Georgia or Ohio State at No. 2? Our US LBM Coaches Poll projection after Week 10 in college football

The top spot in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll isn’t up for debate. Oregon took care of business against Michigan and will remain No. 1 for the third week in a row.

The most heated comparison for voters will come between Ohio State and Georgia for No. 2.

The Buckeyes came up with a huge defensive stand in the fourth quarter and then ran out the clock to score a 20-13 win at Penn State, the Nittany Lions’ first loss on the year. Georgia struggled in the first half and wasn’t able to pull away from Florida until late in the fourth quarter.

That may be enough to lift the Buckeyes past the Bulldogs and into position right behind Oregon. That would be fitting, since the Ducks barely got past Ohio State with a 32-31 win when the two met in Autzen Stadium last month.

Another question for this week’s poll, which will be released later on Sunday, is where to place Penn State. Ranked No. 3 this past week, the Nittany Lions should land at No. 5 or No. 6, depending on how voters look at their record compared to another one-loss team in Texas.

But there’s much more chaos after a pretty clear top seven. With Clemson, Iowa State and Texas A&M losing, that means four of the top 11 in the poll fell, and there will be at least two new teams in the top 10. Here’s our guess for how the top of the Coaches Poll will look Sunday:

1. Oregon (9-0)

The Ducks didn’t let up against Michigan and scored a 38-17 win to stay atop the Coaches Poll. Oregon has scored at least 31 points in all eight wins against FBS competition and might be a unanimous pick this week after getting all but one first-place vote after last Sunday.

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2. Ohio State (7-1)

The Buckeyes’ win in State College is one of the best by any FBS team this season. Given how Georgia struggled against Florida and how the Bulldogs have been hard to predict during SEC play, OSU has a very strong case for coming second in this week’s poll.

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3. Georgia (7-1)

Down 13-6 to Florida and in dire straits at halftime, Georgia was able to do enough in the second half to escape a huge upset. That the Bulldogs didn’t put this one away until the final minutes should give voters second thoughts about keeping them at No. 2.

4. Miami (9-0)

Things don’t always come easy for Miami, which trailed Duke 28-17 five minutes into the second half before turning on the jets and pulling away for a 53-31 win. The way the Hurricanes closed this one out speaks to how dangerous they could be in a playoff setting.

5. Texas (7-1)

After sneaking past Vanderbilt last week and taking this Saturday off, the Longhorns are back next weekend with a three-game run of Florida, Arkansas and Kentucky before a huge rivalry matchup with Texas A&M to end the regular season.

6. Penn State (8-1)

The Nittany Lions have a case for dropping two spots to No. 5 after coming close against the Buckeyes. But the issue is a lack of high-profile wins. Penn State has nice victories against Illinois, Southern California and Wisconsin but nothing that will move the needle with voters.

7. Tennessee (7-1)

Not a whole lot seems to come easy for Tennessee, especially on offense. At least the defense is elite. That side of the ball got the job done to close out Kentucky in a 28-18 win. If the offense can come together behind quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the Volunteers are going to be very hard to beat.

8. Notre Dame (7-1)

Notre Dame has been on a torrid run the last three times out, culminating in last week’s rout of Navy at MetLife Stadium. After the week off, up next is woeful Florida State, another likely blowout, followed by Virginia, Army and Southern California. Like Penn State, the Irish are in really good shape for an at-large playoff bid.

9. Brigham Young (9-0)

BYU is the last unbeaten team standing in the Big 12 after losses from Iowa State and Kansas State. That should boost the Cougars’ credibility. But the bottom line is this team has to win the conference championship to guarantee a playoff bid, though BYU is in good shape at 12-1 with a loss to the Cyclones, Wildcats or maybe even Colorado in early December.

10. Indiana (9-0)

The name recognition is good enough at this point that Indiana could definitely slot in ahead of BYU. Even voters who have docked the Hoosiers for the program’s spotty history have to appreciate Saturday’s 47-10 rout of Michigan State. That makes seven games scoring at least 40 points for one of the nation’s most prolific offenses.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football coaches poll ranking projection: Who will be No. 2?