B/R Experts Answer Biggest College Football Questions for Week 9

A lot of people are already putting out projections for the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings that will make their 2021 debut on Nov. 2. Heck, ESPN even got the GameDay crew together for an hour-long CFP show on Tuesday night as a warm-up for the real deal.

But trying to project rankings before knowing the Week 9 outcomes is madness, because there are so many big games and feasible upsets on tap for this weekend.

The Top 10 clash between Michigan and Michigan State is the headliner, but Ole Miss-Auburn, Georgia-Florida and Penn State-Ohio State are hardly your average "other games to watch."

And that's still just the tip of the iceberg with Iowa-Wisconsin, Texas-Baylor, Kentucky-Mississippi State, SMU-Houston, North Carolina-Notre Dame, Virginia-BYU and Fresno State-San Diego State all projected to be decided by a field goal or less.

Week 8 had the nine-overtime game that nobody wanted, but Week 9 might end up with nine meaningful games going to overtime.

Bleacher Report's college football experts David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Kerry Miller and Brad Shepard offer up their predictions for some of the biggest things to watch for this week.

Brad Shepard

This is a difficult one to pick because it’s a good, old-fashioned Big Ten battle between heated rivals. In other words, it’s going to be a whole lot of fun if you like old-school football.

Both of these teams play excellent defense and run the football with authority. Both are able to get after the opposing quarterbacks, and neither team is going to do a ton to beat you through the air. If the Wolverines play Cade McNamara the entire game, they are going to have a difficult time moving the ball consistently.

But here’s what I think: They’ve been saving J.J. McCarthy, and he’s going to play a much bigger role in this offense this week and moving forward. There’s nothing wrong with McNamara the game manager, but if Jim Harbaugh’s team is going to have any chance to win the conference (read: Beat Ohio State) it has to become more diverse and explosive on offense.

This is the week I predict we’re going to see that, and the true freshman former 5-star signal-caller holds the key.

The Spartans are going to hang tough for a while because of Kenneth Walker III, and the great equalizer could come if the Wolverines have a tough time stopping the deep ball and MSU’s big-play receivers, as was the case a year ago. This season, they’ll do just enough to win, and McCarthy is going to be one of the big stories of the weekend.

The Wolverines are going to win this game 30-24 in a veritable offensive explosion.

Kerry Miller

I've gone back and forth on this game for the past few days, but I suppose that's to be expected for a battle between 7-0 teams who have yet to face a currently ranked opponent.

That isn't meant to suggest that I believe either or both of these teams is fraudulent. You don't win 38-17 at Miami like Michigan State did or win 38-17 at Wisconsin like Michigan did if you're bad at football. However, the lack of marquee matchups undeniably makes it tougher to get a sense of which team is a more legitimate national championship threat.

Both the Spartans and the Wolverines run the ball and defend the run at a high level. Michigan State has an excellent pass rush; Michigan has one of the best pass-blocking offensive lines in the country. Michigan State allows more passing yards per game than any other Big Ten team, but Michigan runs nearly twice as often as it passes and is led in receptions by a running back (Blake Corum).

Basically, there's no area where either team is getting to pit a strength against a weakness, so it feels like a game destined to boil down to one massive turnover or a critical missed tackle/blown assignment for some 60-yard touchdown. And in that scenario, I'm going with the Spartans at home because I feel MSU's wide receivers Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor are the biggest home-run threats in this game.

Adam Kramer

To answer this question, I'll let Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin do the heavy lifting. When asked about his interest in the USC job earlier this week, he had this to say.

"Never say never," Tomlin replied. "But never."

That sums up Penn State's chances against the Buckeyes.

When you consider how much has changed in the last few weeks—specifically when quarterback Sean Clifford was injured against Iowa—it's hard to recognize the team we saw earlier in the year. The nine-overtime loss to Illinois will be difficult to overcome, especially considering how sloppy the game was.

Ohio State is moving in the opposite direction. The Buckeyes look better and better each week on both sides of the ball. While the defense has been the storyline for much of the year, the continued improvement of C.J. Stroud will likely be on display.

Also, home-field advantage here is massive. If this game was in Happy Valley, I'd feel a bit better about Penn State's chances. But playing on the road against this team at this particular time is a tough ask.

Kerry Miller

Even before watching Penn State collapse in the nine-overtime loss to Illinois, I had little to no faith in the Nittany Lions being able to either slow down or keep pace with Ohio State's dominant offense.

Excluding the kneel right before halftime against Maryland, Ohio State has had 50 offensive possessions dating back to halftime of the Week 3 game against Tulsa. During that time, the Buckeyes have scored 259 points. That's 5.18 per possession, or 28.8 per half.

Penn State hasn't even scored 25 points in a full game yet in October, and its defense just allowed Illinois to rush for 357 yards. Unless that was some ill-advised decoy in which they threw their season away in hopes of catching Ohio State off guard, the Nittany Lions appear poised to lose by at least three touchdowns.

And if you thought Tomlin was annoyed by the USC question on Tuesday, just wait until someone tries to ask James Franklin about it after this beatdown.

David Kenyon

The meter is low. Very low, honestly.

Florida has the talent for an upset, but its mistake-prone offense is always concerning. While I'm not expecting another four-turnover game like they had against LSU, the Gators have at least one giveaway in all seven contests this season.

As if Georgia needs another edge, a defense that is more suffocating than opportunistic should have a few shots at giving the offense some excellent field position.

On the opposite side, it basically comes down to Florida's run defense. Georgia has a quarterback conundrum with Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels, but it won't really matter if the Gators can't stop the run.

Georgia has averaged only 17.3 passing attempts in consecutive wins over Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky, relying on a running game averaging 4.8 yards per attempt in that stretch (and for the season).

Force the Dawgs to pass, and perhaps the story changes. But I'm not terribly optimistic about that.

Kerry Miller

Last year, this was the game that abruptly ended the Stetson Bennett experience. Now I'll be curious to see if it's the game that cements him as the starter for the rest of the year.

The writing was already on the wall last year, as Bennett had thrown five interceptions in the two games leading up to Florida. This time around, he's coming into the game on fire with five touchdowns and no interceptions in the last two contests.

Bennett also comes into this game flanked by arguably the best college football defense of the past decade, and he gets to face a Gators team that—impressive near comeback against Alabama notwithstanding—is not as good as it had been the past three years.

And in case you're wondering about Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson as rushing threats, Georgia has held opposing quarterbacks to 74 carries for 37 yards. Granted, that includes 24 sacks for a loss of 165 yards. But even if you disregard the sacks, it's not like K.J. Jefferson, Will Levis, Bo Nix or D.J. Uiagalelei were finding much room to roam against the Dawgs.

They'll keep Florida's quarterbacks from doing much damage with their legs, and they'll win easily.

Brad Shepard

The Rebels are coming off their best defensive performance of the year in a 31-17 home win over LSU. Was that something we're going to see more of? Have the Rebels finally turned a corner under defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin?

Eh, we'll believe that when we see it.

But Ole Miss' offense seemingly never takes a day off. And after that decent defensive showing against the Bayou Bengals, the trip to Auburn comes at a great time for a team that's clicking.

Bryan Harsin's Tigers appear ahead of schedule in the coach's first year after replacing Gus Malzahn, but there just isn't enough pizzazz on offense to hang with Ole Miss, even in the loveliest village on the Plains. Auburn is going to run the ball and put up points, but Bo Nix can't out-gunsling Matt Corral.

This game feels like it's going to be close, but I'm not sure why Auburn is slightly favored at home. In the end, Kiffin is going to dial up enough big plays to hand the Tigers a setback, and Corral is going to take one step closer to the Heisman Trophy.

I'll take Ole Miss winning a 38-33 classic.

Kerry Miller

Here's a fun fact about this weekend and the absurdity of this season: Both No. 6 Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State and No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 18 Auburn are colossal showdowns between teams that weren't ranked to start the season. 

As far as this matchup is concerned, I think the Rebels offense is going to be more than Auburn can match/handle.

The Tigers have allowed five consecutive opponents to average at least 5.0 yards per play. Three of those five opponents (LSU, Penn State and Georgia State) rank outside the top 75 nationally in yards per play on offense.

While Auburn did get out to a better start than usual in its most recent game against Arkansas, it has been prone to slow starts, having now been held to 14 points or fewer in the first half of five straight games. If that trend continues, the Tigers might fall into a hole too deep to escape.

I do expect this game to be close, because I have no faith whatsoever in the Ole Miss defense and because Auburn has shown it can run the ball against defenses not named Georgia. I just trust Corral to keep Auburn at bay.

I am very intrigued to see how the penalties play out in this one. Auburn ranks 128th nationally in penalty yards drawn per game, while Ole Miss ranks dead last (130th) in penalties committed per game. Something's got to give.

Adam Kramer

I really am looking forward to Utah-UCLA. This has everything I look for in a football game, even though both teams are coming off losses. In many ways, that enhances the importance.

Although neither team is currently ranked, both have shown plenty of promise over the course of the year, at least in spurts.

UCLA started strong; Utah started slow. Both teams have had their moments, both good and bad. And I think that's what's most interesting to me.

In terms of offense, this game is likely to produce plenty. With a total hovering around 60, there likely will be touchdowns. In terms of entertainment, that is always a must.

In terms of stakes, this one has plenty. Utah is currently first in the Pac-12 South. UCLA is third. Although last week, the Bruins were punished both physically and on the scoreboard by Oregon.

This game could have massive implications for the Pac-12. While I lean Utah overall (and against the spread), I expect there to be plenty of action.

Kerry Miller

From a "total points" point of view, the most entertaining game will probably be Charlotte at Western Kentucky. But from a "someone eventually needs to represent the Pac-12 South in the conference championship" point of view, though, the choice is obviously UCLA at Utah.

Without even accounting for the fact that it's a late kickoff with severe #Pac12AfterDark potential, this just looks like a good game on paper.

Barring a complete meltdown that would include home losses to Colorado and California, Chip Kelly is finally going to take the Bruins to a bowl game this year with a rock-solid rushing attack. And even though things haven't gone according to plan for a Utes team that opened the season in the AP Top 25, they still control their own destiny in this division and appear to have found their quarterback for the next few years in Cameron Rising.

Can UCLA's not-great defense do enough to keep Utah from scoring 30 points, though? Or do the Bruins have any hope of mustering up enough offense if Dorian Thompson-Robinson is still recovering from the injury that knocked him out of last week's game against Oregon?

You may just need to stay up until 2 a.m. ET to find out. 

David Kenyon

I love ridiculous stat lines, and Bailey Zappe's season is full of them. Through seven games, he's crossed the 400-yard mark in four outings and peaked at 523. Western Kentucky has played a tough schedule, too, so there's no shame in the Hilltoppers' 3-4 record.

Let's add one more ridiculous stat line as I'll take the over.

Charlotte has surrendered 9.6 yards per pass attempt, which is tied for the second-worst average in the country. And given that Zappe is throwing nearly 50 times per game, he should be able to surpass 428.5 passing yards this weekend.

Now, the path to the under is annoyingly clear, too. Charlotte has a very, very bad run defense that ranks 123rd nationally in yards allowed per carry. If the Hilltoppers break a few long runs, that changes things dramatically.

So far, though, WKU has exactly two gains of 20-plus yards on the ground and zero longer than 30. When this exact thing happens, chalk it up to the analyst jinx. But I am pulling for the over, of course.

Kerry Miller

I've pitching Bailey Zappe questions at my colleagues for most of the season, and I'm glad they're finally placating my obsession with the FCS transfer who just might set the FBS record for passing yards in a season.

That record currently belongs to B.J. Symons, who threw for 5,833 yards with Texas Tech in 2003.

Zappe—who threw for more than 10,000 yards over the previous four seasons at Houston Baptist—is averaging 430.6 passing yards per game this season with Western Kentucky. Even if his team fails to become bowl-eligible (currently 3-4 overall) and plays in only 12 games, that still puts him on pace for 5,167 yards, which would be good for ninth-best all time.

Per ESPN's FPI, there's an 83.0 percent chance the Hilltoppers get to six wins, which would mean a bowl (13th) game and an updated pace of 5,597 yards. There's also a 33.8 percent chance Western Kentucky wins its division, thus getting a 14th game and giving Zappe a more realistic shot of doubling his current yardage total to 6,028.

And you know what? I'm betting he improves his pace this weekend by coming close to 500 yards against a Charlotte defense that has already allowed 379 passing yards to MTSU and 466 passing yards to FIU. Florida Atlantic also averaged better than 20 yards per attempt (225 yards on 11 throws) this past week against the 49ers.

Let. Zappe. Cook.