Danny Kanell reveals updated Top 12 college football teams after Week 10

Former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell revealed his updated Top 12 teams in the country following Week 10 of the college football season. With a No. 1 team going down, there were of course some changes once again! Miami fell to Notre Dame but neither dropped out of Kanell’s rankings this week. In fact, they are both in a good position. Still, there could be some surprises in these top 12 as we approach the end of the regular season. $39.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage So without further ado, let’s dive into Kanell’s updated Top 12 rankings. We begin with a team in the Big Ten that was off, but is going to be in a massive contest this coming weekend. 12. USC USC kicks off Kanell’s top 12 rankings this week after a bye week. They are fresh off a win over Ohio State which, who knows how that ages at this point? The Trojans will get Indiana this week, also off a bye. Lincoln Riley’s crew is 7-2 on the season and are in College Football Playoff positioning, especially if they knock off the reigning champions. After all the fuss over whether they could actually make a jump, Riley and USC might be competing for the CFP and the Big Ten. 11. Texas Tech Texas Tech is hanging around in Kanell’s top 12 after a 53-48 win over West Virginia. The Red Raiders are 8-1 but it is fair to be concerned about the defense after giving up 582 yards of offense. Still, Thomas Castellanos was the star of this game. He threw for 362 yards, five touchdowns and ran for 102 yards. J’Koby Williams added 160 yards on the ground to lead the way and also found his way to the end zone. 10. Alabama Alabama trounced LSU and begin the top 10 of Kanell’s rankings this week. The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 31-13 in Baton Rouge after trailing 13-10 late in the third quarter. Kalen DeBoer and crew are 7-2 on the season and firmly in the College Football Playoff race at this point. Keelon Russell had 206 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The defense forced two turnovers and limited LSU to five-of-14 on third down. 9. Tennessee The Vols made a statement by stomping Kentucky 34-6 at home and improved to 7-2 on the season. Tennessee is firmly in Kanell’s top 10 with three games remaining. It seems like Tennessee has been able to overcome the lack of a strong passing game. DeSean Bishop was a stud on the ground though, running 25 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Duane Morris added five carries for 85 yards and a score as well. The Vols’ defense forced three turnovers. 8. Texas Texas might quietly be getting back into everyone’s good graces, including Kanell’s! The Longhorns are 7-2 and overcame a slow start to beat Missouri 34-20 on the road. Arch Manning was impressive, throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Raleek Brown ran 17 times for 85 yards and a touchdown. Next up is a road date with a desperate LSU team coming off a rough loss to Alabama. 7. Wake Forest Wake Forest is high up Kanell’s rankings in the grand scheme of college football, but they might not be getting the respect they deserve from other polls. They are now neck and neck with Miami in the ACC following their 77-0 win over Merrimack on Saturday. It was a cupcake non-conference game, for lack of a better term, but the Demon Deacons took care of business to improve to 8-1 on the season. They have a head to head loss but seemingly will get that rematch in the conference title game if they win out against SMU, Georgia Tech and Duke. 6. Miami Even without Malachi Toney, Miami made it a game in the end against Notre Dame. Still, the Hurricanes fell 31-24 in South Bend and fell in Kanell’s rankings this week as they are now 8-1. Darian Mensah threw for 276 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was nearly four touchdowns as Elija Lofton nearly completed the full process of the catch to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Instead, they’ll have to turn the page to Duke next weekend. 5. Indiana Indiana begins the top five of Kanell’s rankings this week coming off a bye week. The Hoosiers are 8-1 on the season and have a massive game against USC coming up on Saturday. The problem with Indiana is the quarterback position as Josh Hoover has been dinged up, but also struggled. Grant Wilson fared a little better in the win over Minnesota on Halloween, but if Indiana’s defense isn’t elite against USC, the offense is going to have to some how keep up. 4. Notre Dame Notre Dame earned its signature win and made its way to the top four of Kanell’s rankings this week. The Irish took over previous No. 1 Miami 31-24 in South Bend, despite nearly blowing their 21-point lead. CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the win while Nolan James Jr. scored the other on the ground. Notre Dame is now 8-1 on the season with games against Boston College, SMU and Syracuse remaining. 3. Georgia Georgia might be a lot of people’s No. 1 team in the country this week, but not Kanell! He has the Bulldogs at No. 3 following their dismantling of Ole Miss in Oxford, 42-7. Kirby Smart and crew are rolling now since the upset loss to Auburn. Gunner Stockton threw for 186 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a score while Nate Frazier had 16 carries for 107 yards to lead the team on the ground. Georgia will finish the season with Missouri, South Carolina and Georgia Tech. 2. UCLA UCLA is one of two unbeaten teams left in Kanell’s top 12 rankings and the Bruins come in at No. 2 this week. They defeated Minnesota on the road, 34-20, to keep the perfect season going under first-year head coach Bob Chesney. Ty Dieffenbach has filled in nicely since Nico Iamaleava’s injury. He went eight-of-16 for 303 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Wayne Knight ran 18 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. 1. Utah Utah ended up as Kanell’s No. 1 team this week following their win over BYU at home in the Holy War. The Utes are 9-0 under Morgan Scalley this year and poised to make the College Football Playoff for the first time. Devon Dampier threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 89 yards and two scores. The Utah defense forced four Bear Bachmeier interceptions and shut out the Cougars in the second half.