College Football Rankings: B/R's Top 25 After Week 9
The big boys survived, but there were still some tests and tilts in Week 9 of college football.
Georgia continued to flex its muscle as the top team in the country with a dismantling of rival Florida, and Oklahoma rolled, too. Cincinnati and Ohio State received tests from Tulane and Penn State, respectively, but survived ahead of the first College Football Playoff rankings set to come out this week.
Michigan-Michigan State treated us to an absolute beauty in a game won by the Spartans, and Auburn won an SEC West grudge match with Ole Miss.
The Rebels weren't the only fringe contenders to lay an egg, either. Iowa was embarrassed at Wisconsin, too. No. 12 Kentucky and No. 17 Pittsburgh lost key games, too.
As always, twists and turns abounded. Bleacher Report's college football crew of David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Kerry Miller and Brad Shepard each submitted a Top 25 ballot and tried to make sense of it. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, followed by 24 points for second, 23 for third, etc.
B/R's Post-Week 9 Top 25
1. Georgia (Last week: 1)
2. Alabama (2)
3. Cincinnati (3)
4. Michigan State (7)
5. Ohio State (4)
6. Oklahoma (6)
7. Oregon (10)
8. Wake Forest (12)
9. Michigan (5)
10. Notre Dame (13)
T-11. Oklahoma State (14)
T-11. Texas A&M (15)
T-13. Auburn (22)
T-13. Baylor (20)
15. Ole Miss (8)
16. UTSA (19)
17. Houston (NR)
18. Kentucky (11)
19. Coastal Carolina (24)
T-20. Louisiana-Lafayette (NR)
T-20. N.C. State (25)
22. Minnesota (NR)
23. SMU (17)
T-24. BYU (NR)
T-24. Fresno State (NR)
Others receiving votes: Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin, San Diego State
Who's Hot: Michigan State Spartans
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If you don't know, now you know—Michigan State is legit.
The No. 8 Spartans were the tougher team against the No. 6 Wolverines, both physically and mentally, in a dramatic, come-from-behind 37-33 win in a battle between top-10 programs.
It's only fitting Michigan State won the Paul Bunyan Trophy by chipping away and then proving more powerful at the end. Sparty erased a 16-point third-quarter deficit by not panicking and, of course, by riding Kenneth Walker III.
The running back continued to demonstrate he belongs at the top of the Heisman Trophy conversation with a remarkable five touchdown runs among his 197 yards on 23 carries. He threw two fourth-quarter haymakers, scoring from 58 and 23 yards, each time giving his Spartans the lead.
The last one was for good.
In the process, Mel Tucker became the first MSU coach to start his career 2-0 against Michigan. According to the FOX telecast, this is also the Spartans' first 8-0 start since 2015, as well as the first win over a top-six opponent since that year.
"I'll tell you what, it's unbelievable," Tucker told the broadcast crew after the game as the players and fans celebrated. "I told you our guys were not going to quit. We knew they weren't going to quit. They just kept playing. Body blows, body blows, body blows…credit to our players and our coaches. That was a great win for us."
The Wolverines had two chances late, but MSU's maligned secondary rose to the occasion both times. First, Ronald Williams got away with a closely contested pass that could have been called pass interference, keeping Cornelius Johnson from catching a fourth-down pass.
Michigan got one more chance after forcing a three-and-out, but Charles Brantley erased the opportunity by intercepting Cade McNamara. It was yet another hero play in a long line of them for a Michigan State team that continues to prove it's worthy of its lofty ranking week after week.
Who's Not: Pittsburgh Panthers
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With Clemson's awful start to the season, the ACC was up for grabs, and the two teams that looked the most like they were ready to seize the opportunity were the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Pittsburgh Panthers.
After Saturday's debacle at home against Miami, you can scratch coach Pat Narduzzi's Pitt team from that list, at least for the moment.
The Hurricanes put everything together behind freshman quarterback Tyler Van Dyke in a 38-34 win. So much for those feel-good vibes from Pitt after last week's win over Clemson.
The Panthers' early-season defensive struggles rose again as Van Dyke threw for 426 yards in the win. The 'Canes didn't even have to run the ball with so much success through the air.
According to Chris Peak of Panther Lair, Narduzzi discussed "crappy tackling" in his postgame press conference, but to be honest, there was plenty of "crappy" coverage and "crappy" coaching, too.
The Hurricanes came into the game with a losing record but looked like the better team throughout the game.
Though Miami didn't have answers for Kenny Pickett in the passing game, the senior quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate finished with two costly interceptions. That may knock him down a few rungs, as Kenneth Walker III and Bryce Young continue to emerge as the favorites for the trophy.
Pitt still has the potential to win the ACC, but this was a major blow for a team that looked like it may have the highest ceiling this season of anybody in a down year for that conference. Instead, Saturday's loss was just a clear picture there are no powerhouse programs in the ACC in 2021.
Fun Fact: Georgia Trying to Repeat History
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Georgia may be ready to party like it's 1980, or at least 1942. Either would work.
According to CBS' telecast of Saturday's Georgia-Florida game, the last time the Bulldogs entered the rivalry showdown ranked No. 1 in the country was 79 years ago.
Oh, by the way: The Bulldogs were national champions in '42, and Frank Sinkwich won the Heisman Trophy.
This year, the Dawgs don't really have anybody in the mix for college football's top individual honor (unless you could give it as a team award for that dominant defense). However, UGA certainly looks like it can win its first national championship since 1980.
They hammered Florida 34-7 in the rivalry formerly known as the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." According to CBS, it is also the first time since '42 that UGA allowed 13 points or fewer in each of their first eight games.
After a middling start that saw them carry a 3-0 lead into the closing minutes of the first half, the Bulldogs scored three touchdowns off three Florida turnovers in two minutes and nine seconds of clock time to carry a 24-0 lead into halftime.
The first one came when Anthony Richardson tried to scramble off his 1-yard line, and the ball was ripped away for a fumble. Then, Richardson threw an ill-advised interception. Both of those resulted in one-play scoring drives for the Dawgs on short fields.
Then, Nakobe Dean corralled another Richardson interception and took it to the house for a pick-six. What had been a strong first half for a Gators team that looked upset-minded and was playing its best defensive game of the season turned into a nightmare in the closing minutes of the second quarter.
Everybody around Gainesville has been clamoring for coach Dan Mullen to start Richardson over Emory Jones. While Richardson is supremely talented, he couldn't cut it against the nation's best defense. That unit may just wind up carrying the Dawgs to a national title again this year.
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What to Watch For: Anybody on Upset Watch?
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The real thing to watch is the College Football Playoff rankings, which come out for the first time this week. With Week 10's lack of headliner games, that's the biggest news college football fans want to see.
One look at the schedule may have you searching for "can't-miss" matchups. On paper, there simply aren't any with just one game between currently ranked teams (Auburn at Texas A&M). But you know college football isn't going to let us get through a week without some wild action.
So, where are the hot zones for potential upsets? Not everything you see on the schedule is a glorified bye week.
It seems like a matter of time before Washington puts everything together and has a quality game. Will it come against Pac-12 North rival Oregon in what would be a big-time statement win?
Cincinnati has sleep-walked through some games lately, and it will be interesting to see how the CFP committee views the Bearcats. While they'll be heavy favorites against the team they beat in last year's AAC championship game (Tulsa), that game could be intriguing.
Michigan State has to come back down from an ultimate high following this week's win over Michigan to play a Purdue team in West Lafayette capable of an upset. No. 12 Kentucky hosts a Tennessee team with the ability to put up a ton of points in a clash of styles, and Liberty's Hugh Freeze returns to Oxford to face Ole Miss.
LSU-Alabama should be one-sided, but at least the Bayou Bengals have given us some reasons to watch that game in the past. Ohio State's visit to Nebraska could include some potholes, too.
Where will the wackiness take place in Week 10?
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