Penn State and Ohio State headline another week of big games. Here’s one bold prediction for every top 25 team in college football in Week 9.
See Also: How did the Week 8 bold predictions turn out?
We were all over both of the big games of Week 8, but perhaps a bit too far. Notre Dame over USC was our pick of the week, and while that did come to pass, a Sam Darnold pick six and 300 all-purpose yards for Saquon Barkley were not in the cards.
Among the worst calls of the week were a four touchdown day from Jarrett Stidham (he had just one) and an LSU upset by Ole Miss (the Tigers won by 24). Oklahoma running back Trey Sermon didn’t have a career day, he managed just 18 yards rushing. Michigan State wide receiver Felton Davis crashed and burned as well, falling 84 yards short of the projected 100 receiving yards we pegged him for.
As for home runs, UCF producing their lowest point total of the season, but still winning was in our predictions last week. That came to pass as did a performance by TCU quarterback Kenny Hill so good dominant that the beginnings of Heisman hype started to surface.
When we miss, we miss big, but when we hit we strike gold. Here’s one bold prediction for every Top 25 team in Week 9. And right at the top, we’re going as bold as we can.
Bold prediction: Iowa State stuns TCU in Ames. Beating the Frogs at home would vault the Iowa State Cyclones into first place in the Big 12. If that doesn’t scream bold, then what does? It’s going to be another shootout, but if the Cyclones can hang with Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma, why not TCU?
Bold prediction: Memphis jumps inside the top 20. The Tigers lone loss came to a UCF team that has hung four or more touchdowns (usually more) on everyone they’ve played this season. The Tigers have already beaten Josh Rosen and UCLA. A blowout of Tulane, plus some friendly upsets to teams above them, will put help them continue to climb the polls
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Bold prediction: David Sills V catches three more touchdowns. Sills is averaging more than two touchdown receptions per contest. Another Big 12 shootout, this time against Oklahoma State, sets up for more touchdowns for Sills and the Mountaineers.
Bold prediction: The Trojans lose, again. Take USC off their jerseys and evaluate the Trojans for what they are. This is a hot and cold offensive team with a quarterback prone to interceptions. They’re playing on the road against a team that has already bested Washington. This might not be as bold a pick after all.
Bold prediction: The Cardinal finally pick a quarterback. Be it Keller Chryst or K.J. Costello, either of them has what it takes to turn around and hand the ball to Bryce Love. That’s the bread and butter of the Cardinal offense and David Shaw needs to finally pick somebody, anybody, and start building some consistency.
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Bold prediction: After their lowest point total of the season, the Knight set a season high in scoring. 31 points against Navy was a bad day at the office for UCF. They’ll put that “bad” performance behind them by doubling up that score, and then some against Austin Peay.
Bold prediction: Houston ends USF’s unbeaten season. Quinton Flowers has not been having a good year. The Bulls’ starting quarterback has struggled with accuracy and has completed 10 or fewer passes three times this season. That catches up to him on Saturday and Charlie Strong’s team is bounced from the Top 25.
Bold prediction: The Spartans are pushed to overtime by the Wildcats. While Northwestern is not among the elite of the Big Ten, they sure find ways to play tough, physical games. The Spartans haven’t put it all together on offense yet, and those struggles will come to haunt them in what will become a much closer than anticipated road trip.
Bold prediction: The Cougar defense subdues Khalil Tate. A sophomore quarterback, Tate burst onto the scene with three straight massive ground games, topping the century mark in every game as a starter so far. Washington State keeps him under 100 rushing yards and wins this one easily.
Bold prediction: NC State fails to record a rushing touchdown for the first time this season. The Irish are known for their rushing offense, but they’re defense isn’t too shabby either. Notre Dame proves they can win a game with their defense and adds another notch in their Playoff resume.
Bold prediction: Virginia Tech blows out Duke by 35 points. Duke has been up and down this season while Virginia Tech has been steady, outside of a loss to Clemson. Don’t overthink this one. The Hokies win by a large margin and put their offense in cruise control midway through the fourth quarter.
Bold prediction: Jake Browning and Josh Rosen combine for 700 yards passing and seven touchdowns. Who said the Big 12 had a monopoly on shootouts? The Bruins defense getting shredded won’t be surprising, but Rosen taking one of the stronger secondaries in the Pac-12 by storm will only help his rising draft stock.
Bold prediction: Mason Rudolph looks like the best quarterback in the Big 12. On a day when Baker Mayfield struggles, Rudolph shines. Will Grier is going to have a nice game in this one, but it will pale in comparison to the incredibly efficient performance of Rudolph against the Mountaineers.
Bold prediction: Texas Tech upsets the Oklahoma. The Sooners defense is much more suspect than they’d like to let on. The Tech offense has had a better season than Iowa State, save last weekend, and this is the perfect spot for a bounce back game as Oklahoma gets caught looking ahead to Bedlam on Nov. 4.
Bold prediction: Brandon Wimbush outrushes Josh Adams. Having one dominant ball carrier isn’t enough for the Irish. As long as Wimbush struggles through the air he’s proven he can make up for that deficiency with an electrifying rushing ability. This week he outrushes his backfield mate.
Bold prediction: Miami surpasses 50 points. The wheels have fallen off in Chapel Hill. It doesn’t matter who takes the first snap at quarterback, the Tar Heel offense is more likely to move backwards than forwards. That will set the Canes up with positive field position and easy points.
Bold prediction: Three Tigers rush for touchdowns. Freshman Travis Etienne could be the most exciting runner in a loaded Tiger backfield. Dabo Swinney proves he can answer the Yellow Jackets punch for punch on the ground and gets everyone involved.
Bold prediction: The Buckeyes take a 14 point lead, but lose by two scores. The Ohio State offense is light years more capable than the offenses that the Nittany Lions have played so far, but J.T. Barrett is not ready to play a defense this good. Jame Franklin makes some halftime adjustments and shuts the Buckeyes down in another huge win.
Bold prediction: Jonathan Taylor is held under 100 yards rushing. Taylor added his name to the very short list of true freshman runners to exceed 1,000 yards in seven games. He’ll have a decent game, but the shaky Illini defense might force the Badgers to give way to their second and third stringers early, forcing Taylor out of the game too soon to rack up monster stats.
Bold prediction: Kenny Hill throws three interceptions in defeat. Hill is going to go from his best day (caveat – it was against Kansas) to his worst day against the Cyclones. The Big 12 gets turned on his head and once again, is essentially eliminated from Playoff contention before the calendar turns to November.
Bold prediction: Jake Fromm has the best passing game of his career. The Florida defense is bad and the Georgia offense is good. Sometimes it doesn’t get more complicated than that. Kirby Smart opens up the playbook a bit further and let’s his young passer air it out, which he does with great success.
Bold prediction: The Penn State defense produces the biggest play. Saquon Barkley is going to get his stats, but the defense finally gets the recognition it deserves. With an off weekend for the Crimson Tide some pundits might even start wondering if the Nittany Lions deserved the top spot atop the Playoff rankings.
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Next: Latest 2018 NFL Mock Draft after Week 8
Week 9 boasts some marquee games with plenty of upset potential. We have USC, Oklahoma and TCU all going down. Those won’t be the only three to go down. As conference races begin to heat up each loss is magnified. One by one the ranks of Playoff hopefuls will begin to fade and sooner or later it will be Alabama and the rest once again.