We are another week closer to the inaugural College Football Playoff. Week 9 had a lighter slate than Week 8 did, but there were still some compelling games, that helped to provide some clarity in key divisional races in the SEC West, the PAC-12 North and South, and the ACC Coastal. The biggest upset happened at night in Baton Rouge, helping to ensure yet more late-season drama in the best division in college football.
LWOS Week 9 College Football Rankings
| 1 |
Mississippi State (10) |
7-0 looks good for the Bulldogs, who have a heisman trophy candidate at quarterback. Only time will tell if the Bulldogs are true contenders. They still have Alabama and Ole Miss on their schedule – Elijah Klein. | |
| 2 |
Florida State (3) |
The Seminoles come off a bye week to visit Louisville on Thursday. FSU controls it’s own destiny and should run the table to get to the title. – Connor Ferguson | |
| 3 | Alabama | Alabama passes the eye test (when not playing Arkansas) but the resume has yet to catch up. That will change, though, with big tests in the coming weeks. – Yesh Ginsburg | |
| 4 | Auburn | Auburn survived a stiff challenge from the Gamecocks last week at home, and as a reward gets to visit Ole Miss in Week 10. This elimination game in the SECW will be huge. – Donald King | |
| 5 | Oregon | Oregon finished off Cal on the road in an exciting shootout. Now they will host a Stanford team that has given them fits the last couple of seasons. – Al Preziosi | |
| 6 | Michigan State | Michigan State beat rival Michigan like they stole something, and now gets a week off before welcoming in Ohio State for the de facto B1G East Championship Game. – Donald King | |
| 7 | Notre Dame | The Fighting Irish had a week to lick their wounds following the loss to FSU in Week 8, and next travels to Annapolis for its annual game against Navy. – Donald King | |
| 8 | Mississippi | Despite only allowing 10-points, Ole Miss couldn’t stay undefeated, falling in Death Valley to LSU. The Cinderella story isn’t over for the Rebels, as games against Auburn, Arkansas and Mississippi State could catapult them back in the top-4. – Anthony Murphy | |
| 9 | TCU | Trevone Boykin may have vaulted himself into Heisman consideration with a 7 touchdown performance as the Horned Frogs put up 82 (you read that right) on Texas Tech. This team is essentially one bad fourth quarter of play against Baylor away from being undefeated. – John Bava | |
| 10 | Georgia | Fresh off a bye week, Uga heads to Jacksonville for the “World’s Biggest Cocktail Party.” May also be a wake for the Will Muschamp era at Florida. – Donald King | |
| 11 | Kansas State | Kansas State continues it’s steady march to the Big 12 title in Bill Snyder’s typical methodical and non-flashy manner. – Mike Loveall | |
| 12 | Baylor | #12 Baylor had a bye this week after suffering its first loss of the season from West Virginia. The Bears are currently third in the Big-12, and must hope to run the table in order to win the conference. They start with the Kansas Jayhawks this Saturday. – Kaden Kotinek | |
| 13 | Ohio State | The Buckeyes did not look good in the second half against Penn State, but they still got the W. November 8th is the biggest day on all Big Ten calendars. – Yesh Ginsburg | |
| 14 | Arizona | Arizona blew out Washington State on the road, putting up 24 straight points in the first quarter alone. They travel to UCLA next as both teams look to stay in good position in the Pac-12 standings. – Al Preziosi | |
| 15 | Arizona State | Arizona State had some trouble against Washington on the road, but they pulled away in the end. An enormous Pac-12 South matchup against Utah lies ahead. – Al Preziosi | |
| 16 | Utah | Save for a really bad fourth quarter against Washington State where they blew a 13 point lead, Utah is undefeated. This week’s game against Arizona State will be a big test to see if they’re legit. – Michael Gray | |
| 17 | Nebraska | Ameer Abdullah had a school record 341-all purpose yards, continuing his push as a true Heisman contender. Purdue is up next for the Cornhuskers, who look to keep their dark-horse outside shot to make the playoff alive. – Anthony Murphy | |
| 18 | LSU | LSU called a timeout to ice the kicker against Ole Miss. Apparently instead they iced Hugh Freeze and Bo Wallace, leading to an inexplicable mistake that keeps LSU alive in the SEC. Next up: Alabama after a much needed bye week. – Michael Gray | |
| 19 | Oklahoma | OU took its second bye week of the year last Saturday and will prepare for Iowa State. We might see a famous Paul Rhoads upset here *but I’m a little biased.* – Connor Ferguson | |
| 20 | West Virginia | WVU could be the best 2 loss team in the nation. They seem to be getting better every weekend and will have a say in the Big 12 championship race.- Mike Loveall | |
| 21 | East Carolina | The Pirates just slipped past Uconn on Friday night, surprisingly. Still, they march on and travel to Philly for a date with Temple in Week 10. – Donald King | |
| 22 | Clemson | The Clemson Tigers avoided an upset at home against Syracuse the past weekend. They overcame a 6-3 deficit by scoring 13 unanswered points in the second half. They travel to Wake Forest this weekend. – Kaden Kotinek | |
| 23 | Duke | Cutcliffe’s Crew is at Pitt following their bye week, in a game that will go a long way toward determining whether the Blue Devils can repeat as ACC Coastal champs. – Donald King | |
| 24 | Marshall | Quarterback Rakeem Cato didn’t have his best performance of the year in a 35-16 win over Florida Atlantic where the Herd trailed at halftime. Still, he got a lot of help from running back Devon Johnson who rushed for four touchdowns and a school record 272 yards on the ground. – John Bava | |
| 25 | UCLA | At 6-2, UCLA only has losses to Oregon and Utah. They’ve struggled in their last two games, barely slipping past CAL and Colorado. Their schedule only gets tougher, as they still must play Arizona, USC, Washington, and Stanford. – Elijah Klein | |
| Others receiving votes: USC (4), Missouri (2), Colorado State (1) | |||
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