College Football: Week 9 Review

 Five Headlines of Week 9

  1. Little Brother Keeps Paul Bunyan- Kenneth Walker III rushes for five touchdowns, leads #8 Michigan State to a 37-33 comeback win at home against in-state rival #6 Michigan.
  2. Pure Dominance in the Swamp- #1 Georgia runs over Florida on the road thanks to 21 points off turnovers to end the first half, strong defense in the second half. 
  3. Ohio State Holds off the Lion- #5 Buckeyes hold off #20 Penn State 33-24 to keep pace with the other teams in the hunt for the College Football Playoff.
  4. Cougars Run Past the Mustangs- After #19 SMU ties the game late, Houston returns the kickoff for a touchdown to complete the upset of the Mustangs, 44-37.
  5. Kentucky Falls in Starkville- #12 Kentucky is upset on the road. 31-17, giving #1 Georgia the SEC East title and a spot in the SEC Championship. 
College Gameday's Game of the Week- #8 Michigan St 37, #6 Michigan 33 (Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, East Lansing, MI)
This was the most anticipated game of the day and it delivered completely. This game cements #8 Michigan State as a playoff team and Kenneth Walker III as a front-runner for the Heisman. Walker III ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns, accounting for every touchdown that Michigan State scored. #6 Michigan led the game 30-14 more than halfway through the third quarter after picking off Payton Thorne twice in the first half. Cade McNamara was playing really well for the Wolverines too. Fortunes turned for Michigan after that. Walker III ran for a touchdown and they converted on a two-point conversion to pull within eight points, then followed it up with the exact same thing to tie the game after another successful two-point conversion try. Michigan kicked a field goal to take the lead, but Walker III ran one in from 23 yards to give the Spartans the lead. They forced an interception from McNamara to ice the game and keep the Paul Bunyan Trophy in East Lansing for another year.

My Game of the Week- Houston 44, #19 SMU 37 (Houston, TX)
This was one of my games to watch coming into the week and it's always fun to see two great Group of Five teams go at it. This was a battle to stay atop the AAC and it turned into a QB battle between SMU's Tanner Mordecai and Houston's Clayton Tune. Neither team did anything on the ground, placing the pressure on the quarterbacks. They certainly delivered big time. Mordecai threw for 305 and three touchdowns, with his only blemish being an interception in the third quarter. Tune threw for 412 and four touchdowns, but the battle was really won on special teams. This game featured two 100-yard kickoff returns. SMU's Bryan Massey returned the opening kickoff of the second half back for a touchdown to give SMU the lead after trailing 23-20 at halftime. Houston and SMU traded touchdowns in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter before SMU tied the game at 37 with 30 seconds left. It felt like this game was going to overtime. Enter Houston kick returner, Marcus Jones. On the ensuing kickoff, Jones returned the kick 100 yards almost completely untouched to give the Cougars the lead with just 15 seconds left. Mordecai and the Mustangs had an opportunity to tie the game, but the Cougars' defense knocked the ball down and completed their upset win over #19 SMU. 

Teams of the Week
  1. #8 Michigan State- The Spartans won the most important game of the week over their rival and have placed themselves as not only the front-runners for the Big Ten but a potential playoff team. 
  2. #1 Georgia- Not only will they be the #1 team in the polls and the playoff rankings, but they've already won the SEC East with their win over Florida and #12 Kentucky's loss.
  3. Wisconsin- They still control their own destiny with a date with Minnesota looming later in the season, but beating #9 Iowa pretty handily will be helpful for their chances at winning the West.
  4. Houston- The Cougars don't face Cincinnati this season and face three teams at the bottom of the conference to close their conference slate, so there's a good chance they'll meet the Bearcats in the conference championship.
  5. #18 Auburn- Bo Nix outplayed Matt Corral and helped lead the Tigers to a huge conference win over an Ole Miss team that still had a fighting chance in the SEC West.
Most Disappointing Teams of the Week
  1. #9 Iowa- They were a top-two team just a few weeks ago, but have lost two conference games since then and are on a downhill slide after losing to Wisconsin.
  2. #22 Iowa State- The Cyclones were riding high after beating Oklahoma State last week, but they couldn't get the job done against West Virginia. 
  3. #6 Michigan- They had the game in their control in the third quarter, but this game felt very indicative of Jim Harbaugh's tenure at Michigan where they can't win big games. 
  4. #20 San Diego State- The Aztecs had positioned themselves as an undefeated Group of Five team making a statement, but they fell to Fresno State and ruined their chances of playing in a major bowl game.
  5. #12 Kentucky- Kentucky won't be playing the SEC Championship game and they laid a serious egg against Mississippi State.
My Top 25 Going into Week 10 (Not the Official AP Top 25 of College Football Playoff Rankings)
  1. Georgia (8-0, W 34-7 Florida)
  2. Cincinnati (8-0, W 31-12 Tulane)
  3. Oklahoma (9-0, W 52-21 Texas Tech)
  4. Michigan State (8-0, W 37-33 #6 Michigan)
  5. Alabama (7-1, BYE)
  6. Ohio State (7-1, W 33-24 #20 Penn State)
  7. Oregon (7-1, W 52-29 Colorado)
  8. Notre Dame (7-1, W 44-34 North Carolina)
  9. Michigan (7-1, L 37-33 #6 Michigan)
  10. Wake Forest (8-0, W 45-7 Duke)
  11. Oklahoma State (7-1, W 55-3 Kansas)
  12. Baylor (7-1, W 31-24 Texas)
  13. Auburn (6-2, W 31-20 #10 Ole Miss)
  14. Ole Miss (6-2, L 31-20 #18 Auburn)
  15. Texas A&M (6-2, BYE)
  16. UTSA (8-0, BYE)
  17. Coastal Carolina (7-1, W 35-28 Troy)
  18. BYU (7-2, W 66-49 Virginia)
  19. Iowa (6-2, L 27-7 Wisconsin)
  20. NC State (6-2, W 28-13 Louisville)
  21. Houston (7-1, W 44-37 #19 SMU)
  22. Kentucky (6-2, L 31-17 Mississippi State)
  23. Fresno State (7-2, W 30-20 #21 San Diego State)
  24. SMU (7-1, L 44-37 Houston)
  25. Pittsburgh (6-2, L 38-34 Miami)
Week 10 Games to Watch
  1. #13 Auburn v. #15 Texas A&M
  2. #10 Wake Forest v. North Carolina (non-conference)
  3. #5 Michigan State v. Purdue
  4. Liberty v. #14 Ole Miss
  5. LSU v. #3 Alabama

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