College football Week 9 roundup with the 5 things that matter, winners and losers, overrated and underrated parts of the weekend, and what it all means.
College Football Week 9 Roundup
Week 9 Roundup
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 9 scoreboard, all the predictions
Week 10 opening lines | AP | Coaches
College Football Playoff Top 25 Prediction
Big Game Reaction: MSU, Georgia, OSU, more
Ranking the 15 Teams Still Alive For Playoff
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– MSU’s statement: One Really Big Thing
– UGA-Florida: Most Overrated Thing
– Gary Patterson: Most Underrated Thing
– Welcome to November What It All Means, Week 9
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
Winners & Losers From Week 9
Winner: Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker
How do you go from being a relative no-name to the Heisman front-runner? You set the foundation with a strong start to the season, you have a few big games here and there to generate a buzz, and then when everyone is watching and you’re on the big stage, you beat your biggest rival by rushing for 197 yards and five touchdowns in a 37-33 win.
Loser: Everyone else in the Heisman race
With Walker’s monster performance against Michigan – and with Ole Miss QB Matt Corral losing to Auburn, Texas RB Bijan Robinson and Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler long out of the picture, and with Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei not even a thought – the 2021 Heisman race has come down to Walker, Alabama’s Bryce Young once he has a signature moment, and the entire Georgia defense. And …
Winner: Oklahoma QB Caleb Williams
As debuts go, this one is a whopper. Already in the midst of an amazing few weeks ever since he took over the 2021 season with his fourth down run for a score against Texas, he took it up a few notches with a 402-yard, six-touchdown pass day against Texas Tech.
In just over five games he has hit 72% of his passes averaging 11 yards per throw with 14 touchdowns and one pick. That, and 281 rushing yards and four touchdowns, and more signature Heisman moments than the rest of the field combined.
Loser: Texas
To go way-painfully dated with the reference, if Williams is the best debut since Pearl Jam’s Ten, then Texas is every hair metal band after the release of that and Nirvana’s Nevermind.
The Longhorns were rolling right along on the way to a blowout win over Oklahoma and an almost certain run to the Big 12 championship, and then came that run by Williams. Texas melted down and still hasn’t recovered. After losing at Baylor, it’s now on a three-game losing streak with work to do at 4-4 just to go bowling.
Winner: The Paul Bunyan Axe game
From out of absolutely nowhere, things are starting to set up for the Wisconsin trip to Minnesota on November 27th to be a giant deal in the Big Ten race. There’s a great chance the winner goes to the Big Ten Championship.
After blowing out Northwestern, the Gophers are rolling on a four-game winning streak after the weird loss to Bowling Green. They have to deal with Illinois, at Iowa, and Indiana before getting the Badgers.
Wisconsin rumbled over Purdue and the D stuffed Iowa. The offense has stopped screwing up, and the defense continues to be a brick wall. It gets at Rutgers, Northwestern, Nebraska, and then the trip to Minneapolis.
Loser: Conference USA’s possible showcase moment
It could’ve been so amazing, and it should still be a good game. UTEP made it a fight in a 28-25 loss to Florida Atlantic. Had it won, it would’ve been 7-1 going into its showdown against unbeaten UTSA. It would’ve been a shot for Conference USA to have enjoyed some positive national attention for a bit – and it could still happen in a light week of big games overall.
Winner: Washington State Cougars
How was Wazzu going to recover from an ugly 1-3 start? How could it go on after the school’s uglier breakup with head coach Nick Rolovich? It moved forward by winning, going 4-1 in the last five games.
After shocking Arizona State 34-21, and thanks to an earlier win over Oregon State, Washington State is in a position to take the Pac-12 North if it can win out against at Oregon, Arizona, and at Washington.
Loser: All those who had Florida State +9.5 and/or the under on the 48 point total vs Clemson
You are not alone … you are not alone … you are not alone …
– MSU’s statement: One Really Big Thing
– UGA-Florida: Most Overrated Thing
– Gary Patterson: Most Underrated Thing
– Welcome to November What It All Means, Week 9