Given all the upsets this season, college football fans must be wondering what surprises are in store for Week 9.
Ten teams in The Associated Press Top 25 have lost over the last three weeks, including two No. 1s and a No. 2 that were beaten by unranked opponents. Will Halloween be even more frightening for ranked teams?
Like last week, there are only two Top 25 matchups on Saturday: No. 22 Arizona against No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 17 Florida takes on No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta as the cocktail party moves north from its familiar Jacksonville setting.
That does not mean there won’t be some surprises. It has been that kind of a year, with 128 conference games decided by eight or fewer points, most through Week 8 since at least 1973.
No. 22 Arizona (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) takes a five-game winning streak to No. 13 Texas Tech (6-1, 3-1). The winner gets an inside track to the Big 12 championship game.
Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita is passing for 295 yards per game as the most accurate passer in the country behind Miami’s Darian Mensah. The Red Raiders are coming off a road loss to Cincinnati that left coach Joey McGuire livid, especially about his team’s three turnovers and inability to stop the run. Texas Tech is favored by 3.5 points.
No. 25 Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) heads to Iowa (5-2, 2-2) after cracking the the Top 25 for the first time since September 2023. Iowa has outscored the Badgers 118-26 over the last four seasons, but is favored by only 2.5 points in this one.
No. 17 Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC) is a 12.5-point underdog against No. 3 Georgia (6-1, 4-1) and the Bulldogs have won eight of the last 10 in the series, including the last five. Georgia has had a week off to stew over the upset loss at home to Auburn, too.
Still, this is a Florida team that won at Texas two weeks ago, has already beaten that Auburn team and pounded a pretty good Ole Miss team earlier this season before puzzling back-to-back blowout losses to Missouri and South Carolina. Which Gators team shows up — they are starting quarterback Aaron Philo and should have speedy receiver Vernell Brown III available — will go a long way in deciding this one.
No. 6 Utah (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) is one of just three unbeaten Bowl Subdivision teams left along with No. 1 Miami and No. 7 UCLA. The Utes are 7-0 for the first time since 2010 and have won 13 games in a row, the longest active FBS streak, and have won nine straight Big 12 games.
They now play at Cincinnati (5-2, 2-2), which just beat Texas Tech for the Bearcats' first home win over a top 10 team in 20 years, No unranked Big 12 team has ever won back-to-back games against top-10 opponents, but Cincinnati is only a 7.5-point underdog.
One of the feel-good stories of the season has been No. 20 Northwestern (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten), which makes a potentially dangerous trip to Oregon (4-3, 2-2). Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly faced the Ducks while coaching UCLA from 2018-23, but this is the first time he will be doing so as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator. The Ducks are favored by 3.5 points.
No. 2 Ohio State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) heads west to play a Southern California (6-2, 3-2) team whose coach, Lincoln Riley, felt it necessary this week to say how much he enjoys leading the Trojans in what so far has been an underwhelming stint. The Trojans are close to being eliminated from College Football Playoff consideration after last week’s 24-7 loss at Wisconsin.
Ohio State’s quarterback uncertainty adds some intrigue in a game where the Buckeyes are favored by 6.5 points: This will be the first full game the Buckeyes play without the injured Julian Sayin and either Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair will start.
Ohio State star receiver Jeremiah Smith has been projected to be the runaway winner for the Heisman Trophy for weeks, but Miami QB Darian Mensah and WR Malachi Toney have closed the gap.
Smith will get the spotlight this week against Southern California while Mensah and Toney go into Saturday's game at North Carolina coming off impressive performances. Mensah hit on 31 of 37 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-23 win over Pitt, and his 81.4% season completion rate is on FBS record pace. Toney caught a school-record 16 passes for 194 yards and three TDs and was AP's player of the week.
A lot of eyes will also be on Fayetteville, where Arkansas (3-4, 1-3 SEC) hosts No. 23 Missouri (5-2, 2-2) with the Tigers expected to welcome standout running back Ahmad Hardy back to the field nearly six months after he was shot during an incident in Mississippi.
___
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
