Ten Weeks In: How Our 2027 Top 100 Are Living Up to Their Grades

At eight weeks the injury report was doing as much to shape our board as the tape. Two weeks later the results have caught up. The No. 1 team in the country lost in South Bend, Ohio State has lost two straight for the first time since 2011, Georgia beat Ole Miss by 35 in Oxford to take back the top spot, and Oregon went into Columbus with its backup quarterback and won by 13. Utah and UCLA are the last unbeaten teams in FBS. Here is what the past two Saturdays did to our 2027 top 100, through Week 10.

Week 10: the top teams and what their results mean for the draft

Notre Dame 31, Miami 24. The game of the week was also the best quarterback matchup of the season, and the quarterback ranked lower on our board won it. CJ Carr (13) went 29 of 40 for 318 yards and three touchdowns without an interception or a sack, and Notre Dame led 24-3 early in the third quarter. Darian Mensah (4) threw all three of his touchdowns after that, but completed only 24 of 45 passes and Miami was stopped three times from the Notre Dame 1 before settling for a field goal. He played without Malachi Toney, his leading receiver, who had high-ankle surgery that week. The Irish defense gave three of its prospects a showcase. Boubacar Traore (50) had a sack and seven pressures, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (17) played 70 snaps after missing the Navy game, and Leonard Moore (5), back in full after a concussion in October, forced a fumble. Miami's interior pair of Justin Scott (33) and Ahmad Moten (54) combined for eight tackles and five pressures in the loss.

Georgia 42, Ole Miss 7. Georgia led 28-0 at half and ended Ole Miss's 16-game home winning streak. Chris Cole (16) had a sack for the second week in a row after returning a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown against Florida, his second defensive score of the season. KJ Bolden (14) intercepted Trinidad Chambliss (29) late in the second quarter. Ellis Robinson IV (11), who left the Florida game with a knee problem Kirby Smart said was not structural, played 56 snaps. For Ole Miss it was the worst day of the season: Chambliss went 18 of 34 for 170 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, and his streak of 21 games with a touchdown pass ended. Will Echoles (8) had the only sack for the Ole Miss defense, which gave up 481 yards.

Oregon 41, Ohio State 28. Ohio State led 14-0 and then gave up 38 straight points. A fake punt turned the game: Teitum Tuioti (97) threw it and Matayo Uiagalelei (38) caught it for 30 yards on fourth-and-9. Uiagalelei also got to the quarterback, and Oregon did all of this with Dylan Raiola at quarterback, because Dante Moore (9) will not play again this season after a concussion at USC. Jeremiah Smith (1) finished with seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown, but he had four for 46 through three quarters and went without a target from the first quarter into the third. Freshman Luke Fahey threw 50 times in his second start in place of Julian Sayin (34), and Ryan Day said on Saturday that Sayin's arm is healing but that his return is "not gonna be next week or next month".

Alabama 31, LSU 13. LSU outgained Alabama 457 to 285 and lost by 18, going 0 for 4 on fourth down. Sam Leavitt (78) threw for 380 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Devan Thompkins (72) had two sacks for Alabama, one of them on a fourth-and-10 against Jordan Seaton (15), the one sack Seaton allowed in a game in which he otherwise held up well. Princewill Umanmielen (64) did not get a sack but had six pressures. Trey'Dez Green (21), back from his knee injury, caught 10 of the 10 balls thrown to him for 85 yards. Zabien Brown (46) returned from a lower-body injury for 22 snaps.

Texas 34, Missouri 20. Texas trailed 20-13 in the third quarter and scored the last 21 points. Arch Manning (7) threw three touchdowns and no interceptions, including the tying score and the go-ahead pass with five minutes left, in a game Texas played without Cam Coleman (6, shoulder) or Trevor Goosby (18), whose season ended with a torn patellar tendon against Ole Miss. Colin Simmons (2) returned from his high-ankle sprain for 18 snaps. Jelani McDonald (58) was beaten on the 75-yard touchdown that gave Missouri the lead. On the Missouri side Cayden Green (12) allowed one pressure on 46 pass-blocking snaps, and Ahmad Hardy (35) had one carry.

Elsewhere, Tennessee beat Kentucky 34-6 to end the Wildcats' six-game winning streak, with Lance Heard (56) allowing one pressure and no sacks. Utah beat BYU 28-20 to stay unbeaten, and Zereoue Williams (94) dominated early at left tackle. Michigan State beat Michigan 15-6 with five sacks, and John Henry Daley (45) had two of Michigan's own with a forced fumble. Oklahoma State scored 66 at Kansas State. Texas Tech won a 53-48 shootout with West Virginia.

The playoff picture

The committee's second rankings, released on Tuesday, have Georgia, Utah, Alabama and UCLA in the bye positions, with Notre Dame fifth, Texas sixth, Miami seventh, Tennessee eighth and Indiana ninth. Ohio State fell eight places to 20th, Ole Miss nine to 19th and LSU seven to 21st. For the draft, that matters most in Columbus. Smith, Austin Siereveld (39), Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (61) and Jaylen McClain (75) are on a 6-3 team that needs help to make the field, which could mean two or three fewer games on tape than seemed likely a month ago. Notre Dame and Texas, with four players each in our top 40, are both in the projected bracket, and so is Georgia with three.

Quarterbacks: Carr wins the head-to-head, Mestemaker keeps scoring

Mensah still has the best season line in the class, 212 of 278 for 2,708 yards, 28 touchdowns and two interceptions, and before the Notre Dame game he went 22 of 29 for 274 yards and three scores in a 38-35 win at North Carolina. The Notre Dame game was the first time this season he looked rushed for four quarters. Carr has 21 touchdowns, one interception and has been sacked twice all year.

Drew Mestemaker (10) has 29 touchdown passes. He threw five in a 51-49 loss at Iowa State that was decided by a field goal at the final whistle, then went 22 of 29 for 313 yards and four touchdowns against Kansas State and also ran for a score and caught one, the first FBS player to do all three in a game since 2021. Manning has won three straight, completing 43 of 57 for 514 yards and six touchdowns without an interception over the last two weeks, but he has been sacked 28 times this season. Todd McShay said on 4 November that he expects Manning to return to school; Manning has not said.

LaNorris Sellers (60) had a season-high 301 yards in a 42-25 win at Oklahoma and then sealed a 17-9 win over Texas A&M with a 41-yard touchdown run after having his ankle X-rayed at half-time. Shane Beamer expects him to play at Arkansas. Jayden Maiava (32) beat Ohio State 30-18 with 222 yards and a touchdown before USC's bye week. Brendan Sorsby (82) remains permanently ineligible under the NCAA's ruling in May, and the NFL has told him only that he may be eligible for the 2027 draft.

Edge rushers and the interior

Simmons has 10 sacks in seven games, but he missed two games with the ankle and played 18 snaps at Missouri. Dylan Stewart (3) has been the more available of the top two since returning from his one-game suspension, with four pressures against Texas A&M, though he has one sack in six games. Yhonzae Pierre (20) had a sack at LSU and has four for the season.

The production further down is better than the ranks. A.J. Holmes Jr. (41) has nine sacks and 43 pressures for Texas Tech, Clev Lubin (47) had two sacks in Louisville's 44-17 win at Georgia Tech and has eight, Jordan Ross (69) has eight, and Umanmielen has 10. Uiagalelei has eight sacks and 39 pressures.

Inside, Echoles and Xavier Gilliam (53) are the two names with real pass-rush numbers, three and seven sacks. Gilliam was quiet against Kentucky, with one tackle in 46 snaps. David Stone (23) did not record a tackle in 39 snaps at Florida, though Oklahoma held the Gators to 203 yards in a 23-7 win. Bear Alexander (67) has 41 tackles for Oregon.

Skill positions: Smith's record, Becker's overtime and a run of injuries

Smith has 69 catches for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns, and his 1-yard catch at USC was the 40th touchdown of his career, a Big Ten record. Charlie Becker (19) caught eight passes for 149 yards against Minnesota, set up the 60-yard field goal that forced overtime and caught the winning touchdown on the first play of it, with a backup quarterback throwing after Josh Hoover was pulled at half-time with a shoulder injury. Indiana had a bye in Week 10. Becker has 875 yards and nine touchdowns, and Nick Marsh (37) has 670 and eight.

The injury list grew. Duce Robinson (51) tore an ACL against Clemson and is out for the season. KJ Duff (27) was hurt against Michigan and missed the Wisconsin game. Kewan Lacy (48) re-injured his left shoulder at Texas and has not played since. Coleman missed Missouri with the shoulder but has been cleared to play at LSU. Hardy made his season debut at Arkansas six months after being shot in the leg, and has three carries for eight yards in a change-up role behind Jamal Roberts.

Jadan Baugh (28) has 14 rushing touchdowns, but he has 73 yards on 25 carries against Georgia and Oklahoma. Nate Frazier (80) ran for 102 yards at Ole Miss. Reed Harris (66) has 907 yards and his fifth 100-yard game of the season came against Colorado. At tight end, Luke Reynolds (91) has 56 catches and Terrance Carter Jr. (95) caught two touchdowns against West Virginia.

Linebackers and the secondary

Cole has 55 tackles and five sacks. Rasheem Biles (57) had the best single game: eight tackles and three sacks against Mississippi State, one of them a strip-sack returned 61 yards for a touchdown. He has four sacks, three interceptions and 62 tackles. Tony Rojas (92) had eight tackles in Penn State's 28-25 win at Washington.

At corner, Ashton Hampton (26) has two interceptions and 12 pass breakups, and his end-zone interception stopped a late Syracuse drive in the red zone in an 18-13 Clemson win. Kelley Jones (25) has allowed 14 catches on 27 targets for a Mississippi State team that has lost five straight. Brice Pollock (88) gave up five catches for 134 yards to Arizona.

Tae Johnson (30) has not played since the opener. The injury is to his left foot, and Notre Dame has not given a return date. Kingston Lopa (83) has five interceptions for California, which had a bye in Week 10.

Offensive line

Goosby's surgery was on 27 October and he is expected to make a full recovery, with a draft decision still to come. Andre Cojo has moved to left tackle, and Texas allowed three sacks at Missouri. Green has not allowed a sack in eight games for Missouri. Seaton has allowed one sack in nine. Greg Johnson (42) has not allowed a sack at center for Minnesota, and Kade Pieper (40) has allowed two pressures on 263 pass-blocking snaps at guard for Iowa.

Siereveld has allowed 12 pressures, eight of them in the two losses. Melvin Siani (85) has allowed five sacks and been flagged five times. Carter Smith (22) had a bye in Week 10 and has allowed one sack this season.

The rest of the top 100

What comes next

Week 11 has three games that put prospects in our top 40 against each other. Texas goes to LSU at night, which puts Manning behind a line without Goosby against Umanmielen and Ross, and Seaton against Simmons if the ankle allows him a full game. Missouri goes to Georgia, where Green and the rest of the Missouri line face Cole and a defense that has allowed 15 points in two weeks. USC goes to Indiana with Maiava and Elijah Paige (89) against a secondary built around Jamari Sharpe (79), and Becker and Marsh against a USC defense that just held Ohio State to 18. Hoover's shoulder is the question there.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma State is the other one to watch: Mestemaker against Pollock, Ben Roberts (96) and the nine sacks of Holmes. Ole Miss goes to Oklahoma needing a response from Chambliss, and South Carolina takes Sellers's ankle to Arkansas. Miami and Notre Dame are both at home, against Duke and Boston College, and neither can afford another loss. There are three weeks left in the regular season, and for Ohio State's prospects they may be most of what is left.