0 after taking over a team that lost nine games the previous year, with Curt Cignetti the other.

Backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach stepped in for the injured Nico Iamaleava and threw two 75-yard touchdown passes to Aidan Mizell in the fourth quarter. He finished with 303 passing yards on 8 of 16 attempts, a completion total that CBS Sports said was the lowest by any FBS player to reach 300 passing yards in a game since 2000. Minnesota had not lost a home conference game in two years before this loss.

What next

Georgia is expected to be ranked No. 1 in the next poll, according to CBS Sports. Missouri travels to Georgia and hosts Kentucky over the next two weeks, while Michigan, Texas A&M and several three-loss teams, including LSU, Ohio State, Oregon and Ole Miss, face tougher paths. Whether a three-loss team can reach the playoff remains an open question.

Week 11 will show whether these results hold up. For now, unbeaten UCLA and one-loss Georgia look like the strongest candidates in the field.