The College Football Playoff picture is about to get a whole lot louder.
With the selection committee set to unveil its first Top 25 rankings on Tuesday, Week 9 has turned into the final audition window for teams trying to leave a mark. Some programs need style points.
Others need a signature win. And with chaos always lurking in college football, Saturday has plenty of room to shake up the bracket before the committee even gets involved.
Here’s where things stand heading into the weekend.
Boise State gets one of the more interesting spots on the board with Kellen Moore back on the blue turf for the unveiling of his statue at the school. The current team will need some of that old magic, because it faces a tough one against new Pac-12 foe Texas State.
Indiana is in a similar spot, with what looks like the hardest remaining game on its Big Ten schedule. Minnesota is the opponent, and the Gophers are positioned to make life difficult for the reigning conference champions as they try to get back to the league title game.
Atlanta brings the World’s Largest Domed Cocktail Party, and that one should tell us plenty about Florida. The Gators are trying to prove they belong in the CFP conversation in Year 1 under Jon Sumrall, but the big win over Texas may have been the high point of the season.
Kentucky, meanwhile, is off this weekend, but the Wildcats still have plenty to watch as Tuesday approaches. Their ranking will be one of the more intriguing ones in the committee reveal after an impressive year in Lexington, Ky.
Alabama’s path feels like it may come down to one game when it heads to LSU next Saturday after its off week. That’s the one that could define the Crimson Tide’s season.
BYU also has a tricky setup, with a brunch-time kickoff at home against Arizona State before next week’s Holy War. The Cougars can’t afford to drift ahead to what’s coming next, because the Sun Devils are more than capable of making this uncomfortable.
Utah may have gotten a little extra caution after Cincinnati upset Texas Tech, but the Bearcats still loom as a potential trap. It’s the kind of game that can turn into a let-down spot with BYU waiting the following weekend.
Notre Dame has a rivalry game against Navy, and that gives the Fighting Irish a chance to sharpen things up before the huge matchup with Miami. That one looks like a make-or-break game for the Irish’s CFP hopes.
UCLA gets Nevada at the Rose Bowl, a home game that should let the Bruins clean up a few things before a stretch run that is both tough and winnable. Bob Chesney’s first season has already put UCLA in a surprising place, and Tuesday’s rankings should reflect that.
Ohio State comes out of its off week with a major question hanging over it: life without QB Julian Sayin. The trip to Los Angeles and a sold-out Coliseum should tell everyone a lot about what kind of team this really is.
Georgia should have a chance to jump fast against Florida after getting extra time to sit with that Auburn loss. The Bulldogs have had plenty of reminders that every SEC game is a fight, and that message should be fresh when they take the field.
Syracuse’s late win over North Carolina took some shine off this weekend’s trip back to Chapel Hill, N.C., but it still gives the Orange a strong chance to post an efficient win before heading to South Bend for Notre Dame. If Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney hit their season averages against a Bill Belichick defense, that should also lock up a trip to New York for the Heisman.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Created A Ranking Debate Fans Wont Ignore
USCs rise and fall in the AP Top 25 has already made for one of the more interesting early-season twists, but the latest shakeup has only added to the conversation around where the Irish fit in the national picture. The Trojans slipped out of the poll after losing to Wisconsin, then turned around and stunned No. 2 Ohio State at home, a result that immediately complicated how voters view both teams and the teams around them.
Ohio States offense never looked settled without its starting quarterback, and the Buckeyes slide in the rankings reflected how much that absence mattered. With several other ranked teams also winning or losing, the poll saw plenty of movement, leaving Notre Dame fans with a fresh reminder that the margin between a top-tier spot and a drop can change quickly when the results start stacking up. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A New Playoff Debate Fueling Fans
Notre Dames place in the national conversation got a fresh jolt after Week 9, when ESPNs Football Power Index was updated and pushed the Irish to No. 1. The predictive model, which uses simulations and team strength to forecast the rest of the season, flipped the order at the top and sent Ohio State down to No. 2, giving Notre Dame fans another data point to point to as the playoff debate starts to sharpen.
The rest of the updated top five includes Miami, Georgia and LSU, but the Irish are the ones now sitting at the center of the discussion. FPI is only one measure, of course, and it is built to project what comes next rather than reward what has already happened, but any time Notre Dame lands at the top of a national ranking, it adds another layer to the case being made for where the season could go from here. [Read more 🡒]
Jerome Bettis Jr. Just Made Notre Dames WR Pecking Order Interesting
Jerome Bettis Jr. gave Notre Dame another useful wrinkle in the passing game against Navy, turning in the most productive outing of his career with six catches for 78 yards and his first touchdown. It was the kind of performance that tends to change how a receiver is viewed in the rotation, especially for a team still sorting out where the targets are going and who can be trusted when the ball comes their way.
Marcus Freeman and CJ Carr both singled out Bettis for the steady way he has handled his chances, and that matters in a receiver room where opportunities can shift quickly. His expanded role has become one of the more interesting developments for the Irish, not just because of the numbers from one game, but because he looks like a player who can keep forcing his way into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]