What to Watch: College football Week 9 viewer's guide Nick Bromberg October 23, 2025 at 11:54 PM 0 We should learn a lot about the SEC in Week 9.
- - What to Watch: College football Week 9 viewer's guide
Nick Bromberg October 23, 2025 at 11:54 PM
0
We should learn a lot about the SEC in Week 9.
A week after all 16 teams played each other on the same weekend for the first time in league history, the three matchups between ranked teams this weekend are all SEC games.
The league has 10 teams in the top 25 and looks to be the deepest conference in college football so far. But figuring out how to order the teams in the SEC can be a tough exercise. Week 9 should give us some clarity. We think.
Here are the games to watch this weekend.
No. 18 South Florida at Memphis
Is this an elimination game for the American Conference's playoff hopefuls?
Memphis was planning on entering this massive matchup at 7-0. But the Tigers were upset 31-24 at UAB and might have lost QB Brendon Lewis in the process. Lewis suffered a lower leg injury in the loss to the Blazers and had to be replaced by AJ Hill. His status for Saturday is uncertain.
Hill helped get the Tigers in position to at least send the UAB game to overtime, but penalties pushed Memphis back and UAB held on for the win. If Hill plays, expect a big dose of Sutton Smith and Greg Desrosiers Jr. Both running backs are averaging over six yards a carry.
USF is one of three teams without a conference loss in the American and the league's only ranked team. Since getting blown out by Miami in Week 3, the Bulls have won four straight games and none of them have been close. QB Byrum Brown was 14-of-24 for 256 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing 14 times for 111 yards and a score in the Bulls' Week 8 win over Florida Atlantic. Brown has 22 touchdowns through seven games. Only three players — Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby, Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and TCU's Josh Hoover — are responsible for more scores so far this season.
No. 8 Ole Miss at No. 13 Oklahoma
The stakes for this game are pretty simple. The loser needs to win out to have a realistic shot at the College Football Playoff. The winner is in the driver's seat for an at-large berth and still has a shot at the SEC title.
Especially in Ole Miss' case. The Rebels have the easiest remaining schedule of any SEC contender after Week 9. Following the Sooners, Ole Miss has games at home against South Carolina, The Citadel and Florida before traveling to Mississippi State. A loss to any of those four teams along with a loss to Oklahoma probably dooms the Rebels' chances of getting into the postseason at 9-3.
The Ole Miss offense looked fantastic for three quarters against Georgia before falling flat on its face in the fourth quarter. Will that experience benefit Trinidad Chambliss and the rest of the unit? Sanford Stadium was by far the most raucous atmosphere Chambliss has ever experienced in a road game.
Oklahoma looked much more like it did during the first four games of the season against South Carolina. Yes, the Gamecocks are one of the most disappointing teams in the league, but OU held South Carolina to just 224 total yards and had two interceptions of LaNorris Sellers.
However, the Sooners need to get the downfield passing game back into gear as John Mateer gets further away from the hand surgery that caused him to miss the Kent State game. Mateer was just 18-of-26 passing for 150 yards and a TD against South Carolina.
No. 15 Missouri at No. 10 Vanderbilt
No one could have guessed before the season that ESPN would be taking "College GameDay" to Nashville in a Week 9 that features two other SEC games between ranked teams.
But that's the world we're living in this season, as Missouri and Vanderbilt are both 2-1 in the SEC and 6-1 overall. The winner can feel good about its chances of making the playoff, though both teams will still have plenty of work to do to get there. Vanderbilt has games at No. 22 Texas and No. 17 Tennessee remaining. Missouri hosts No. 3 Texas A&M and visits No. 13 Oklahoma.
Vandy QB Diego Pavia continues to play exceptionally efficient football, even if it can look frantic at times. Pavia is still completing over 70% of his passes and is averaging 8.6 yards a throw. He's also the team's leading rusher with 77 carries for 438 yards. RB Makhilyn Young is emerging as a big-play threat in the backfield. He rushed six times for 85 yards against LSU and has 26 carries for 293 yards.
Missouri's double-overtime win over Auburn was not pretty. QB Beau Pribula has come back to earth against Alabama and Auburn and has been unable to consistently complete longer throws. That's allowed defenses to key in on RB Ahmad Hardy, who scored twice against Auburn but rushed 24 times for just 58 yards.
Vanderbilt's defense can be had for big plays in the pass game. If Pribula can exploit that, the Tigers have a real chance.
No. 11 BYU at Iowa State
The undefeated Cougars enter this game as underdogs despite their 24-21 win over Utah in Week 8. Though this line would be a pick 'em or even favor BYU slightly on a neutral field, oddsmakers are giving the slight edge to Iowa State.
And you can understand why. The Cougars are 4-0 in the Big 12 so far this season and have won two of those games by just a field goal and another by six points. And BYU is starting a true freshman QB in Bear Bachmeier, though he hasn't looked rattled so far this season.
Bachmeier has been buoyed by a strong run game and is completing 63% of his passes for 1,386 yards and nine touchdowns with three interceptions. Two of those picks came in a 33-27 double-overtime win at Arizona on Oct. 11.
That was Bachmeier's worst game of the season. He was just 12-of-29 passing for 172 yards. It's hard to envision BYU surviving against the Cyclones if that happens again.
The Cyclones, meanwhile, are on a two-game losing streak. And both of those losses came on the road. ISU lost 38-30 at Cincinnati and then fell 24-17 at Colorado a week later. As BYU enters this game off a rivalry win, Iowa State has had two weeks to prepare for the Cougars.
No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 20 LSU
Brian Kelly spoke the truth during his weekly teleconference on Wednesday when he pointed out that Texas A&M has been able to win with both its offense and defense in 2025 and the Tigers haven't been able to do that.
We've harped on this a bunch already, but it's a key point that is defining LSU's season. The Tigers haven't scored more than 24 points against an FBS opponent and rank 87th in points per game. When you take out LSU's 56-10 win over Southeastern Louisiana, the Tigers are averaging 20.5 points per game. That would rank outside the top 100 of 136 FBS teams.
The Aggies are allowing 23 points per game and have given up 40 points to Notre Dame and 42 points to Arkansas. But both of those teams have far better offenses than LSU does this season despite all the talent that the Tigers have amassed.
It's why the Heisman contender in this game is A&M QB Marcel Reed and not LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier. Reed scored three straight touchdowns off the bench in the second half against the Tigers a season ago. We're guessing he's not going to do that again on the road this time, but LSU's defense will need to do a much better job of corralling him than it did Pavia in Week 8.
Other games to watch
Auburn at Arkansas (-1), 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network: The Tigers and Razorbacks are a combined 0-7 in the SEC but this is one of the most fascinating games of the weekend outside of the marquee matchups. Auburn's offense keeps making self-inflicted mistakes. Arkansas' defense is a wet paper plate. The Tigers' defense has kept it in games against Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia. Arkansas' offense can put up points in bunches.
No. 4 Alabama (-12.5) at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC: The Gamecocks gave the Crimson Tide a scare a year ago in Tuscaloosa. Now, they host Alabama in desperate need of a win. South Carolina will fall to 3-5 overall and 1-5 in the SEC with a loss. And with games at Ole Miss and Texas A&M remaining, the Gamecocks are at serious risk of missing a bowl game.
No. 23 Illinois at Washington (-4.5), 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network: The Huskies return home after a loss at Michigan in Week 8 while Illinois was off. The winner of this game has an inside track towards "best of the rest" status behind the Big Ten's top teams. Especially Illinois. A 10-win season could realistically still be in play if the Illini can pull the upset.
Baylor at No. 21 Cincinnati (-4.5), 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2: A win for the Bearcats coupled with a loss for BYU puts Cincinnati in sole possession of first place in the Big 12. Brendan Sorsby continues to be one of the most underrated QBs in the country as he's thrown just one interception so far this season. Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson has thrown for 2,376 yards and 21 TDs.
Houston at No. 24 Arizona State (-7.5), 8 p.m. ET, Fox: Both teams are squarely in the mix for the Big 12 title and a Houston win could really throw a wrench in some potential tiebreaker scenarios. The Cougars lost to Texas Tech. The Sun Devils just beat Texas Tech.
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: EVENING MAG
Full Article on Source: EVENING MAG
#LALifestyle #USCelebrities
