The ACC has struggled with layer depth for years, but Week 9 marked the lowest point of the conference just days before the first College Football Playoff rankings were announced. After Saturday’s top two featured teams dropped out in embarrassing fashion, the ACC’s excitement was all but gone.
After a 6-1 start, Wake Forest ranked in the AP Top 10 and became the frontrunners for the New Year’s Six. How did the Satanic deacons react? In a 48-21 loss to Louisville he turned the ball over six times in a historic third quarter. Meanwhile, the No. 16 Syracuse came close to an upset for Clemson as he lost 41-24 against a struggling Notre Dame team.
Below the board, Boston College gave UConn its first victory over a Power Five opponent since 2016. Meanwhile, Miami took him to four overtime games against bottom-ranked Virginia. Even No. 24 North Carolina needed 19 unanswered points to beat Virginia Tech. No. 21 North Carolina managed to erase the deficit against Pitt to remain undefeated in ACC play, at least partially saving the day.
Clemson stands as the only true national contender at the conference as long as he can avoid the Notre Dame pitfalls next week. Still, the ACC is not particularly close, being the worst of the five He Power Five conferences heading into the CFP ranking season.
Here are the winners, losers, and overreactions of Week 9’s college football game.
winner
Tennessee: If one team could take on the mantle of invincibility, it’s the Vols. After beating Alabama in their final SEC game, the Volunteers pulled off a commanding 44-6 win to take the tire iron to No. 19 Kentucky. The Vols doubled the Wildcats in yards as Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another. English quarterback Will Levis, a prospective first-round NFL Draft pick, threw three interceptions when volunteers heading for a stretch run showed the defense had another gear.
Oregon QB Bonix: In the space of a year, does anyone have a better quality of life than Bo Nix? Admittedly, his two interceptions weren’t his best performance in a game since the season opener against Georgia, but he scored his two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give Cal 42-24. significantly exceeded. The Ducks are on his 7-1 record thanks to the Knicks, where he has completed more than 70% of his passes and with 20 touchdowns he has only 5 interceptions. Nix would be a very justifiable case for being named to his team of First All-Pac-12. Not a bad backup for Auburn last season. Boy, the Tigers sure could use him, right?
UConn: Jim Mora Jr. took over a program that had just four wins in the last four seasons. After the Huskies beat a power-five opponent for the first time since his 2016, and he shocked Boston College 13-3, UConn had a very real shot in his 4-5, making 2015 First bowl since won his trip. More holes than anyone in college football, Mora quickly found his footing, even though he had to face freshman quarterback Zion Turner.
loser
Cincinnati: Three years ago, Luke Fickel’s Cincinnati team broke UCF’s 19-game winning streak. On Saturday, the Knights returned the favor, handing the Bearcats his 25-21 loss after a game-winning touchdown run from RJ Harvey. This loss puts Cincinnati completely out of control of its fate, pushing it to the front of the AAC race. Although he has only lost one of his three teams, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston, Tulane remains undefeated. Cincinnati will play his game at home against No. 23 Tulane on Black Friday and could decide his game berth for the title.
Oklahoma: The Cowboys have been plagued with injuries in recent weeks, but they weren’t prepared for Saturday’s 0-48 loss. No. 22 Kansas State handed his No. 9 Oklahoma State his one of the most embarrassing losses ever for an AP Top 10 team. The loss marked the first time since 1968 that a top-10 team was out by more than 40 points behind him. It was his first shutout loss for OSU of any type since 2009 and his worst shutout loss since 2000, the year before Les Miles arrived. Needless to say, the Cowboys will have to do some soul searching and find a way to end the season stronger.
overreaction
No Death Star: Two weeks ago, Penn State played No. 4 Michigan, 41-17. The loss dropped the Nittany Lions out of the top 10, making him a two-touchdown underdog at home against second-placed Ohio State. Ultimately, it took a breakaway touchdown from a fumble of Buckeyes running backs Treveyon Henderson and Sean Clifford for Big Ten favorite Ohio State to escape Happy Valley with the win. That wasn’t the only dodgy call of the weekend. No. 1 Georgia needed a strong final 16 minutes of his time to pull away from the momentum Florida team.
The era of college football playoffs has seen a handful of Death Stars that are nearly invincible against underdog rivals. It hasn’t reached a level that no one can touch this year. The championship race is really wide open for the first time in years, as seemingly all teams are flawed.
All Big 12 title games will be purple. Kansas State picked up a non-conference early loss against Tulane, then fell at third-string quarterback against No. 8 TCU. But after destroying Oklahoma State, the Wildcats suddenly found themselves in the driver’s seat of the Big 12 Championship Game.
At the other end of the bracket, TCU remained undefeated after surviving an upset try from West Virginia. The Horned Frogs already hold tiebreakers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma and should be gearing up for a stretch run. The final matchup between these teams was a game of runs when K-State took a 28–10 lead while the Frogs came back to win after Howard picked up an injury.
On a neutral site you never know which team will run away with the crown. Neither TCU nor Kansas State have won a Big 12 championship game since 2003. If the Wildcats win Trip, it will be the sixth year in a row that the title game has a new entrant since the 2017 reintroduction.
