Three games between ranked teams in week 9: Number 4 Washington travel to play number 17 Utah in a big Pac-12 showdown, the annual Clemson-Florida State game takes place, with the Tigers still undefeated, and in the Big Ten it’s undefeated Nebraska hoping to carry on with their non-losing ways, facing a difficult road test in Madison against Wisconsin.
Here are our thoughts on the 17 games involving top 25 teams:
- #25 Virginia Tech travelling to play Pitt will give us a look at how football used to be played, and will come down to Beamer-ball fundamentals. Winning the turnover battle in this one will decide the winner
- #22 Navy playing in South Florida. The Midshipmen will run while Quinton Flowers will do a bit of everything. If the Bulls take the lead and hold on to it for about a half, they should win this game
- #10 West Virginia travel to Stillwater and play Oklahoma State. If their defense is a good as advertised, they should remain undefeated for another week
- #2 Michigan have their rivalry game on the road against Michigan State. Something tells me that the Spartans five game losing streak isn’t ending here
- #24 Penn State are coming off their big win over Ohio State. It’s very much like them to lose in Purdue just because they can’t handle being in the spotlight again
- #5 Louisville play in Virginia, which should go like most games between Lamar Jackson and terrible teams go
- Northwestern provide the perfect opportunity for #6 Ohio State to vent a little bit after losing for the first time this season
- #4 Washing playing at #17 Utah is the best the Pac-12 has to offer this season. It’s probably the last time the Huskies have to slightly worry about their opponents until their Apple Cup game
- #8 Baylor travel to Austin, where they’ve enjoyed quite a lot of success recently. The Longhorns failing in this one and Charlie Strong isn’t going to have a job at the end of this season
- #14 Florida play Georgia in Jacksonville. This one could get ugly, but the Gators defense should give them the edge
- #13 Boise State play in Wyoming. After the scare against BYU, this one should end a bit more comfortably
- Kansas. Enough said. Oh, they play #16 Oklahoma. No surprises here in the end
- #7 Nebraska, still undefeated, travel to Madison, facing #11 Wisconsin. The best of what the Big Ten West has to offer in 2016. A lot is riding on this for Nebraska, who haven’t been in this kind of position for a very long time
- #15 Auburn coming to Ole Miss is another opportunity for SEC West teams to cannibalize each other. A win for Auburn will be a very good preparation for their Iron Bowl upset effort
- #18 Tennessee can’t afford to lose anymore, but they probably won’t have to worry too much about that as they go to Columbia, facing South Carolina, who are 1-4 in the SEC this season
- New Mexico State coming to play Texas A&M should provide the #9 Aggies a nice rebound after losing to Alabama
- #3 Clemson at #12 Florida State isn’t what it used to be, but the Seminoles could put all their woes behind them if they manage to ruin the Tigers season. It’s probably not going to happen