College Football Rankings 2017: Week 9 Polls and Top 25 Standings Predictions
There weren't many upsets from Week 8 of the college football season, but dominant victories from a few teams caused some changes in the latest polls.
Penn State remains at No. 2, but there is a lot more consensus about the team's ability after its 42-13 rout of Michigan. Notre Dame jumped a few spots after its incredible 49-14 beatdown of USC. Teams like UCF and Virginia Tech also continue to rise with solid wins.
These teams and others will try to continue trending in the right direction with an intriguing set of matchups in Week 9.
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Associated Press Poll
1. Alabama (8-0)
2. Penn State (7-0)
3. Georgia (7-0)
4. TCU (7-0)
5. Wisconsin (7-0)
6. Ohio State (6-1)
7. Clemson (6-1)
8. Miami (6-0)
9. Notre Dame (6-1)
10. Oklahoma (6-1)
11. Oklahoma State (6-1)
12. Washington (6-1)
13. Virginia Tech (6-1)
14. North Carolina State (6-1)
15. Washington State (7-1)
16. Michigan State (6-1)
17. South Florida (7-0)
18. UCF (6-0)
19. Auburn (6-2)
20. Stanford (5-2)
21. USC (6-2)
22. West Virginia (5-2)
23. LSU (6-2)
24. Memphis (6-1)
25. Iowa State (5-2)
Notable Week 9 Games
No. 11 Oklahoma State at No. 22 West Virginia
We have been hearing about Oklahoma State's offense all season, which ranks third in the country with 43.7 points per game, but West Virginia is just off the pace with 43.3 PPG to rank fourth.
Florida transfer Will Grier has been the perfect fit in the Mountaineers offense, and he has 26 passing touchdowns on the year and over 300 yards each game. While this squad has two losses, it has performed well each week and only lost to Virginia Tech and TCU by seven points each.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State has struggled against quality opponents, turning the ball over four times in a defeat to TCU and then narrowly escaped last week with an overtime win over Texas. Jake Trotter of ESPN questioned the play during the 13-10 victory:
The Cowboys were conservative throughout the day and didn't look like the big-play offense we had seen in the past. West Virginia hasn't been great defensively this season, but there is enough speed to at least slow down Mason Rudolph and company.
West Virginia has also only lost twice in Morgantown since the start of 2015, and the home crowd should help pull off the upset Saturday.
Prediction: West Virginia 45, Oklahoma State 38
No. 14 North Carolina State at No. 9 Notre Dame
The ACC Atlantic was expected to be one of the toughest divisions in the country, with Clemson, Florida State and Louisville all supposed to contend for a title. However, it's North Carolina State that sits on top of the standings with a 4-0 conference record, including wins over Louisville and Florida State.
Ryan Finley has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country, completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The challenge will be to keep this up against a Notre Dame defense that just shut down potential No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL draft Sam Darnold. The USC quarterback turned the ball over twice while only helping his team to 14 points scored all game. A lack of run game also hurt any chance of success.
"This game will be won by who's more physical," Irish coach Brian Kelly said after the game, per David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times. "I think when you run for 370-something yards and you hold them to 70, I think we know who the more physical football team was."
This talented Notre Dame defense also effectively shut down quarterback Jake Fromm and Georgia's offense in a close loss.
Brandon Wimbush and Josh Adams should be able to put up points against a questionable Wolfpack defense, and the rest of the Irish will do enough to hold on for the win.
Prediction: Notre Dame 31, North Carolina State 27
No. 2 Penn State at No. 6 Ohio State
Saquon Barkley continues to move toward a Heisman Trophy with runs like this:
Facing a talented Michigan defense, the Penn State running back rushed for 108 yards to bring his season total to 757. He also has 448 receiving yards, 273 kick return yards and 12 total touchdowns. It's almost impossible to stop him, and when you try, Trace McSorley can hurt you with his arm or his legs.
As scary as this is for Ohio State, an extra week for head coach Urban Meyer to prepare could be huge.
The Buckeyes already have the No. 14 run defense in college football and allow just 2.93 yards per carry. The athletes in the front seven are unlike anything Penn State has seen this year, which will help slow down this offense.
There had been more question marks about the Ohio State offense earlier in the year with the inconsistent play of J.T. Barrett, but he has 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last four games. The Buckeyes have scored at least 50 points in each of those wins.
Penn State will slow down this attack, but the Buckeyes should be able to avenge their dramatic loss in State College from last season.
Prediction: Ohio State 28, Penn State 24
More Week 9 Predictions
No. 3 Georgia def. Florida; 28-24
No. 4 TCU def. No. 25 Iowa State; 31-28
No. 5 Wisconsin def. Illinois; 31-10
No. 7 Clemson def. Georgia Tech; 20-14
No. 8 Miami def. North Carolina; 28-13
No. 10 Oklahoma def. Texas Tech; 42-17
No. 12 Washington def. UCLA; 45-35
No. 13 Virginia Tech def. Duke; 38-21
Arizona def. No. 15 Washington State; 41-38
Northwestern def. No. 16 Michigan State; 20-17
No. 17 South Florida def. Houston; 41-30
No. 18 UCF def. Austin Peay; 51-17
No. 20 Stanford def. Oregon State; 38-7
No. 21 USC def. Arizona State; 35-24
No. 24 Memphis def. Tulane; 48-35
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