What We Learned From College Football Week 9: Oregon, Notre Dame Surge Ahead

Week 9 didn’t have many bangs, and some heavyweights didn’t even play, including Michigan and Alabama. But digging into Week 9’s notable results, we here at Sports Illustrated are determined to find the answer to the question: Which team does the final score say more about?

Kansas State 41, Houston 0 says more about: K-State

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Wildcats are rounding into form dominating the lower tier of the Big 12, outscoring Houston and TCU 82–3 in the last two weeks. The old saying goes, if you have two QBs, you don’t have any QBs. Don’t tell that to the folks in Manhattan. Now it gets real: Texas. The Horns likely won’t have Quinn Ewers at QB and will be gettable because of it. Can the Wildcats play spoiler next week and assert themselves properly in the Big 12 title race?

Oregon 35, Utah 6 says more about: Oregon

The Ducks hope to become a physical, workmanlike football team. It may not line up with your perception of the program, but Dan Lanning is hoping to turn the notion in your head about Oregon on its head. Going into Rice-Eccles Stadium and taking Utah’s soul goes a long way toward establishing that. The Utes had turned their home stadium into a fortress, not losing with fans in the stands since 2018. Basically from the first snap, they were outgunned by an Oregon team with something to prove, and finally Utah’s deficiencies on offense with backup quarterbacks and a safety at running back wasn’t enough to overcome a good defense.

UCLA 28, Colorado 16 says more about: Colorado

It’s difficult to come away from this game with anything but deep respect for how Shedeur Sanders handled himself behind center. Colorado’s offensive line was always going to be the weak spot on this offense. It hadn’t come all the way back to bite them until this game, when the rent came due in a massive way. According to the broadcast, Sanders was pressured 24 times, hit 17 times, knocked down 13 times and sacked seven times. Every time you looked up at the screen, Sanders was on the dirt. That is difficult for any QB to deal with. He didn’t have to continue to get up off the mat, but he did, and for all the criticism of him as a player who is all style and no substance, performances like that matter.

NC State 24, Clemson 17 says more about: Clemson

Power programs can have cataclysmic seasons. Notre Dame and Florida have both gone 4–8 in the last decade, for instance. It remains to be seen whether Clemson will, but it’s fair to say that bowl eligibility is in at least some doubt after a 4–4 start. Clemson is a power program in the sport, so it’s natural to compare it against what it was in its recent past. But since Trevor Lawrence left school and closed the chapter on elite QB play, the Tigers lost three games in 2021 and ’22. They simply should not be considered in the championship tier of the sport—and even of their own conference—until they prove otherwise.

Notre Dame 58, Pitt 7 says more about: Notre Dame

The Irish really could use a 12-team College Football Playoff right about now. These Irish are on the short list of teams you absolutely do not want to play right now, having torn USC and now Pitt limb from limb their last two times out. It’s a shame that a close loss against Ohio State and a turnover-fueled farce took all the air out of the Irish’s season from a public perception standpoint, because they certainly haven’t quit.

Ohio State 24, Wisconsin 10 says more about: Ohio State

With Kyle McCord hurt, it is clearer than ever how much the Buckeyes needed TreVeyon Henderson back to offer an explosive component to their offense on the ground game. Marvin Harrison Jr. can’t do it all, and thankfully for the Buckeyes, he doesn’t have to now with Henderson. As Ohio State enters the stretch run, watch for the added dimension it now has.

Boise State 32, Wyoming 7 says more about: Boise State

The Broncos may not be what they once were, but they severely needed to remind the Mountain West they’re still a big dog on the block and haven’t been supplanted even though Wyoming’s played a tough brand of football lately. The Broncos have Air Force and Fresno remaining on the schedule, so there’s plenty to prove, but this is a first step to getting back to the top of the league.

Texas 35, BYU 6 / Kansas State 41, Houston 0 / WVU 41, UCF 28 / Oklahoma State 45, Cincinnati 13 say more about: how hard it is to move up from the G5 to the P5.

Four programs made the leap from the Group of 5 to the Power 5 when BYU, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati each moved to the Big 12. Halfway through league play, they are a combined 3–17 in conference play. The wins: BYU over Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Houston over West Virginia on a Hail Mary. There was always going to be a bedding-in period for these four teams, but it shows the task is certainly not one that comes with instant success.