Three games this weekend feature pairings of Top 25 teams. But you might want to pay more attention to these three under-the-radar college football contests in Week 9.
Week 9 presents an interesting set of circumstances. On one hand, there are a slew of great games that have major conference and national implications. A half-dozen teams in the AP Top 25 square off against one another, overshadowing a week that could have wider ripple effects down the road throughout college football.
On the other hand, five of the top 11 teams in the poll take their byes this week ahead of the first release of this year’s College Football Playoff rankings. As we have learned throughout this year and over the years, though, it is often when a week looks least likely to yield surprises that we see the best action take place.
Yes, fans will want to keep an eye on the various showdowns of ranked teams throughout the day. The top-10 showdown between Florida and Georgia in Jacksonville is the main course, obviously, with Penn State and Iowa featuring concurrently in the afternoon slot. Washington State and Stanford offer prime-time excitement on the west coast.
But those are hardly the only games worth watching. Here are three more under-the-radar games that will likely offer major excitement in their own right as well as the potential to cast broader impacts across the college football landscape.