Week 9 Recap

After seemingly constant chaos for the past month, Week 9 seemed to go a bit more by-the-book. The only team who lost to a lower-ranked opponent was LSU, which puts Texas A&M of all teams in the driver’s seat for a spot in Atlanta. The rest of the top 25 survived and advanced, with the only undefeated team to fall being unranked Liberty. Week 10 features a marquee Big Ten matchup, a pair of rather interesting ACC games, and plenty of opportunity for some last minute spookiness as we close October and move into the last full month of the regular season.

Top 25 Matchups

Rankings are from AP Poll (CFP Poll after release)

Friday 11/1:

• San Diego State @ #15 Boise State, FS1

Saturday 11/2:

12:00-3:00PM

• #4 Ohio State @ #3 Penn State, FOX
• Duke @ #5 Miami, ABC
• #19 Ole Miss @ Arkansas, ESPN
• Air Force @ #21 Army, CBS
• Minnesota @ #24 Illinois, FS1

3:30PM-6:30PM

• #1 Oregon @ Michigan, CBS
• Florida @ #2 Georgia, ABC
• Texas Tech @ #11 Iowa State, ESPN
• #13 Indiana @ Michigan State, Peacock
• #17 Kansas State @ Houston, FOX

7:00-11:00PM

• #10 Texas A&M @ South Carolina, ABC
• Louisville @ #11 Clemson, ESPN
• Kentucky @ #7 Tennessee, SECN
• #18 Pittsburgh @ #20 SMU, ACCN

Most Interesting Matchups

Ohio State @ Penn State: The Buckeyes won an uncomfortably close game against Nebraska while the Nittany Lions overcame yet another slow start to pull away from Wisconsin. James Franklin will be desperate to shake off a 7-game losing streak to the Buckeyes, but that could depend on if Drew Allar is healthy enough to start this Saturday.

Pitt @ SMU: It’s time we take the Panthers seriously. Pitt rode a dominating secondary performance en route to a win over a solid Syracuse team, and a ranked win over the Mustangs would do wonders for their playoff chances. Likewise, SMU needs this win to keep pace with Clemson and Miami atop the ACC.

Duke @ Miami: Speaking of the Hurricanes, they finally played a complete and dominate game last week (granted it was against historically bad Florida State) and remain atop the ACC standings for another round. However, they should be careful not to overlook the Blue Devils team that just took SMU down to the wire.

Minnesota @ Illinois: A classic Big Ten West showdown pits the Illini and Gophers against each other it what should be a close matchup. Neither team has much to play for at this point besides bowl eligibility and bragging rights, but sometimes that’s all it takes.

FCS Game of the Week

Montana State @ Eastern Washington, 11/2, 4PM, ESPN+

Not too much to say about this matchup – I just wanted to draw interest to the Eagles’ home stadium. Roos Field is a wonderful shade of bright red and is truly a sight to behold.

Selected Picks ATS

Last Week: 2-2 Overall: 17-19 (Hurrah for .500!)

• Ohio State (-3.5) @ Penn State
• Pitt (+7.5) @ SMU
• Duke (+21.5) @ Miami
• Minnesota @ Illinois (+3)