Week 9 was the final chance for the top tier teams in the sport to make their respective cases ahead of the first reveal of the College Football Playoff Rankings on Tuesday night, and a few teams were in the spotlight more than others.
No. 5 Ohio State needed a string of late field goals to outlast No. 20 Penn State in one of the more surprising matchups of the weekend. No. 8 Michigan State, meanwhile, used a massive effort from star running back Kenneth Walker III to top in-state rival No. 6 Michigan and create a legitimate playoff case.
Elsewhere, one of the SEC’s signature programs jumped on a young upstart and ended a dark-horse Heisman case. The list of unbeatens fell by two. And, perhaps surprisingly, the ACC has an overwhelming new favorite after No. 17 Pitt fell.
Eight new teams joined the pile of ranked teams to lose, with five of them falling to unranked opponents (with two ranked teams currently in action at time of writing). Now more than ever, surviving and advancing will be rewarded.
Here are winners, losers and overreactions from an action-packed Week 9 of college football.
Winners
Georgia: For all intents and purposes, No. 1 Georgia just punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff. Granted, the Bulldogs have games remaining against Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia Tech. Based on the laws of physics and matter, it’s technically possible for UGA to lose a game before likely playing Alabama in Atlanta on Dec. 4. I’ll take my chances. By eviscerating Florida 34-7 and giving its fourth straight opponent an existential crisis, Georgia cemented its No. 1 spot in the initial College Football Playoff Rankings and gave itself enough leeway that it should easily be in the playoff even if it loses the SEC title game and finishes 12-1. The Bulldogs are deservedly overwhelming favorites to win the national championship, and the performance in Jacksonville only bolstered the case.
Miami: Do the Hurricanes have a little something? Since embracing the youth movement after D’Eriq King’s injury, Miami has been surprisingly impressive. Freshman Tyler Van Dyke out-dueling Heisman hopeful Kenny Pickett and No. 17 Pitt was a headliner, but beating NC State a week earlier provided plenty of concept. Even the two losses were by a combined five points against solid Virginia and North Carolina squads. Expectations were deservedly high entering the season, but the cupboard is not bare in Coral Gables. Whether it’s Manny Diaz or a new staff in 2022, Van Dyke gives Miami an exciting new piece to build around long term.
Houston: The Cougars have been looking for a signature win since Dana Holgorsen took over the program in 2019. Despite nearly blowing a 17-point advantage, Houston cornerback Marcus Jones took a kick back 100 yards with fewer than 30 seconds remaining to shock No. 19 SMU and send UH on a path to the AAC Championship Game. The Cougars have not beaten SMU since Sonny Dykes took over the Mustangs, but the win moved Houston to 7-1 and clinched the first winning season for Holgorsen with the program. With the Cougars set to make a move to the Big 12, getting some on-field momentum is critical, especially if it can translate to off-field momentum.
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Losers
Texas: Think back to halftime of the Red River Showdown on Oct. 9 against Oklahoma. The Longhorns seemed poised to take over the Big 12 Championship Game race and maybe even get back into the national conversation. Since blowing the biggest lead in Red River history, the season has brought nothing but pain. A loss to Baylor is the third straight loss where Texas blew a lead entering the fourth quarter, the third team to hit that floor since 2016. The Longhorns are on a three-game losing streak for the first time since the last three games of the Charlie Strong era. Steve Sarkisian has work to do, and it probably won’t happen this season.
Iowa: Midnight has hit. Iowa is a pumpkin now. The Hawkeyes put together one of the most embarrassing performances of the college football season, posting zero first downs and negative rushing yardage for most of the first half. The final numbers weren’t much better. Since beating a Penn State team forced to turn to its backup QB, the Hawkeyes have been outscored 51-14 over the past two games. Iowa was always on the hot seat after winning its early games with a combination of turnovers and defensive positioning, but the resume meant the Hawkeyes had to be considered. After a second straight blowout loss to an unranked opponent, Iowa is at serious risk of falling out of the rankings altogether.
Ole Miss: The Rebels were a nice story to start the year after shooting up to the top 10 behind a wave of high-flying offense. Unfortunately, that is all they will ultimately be after a 31-20 loss to No. 18 Auburn. Ole Miss fell behind the Tigers by 11 points in the first half and never recovered after allowing Tank Bigsby to rush for 140 yards and Bo Nix to throw for 276. The loss all but eliminates the possibility of the Rebels playing spoiler and competing for the SEC West as the Alabama schools emerge as the final one-loss teams in the division. Quarterback Matt Corral’s Heisman case is also likely over. Ole Miss is still 6-2 and can play its way back into New Year’s Six consideration if things break right, but it once seemed the Rebels could do more.
Kenneth Walker III is new Heisman leader
Heading into November, the Heisman race is as open as it has ever been. I’ve made no secret that I’m a Kenneth Walker III fan, even picking him as my midseason Heisman pick. After everything that happened on Saturday, Walker should be the new betting favorite in my eyes.
Walker rushed for 197 yards and 5 touchdowns against No. 6 Michigan to give the Spartans the biggest win of the Mel Tucker era by far. While running the ball is always a team effort, Walker’s poise and balance under pressure helped power Michigan State despite the Wolverines out-gaining MSU by more than 150 yards.
The Wake Forest transfer isn’t the biggest or the strongest back, but his presence has transformed Michigan State into a legitimate contender for the Big Ten championship and, by extension, the College Football Playoff. Between his on-field impact, video game numbers — he’s on pace for 1,800 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns in a 12-game season — and sensational narrative, Walker has everything he needs to come home with the hardware.
It doesn’t hurt that Texas RB Bijan Robinson, Pitt QB Kenny Pickett and Ole Miss QB Corral all suffered losses. Walker is the guy.
TCU is bottoming out
The Horned Frogs were projected as a potential dark-horse Big 12 title contender entering the season with massive production back on both sides, but virtually everything has gone wrong. Offensive issues would be one thing after the last few years, and there were plenty to go around in a 31-12 loss to Kansas State that wasn’t as close as the final score. But what’s been most confounding in Patterson’s 22nd season is that the defense might be the worst of the Gary Patterson era.
The Wildcats averaged more than a yard better per play against TCU than they have the rest of the season — just the latest instance of a Big 12 program having a get-right game against the Frogs. Every FBS opponent TCU has played has reached 29 points, even bottom-feeding offenses like Cal and West Virginia. But, perhaps most concerning, the team actively seems to be floundering and regressing, which is terrible news with three ranked opponents remaining.
Patterson took over the program after the Frogs were left out of the Big 12 and dragged them back to national relevance. This is his program and he deserves to go out on his own terms. That said, a 14-16 record over the past three seasons and sole possession of ninth place in the Big 12 standings should have everyone in the building asking hard questions.
