This week's Vibes Up top 10 actually includes 11 teams, but you'll get the point.
VIBES UP
1. Texas Tech: Did you see that scene on Saturday? That's literally the definition of vibes being up. In fact, it's possible the vibes have never been more up than they were in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday. When Iraq toppled Saddam, they weren't as delirious as the Techsans were this weekend. Joey McGuire's team now has UCF, an off week and West Virginia (combined Big 12 record: 3-10) before their first Big 12 Championship appearance, with a shot at their first outright conference title game since winning the Border Conference in 1955.
2. Texas A&M: Is A&M's schedule the as difficult as envisioned in preseason? No. In fact, thanks to Samford's move, Texas A&M will play five teams that fired their head coaches before or after playing the Aggies, plus a sixth that's fired their offensive coordinator and O-line coach, and a seventh that was forced to start a third-string, true freshman quarterback. Does A&M have anything to apologize for? Absolutely not. A&M has basically won five straight SEC games by double digits (the Arkansas game was 45-35 until the Hogs scored with 10 seconds left), and will likely get a sixth against South Carolina on Saturday. A&M is 9-0 for the first time since 1992.
3. Indiana: You saw that game on Saturday, right? A program that was major college football's losingest until this past weekend has now forgotten how to lose.
4. Oregon: Winning a game in the driving rain without your top two receivers because you out-rushed Iowa 261-101? When Dan Lanning is in his rocking chair 40 years from now, I hope the memory of that win washes over him like a heated blanket.
5. UConn: This program seemed deader than dead as recently as 2023, on a string of 12 straight losing seasons and orphaned by their own athletics department, wandering the earth as an FBS independent. The Huskies are still an independent, but they've now won more ACC games since the beginning of last season than 2023 ACC champ Florida State. After a 37-34 win over Duke, UConn is 7-3 this season and 16-7 over their last two.
6. Vanderbilt: On a day where its defense didn't play its best -- who knew Auburn still had an offense all this time? -- Vanderbilt can still pull a victory from the jaws of defeat. Clark Lea's team faced deficits of 7-0, 17-3, 20-10, 23-17 and 30-24 and still found a way to win, ending the game on a 21-8 run in fourth quarter and overtime behind Diego Pavia's 489 yards of offense. Lea went for a 4th-and-1 in field goal range in the final minute and didn't get it, but his defense held Auburn out of field goal range to end regulation and out of the end zone in overtime, moving the 'Dores to 8-2 for the first time since 1930.
7. Hawaii: Many were ready to hand San Diego State the Mountain West championship, until they went to the islands. Hawaii throttled SDSU 38-6. Timmy Chang's team still needs help to reach the MW title game, but the 7-3 Rainbow Warriors have already won more games in a season than they have since 2019.
8. Pitt: Who had a better off week than Pitt? Winners of five straight games, Pat Narduzzi's joined the AP Top 25 for the fifth time in six seasons and have perhaps more room to grow than any team in college football, with No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 17 Georgia Tech, and No. 18 Miami still ahead. College GameDay will come to Pittsburgh for a Saturday game for the first time in 20 years, also before a Notre Dame game.
9. Tulane/South Florida: I'm cheating like your college roommate at poker here, but both squads with AAC championship aspirations got huge weeknight wins. Memphis was the presumptive G5 CFP representative until they met Memphis, and Alex Golesh enjoyed the heck out of his 55-23 blowout of UTSA.
10. Sam Houston: It took a while, but Sam Houston got its first win of the Phil Longo era. The Bearkats will not go winless in 2025.
VIBES DOWN
1. Florida State: My word. In a battle of the most disappointing ACC teams, Florida State... won? Clemson had lost six straight home games to Power 4 opponents, but Florida State trailed throughout and was generally non-competitive in its 24-10 loss, the program's 11th in its last 12 ACC games.
2. Colorado: Colorado has not held a lead for one second in its last three games, trailing Utah, Arizona and West Virginia 17-0, 17-0, and 9-0 after one period. The Buffaloes are 3-7 overall, 1-6 in Big 12 play, and fortunately do not have to play Oklahoma State for a battle for last place in the conference because there's not a lot of Power 4 teams CU can beat right now.
3. Washington: Plenty of Wisconsin fans would argue they deserve this spot after Chris McIntosh endorsed Luke Fickell to return another season, but Washington went out and lost to the moribund Badgers. Wisconsin gained 205 total yards, achieved 12 first downs, its leading passer was its punter, and won the game. There was optimism U-Dub could be a 10-2 CFP spoiler with three (seemingly) winnable games before getting Oregon at home to close the regular season, but that optimism is died in Madison.
4. Boston College: When Bill O'Brien berates a reporter for daring to suggest that the vibes might be down, and then the team loses 45-13 to fall to 1-9 (0-9 vs. the FBS), that, uh, is not exactly the best public-relations messaging. Georgia Tech comes to Chestnut Hill on Saturday, and the Yellow Jackets will probably score 60 if they so desire.
5. Louisville: The thing about Jeff Brohm's 3-0 record in the regular season vs. AP top-5 teams (including the win at No. 2 Miami last month) is that you're either among the elite of the elite in college football, or you turn around and lose games you're not supposed to lose. Which Louisville has done twice now, falling as a near 3-touchdown favorite to 5-4 Cal at home. The Cardinals now need help to reach the ACC title game, which means an "empty" 10-2 season is on the table, but so, too, is a collapse to 7-5.