College Football Rankings 2014: Latest Standings and Predictions for Week 9
The saying may suggest that getting there is half the fun, but the journey to the College Football Playoff sure seems like a lot more fun than that.
Another Saturday passed on the amateur gridiron, and we saw a controversial offensive pass interference call in the final moments of the Top Five showdown between Florida State and Notre Dame, an Alabama beatdown of Texas A&M, a shocking loss by Baylor and the disappearance of Oklahoma from the national discussion.
Here is a look at the latest fallout in the polls (the Bleacher Report poll can be found here) before we dig into some predictions for a couple marquee games of Week 9.
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| 1 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | Mississippi State Bulldogs | Mississippi State Bulldogs |
| 2 | Florida State Seminoles | Florida State Seminoles | Florida State Seminoles |
| 3 | Ole Miss Rebels | Ole Miss Rebels | Ole Miss Rebels |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| 5 | Auburn Tigers | Michigan State Spartans | Auburn Tigers |
| 6 | Oregon Ducks | Auburn Tigers | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| 7 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Oregon Ducks | Michigan State Spartans |
| 8 | Michigan State Spartans | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Oregon Ducks |
| 9 | Georgia Bulldogs | Georgia Bulldogs | Georgia Bulldogs |
| 10 | TCU Horned Frogs | TCU Horned Frogs | TCU Horned Frogs |
| 11 | Kansas State Wildcats | Kansas State Wildcats | Kansas State Wildcats |
| 12 | Baylor Bears | Ohio State Buckeyes | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| 13 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Baylor Bears | Baylor Bears |
| 14 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Arizona State Sun Devils | Arizona State Sun Devils |
| 15 | Arizona Wildcats | Arizona Wildcats | Arizona Wildcats |
| 16 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | Nebraska Cornhuskers | East Carolina Pirates |
| 17 | Oklahoma Sooners | East Carolina Pirates | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
| 18 | East Carolina Pirates | Oklahoma Sooners | Oklahoma Sooners |
| 19 | Utah Utes | Utah Utes | USC Trojans |
| 20 | USC Trojans | Clemson Tigers | Utah Utes |
| 21 | Clemson Tigers | USC Trojans | Marshall Thundering Herd |
| 22 | West Virginia Mountaineers | Marshall Thundering Herd | Clemson Tigers |
| 23 | Marshall Thundering Herd | LSU Tigers | West Virginia Mountaineers |
| 24 | LSU Tigers | Minnesota Golden Gophers | UCLA Bruins |
| 25 | UCLA Bruins | West Virginia Mountaineers | Duke Blue Devils |
Week 9 Predictions
USC vs. Utah
While the majority of the attention in the Pac-12 is directed toward Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona and USC, Utah has quietly entered the conference championship discussion.
The Utes' only loss on the season came in a one-point heartbreaker to Washington State, while they count wins over UCLA, Michigan and Oregon State on their early resume. What’s more, running back Devontae Booker is riding high after gashing Oregon State’s defense for 229 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
He commented on the performance, which included the game-winner in the second overtime, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: “It was pretty much myself just running hard. They gave me the ball, I just took it and ran with it. Got in the end zone, scored, end of game.”
If Booker can get it going consistently, he would give Utah an extra dimension to go along with its already stout defense.
USC also has some momentum after an upset win over Arizona and a blowout victory against Colorado. Were it not for a Hail Mary pass from Arizona State, the discussion around USC would be much different right now.
Still, the difference in this game will be a raucous home crowd behind the Utes. It has been quite some time since Utah has had a chance to be a legitimate player on the national stage, and a win here will propel it into to the thick of the Pac-12 South race.
The crowd will pick up on that urgency, and Booker will ride the momentum from his last performance to another big day.
Prediction: Utah 24, USC 20
Ohio State vs. Penn State
Only two games in Week 9 feature multiple ranked teams, and one involves an LSU squad that is probably a bit overrated after getting crushed by Auburn and barely squeaking by Florida and its disastrous offense. Instead of previewing a blowout Ole Miss win, we will move to the Big Ten for our second prediction.
Ohio State and Penn State are trending in opposite directions and will meet under the lights in what is sure to be a whiteout at Penn State (if you ignore the scarlet heavily sprinkled throughout the stadium).
The Nittany Lions are coming off a bye week, but they lost their last two games to Michigan and Northwestern. The Northwestern loss was a blowout, but losing to the 2014 version of the Wolverines may be even worse.
Ohio State, on the other hand, has not been challenged since an early loss to Virginia Tech, and it is clear that this team filled with freshmen and sophomores is making enormous leaps from week to week. Saturday represents a chance for the Buckeyes to creep back into the College Football Playoff discussion as they show the nation just how far they have come since September.
Urban Meyer suggested as much, via Ben Axelrod of Bleacher Report:
What’s more, J.T. Barrett is quietly putting up Heisman Trophy-type numbers, as Eleven Warriors noted in a comparison between his numbers and those of Jameis Winston a year ago:
The Penn State offense is an abysmal 111th in the country in points per game (21.2) and simply won’t be able to keep up with Barrett and Co. This one may be over by the middle of the third quarter.
Prediction: Ohio State 31, Penn State 14
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