This is where the getting gets good. We’re nearing the homestretch of the college football season where games grow in importance and pressure on coaches and teams increases.
The Week 9 schedule includes five games matching ranked opponents that have College Football Playoff implications as teams fall out of contention and others elevate their status.
These increased stakes can lead to surprising performances or shocking upsets. But with so many potential pitfalls this Saturday, where will those unlikely results come from?
That’s why we’re here to make sense of things. The USA TODAY Sports college football staff — Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken — weigh in with bold predictions for Week 9 of the college football season.
Vanderbilt puts up fight but has quick stay in rankings
Vanderbilt has lived a charmed existence this season, beating Alabama and Kentucky, with their only two losses being by a combined seven points. Texas comes to town this week and has had a few days to marinate what went wrong in their home loss to Georgia.
The No. 25 Commodores are no slouch and will give the Longhorns a fight, but Texas is too talented where it matters most, and that will show up in the second half. Vanderbilt’s fans will be relegated to staying in their seats by the game’s end, and the goalposts, which made a two-mile trek and ended up in the Cumberland River after the Crimson Tide upset, won’t leave the stadium. — Scooby Axson
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Colorado thrusts itself into Big 12 title race
For as much attention Colorado gets, not enough of it is being focused on the fact the Buffaloes are doing well in the Big 12. After a tough loss to Kansas State, Colorado went to Tucson and ripped apart Arizona. Now, Deion Sanders welcomes a Cincinnati team that is a few plays away from being undefeated. The Bearcats have a solid defense that should give the Buffaloes a tough time, but Shedeur Sanders finds a way to lead his team to victory in impressive fashion. A win would put the Buffaloes at 4-1 in Big 12 play headed into a stretch of games that isn’t as difficult as it was thought to be in the preseason. A possible College Football Playoff with Coach Prime? Best believe it. — Jordan Mendoza
Brigham Young’s unbeaten run ends at Central Florida
The fun comes to an end for Brigham Young in an upset at Central Florida. UCF was on the verge of a major upset last week against Iowa State before giving up a late score to lose 38-35. Does that mean the Knights are ready to take down the Cougars? BYU was very fortunate to escape with a win last Friday against Oklahoma State and seem to be living on borrowed time despite the 7-0 record. The good news is loss No. 1 won’t eliminate BYU from playoff or Big 12 title contention. — Paul Myerberg
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Kansas makes Kansas State go to the wire
It may not have the luster of other college football rivalries, but the two programs in the Sunflower State don’t take a backseat to any one in terms of animosity. Kansas seemed to hit rock bottom after starting the season ranked and losing five of their first six games. The Jayhawks rebounded last week against Houston and nothing would brighten their prospects in the second half of the season more than an upset of K-State. The Wildcats are on a roll after road victories against Colorado and West Virginia. There’s a chance for a letdown here, and it’s worth noting that Kansas led in the fourth quarter of four of their five losses. Expect another close game and maybe an upset that shakes up the Big 12 race. — Erick Smith
Penn State better be wary of Wisconsin
Much of the noise emanating from Penn State this week has not been about the Nittany Lions’ next opponent, and that has the potential to be extremely dangerous.
It seems some folks in State College, Pennsylvania, are a tad miffed that the Lions’ Nov. 2 showdown with Ohio State was picked for Fox’s noon ET window and not for prime time. This disappointment is understandable; obviously you’d like the advantage of an amped-up nighttime environment for such a big game. But making a big deal about it runs the risk of the team ignoring its business for the coming week.
Which brings us to Wisconsin. The last time we saw the Badgers on the national stage they were getting pummeled by Alabama while also losing their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury. Life after Tyler Van Dyke didn’t go much better a week later on the road at Southern California.
October, however, has seemingly given Wisconsin a new lease on life. The Badgers have outscored their last three Big Ten opponents by a total margin of 117-16. We’ll grant that Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern is nobody’s idea of a murderers’ row. But if the Nittany Lions are thinking more about Ohio State than Wisconsin when they arrive in Madison this week, they could be facing a classic Admiral Ackbar special. Penn State will probably get out with the win, but don’t be shocked if it’s a lot closer than one might anticipate. — Eddie Timanus
Michigan State gets past big brother Michigan
In the state of Michigan’s battle of first-year coaches, there’s no doubt that Jonathan Smith has done a more impressive job for the Spartans than Sherrone Moore for the Wolverines. Both teams are 4-3, and neither have been amazing, but the vibes are a lot better at Michigan State where expectations were low to begin the season. Also, the Spartans seem to be getting better as evidenced by their 32-20 victory last week over Iowa. Given that limited bit of data, it’s hard to justify Michigan being a five-point favorite when the quarterback situation is a complete mess and it doesn’t seem like they have any explosive ability to score points. The Spartans will go into the Big House and win this time. — Dan Wolken
