Winners and Losers from Separation Saturday in Week 10

'Los Angeles Coliseum panorama' Photo Credit: Brendan Loy via Flickr

In what many call "Separation Saturday" it felt more like "Nail-biter Saturday" for a lot of the teams in the top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings, but which teams were the real winners, and who lost the most? Let's take a look at the current rankings and see who the winners and losers are in week 10 of the college football season.

Loser - Oklahoma - After a surprise loss to Kansas, Oklahoma headed into the final game in the Bedlam series against Oklahoma State in Stillwater. In a must-win game for the Sooners to keep their hopes alive for the College Football Playoffs as well as getting to the Big 12 title game, they were on the wrong end of their rivalry game losing 27-23. With this loss, the Sooners drop to 4-2 in the conference and 7-2 overall. While the Sooners have an outside chance at getting to the conference title game, they are currently in a three-way tie for third in the conference, and on the outside looking in needing some help.

Winner - Washington - Entering their first of three straight games versus ranked opponents the Huskies were in need of a statement win after struggling to get wins versus Arizona State and Stanford. In their road contest against the Trojans, the Huskies looked to gain a bit of separation between themselves and the rest of the Pac-12 and remain undefeated in their quest for the Playoffs. In an offensive back-and-forth game, the Huskies managed to gain the advantage in a balanced attack from one of the front runners for the Heisman in Michael Penix Jr (256 yards passing three total touchdowns, and an interception) and Dillon Johnson who had a career day in what is already his best season in college football (256 yards and four touchdowns).

Loser - USC - The Trojans entered their match against Washington looking to rebound and take control of their destiny to get to the conference title game. The contest against the Huskies was the first in their stretch against ranked teams to end their regular season and a battle for both teams. What resulted was an all-out track meet, with two teams that struggled on defense and two high-powered offenses, and there were fireworks. Despite the great efforts from Caleb Williams (312 yards and four total touchdowns), Austin Jackson (127 yards rushing), and Tahj Washington (eight receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Winner - Florida State - In what was very much a trap game before the annual rivalry against the Hurricanes, the Seminoles entered without their top two receiving targets Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson. The normal flow of the offense definitely struggled to find their way in the game. However as the saying goes, good teams find ways to win with 'the next man up'. The next man up in this game was Ja'Khi Douglas who finished with 115 yards on six receptions. Despite struggling Jordan Travis did finish with 360 yards passing and two total touchdowns and Trey Benson added a score on the ground.

Loser - Texas - Despite needing overtime to win against Kansas State (33-30), the Longhorns take a hit with Oklahoma losing and Alabama getting a strong win against LSU. The struggles are showing up with Quinn Ewers recovering from injury. With the win, the Longhorns take control of the Big 12 and are in the driver's seat to make the championship and keep their hopes alive for a playoff birth before jumping to the SEC. The loss by Oklahoma didn't help.

Winner - Alabama - The Crimson Tide are a different team this season compared to how they have played in previous years and are even different from the beginning of the season. The defense of the Tide is taking center stage and was vital in holding a red-hot LSU team to seven points in the second half of their game. With the win, Jalen Milroe and the Tide put themselves in the driver's seat for the SEC West and a possible collision against the Georgia Bulldogs.