Week 9’s top 10 CFB games
10. No. 25 Michigan (5-2) at Michigan State (3-4), 7:30 p.m., NBC
The Wolverines stifled Washington last weekend in Michigan’s best performance of the season. On paper, Michigan is better than a two-touchdown favorite and should have little problem handling the Spartans, even on the road. But it is a rivalry game — the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy! — with a recent history of theatrics. Connor Stalions. The postgame tunnel fight. Kenneth Walker III. Devin Bush. And, 10 years ago, “trouble with the snap!” The teams have split the last 12 meetings, but Michigan has won three in a row, and a fourth would set up the Wolverines to win out ahead of the regular-season finale against Ohio State.
Line: Michigan -14.5
9. Houston (6-1) at No. 24 Arizona State (5-2), 8 p.m., ESPN2
8. No. 23 Illinois (5-2) at Washington (5-2), 3:30 p.m., BTN
7. Baylor (4-3) at No. 21 Cincinnati (6-1), 4 p.m., ESPN2
6. No. 4 Alabama (6-1) at South Carolina (3-4), 3:30 p.m., ABC
5. No. 11 BYU (7-0) at Iowa State (5-2), 3:30 p.m., Fox
4. No. 18 South Florida (6-1) at Memphis (6-1), noon, ESPN2
3. No. 3 Texas A&M (7-0) at No. 20 LSU (5-2), 7:30 p.m., ABC
It’s a night game at Tiger Stadium. LSU is 20-1 in those situations under Brian Kelly; though, as Texas A&M reporter Luke Evangelist noted, only three of those games were against ranked opponents, with LSU going 2-1. Aside from the kickoff time, little about this season suggests LSU has the horses to knock off the undefeated Aggies. LSU has underwhelmed, and Texas A&M has proved it can win in different ways, on offense or defense. However, A&M has also shown a concerning penchant for letting opponents hang around, and another LSU loss would crank up the heat under Kelly’s seat.
2. No. 8 Ole Miss (6-1) at No. 13 Oklahoma (6-1), noon, ABC
1. No. 15 Missouri (6-1) at No. 10 Vanderbilt (6-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
This game gets the top spot because of how evenly matched these teams appear to be. Both have lost only to Alabama. Both have dynamic, dual-threat quarterbacks, with Missouri’s Beau Pribula and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. Both get after the quarterback on defense without blitzing. Both score roughly 40 points per game. Vanderbilt converts 55.7 percent of its third downs, second best in FBS. Missouri’s opponents convert only 27.5 percent on third down, seventh best in FBS. Something’s gotta give, so if you’re looking for an advantage, Missouri is playing a back-to-back road game, coming off a double-overtime win at Auburn, while Vandy is at home for a second straight week after knocking off LSU.
Honorable Mention: UCLA at No. 2 Indiana, Northwestern at Nebraska, SMU at Wake Forest, Kansas State at Kansas, App State at Old Dominion, Minnesota at Iowa, NC State at Pitt, San Diego State at Fresno State, No. 22 Texas at Mississippi State.
