College Football UK Views – Week 9: The Plot Thickens
If previous weeks have been synonymous with surprises, week 9 followed the form book more closely. Whilst we all enjoy a good upset, a week of normality doesn’t hurt. As we are heading towards the back end of the season now it allows narratives to formulate. Storylines are building as to who will reach their goals this season and who is failing. In the grand tale of the 2025 season after week 9, the plot thickens.
Looking through the Top 25, there were only 3 teams that lost to lower ranked/unranked teams. 24 ranked Arizona State fell to a 7-1 Houston. 25 ranked Illinois were soundly beaten by a resurgent 6-2 Washington. 18 ranked South Florida lost in an entertaining game to 7-1 Memphis. None of these I would class as a shock loss.
As plotlines develop, the below is where week 9 has left us.
Texas A&M Ascending in the SEC
Georgia had the week off so attention turned to the other 3 key players in the SEC. Texas A&M made a hefty statement, going into LSUs house and claiming a 49-25 win. The loss for LSU sent them into playoff oblivion and cost Brian Kelly his job. The win however sees the Aggies move to 8-0 and 5-0 in the conference and looking very strong for an SEC title conversation.
Not far behind are Alabama who were perhaps less impressive in squeaking past South Carolina 29-22. They improve to 7-1 but 5-0 in the SEC. Ole Miss also had a good weekend winning at Oklahoma 34-26 in an entertaining game. The SEC game that I spent a bit of time watching on Saturday was Vanderbilt’s win against Missouri 17-10. Missouri have been solid this season and it was interesting to see if Diego Pavia and Vandy could pass this test, and they did.
The Buckeyes still top the Big Ten with Indiana on their coat tails.
Ohio State also had the week off so Indiana took centre stage in the Big Ten. I for one looked at their game against UCLA as a potential banana skin. The Hoosiers were having none of it and routed UCLA 56-6 in a dominant performance. They are now 8-0 and 5-0 in the conference with good wins against Illinois (ranked 9 at the time) and Oregon on their resume.
Oregon dealt with Wisconsin 21-7, in awful weather conditions. It wasn’t their best performance but a win is a win. Oregon are now 7-1 and 4-1 in the Big Ten but with challenging games against Iowa, USC and Washington still to come. 11-1 is still possible for the Ducks and if they are to reach that they will have earned it.
On the Big Ten bubble are Iowa and Michigan, both sitting at 6-2 and 4-1 in the conference. A strong run for the remainder of the season could see one or both in contention for the playoffs. Iowa battered Minnesota 41-3 and Michigan overcame Michigan State 31-20.
Georgia Tech Top of the Pile in the ACC
Georgia Tech remained unbeaten at 8-0 and 5-0 in the conference after handling Syracuse 41-16. Virginia remained in the mix at 7-1 after a tight win over North Carolina 17-16. Miami reminded everyone that they are still a force in the conference with a dominant win against Stanford 42-7. Miami are 6-1 overall but 2-1 in the ACC.
Pittsburgh and Louisville remain relevant in the conference with 6 wins each. Pittsburgh are 6-2 (4-1 in the conference) beat NC State 53-34 whilst Louisville 6-1 (3-1 in the conference) beat Boston College 38-24.
Big 12 Remains Bonkers
The only remaining constant in the Big 12 is BYU winning. This week they beat Iowa State 41-27 to remain unbeaten 8-0 and 5-0 in the conference. Houston scored a great victory over 16 ranked Arizona State 24-16. Houston have quietly built a 7-1 record and 4-1 in the conference.
Cincinnati remains relevant still at 7-1 and 5-0 in the conference with a 41-20 victory over Baylor. London-bound Kansas lost out to Kansas State 42-17 leaving both teams at 4-4, albeit Kansas State are 3-2 in the conference and Kansas 2-3. Texas Tech had a routine 42-0 win against a beleaguered Oklahoma State.
It is fair to say that the Big 12 is anything but boring!
The Playoff Clouds are Gathering
The first iteration of the College Football Playoff rankings is due anytime now and we will see what the committee’s first view is.
Their choices will be a formed via a mixture of statistics and sentiment. The storylines matter and with that, with just 4 games left for most teams this season, the plot thickens.
I will talk more about that when the first iteration is released.
