College Football: Winners and Losers from Week 9

Georgia and Ohio State both survived brief scares to remain undefeated and headline Week 9 in college football.

After racing out to early leads on Florida and Penn State, respectively, the nation's two highest-ranked teams both needed a late surge to ice their victories. Along the way, Ohio State enjoyed a breakout day—and one of the best performances from anyone in 2022—by a former top recruit.

But as Georgia and Ohio State fans celebrate another win, the mood is considerably worse at soon-to-be former Top 10 programs Oklahoma State and Wake Forest because of ugly losses.

This piece will be updated throughout Saturday's action.

On Thursday night, I flipped on the television to watch Cameron Rising lead No. 14 Utah into a Pac-12 clash with Washington State. Only problem? The quarterback spent the evening on the sideline.

After the game, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Rising himself determined he wasn't healthy enough to play.

In stepped Bryson Barnes for the opportunity of his football life. And the walk-on backup crushed it.

Barnes completed 17-of-27 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He added 51 yards on eight carries, guiding Utah—which also didn't have running back Tavion Thomas and received only three touches from Micah Bernard—to an important 21-17 win at Wazzu.

Utah, which is 6-2 with a 4-1 mark in Pac-12 play, remains a front-runner to win the conference thanks to Barnes' excellent, unexpected effort.

If you follow recruiting closely, you were familiar with J.T. Tuimoloau. If not, though, Saturday probably served as your introduction to the fourth-ranked player in the 2021 class, per 247Sports Composite ranking.

Turns out he earned that billing for a reason, huh?

No. 13 Penn State had absolutely zero answers for Tuimoloau, who collected six tackles with three for loss and two sacks. He snagged two interceptions—with a game-sealing pick-six in the fourth quarter—broke up another pass and forced a fumble in No. 2 Ohio State's 44-31 victory.

Tuimoloau's long-anticipated breakout day highlighted a crucial win for the Buckeyes. They improved to 8-0 and inched ever-closer to a likely winner-takes-the-division tilt against rival Michigan in the regular-season finale.

Penn State, on the other hand, formally exits the Big Ten championship race with its second conference loss.

Among the many fun storylines of 2022, Connecticut's sudden rise out of the cellar has been one of the most unanticipated topics.

Randy Edsall's second tenure at UConn became an unmitigated disaster. During his three-plus years, the Huskies—who also opted out of the 2020 season—trudged to a 6-32 record. They never had a good defense, and the 2018 unit was, quite literally, historically bad.

Late in 2021, UConn hired former NFL and UCLA coach Jim Mora in hopes of reviving a dying program. What he's already accomplished is incredible, really, and it continued on Saturday afternoon.

UConn defeated Boston College 13-3, beating a Power Five team for the first time since 2016 and forcing five turnovers in a game for the first time in 11 years.

Most notably, the Huskies secured their fourth win of the season. They hadn't crested three wins since 2015, which is also the most recent year UConn made a bowl appearance.

UConn is a long, long way from competing nationally, sure. But this is a remarkable season for the Mora-led team.

Two weeks ago, Oklahoma State lost a heart-breaker to TCU in double overtime. But the Pokes rebounded last Saturday with a comeback win over Texas, staying near the top of the Big 12 championship race.

Rather emphatically, however, No. 22 Kansas State put a sizable dent in No. 9 Oklahoma State's dream of returning to the conference title game.

You know, as 48-0 blowouts tend to do.

Will Howard, once again replacing injured quarterback Adrian Martinez, threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns. Deuce Vaughn added 176 scrimmage yards and two scores, and the Wildcats handed OSU its worst loss in series history.

Oklahoma State isn't entirely out of the Big 12 running, but it won't have a tiebreaker edge on either TCU or K-State. That could be very problematic in the final standings for last season's Big 12 runner-up.

Given that No. 10 Wake Forest entered only as a slight favorite, Louisville's victory was no surprise.

How the Cardinals won, though, was the real surprise.

After falling behind 14-13, Louisville rattled off 35 consecutive points in a stellar third quarter. Kei'Trel Clark's pick-six sparked a dominant frame that included a jaw-dropping six takeaways by UL's defense, which Quincy Riley capped with another pick-six as the quarter expired.

During that unfathomable stretch, Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman tossed three interceptions and lost three fumbles. Wake entered the contest with five giveaways all season.

"Disastrous" only begins to describe the afternoon.

Louisville rolled to a 48-21 win, securing its first victory over an AP Top 10 opponent in 20 years.

Cincinnati made history as the first non-power program to reach the College Football Playoff in 2021, but the program is far more than a one-year wonder.

Luke Fickell has built the Bearcats into an annual power. During the previous four seasons, they registered a 44-7 record. Cincinnati then entered Week 9's matchup with UCF holding a 6-1 mark this season, also boasting 19 consecutive wins against conference opponents.

But the streak is over.

UCF rebounded from a disappointing loss to East Carolina, knocking off the 20th-ranked Bearcats behind RJ Harvey's last-minute touchdown. Harvey scampered in from 17 yards out to give UCF a 25-21 victory.

More than anything, the result intensified the AAC race. UCF, Cincinnati and Houston each own a 3-1 mark in conference games and will be battling for a spot in the league title game.

But it also means Tulane is the final unbeaten team in AAC play—just as we all predicted in August.

Get ready, Athens. There's a showdown coming your way.

On Saturday afternoon, top-ranked Georgia sprinted out to a 28-3 lead on Florida and ultimately improved to 8-0. Florida made a brief comeback in the second half and trimmed the deficit to eight, but UGA's powerful rushing attack keyed a 42-20 victory.

In the evening, No. 3 Tennessee cruised past No. 19 Kentucky 44-6 for yet another comfortable win. Hendon Hooker bolstered his Heisman Trophy resume, totaling four touchdowns in the Vols' fifth Top 25 triumph of the season.

Tennessee’s win formally locked in a battle of Top 3 teams with SEC and national implications next weekend.

These matchups are part of why we love college football. Can’t wait.

The singular bright side is the latest #Pac12Refs traveshamockery only altered the outcome by three points. No. 10 USC pulled ahead late to dispatch Arizona 45-37.

But, seriously, again?

While it's undoubtedly easier to notice when Pac-12 referees mess up because we're hyper-aware, the league's poor officiating reputation is deserved—and continually proven over and over and over.

Shortly before halftime, Caleb Williams completed a 34-yard pass to Brenden Rice at Arizona's 10-yard line. Although the Trojans didn't have any timeouts remaining, the clock stopped with five seconds left. The time is not supposed to run until the ball is set, so USC should've had time to spike the ball and set up a field-goal attempt.

Despite that simple, long-standing rule, all five seconds ticked away before the official spotted the ball for USC. Even after discussion, the call on the field did not change.

Mistakes happen. That, however, is pure negligence.

I'm not saying Drake Maye is the Heisman Trophy front-runner. I'm not even predicting he'll have a top-five finish in the voting.

I am telling you to take UNC’s quarterback seriously.

That's not simply a reflection of his most recent performance, though it was another excellent one. Maye threw for 388 yards and five touchdowns, rushed for another 61 yards and propelled the No. 21 Tar Heels to a 42-24 win against Pitt that included a 10-point second-half comeback, too.

Maye, a first-year starter, has surpassed 3,000 total yards and accounted for 32 touchdowns in just eight games.

North Carolina has quietly crept to 7-1 and looks like a formidable obstacle for Clemson in the ACC. Maye, in the meantime, is deserving of some Heisman love right now.

No. 4 Michigan is a very strong team, but a growing concern is the Wolverines' red-zone offense.

Heading into Week 9, Michigan found the end zone on 26 of its 39 trips inside the 20-yard line. That 66.7 touchdown rate checked in at not-great-not-bad 46th in the nation.

Two weeks ago, Penn State managed to stick around in a game Jim Harbaugh's team dominated because of red-zone defense. Michigan settled for a trio of field goals during the opening half, ultimately kicking on four of its six red-zone possessions.

Then on Saturday, rival Michigan State forced U-M into three more red-zone field goals in five drives. MSU barely moved the ball yet only trailed 19-7 entering the fourth quarter.

Michigan is still winning comfortably—as they did 29-7 over MSU—thanks to a stingy defense. Field goals probably won't cut it against the elite competition that stands in the way of Big Ten and national titles, though.