This Saturday will be some key marquee games in week 9 of the college football season and it could determine who will be in contention for the College Football Playoffs. There are some matchups that people will keep a close eye on, including the ones that will be on the list this week. Here are some of the matchups that you will see and can find out where or who will be looking to stay alive in the hunt for a national championship picture:
Houston (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) at 24 Arizona State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12)
Mountain American Stadium, Tempe, AZ
7 pm ESPN 2
Arizona State, who was unranked last week when they defeated then number 7 ranked Texas Tech, must turn their attention to a Houston team that is not in the top 25 despite being 6-1. The Sun Devils will have to rely on their defense the find a way to stop Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman, who has been spectacular this season. This game in Tempe will be one to watch to see who will be at the top in the conference.
The Sun Devils surprising 26-22 win over Texas Tech has sharpened up the Big 12, which became the first win in the program over a top 10 team since 2019.
The return of Sam Leavitt will be a big watchful eye as he is coming back from a foot injury after their 42-10 loss at Utah. Jordyn Tyson reeled in 10 receptions for 105 yards and a score and Leavitt had a monster game against the Red Raiders as he was 28 of 47 passing for 319 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
Tyson shared Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the week with Weigman but finished with a leg injury. The question for the Cougars defense is if Tyson does play how big of an impact can their secondary field keep him obtained to make sure that they don’t let ASU passing game beats them?
Arizona State will face a Cougars defense that only allows 19.0 points per game, which ranks tied for 27th in the nation. The Cougars have 17 sacks and eight takeaways this season.
That will give Houston head coach Willie Fritz a big motivation factor to have his team prepared for this epic matchup. Houston is coming off an emotional 31-28 win on an last-second 41 yards field goal by Ethan Sanchez against Arizona.
Saturday will be the first time these two teams match up since 1990, when the Cougars win 62-45 in Tokyo. The Cougars did not allow a sack in their game against Arizona, and it will be big challenge from their offensive line because the Sun Devils are very good a blitz coverage on zones from their linebacker and nickel coverages.
8 Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC) at 13 Oklahoma (6-1, 3-1 SEC)
Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK
11 am ABC
One of college football’s top offensive minds meets one of its top defensive strategies when No. 8 Ole Miss will take on 13th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Okla.
Head coach Lane Kiffin has his Rebels (6-1, 3-1 in Southeastern Confererence) ranked No. 8 in the country.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has thrown for 1,549 yards and eight touchdowns with just one interception.
The defense for Oklahoma with head coach Brent Venables calling the plays, has been dominant this season coming into the game leading the nation is total defense (213 yards allowed per game) and sacks per game (4.0).
Ole Miss is averaging more than 300 yards through the air per game, while the Sooners hasn’t allowed more than 220 in a game this season.
This matchup will determine of who will want it more. The Rebels will be dealing with speculations that Kiffin could be taking the Florida job over the weekend.
Both teams are coming in at one loss with Oklahoma losing to Texas (23-6) in the Red River Rivalry two weeks ago before bouncing back and taking care of South Carolina (26-7) and Ole Miss is coming off last week’s lost at Georgia 43-35.
For the Sooners, Saturday’s game is the first of five straight against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
This game will be the Rebels’ first ever trip to Norman. Mississippi has won the previous two meeting between the programs, including last season’s 26-14 win in Oxford.
18 South Florida (6-1, 3-0 American) at Memphis (6-1, 2-1 American)
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN
11 am ESPN 2
Memphis Tigers uncertain at who will line up at QB against No. 18 USF.
The Bulls are looking like a CFP contending team that has shocked everyone this season including the earlier season win at Florida, while Memphis is looking to bounce back while being upset last week.
The Tigers surely will have a tall task to take down the current titans of the American Conference when they welcome the No. 18 Bulls to town on Saturday afternoon.
Memphis (6-1, 2-1 American) was looking to come into this matchup with a lot at stake. They were No. 22 in the AP poll and in line to firmly cement themselves in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five College Football Playoff spot with a potential win over South Florida (6-1, 3-0).
That was all before they fell as more than three-touchdown favorites to UAB, led by an interim coach, 31-24 last Saturday. The Tigers will need to claw back to regain their standing within not just the CFP but also the American conference.
It’s unclear if the Tigers will have starting quarterback Brendon Lewis this week after he left the UAB game in the third quarter with a lower-body injury. Silverfield said Lewis is considered “day-to-day,” and either freshman A.J. Hill–who came in in relief of Lewis last Saturday–or Arrington Maiden could start in his place. Silverfield also said it’s possible they play multiple quarterbacks.
Lewis was 9-for-10 with 68 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in the cameo.
The Tigers have been known as a ground-and-pound team, currently 15th in the country in rushing yards per game with 221.6. They were held at bay against the Blazers with just 119 yards, by far their lowest total of the season.
If Lewis can go–1,337 yards and eight scores through the air and 440 with seven TDs on the ground–it will open up the run and pass game a lot more for Memphis.
South Florida, meanwhile, is riding high after dispatching Florida Atlantic 48-13 behind another complete game from its own two-way quarterback Byrum Brown. Brown finished the game completing 14 of his 24 passes for 256 yards and three TDs, to go along with 111 yards and a TD on the ground. He’s come alive as of late, accounting for 18 TDs across his last four games. In Brown’s one career game against Memphis, he threw for 357 yards and 5 TDs in a 59-50 loss in 2023.
The key to the Bulls’ success this season has been their high-tempo offense, constantly running hurry up. Their average time of possession per game is just 25 minutes, and only three teams in the entire country have held the ball for less time.
Playing away from home has been a challenge for South Florida in recent history, posting a woeful 9-20 record on the road across the last five seasons. Six of those wins have come in the last two seasons, which is why coach Alex Golesh has some optimism heading into Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Memphis has eight wins in the last 10 games against South Florida including the last four.
15 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern) at 10 Vanderbilt (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern)
FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN
2:30 pm ESPN
Vanderbilt Commodores coach Clark Lea texted a request to Missouri Tigers counterpart Eli Drinkwitz earlier this season.
His ask: Could the Tigers stop scoring so much?
On Saturday, Lea and his players will have a direct say on the matter as the 10th-ranked Commodores host the No. 15 Tigers in a Southeastern Conference showdown in Nashville. A sellout crowd is expected at FirstBank Stadium and the contest has attracted the attention of ESPN’s “College GameDay” pregame broadcast.
Vanderbilt continues to climb the rankings and expand its profile behind versatile quarterback Diego Pavia, a Heisman hopeful who rushed for two scores and passed for another during last week’s 31-24 win against then-No. 10 LSU.
A New Mexico State transfer, Pavia has passed for 15 touchdowns, just five fewer than his debut season with the Commodores in 2024, while averaging a career-best 8.6 yards per attempt. He also has stayed clean, getting sacked five times in 183 drop backs compared with 18 in 298 last seasons.
Missouri is eyeing its first road win against a top 10 foe since beating seventh-ranked Georgia on Oct. 12, 2013.
Saturday marks the first time these two programs met as ranked teams. Missouri has a great quarterback of their own in Beau Pribua who showed poised in his first career start the next week at Auburn (after the Alabama loss) in their 23-17 double overtime victory. Pribua scored on a 3 yards touchdown run to help the Tigers get the win.
Missouri stretched its series winning streak against Vanderbilt to five games with last season’s 30-27 home victory in two overtimes. The Tigers are 12-4-1 against the Commodores all-time.
3 Texas A&M (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern) at 20 LSU (5-2, 2-2) Southeastern)
Tiger Stadium (Death Valley), Baton Rouge, LA
6:30 pm ABC
Texas A&M is a having a fantastic season being at the top of the SEC race as they bring their undefeated record into one of the most hostile places in college football (Death Valley) at Tiger Stadium. The Aggies are atop of the SEC race with Alabama going into this Saturday to take on an LSU team that lost to Vanderbilt on the road last week.
The Aggies will have to deal with a stingy LSU defense that is going to do everything they can to put immense pressure on Marcel Reed. Last season at Kyle Field, Reed torched the LSU secondary crew in a huge win after Conner Weigman was pulled out of the game.
With Weigman transferred to Houston, Reed and the Aggies offense are looking to try to keep this momentum going but the defense for A&M has given up too many points in both the Notre Dame (earlier in the season) and last week at Arkansas but found ways to win.
For LSU, head coach Brian Kelly will need to find a way to get his offense going with Garrett Nussmeier, who has thrown for 1,636 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. I do think that the key to the game is going to be the LSU run game with Caden Durham and Hakeem Berry making sure that they can pound it against the Aggies defense, whom has given up several key plays in the game.
Harold Perkins, former Cy Park standout, will be the key player to watch on the defensive side of the ball which will do his best to put pressure on Reed. This could be a high scoring affair and you never know what could shape up at Death Valley with those Bayou Bengals going crazy in that stadium.
