College Football Rankings 2015: Reviewing NCAA Polls Before Final Week 9 Games

Ohio State and Baylor are leading a crowded charge toward the College Football Playoff heading into Week 9. There are still numerous contenders with a legitimate shot of claiming one of those four coveted spots, however, which is going to make for an interesting stretch of the regular season.

The highly competitive nature of the race increases the level of intrigue exponentially. It reduces the margin of error for every playoff hopeful, including the Buckeyes and Bears, and could leave some tough choices for the selection committee once the dust settles.

With that in mind, let's check out where the Top 25 teams stand in the Week 9 polls. That's followed by a closer look at some teams with a chance to make a statement Saturday.

Week 9 Rankings

Rank	AP	Coaches	Bleacher Report
1	Ohio State	Ohio State	Baylor
2	Baylor	Baylor	Ohio State
3	Clemson	TCU	Clemson
4	LSU	LSU	TCU
5	TCU	Michigan State	LSU
6	Michigan State	Clemson	Michigan State
7	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
8	Stanford	Stanford	Stanford
9	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Notre Dame
10	Iowa	Oklahoma State	Iowa
11	Florida	Iowa	Oklahoma State
12	Oklahoma State	Florida	Florida
13	Utah	Oklahoma	Utah
14	Oklahoma	Utah	Michigan
15	Michigan	Florida State	Oklahoma
16	Memphis	Memphis	Memphis
17	Florida State	Michigan	Florida State
18	Houston	Duke	Houston
19	Ole Miss	Houston	Ole Miss
20	Toledo	Toledo	Toledo
21	Temple	Ole Miss	Duke
22	Duke	Temple	Temple
23	Pittsburgh	Georgia	Pittsburgh
24	UCLA	Pittsburgh	UCLA
25	Mississippi State	UCLA	Texas A&M

Teams with Most To Gain

Florida

The Gators' clash with Georgia is crucial on several fronts. Getting the victory over a solid Bulldogs squad would obviously help their resume and, more importantly, put them in firm control of the SEC East. The conference title game could provide that marquee win they need in the end.

Furthermore, it's important for Florida to bounce back after its first loss of the 2015 campaign against LSU. Head coach Jim McElwain believes his team got away from what had made it successful and needs to focus on its individual tasks, as noted by Robert Judin of Campus Insiders.

"I thought we got a little out of sorts in our last game. I thought, in the first half, we pressed—guys doing uncharacteristic things," McElwain said. "It wasn't anything doing with their effort, but they were trying to do more than what they had to do. That isn't how we're gonna win. We're gonna win by doing our job, and we're gonna win together."

The defense must elevate its level of play after giving up 35 points and 423 yards to the Tigers. The unit certainly can't afford to take the Bulldogs lightly, even though they lost star running back Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury.

Florida has three winnable games on tap after this week before a high-profile clash with rival Florida State in the finale. The Gators must win out and hope for some help. Beating Georgia would be a key step in the right direction.

Oklahoma State

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma State hasn't garnered as much hype as you'd expect from an unbeaten team in a Power Five conference. That's in large part due to the amount of attention given to Big 12 rivals Baylor and TCU, which also remain undefeated and came into the campaign with higher outside expectations.

The Cowboys will get their chance at both conference powerhouses in the weeks ahead. First, they must take care of business on the road against Texas Tech, though. While Tech is only 5-3, context is necessary to better understand that record, as explained by Chris Level of Red Raider Sports:

One of those defeats was a narrow three-point loss to the Horned Frogs. That's why this amounts to a trap game for Oklahoma State. If they aren't completely focused on this week with seemingly bigger challenges on the horizon, the Red Raiders will pull off the upset.

On the flip side, if the Cowboys survive, then they will have an opportunity to force their way into the playoff mix in those upcoming games with Baylor or TCU. So it has the feeling of a turning-point game one way or another for them.

Temple

While the Owls have a couple notable wins, highlighted by their season-opening upset of Penn State, they are still searching for more respect from the voters. Beating Notre Dame would go a long way in earning that respect.

Two late touchdowns allowed Temple to escape an upset bid from East Carolina last week. Now the question is whether it will respond with a better performance or if that game showcased weaknesses, especially on the offensive side, that the Fighting Irish will exploit.

One thing's for sure: The programs are on completely different ends of the college football spectrum when it comes to these types of games. Notre Dame public relations assistant Leigh Torbin pointed out the stark contrast:

The Temple defense, which ranks eighth in the nation in points allowed per game, must set the tone. If the Owls can avoid an early onslaught by the Irish, they should settle into the game and make it highly competitive. A win would allow them to jump in the polls with a Memphis clash still to come.