It doesn’t get much better than this for college football fans. The first weekend of the final full month of the regular season features seven matchups between teams in the US LBM Coaches poll.The Week 10 schedule sees four of those games being inside the SEC, where the race for the conference title game is as messy as fourth-grader’s room. The other major showdowns include No. 1 Miami (Fla.) traveling to No. 6 Notre Dame without star receiver Malachi Toney, and No. 4 Utah hosting No. 8 Brigham Young in their rivalry’s first top-10 matchup. There is sure to be major changes to the College Football Playoff picture when Saturday comes to a close. What we don’t know is which teams are moving up and which are moving down and where there will be upsets along the way. That’s why the USA TODAY Spots college football experts are here. They weigh in with their bold predictions.College football bold predictions for Week 10Tennessee goes Dark Mode against KentuckyTennessee likes to fancy its alternate, all-black uniforms the Vols’ “Dark Mode” apparel. The Vols even invoke a digitized “spooky” Rocky Top rendition. And they finally get a meaningful night game this week at home against No. 7 Kentucky. Will Stein’s Cats are a great story this season in the sport & he deserves SEC as well as national coach of the year consideration. But the fairytale gets a nightmare “Dark Mode” dose this week. The Vols churn more than 225 rushing yards and stymie the Kentucky offense in a double-digit win for the home team. — John BriceMissouri pulls off upset of TexasMissouri and Austin Simmons will do just enough to beat Texas, and with Tennessee’s win over Kentucky and LSU’s win over Alabama, throw the SEC into an absolute wash cycle. But never fear, Texas fans. The Longhorns aren’t out of the CFP with three losses — the Ohio State win still looms large. — Matt HayesUCLA’s perfect start endsThere’s a bad omen that comes with the first CFP rankings of the season: in six of the past seven seasons, an undefeated team in the top 10 ended up losing right afterward. That sets up UCLA to be this year’s casualty. The Bruins go into Minnesota a Golden Gophers team that nearly beat Indiana, with a hard nosed defense that will create issues for UCLA’s suspect offense. Factor in the fact Minnesota is 9-2 in Big Ten home games since 2024, with seven straight wins, it spells doomsday for Bob Chesney, with the first major domino falling to already shake up the playoff outlook. — Jordan MendozaMississippi stuns Georgia to solidify CFP spotOle Miss takes a huge step toward a playoff berth by beating Georgia, adding that marquee win to its current list of Louisville, LSU and Missouri. Given what’s left on the schedule (Oklahoma, Woffard and the Egg Bowl), the Rebels would head into Tuesday’s new playoff rankings as one of the favorites to secure a spot in the field. — Paul MyerbergOregon puts Ohio State in playoff jeopardyYes, Luke Fahey wasn’t great in his debut
