After a wild Week 8 of the College Football season, Week 9 was far less chaotic, even if it delivered plenty of meaningful results. This weekend, we only had three matchups between ranked opponents, which didn't lead to a ton of shakeup in the Top 25. Where we did see a bunch of movement was with the teams ranked in the back half of the Top 25 losing to unranked opponents.
This weekend changed a ton in the race for the College Football Playoff as several contenders fell out of the race while a few teams continue to look like they may move from overlooked to contenders. This weekend didn't bring chaos, but a few results had massive implications for the rest of the season, and we'll first see it on Sunday when the latest AP Top 25 Poll is released.
Predicting the AP Top 25 Poll: Texas A&M pushes Big Ten powers for top ranking
Any fans who waited up to watch the Utah Utes face Colorado were allowed to go to bed early as Kyle Whittingham’s team took a 43-0 lead into halftime. The most impressive part about how Utah won this game is the fact that quarterback Devin Dampier didn’t play, and they still scored 53 points. The defense dominated as they didn’t allow Colorado to score until the 4th quarter.
The Tulane Green Wave spent the weekend on the bye, but they were helped by results within the American as well as several teams in the back half of the top 25 taking losses. The Green Wave are one of just two teams still unbeaten in American play, but a massive game against Memphis still looms.
Following their loss to Notre Dame last week, the USC Trojans spent the weekend on the bye. If the Trojans are going to make the College Football Playoff, they’ll likely need to run the table. The rest of the schedule is certainly winnable for Lincoln Riley‘s team, but they’ll need to knock off a loaded Oregon team in order to make that happen.
After the loss to USC, the Michigan Wolverines have rebounded nicely with back-to-back wins in Big Ten play. On Saturday, Michigan rode Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall to a more dominant win than the scoreboard showed. The next three games for Michigan are fairly easy, setting up for a potential win and in against Ohio State.
Through the first 3 quarters on Saturday, it looks like Steve Sarkisian‘s team would suffer a shocking loss to Mississippi State. In the fourth quarter, the Longhorns finally looked like the team many thought could win the National Championship, outscoring Mississippi State 24-7. The Longhorns were able to escape in overtime with a win, but this is clearly a flawed team that we will most likely see lose again to knock them out of the playoff race.
The Houston Cougars went and got a statement win over Arizona State on Saturday Night. Conner Weigman passed for 201 yards and a score while rushing for 111 yards and a pair of scores. The defense was dominant in a game, where Jeff Sims had to relieve Sam Leavitt in the 4th quarter. Houston’s now in the mix in the Big 12 with a very easy schedule the rest of the way.
Saturday was a massive disappointment for Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers. Not only did the Tigers lose, but they have a bigger concern, long-term, as starting quarterback Beau Pribula was carted off the field in an air cast. True freshman Matt Zollers was impressive in relief, but winning the rest of the way without Pribula will be a challenge
After losing the season opener to Nebraska, the Cincinnati Bearcats have quietly gone on a seven game winning streak becoming a top contender in the Big 12. Brendan Sorsby threw for a pair of touchdowns while rushing for another score as the Bearcats scored 41 points in a win. More impressive men have done the performance the defense put on as they held Sawyer Robertson to just 137 yards as Baylor has dominated several teams with their passing attack.
On Saturday, Oklahoma had a chance to go and erase its loss to Texas and get right back into the College Football Playoff race, but it instead fell to Ole Miss. John Mateer hasn’t looked the same since his hand injury, but he also may have benefited from facing inferior defenses. With games lingering against Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU, this weekend‘s loss seemed like the nail in the coffin for this year‘s Oklahoma team.
After picking up an impressive win over Miami last week, the Louisville Cardinals oddly struggled to put away a terrible Boston College team. In the end, Louisville picked up a 38 to 24 win, but it wasn’t pretty. Isaac Brown was a monster for Louisville, picking up 205 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, averaging 14.6 yards per carry.
Coming off of their loss to Alabama, the Tennessee Volunteers need to run the table and they started with a win over Kentucky. The offense was explosive, scoring seven touchdowns to bring home the victory. The biggest concern has to be the defense as Kentucky was able to pass for five touchdowns in this game. Next week brings an elimination game against Oklahoma and the Volunteers would love to get one of their star cornerbacks back in the mix.
For the second weekend in a row, it wasn’t pretty, but the Virginia Cavaliers escaped with the victory. This weekend, the Cavaliers were the beneficiary of Bill Belichick's gambling for the win as a North Carolina two-point conversion fell just short. At 4-0 in league play, Virginia is still in the race for the Playoff and the ACC Championship, but they’re vulnerable in every game if they keep playing sloppily.
After losing to Arizona State last week, Texas Tech had the perfect bounce-back spot as they faced an abysmal Oklahoma State team. With Behren Morton injured, Texas Tech lost backup quarterback Will Hammond to injury, and they still won this game 42-0. The defense chipped in with a pair of touchdowns, and it’s clear this team has more talent than anyone else in the conference, which still makes them the team to beat.
Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish spent the weekend on the bye after their big win over USC. There isn’t a game left on the schedule that should be a challenge for Notre Dame, but they may need a few teams ranked ahead of them to follow the rest of the way to make the College Football Playoff, as they didn’t get any help this weekend.
Early on, the BYU Cougars were locked in a battle with Iowa State before they took over the second half. Freshman Quarterback Bear Bachmeier had his best game of the season, passing for 307 yards and 2 scores while rushing for 49 yards and a touchdown. This team now heads to a bye week before a pivotal matchup against Texas Tech.
It wasn’t pretty for Clark Lea’s team, but the Vanderbilt Commodores ended their week in the spotlight with a win over Missouri. Diego Pavia and the offense struggled in this game, scoring just 17 points, but it did not matter. The defense was dominant, slowing an explosive Missouri rushing attack, and when Beau Pribula left the game, it only got tougher for Mizzou. This team has a great chance at making the College Football Playoff, but with two games left against ranked opponents, they may need to pick up a big win.
After suffering their first loss of the season last week, Miami bounced back nicely with a dominant win on Saturday night. Mark Fletcher dominated, rushing for 106 yards and 3 touchdowns, powering the offense, which rushed for 5 scores. The schedule the rest of the way is fairly easy for Miami, and as long as they don’t slip up again, they should find themselves in the College Football Playoff.
Coming off a loss to Georgia last week, the Ole Miss Rebels responded perfectly with a crucial win over Oklahoma. The Rebels flipped the script after falling apart in the 4th quarter last week by winning the 4th quarter 9-0 this week to bring home the win. The rest of the season is much easier than the stretch they just went 3-1 on, meaning Lane Kiffin needs to avoid a collapse, and they'll make the College Football Playoff.
Now that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are in a great place to win the ACC, they are starting to play like a great team. Haynes King was dominant, passing for 304 yards and rushing for 91 yards with 5 total touchdowns. This team has all the talent to win the ACC and as long as they handle business in these games, they should win. They seem like a walk for the College Football Playoff.
The Oregon Ducks started slowly on Saturday, and when they lost starting quarterback Dante Moore in the third quarter, they went into survival mode. The ducks dominated Wisconsin with their rushing attack, picking up 203 yards on the ground to win the game. Dan Lanning said Dante Moore is okay, and he’ll have extra time to prepare as this team goes on the bye.
Kirby Smart’s team spent the weekend on the bye as they prepare for the final stretch of the season. While Georgia couldn’t help themselves, their win over Ole Miss aged better, while their loss to Alabama in a game they easily could’ve won won't age poorly.
For 3 quarters of the game, Alabama looked like it was still vulnerable to losing against unranked opponents, as South Carolina’s defense was dominant. Late in the fourth quarter, the Crimson Tide finally turned it on with a touchdown and a two-point conversion, followed by a forced fumble to set up the game-winner. Alabama struggled in this game, which is a concern, but Kalen DeBoer lost this game several times last season, which makes the win much better.
No one sent a more impressive statement this weekend than the Texas A&M Aggies. Mike Elko’s team went on the road and dominated LSU in a 49-25 win that was more impressive than the final score. This offense has all the talent to win the SEC, while the defense has started to show real signs of improvement.
The UCLA Bruins became everyone's darling the last three weeks, and Indiana looked like a team that took that personally, dominating the Bruins. Fernando Mendoza threw for 3 touchdowns in 3 quarters, handing the offense over to his brother late in the third once the game was in hand. This team is leaps and bounds better than the group Cignetti took to the playoffs last season, and they won't be tested until they play the Big Ten Championship.
After ripping off 7 wins to start the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes entered the bye week ahead of the final stretch in Big Ten play. The schedule the rest of the way looks much easier with Penn State falling apart, as Michigan could be the only ranked team Ohio State has to face. The Buckeyes look better than the team that won the title last season, but there aren't many teams that can even test the Buckeyes.