Week 9 of the college football season might not have seen a litany of super close games like the last few weeks have, but there were still many notable outcomes to the games played on Saturday (and before). More on all that below!
Top 10 Headlines
●An absolutely electric Kyle Field was the sight for the best game of Week 9, where #14 Texas A&M took full advantage of the wild environment to stay undefeated in the SEC and hand #8 LSU their first conference loss. It was all Tigers at half, with a long Garrett Nussmeier touchdown pass giving LSU a double digit halftime lead. But a second half QB switch for the Aggies was key. Marcel Reed replaced an ineffective Connor Weigman and tore the LSU defense apart, leading scoring drives on all 5 drives he appeared in. Nussmeier fell apart in the second half, throwing three dreadful interceptions that completely flipped the momentum of the game. LSU also missed three kicks, including this fumbled snap that felt like the moment things flipped in A&M’s favor. The Aggies have a firm track to reach the CFP and the SEC Championship Game, while LSU’s path isn’t gone but will now be a lot tougher to walk. Just imagine the scene in College Station when UT comes to town if A&M keeps taking care of business…
●#1 Oregon lived up to its first #1 rankings since 2012, speeding past #20 Illinois. The difference in speed between the two teams was apparent from the jump, with the Ducks racing by Illini defenders to jump out to a 35-3 halftime lead. The offense slowed down in the second half but it didn’t matter all that much in an eventual 38-9 win.
●It’s time to have a conversation about #4 Ohio State. The Buckeyes barely beat a Nebraska team that lost by 49 a week ago. All of this at Ohio Stadium too! The Huskers held a late lead in this one, taking advantage of a lousy Buckeyes offensive performance. Ohio State was sloppy all day, going 1 of 10 on 3rd down and rushing for only 64 yards. The Huskers were somehow worse on offense, which allowed Ohio State to seal things on a late interception, but how high can one be on a team that barely holds off a four touchdown underdog at home? Their next big test is next weekend against…
●#3 Penn State, who took out Wisconsin on the road to stay undefeated. They did lose QB Drew Allar, who didn’t play the entire second half. His backup, sophomore Beau Pribula, filled in just fine, missing only two passes as the Nittany Lion defense suffocated Wisconsin in the second half. Beaver Stadium is going to be rocking next weekend for a top 5 matchup between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions.
●#5 Texas raced out to a big lead against #25 Vanderbilt, then held on for dear life in the second half. The Horns only scored 6 in the second half and let Vandy have multiple chances to tie the game, but their defense held strong in the 27-24 win. UT QB Quinn Ewers had another game with multiple turnovers, continuing a worrying trend since he returned from injury.
●#6 Miami rolled over in-state rival Florida State to move to 8-0 for the first time since 2017. Cam Ward had a so-so performance by his standard, but did catch this touchdown on a Philly Special-esque play. FSU is absolutely hapless, falling to 1-7 and losing a chance at bowl eligibility a year after going undefeated in the regular season. Oh, how a season (and an amazing transfer QB) can change things.
●Four Top 10 teams were idle this week: #2 Georgia, #7 Tennessee, #9 Clemson and #10 Iowa State.
Best of the Weekend
●Weird things can happen on a Wednesday night. Namely, a winless Kennesaw State team in their first season in the FBS can beat a Liberty team that hadn’t lost a regular season game since 2022. The Owl’s first FBS win saw two field storms after the referees put one second on the clock after fans were already on the field. Owls head coach Brian Bohannon’s postgame interview was excellent, and Liberty’s already slim CFP hopes are basically over with a loss to a previously winless team.
●The G5 game of the year lived up to the hype. #17 Boise State and UNLV traded blows all Friday night, with the Rebels racing out to an early lead before coughing it up to the Broncos at halftime. UNLV did a mostly good job of keeping star Broncos RB Ashton Jeanty in check, but his late score put Boise State up for good in the 29-24 win. I was impressed with Boise State taking a ton of punches and answering right back, salting away the game at the end to pick up their best win of the season. It wouldn’t be surprising for these two teams to see each other again in the MWC Championship Game.
●#13 Indiana kept their dream season alive, easily dispatching Washington 31-17 without starting QB Kurtis Rourke. It’s their first 8-0 start since 1967, and their CFP dreams are very much alive. Oh, and they STILL haven’t trailed in any of their 8 games. The Hoosiers also hosted College GameDay for the first time, and dedicated a lot of the broadcast to celebrating former Indiana head coach Lee Corso.
●#22 SMU were on the precipice of losing their first ACC game after turning the ball over 6 times, blowing a big lead and allowing Duke to line up for a game-winning field goal… but not so fast! The Mustangs blocked that attempt, forcing overtime, where they quickly took a touchdown lead. Even faster was Duke’s touchdown that could’ve sent things to a second overtime. Instead, the Blue Devils went for the win with a 2-point play, one they did not convert, allowing SMU to stay undefeated in the ACC and set up a huge showdown of ACC undefeateds with Pitt coming to Dallas next weekend.
●TCU’s rollercoaster season continued with a huge comeback win over Texas Tech. The Red Raiders let a 13-point 4th quarter lead slip away, culminating in a 84-yard touchdown to put the Frogs ahead for good. Bowl eligibility is looking like a real possibility for TCU while Tech’s outside chances at a Big 12 title are fading.
Worst of the Weekend
●Kyle McCord and Syracuse were quietly having a very good season at 6-1 heading into their Thursday night matchup with #19 Pitt. Three first-half pick-sixes and a 41-13 loss later, those good vibes are gone. McCord picked the worst time for a meltdown, looking dreadful all game long on national television.
●With no Nate Noel and a hobbled Brady Cook (who left in the 1st half and didn’t return), #21 Mizzou had no shot in Tuscaloosa. Backup QB Drew Pyne threw three interceptions in the 3rd quarter to turn this game into a laugher, and #15 Alabama got back on track with an easy 34-0 victory. The Tigers’ lofty CFP hopes are all but gone now, and the team was shut out for the first time since 2019.
●Let it be known if you turn the ball over six times, you’re probably going to lose (unless you’re SMU). That’s what #23 Navy did in their first loss of the season, a 51-14 drubbing at Metlife Stadium at the hands of #12 Notre Dame. Beating the Irish was a tall task to begin with but Navy made things even harder with all the fumbles they had.
●A 35-7 lead at halftime and a 42-17 late 3rd quarter lead should absolutely get you a victory, right? Well, UTSA never got that memo. They blew a four touchdown lead in a 46-45 loss to Tulsa, allowing 39 second half points in an excruciating collapse. The vibes are not good in San Antonio, a place that’s become accustomed to winning big in the Group of 5.
●A season of misery for Kansas continued on Saturday as the Jayhawks blew yet another 4th quarter lead against #16 Kansas State to lose the Sunflower Showdown for the 16th year in a row. KU is 2-6 with a +43 point differential. That seems pretty hard to do.
Fun Corner
●This squirrel scored half as many touchdowns as Oklahoma did on offense in their loss to #18 Ole Miss. Put him in, coach!
●#11 BYU ran an absolutely wild fake field goal in their win over UCF. Through the legs!
●Arkansas QB Taylen Green put this nasty juke on a Mississippi State defender in the Hogs’ 58-25 throttling at Davis Wade Stadium.
●An incredible impromptu fake punt from a punter with an even more incredible name in the Penn State/Wisconsin game.
●UConn completed their gauntlet of beating every Owl team in the AAC with a 17-10 win over Rice.
●Of course a fight broke out after Michigan beat rival Michigan State on Saturday.
●An excellent celebration from Travis Hunter during Colorado’s win over Cincinnati. The Buffs are bowl eligible!
Week 9 Heisman Standings
1. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State RB: A bad day at the office for Jeanty is 128 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Pretty good if you ask me and not enough to knock him from his perch as the Heisman frontrunner.
2. Cam Ward, Miami QB: Ward had his worst game of the season, failing to pass for 300+ yards, but still guided his team to a blowout win.
3. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon QB: The 6th year senior moved into 2nd all time in the NCAA record books in career passing yards in the Ducks’ blowout of Illinois.
4. Travis Hunter, Colorado DB/WR: The two way star had his best game in a few weeks, with over 100 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Can he make a late season run to pull close to Jeanty and the quarterbacks?
5. Jake Retzlaff, BYU QB: The improvement year over year for Retzlaff has been incredible to watch. He’s the driving force behind BYU’s 8-0 start, making crafty plays with both his arm and his legs.