Ohio State, Georgia among top-25 teams on upset alert in a Week 9 full of intrigue
These five college football games on Saturday offer plenty of upset potential
• 4 min read
No team is immune to college football's upset bug this season.
Georgia caught the sickness earlier this month in the form of Auburn's walk-off win inside Sanford Stadium, squandering the Bulldogs' brief stay at No. 1. While they've had symptoms in the form of close calls, the FBS' remaining unbeatens -- Miami, Utah and UCLA -- just haven't experienced the bite yet.
That could happen Saturday for the Utes, who travel to Cincinnati coming off the Bearcats' takedown of Texas Tech during the Big 12's multi-team CFP path hiccup last weekend. Utah's one of five teams on upset alert in Week 9 inside the top 25 ahead of Tuesday night's first College Football Playoff rankings reveal.
Those initial opinions from the selection committee will provide some detail on the conference valuations, record strength, and the impact of quality wins this fall. Several more could come this weekend.
No. 2 Ohio State
Opponent: at USC (+6.5)
Ryan Day declined to name his starting quarterback for Saturday's bout with the Trojans, but the assumption is that true freshman Luke Fahey is getting the nod after relieving Julian Sayin two weeks ago against Indiana. How much does this offense change with a newcomer back there? Will the game plan be neutered a bit against a quality opponent on the road? These are questions we don't have answers to yet, which is why this is a prime upset spot for the Big Ten's current co-leader with UCLA.
"We all got to be tighter here. We got to help a young quarterback get his first win as a Buckeye. And it's going to take our best," Day said Monday. "And that means everyone that's part of the program has got to be really good in everything that we do. So extra focus this week. Not that we need to be focused any more; I mean, obviously, we know how good of a team USC is, and we know the talent, we know the coaches, we know everything about it. And we know what we're up against this week. But having a new starting quarterback is just another reason to stay even more focused."
No. 3 Georgia
Opponent: vs. Florida (+11.5)
Both teams had an extra week to prep for the rivalry showdown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, but Florida's Jon Sumrall has kept his plan at quarterback coy from the Bulldogs. Tramell Jones Jr. starred in place of injured starter Aaron Philo at Texas last time out and was terrific, giving Buster Faulkner and Florida's offensive staff quite the dilemma ahead of their biggest game to date. Georgia now has film on both players, but the offensive tweaks change a bit depending on who trots out there with the first team.
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Independent of Florida's offensive changes, Georgia simply needs to focus on not beating itself in Week 9. The Bulldogs rank fourth-best in the SEC at plus-3 this season in turnover margin, but failed to deliver against Auburn following Gunner Stockton's three giveaways. If turnovers are an issue again, Florida could win this one despite being a double-digit underdog.
No. 6 Utah
Opponent: at Cincinnati (+6.5)
Coming off the emotional high of last week's win over then-unbeaten Texas Tech, doing it all over again vs. the Utes is top priority for Scott Satterfield and the Bearcats this weekend. Utah offers a considerably more difficult challenge, boasting one of the nation's top run defenses while also flexing the Big 12's second-best scoring offense (37.4 points per game) and the Big 12's second-best total offense at 478.4 ypg.
One of three unbeatens left in the Power Four, Utah must contain junior running back Cole Tabb, who rushed for a season-high 173 yards and a score last time out and is averaging 9.6 yards per carry to lead the Big 12. There's the lookahead angle, too. The Utes host BYU in a mammoth showdown with CFP implications on Nov. 7, but the Holy War loses some of its luster if Utah goes to Cincinnati and falters.
No. 13 Texas Tech
Opponent: vs. No. 22 Arizona (+3.5)
We'll see if the Red Raiders have anything left in the tank as a narrow home favorite against the streaking Wildcats, who have won five straight since an early-season loss at BYU. Texas Tech gave up four touchdown passes during its loss at Cincinnati, and Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita has the talent -- 2,064 yards passing, 18 touchdowns this season -- to torch this secondary again if coverage breakdowns remain an issue. Joey McGuire's 8-8 in his career against top-25 opponents, which is the best winning percentage (.500) in the Big 12. A win this weekend keeps all season-long goals still within reach for his team.
No. 23 Missouri
Opponent: at Arkansas (+9.5)
After ending its SEC losing skid at Vanderbilt on Oct. 17, the Razorbacks hope to perform in a rivalry spot against a ranked foe still clinging to CFP hopes as one of several two-loss SEC squads. Arkansas first-year coach Ryan Silverfield said this week "it's good to have some hate" in prep for the Tigers, but acknowledged he's treating this one like any other game in Week 9 at home. We know it's not for a program that's 2-10 in this series since Missouri entered the SEC in 2014. Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy returned to practice this week for the first time this season after recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in May while attending a concert. His availability for Saturday is TBD, per Eli Drinkwitz.
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