Fox News Digital Sports’ college football winners and losers: Week 9

There were no major upsets in Week 9 of the college football season, only shaky performances.

Ohio State and Texas both survived sloppy quarterback play to win games against Nebraska and Texas, respectively. Kansas State narrowly defeated Kansas and SMU eked out a victory over Duke.

The performances from the weekend closed the curtain on October. The next four weeks will have a tremendous impact on how the College Football Playoff could pan out.

For now, here’s the winners and losers of the week that was.

Winners

Texas A&M: How about those Aggies? After the ferocious comeback against LSU on Saturday night, thanks to a strong defense and quarterback Marcel Reed, Texas A&M now sits atop the SEC standings. The only undefeated SEC team, they are on a path toward the College Football Playoff. This was a monster win for head coach Mike Elko, who is in his first year at the helm at College Station. If they can keep this up, that matchup against Texas after Thanksgiving is going to be insane.

Colorado: Deion Sanders told us he was going to turn the Colorado program around, and he’s done that in his second season as head coach. The Buffaloes are 6-2, bowl eligible, and are still in the hunt for the Big 12 championship. Travis Hunter continues to put together Heisman Trophy-worthy performances while Shedeur Sanders continues to impress in the passing game. The Buffs could win out, which is something I don’t know that we were thinking after that loss to Nebraska last month.

Boise State: The Broncos continue to run their offense through running back Ashton Jeanty, and it’s paying off. A big win over UNLV on Friday night keeps them in the conversation for the at-large bid in the college football playoffs, and it doesn’t look like they are slowing down anytime soon. Boise State is going to be a problem if they can make the playoffs, and they’re inching closer to that opportunity. 

Oregon: The Ducks put an exclamation point on a huge win in the Big Ten Conference to remain undefeated. Dillon Gabriel moved to second in FBS passing touchdowns after he threw three in the 38-9 win over Illinois. He had 291 passing yards as well. Oregon is separating itself from some of the top teams in the conference.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders fires a pass during the second half against Cincinnati at Folsom Field, Oct. 26, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images)

Miami: It’s safe to say the Hurricanes run Florida. Miami trounced Florida State, 36-14, in another statement game by one of the top teams in the nation. Cam Ward improved his Heisman stock with 208 passing yards. The Hurricanes already have wins over Florida, Florida A&M and South Florida this season, and they do not have another ranked opponent on the schedule.

Iowa’s Brendan Sullivan: It was next man up for the Hawkeyes, and they may have discovered their new offensive formula. After Sullivan replaced Cade McNamara, Iowa went on a 37-0 run over the next two quarters.

Losers

Nebraska defensive lineman Jimari Butler, left, tackles Ohio State quarterback Will Howard during the second half, Oct. 26, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Ohio State: Yes, the Buckeyes came away with a victory, but it wasn’t the prettiest as Nebraska was just short in the 21-17 finish. This came after the Buckeyes fell to Oregon, and they have another high-ranked team in the Penn State Nittany Lions next week on the road. The roster is no doubt as talented as can be, but Ryan Day’s group need to be more polished after not looking like the usual well-oiled machine they are.

Kentucky: The Wildcats are windless at home this season in the SEC, dropping their third straight game this season at the hands of Auburn this time. I have no idea what’s going on in Lexington right now, but this team seems checked-out under head coach Mark Stoops, who might want to look for a way out after this season, again. Kentucky is now 2-11 in its last 13 SEC home games, and the problems keep adding up. 

LSU: The Tigers were ranked No. 8 going into their game against Texas A&M but suffered a huge loss at the hands of Marcel Reed and the Aggies. Their second loss of the season dropped them to No. 16 in the nation. The loss against USC continues to not look great on their resume.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly speaks with the officials during the second quarter against Texas A&M at Kyle Field, Oct. 26, 2024, at College Station, Texas. (Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.)

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The Fox News Digital Sports college football winners and losers were compiled by the Fox News Digital Sports staff and the OutKick.com staff.