College football Week 9 analysis: How Miami, Indiana scares, Ohio State loss affect CFP - USA Today
Week 9 of the college football season was supposed to be the calm before the storm. Next week's schedule is loaded with massive games, while Saturday featured only three games featuring ranked teams playing each other.
But that didn't mean Week 9 was void of stakes, especially with the first College Football Playoff rankings coming out Tuesday.
Writers from across the USA TODAY Network try to make sense of Week 9's biggest storylines. Here's how our writers break down Saturday's big games.
Miami is unbeaten and No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, but the Hurricanes still have something to prove. Recent escapes against Florida State and North Carolina have fueled questions about whether Miami is truly college football’s best team. Now comes the opportunity to answer them. The Hurricanes travel to No. 6 Notre Dame for their biggest test of the season, with playoff positioning, national credibility and potentially the ACC’s hopes of landing two teams in the College Football Playoff at stake. A win could silence Miami’s doubters. A loss would only make those questions louder.
Lincoln Riley entered Halloween night with his USC tenure on life support. He left with the signature victory he desperately needed. The No. 25 Trojans stunned No. 2 Ohio State 30-18, shredding one of the nation’s best defenses and reviving a season that looked ready to collapse after an ugly loss to Wisconsin. USC is now 7-2 and suddenly back in the College Football Playoff conversation, while Riley has quieted, at least temporarily, questions about his future. One week after USC appeared headed nowhere, Riley and the Trojans are very much alive.
College football spent October embracing chaos. Georgia just reminded everyone who still runs the neighborhood. The Bulldogs dismantled Florida 27-8 with a suffocating defense that forced four turnovers and looked every bit like the units that powered Kirby Smart’s national championship teams. While Miami, Ohio State, Indiana and other contenders carry obvious questions into November, Georgia looks built for what comes next. The offense doesn’t need to be spectacular when the defense can dominate like this. Forget the loss to Auburn. An angry, motivated Georgia remains college football’s boogeyman, and the rest of the CFP contenders have been warned.
Indiana keeps winning, but it’s getting harder to believe the defending national champions can keep getting away with this. The Hoosiers needed overtime to survive Minnesota 23-16 after another sloppy performance filled with erratic quarterback play and special teams mistakes. Josh Hoover struggled badly enough that Curt Cignetti turned to Grant Wilson, and the backup delivered the winning touchdown pass in overtime. Indiana’s defense remains championship-caliber, but the rest of this team doesn’t. With the postseason approaching, Cignetti has a decision to make at quarterback. Indiana survived another scare. Eventually, survival won’t be enough.
Strip away the golden domes, the leprechaun and decades of prestige, and Notre Dame’s resume doesn’t look like that of the nation’s No. 6 team. The Irish entered the weekend with a resume comparable to No. 15 Wake Forest and inferior to teams ranked behind them, evidence that brand bias continues to boost Notre Dame in the polls. A 35-13 win over Navy won’t silence those doubts, especially after the Irish led by just one point at halftime. Now the College Football Playoff committee gets its say. Will it be dazzled by Notre Dame’s brand, or scrutinize a shaky resume? With No. 1 Miami looming, the Irish have a chance to settle the argument themselves.
Shekai Mills-Knight waited for his opportunity behind star Kewan Lacy. When it finally arrived, the Ole Miss sophomore made the most of it. With Lacy out against Auburn, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound running back delivered a career-high 16 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown in the Rebels’ 45-15 win. Mills-Knight had only 12 career rushing attempts entering the game but showed he can bring more than power to the Ole Miss offense. Coach Pete Golding praised his growth as an every-down back, from pass protection to route concepts. After spending time on the scout team battling Ole Miss’ starting defense, Mills-Knight showed why a bigger role could be coming.
Was Texas Tech’s 2025 breakthrough the start of something sustainable or a one-year fantasy fueled by a massive investment? That question grew louder as cracks appeared during an unbeaten start and finally produced a loss at Cincinnati. Against red-hot Arizona, another defeat could have turned those concerns into a full-blown crisis. Instead, the Red Raiders responded with a gritty 34-26 victory. J’Koby Williams rushed for 175 yards, Thomas Castellanos gave the offense another running threat and Texas Tech’s defense delivered in critical moments. The Red Raiders remain flawed, but in a chaotic college football season, surviving those flaws might matter more than hiding them.
Oregon entered Saturday battered by distractions, from an offensive coordinator firing and another player arrest to the season-ending injury to star quarterback Dante Moore. Then the Ducks fell behind No. 18 Northwestern by two touchdowns. But instead of letting a turbulent season spiral further, Oregon rallied for a 34-26 win at Autzen Stadium. Dylan Raiola delivered his best response yet since taking over for Moore, throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns as the Ducks erased a 20-6 deficit. With frustration mounting around the program and empty seats visible in the stadium, Oregon showed there's still plenty of fight left in a season that has tested the Ducks at nearly every turn.
Missouri’s 34-10 win over Arkansas meant more than another victory. For coach Eli Drinkwitz, an Arkansas native with deep roots in the area, the Battle Line Rivalry brought an emotional homecoming and another reminder of how his Tigers respond when a trophy is at stake. No. 23 Missouri forced five turnovers, including a fumble caused by linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez, to beat Arkansas for a fifth straight time. Afterward, cigar smoke filled the locker room as the Tigers celebrated keeping the 180-pound rivalry trophy in Columbia. Missouri has now won both of its trophy games this season, reinforcing a culture that embraces the emotion, history and stakes that come with rivalry football.
A week after Iowa’s offense hit rock bottom in a 13-10 loss to Minnesota, the Hawkeyes looked like a different team. Iowa overwhelmed Wisconsin 30-0 at Kinnick Stadium, scoring on six of its first seven drives and extending its winning streak against the Badgers to five games. Quarterback Hank Brown delivered the response Iowa desperately needed, completing 20 of 24 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover. The passing game finally showed life, the defense pitched a shutout and Iowa turned a week of frustration into domination. One rout won’t answer every question, but after the Minnesota fiasco, the Hawkeyes provided a convincing response.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Our editorial recommendations are made independently of that compensation.
