Week 9 was marked largely by comfortable wins and blowouts throughout the nation, although don’t tell that to Texas, Kansas State, Ohio State, Boise State, and SMU. With Halloween coming this week we are leaving October behind and gearing up for the final month of the 2024 college football season.
Here’s the latest 18 Stripes Top 20 Poll:
18 Stripes Top 20 Poll
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| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | NEXT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | 8-0 | at Michigan |
| 2 | Penn State | 7-0 | vs. Ohio State |
| 3 | Miami | 8-0 | vs. Duke |
| 4 | Ohio State | 6-1 | at Penn State |
| 5 | Georgia | 6-1 | vs. Florida |
| 6 | Texas | 7-1 | BYE |
| 7 | Indiana (+1) | 8-0 | at Michigan State |
| 8 | Tennessee (-1) | 6-1 | vs. Kentucky |
| 9 | BYU (+1) | 8-0 | BYE |
| 10 | Iowa State (-1) | 7-0 | vs. Texas Tech |
| 11 | Notre Dame (+1) | 7-1 | BYE |
| 12 | Texas A&M (+1) | 7-1 | at South Carolina |
| 13 | Clemson (-2) | 6-1 | vs. Louisville |
| 14 | Kansas State (+1) | 7-1 | at Houston |
| 15 | Boise State (+1) | 6-1 | vs. San Diego State |
| 16 | Pittsburgh (+1) | 7-0 | at SMU |
| 17 | Army (NR) | 7-0 | vs. Air Force |
| 18 | Alabama (+2) | 6-2 | BYE |
| 19 | SMU (NR) | 7-1 | vs. Pittsburgh |
| 20 | Washington State (NR) | 7-1 | BYE |
OUT:
#14 LSU
#18 Navy
#19 Missouri
Not a great week for these trio of teams who lose by a combined 123-37. It was pretty bad for Navy and Missouri, in particular. Less so for LSU but they suffer their 2nd loss just ahead of their impending matchup with Alabama.
First round bye watch (if they win their conferences):
#1 Oregon
#3 Miami
#5 Georgia
#10 Iowa State
No changes from last week.
National Storylines
On Wednesday night, Kennesaw State won their first-ever Conference USA game with a huge 27-24 upset of previously undefeated Liberty.
Kyle McCord threw 5 interceptions and 3 pick sixes as Pittsburgh remained unbeaten in an easy 41-13 win over Syracuse.
Ashton Jeanty didn’t have a huge game, although Boise State still picked up a key 29-24 win at UNLV to stay in the playoff race.
No curse of no. 1 this weekend for Oregon as the Ducks blast visiting Illinois 38-9 in Eugene.
Quarterback Drew Allar left the game with a lower body injury in Penn State’s 28-13 win at Wisconsin.
Indiana moves to 8-0 and beat Washington 31-17 despite playing without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
Ohio State had to hold on for dear life in their 21-17 win over Nebraska.
Our old friend Drew Pyne threw 3 interceptions in Missouri’s embarrassing 34-0 loss at Alabama.
Texas couldn’t run away from Vanderbilt in Nashville but the Horns did avoid the upset in a 27-24 victory.
Ole Miss trailed at halftime then came back to beat Oklahoma 26-14.
Duke’s game-winning field goal to end regulation was blocked and SMU went on to win 28-27 in overtime.
BYU just keeps winning–this time the Cougars beat UCF in Orlando to the tune of 37-24.
Kansas State’s winning streak over Kansas lives on for another year following a close 29-27 victory.
An offensive explosion of 28 points in the 3rd quarter saw Iowa blowout Northwestern 40-14.
Houston upset Utah 17-14 and things continue to spiral for the Utes.
Michigan came back to beat Michigan State 24-17.
Opponent Watch
Texas A&M (7-1): Should the leader in the SEC be ranked ahead of Notre Dame? Following their 38-23 win over LSU, it’s only the Aggies who are unbeaten in their league now. A SEC Championship game looks likely (if they don’t cough up road games at South Carolina and Auburn).
Northern Illinois (4-4): A game-winning field goal by Ball State dropped the Huskies on the road 25-23.
Purdue (1-6): A merciful bye this past weekend.
Miami [OH] (4-4): A big 46-7 win over Central Michigan has Miami in 2nd place in the MAC now.
Louisville (5-3): The Cardinals trailed big in Chestnut Hill but came back to win 31-27.
Stanford (2-6): A competitive game but another lost for Stanford, losing 27-24 to visiting Wake Forest. It’s been over a year since the Cardinal have beaten a Power conference opponent on The Farm.
Georgia Tech (5-4): The Yellow Jackets gained more than 100 more yards than Virginia Tech but still lost 21-6.
Navy (6-1): The Middies have Rice, USF, Tulane, and ECU remaining before their finale against Army.
Florida State (1-7): Miami ended up winning easily 36-14 while handing the Seminoles their 7th loss. They are tied with Mississippi State for the most losses in 2024 right now among Power conference teams.
Virginia (4-4): The Hoos were 3.5-point favorites this past weekend against North Carolina and lost embarrassingly 41-14.
Army (7-0): The Knights were off this weekend, resting up for the visiting Falcons of Air Force.
USC (4-4): Job saved? No upsets for USC as they crawl back to .500 on the year following a 42-20 win against Rutgers.
If you’re ESPN, sure? But otherwise no, since we own the head to head and did it at their stadium. I’m down on this team’s ceiling this year as anyone but I also don’t like the game of best vs. worst loss especially when you have an actual H2H to look at.
And really what is going on at Florida State? I know they lost a bunch of guys to the NFL but did they completely whiff on their incoming transfers too?
Also poking around for some answers on FSU, I see Gobaira is in the transfer portal as of yesterday. Tyson Ford a few weeks before that too. Are these Notre Dame not medically clearing them – for good reason I presume – and them wanting to try their luck elsewhere? Hey, it worked for Laiatu Latu
Gobaira I believe was already on medical scholarship.
In the “credit where it’s due” category, props to Mizzou for passing on the Sad Field Goal late in the game to avoid the shutout and instead playing for a TD. I respect that.
If Buchner was still at Bama, he presumably could have gotten mop up duty snaps against his old teammate Drew. Missed opportunity.