In comparison with the previous few weeks, it was a considerably ho-hum Week 9 in faculty soccer. 4 AP-ranked groups misplaced, however every misplaced to a fellow ranked opponent.
Ohio State and Penn State each survived scares, organising a top-five showdown subsequent week in State School.
How did Saturday’s motion have an effect on our Energy Rankings?
This is the most recent prime 25 from our faculty soccer consultants, who present their perception on every staff’s Week 9 efficiency.
Earlier rating: 1
Of their first recreation because the No.1 staff within the nation, the Geese dismantled No. 20 Illinois with 35 first-half factors and a 38-9 win to stay undefeated heading into the ultimate 4 video games of the common season. After outlasting Ohio State a number of weeks in the past, Oregon has put collectively its two greatest defensive performances on back-to-back weeks, shutting out Purdue on the street and holding Illinois to 293 whole yards and 9 factors Saturday. Groups not named Ohio State or Boise State haven’t been in a position to rating greater than 14 factors on the Geese’ protection, which ranks within the prime 20 within the nation at stopping the cross. Total, Dan Lanning’s protection has been constant, but when there was one thing to nitpick, it is that heading into the sport, opponents scored 88% of the time as soon as contained in the 20-yard line. On Saturday, Illinois entered the purple zone 4 instances and scored solely twice. — Paolo Uggetti
Earlier rating: 2
Final we noticed Kirby Good’s Dawgs, they have been taking part in their most defensively good recreation of the season in a 30-15 win over Texas. UGA’s defensive entrance was as wholesome as it has been all yr and acquired star performances out of finish Mykel Williams and linebacker Jalon Walker. UGA was on bye this week, however the subsequent two offenses the Dawgs will see — Florida’s and Ole Miss’ — have loads of upside and will take a look at them if they cannot remedy their greatest 2024 difficulty: inconsistency. In 5 SEC video games, they’ve allowed 12, 41, 13, 31 and 15 factors. They headed into their bye week ranked simply twenty sixth in yards allowed per play and nineteenth in yards allowed per recreation. That is good, however they have been nice in Austin and would possibly want to point out that kind extra incessantly down the stretch. — Invoice Connelly
Earlier rating: 6
There have been too many penalties and Texas was by no means in a position to utterly put away Vanderbilt, however the Longhorns bounced again from their disappointing house loss to Georgia to beat the Commodores 27-24 on the street Saturday. The perfect information for Texas was that quarterback Quinn Ewers additionally bounced again with three landing passes and did not blink when he threw an interception on the sport’s first possession on a tipped ball. Ewers accomplished 17 straight passes after that interception. Vanderbilt had dedicated solely two turnovers all season getting into the sport, however the Longhorns’ protection pressured the Commodores into three turnovers. Texas (7-1, 3-1) has now received 9 straight street video games and can get a bye earlier than returning to motion towards Florida at house on Nov. 9. — Chris Low
Earlier rating: 5
The Nittany Lions took care of Wisconsin however misplaced quarterback Drew Allar to a left knee damage. Allar’s standing is now in query heading into subsequent weekend’s monster showdown towards Ohio State. Sophomore backup Beau Pribula performed effectively in Allar’s place, finishing 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards and a landing in Penn State’s 28-13 victory. However Allar has been among the many prime quarterbacks within the nation this season. He got here into the weekend ranked sixth nationally with a QBR of 86.8, and within the first half towards the Badgers, he accomplished 14 of 18 passes for 148 yards and a landing. Allar tried to play within the second half however could not transfer effectively sufficient after “tweaking” his knee. The Nittany Lions must hope their budding star quarterback can return in time to start out in Penn State’s greatest recreation of the yr. – Jake Trotter
Earlier rating: 3
Coming off the loss at Oregon after which a bye, the Buckeyes scuffled at house towards Nebraska. Jordan Hancock lastly put the Huskers away with an interception with 1:16 left, preserving the 21-17 victory. Most troubling, Ohio State’s as soon as vaunted dashing assault has begun to look stoppable. After getting outrushed by the Geese, the Buckeyes averaged simply 3.7 yards per carry towards Nebraska; star operating backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson mixed for less than 54 yards on 20 carries. Moreover that, one recreation after dropping standout left sort out Josh Simmons to a season-ending knee damage, Ohio State additionally misplaced his alternative, as Zen Michalski was carted off the sphere Saturday with an undisclosed damage. The Buckeyes nonetheless have the items to win the Large Ten, make the playoff and even seize the nationwide championship. However they should get the operating recreation again on observe, starting subsequent weekend at Penn State. — Jake Trotter
Earlier rating: 4
The Hurricanes beat Florida State 36-14 in an effort that was much more dominant than the ultimate rating indicated. Miami managed the sport, significantly up entrance, an space of energy on each side of the road. What needs to be encouraging is the way in which they tackled, an space that they knew they wanted to enhance on protection headed into the matchup. Miami struggled to get gamers to the bottom in the last few weeks, significantly in a win over Louisville. Its cross protection was not examined towards the Seminoles, who rank as one of many worst offenses within the nation. However that is one other space the place the Hurricanes have struggled at instances and will likely be some extent of emphasis for enchancment because the season hits its ultimate stretch. Of its ultimate 4 opponents, Syracuse would possibly present the hardest take a look at in that space, however no one may be ignored — beginning with Duke and a rematch towards former head coach Manny Diaz subsequent week. — Andrea Adelson
Earlier rating: 8
The Hoosiers’ magical season continued with one other resounding win. Backup quarterback Tayven Jackson did sufficient in a 31-17 victory over Washington, passing and dashing for a landing. Beginning quarterback Kurtis Rourke (thumb) must be again quickly. Indiana remarkably nonetheless has not trailed this season; in response to ESPN Analysis, the Hoosiers are the primary FBS staff because the 1998 Kansas State Wildcats to start out 8-0 with out trailing as soon as. That Ok-State staff was a win away from making the BCS Nationwide Championship, falling to Texas A&M in double time beyond regulation within the Large 12 title recreation. Indiana figures to be favorites in three of its final 4 remaining regular-season video games, save for a visit to Ohio State on Nov. 23. It is previous time to think about these Hoosiers as critical playoff contenders. — Trotter
Earlier rating: 9
After squeaking by Oklahoma State final week, BYU put collectively a stronger efficiency on the street Saturday, simply taking down UCF 37-24. The Cougars jumped out to a 17-0 lead and led by as many as 24 within the second half to maneuver to 8-0. BYU now heads into the bye with the rivalry recreation towards Utah looming on Nov. 9. With Utah struggling, it is a recreation the Cougars ought to win with ease. Nevertheless, given the rivalry stakes, it additionally units up as recreation that might get bizarre. Nonetheless, it is laborious to see how Utah’s struggling offense will be capable of do a lot towards BYU given the trajectory of each groups. — Kyle Bonagura
Earlier rating: 14
The Aggies put the clamps on LSU and Garrett Nussmeier after a scorching begin, choosing him off 3 times, a primary in his profession, and holding the Tigers to only 146 second-half yards. They allowed simply 24 dashing yards, they usually harassed Nussmeier, who went simply 4-of-14 for 89 yards when he was below stress, together with two of these INTs. Nonetheless, the Aggies allowed 5 completions of greater than 30 yards, together with a 76-yard TD the place Aaron Anderson cut up two Aggie defenders. The A&M protection is creating stress with out a lot blitzing, however Mike Elko nonetheless want to see extra massive performs eradicated. There’s hope: The Aggies’ subsequent two opponents, South Carolina and New Mexico State, are ranked 103rd and 127th in whole offense. — Dave Wilson
Earlier rating: 7
The 6-1 Tigers are coming off their bye week, and it is laborious to search out a lot to significantly nitpick about their protection in ACC play. Dabo Swinney wanted to see enchancment from the Tigers’ run protection after Stanford burned them for 236 dashing yards, they usually responded by holding every of their previous three opponents below 90 dashing yards. He’d additionally wish to see their backups do a greater job of getting stops. Clemson has allowed 107 factors over 5 convention video games, however 54 of these factors have been scored in rubbish time when the Tigers have been up massive. Virginia dropped 21 factors within the fourth quarter of their 48-31 loss final week. Aggressive depth on protection is a should if this staff is trying to make a deep CFP run. –– Olson
Earlier rating: 11
The Volunteers have been off Saturday after beating Alabama in Week 8, and there are few defenses throughout the nation taking part in higher than Tennessee’s by seven video games. Led by fourth-year coordinator Tim Banks and certainly one of faculty soccer’s fiercest defensive traces, the Vols rank second in run protection (78.6 YPG), fourth in whole protection (259.0 YPG)) and fourth in scoring protection (11.6 PPG) nationally, they usually’ve but to let an opponent go over 20 factors. All of it begins up entrance for Tennessee, the place 2023 All-SEC choice James Pearce Jr. is placing collectively one other spectacular marketing campaign, creating extra stress — 21.0% edge stress fee — than each cross rusher within the nation exterior of Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer (22.8%). The Vols’ protection buckled of their lone defeat of 2024, squandering a 14-3 third-quarter lead in a 19-14 loss to Arkansas on Oct. 5, and a unit that is averaging 4.0 first-half factors allowed towards SEC opponents has given up double digits after halftime in every of its 4 SEC video games. If Tennessee can tighten up its second-half protection, a fantastic Vols protection can get even higher in this system’s pursuit of a primary playoff look. — Eli Lederman
Earlier rating: 10
The Cyclones are 7-0 for simply the second time in program historical past and hit their ultimate 5 regular-season video games buoyed by the Large 12’s No. 1 protection regardless of a collection of key accidents on the coronary heart of Jon Heacock’s 3-3-5 protection. Off in Week 9, Iowa State will enter its Week 10 go to from Texas Tech main the convention in whole protection (304.0 YPG), cross protection (133.7 YPG) and scoring protection (14.4 PPG) this fall. However accidents to prime linebacker Caleb Bacon, Will McLaughlin, Carson Willich and Cael Brezina have decimated the Cyclones’ run protection, leaving Iowa State ranked fifteenth within the Large 12 giving up 170.3 dashing yards per recreation. UCF uncovered the Cyclones’ points towards the run when it racked up 354 dashing yards in Ames in Week 8, and it is Iowa State’s bother stopping the run that poses the most important risk to this system’s postseason aspirations. — Eli Lederman
Earlier rating: 12
The Irish would possibly effectively have performed their greatest all-around recreation in Week 9, dominating Navy 51-14. Riley Leonard threw for 2 touchdowns, the bottom recreation ran for 265 yards and 4 scores, and the protection recorded six turnovers — together with 5 fumble recoveries. That it got here towards a red-hot Navy staff was an vital step for the Irish, who’ve been attempting to dwell down the brutal loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2. However Notre Dame’s victory over Texas A&M seems to be more and more spectacular, and one other win over a ranked opponent means Notre Dame should not must do an excessive amount of apologizing for its résumé when the primary playoff rankings are launched in 9 days. — David Hale
Earlier rating: 16
A lot of the thrill about Pitt’s scorching begin has surrounded Eli Holstein and the offense, however Thursday’s 41-13 win over Syracuse was all concerning the D. Pat Narduzzi’s unit regarded prefer it had Syracuse’s playbook, and it completely embarrassed Kyle McCord, choosing off 5 passes, together with three it returned for touchdowns. The job will get larger in Week 10 with a visit to Dallas to face 7-1 SMU, and if Pitt’s protection is peaking now, it could be simply the best time. — Hale
Earlier rating: 19
Even with the offense having a tough time getting untracked, Alabama by no means flinched on protection Saturday in a 34-0 house win over Missouri. The Crimson Tide did not rating their first landing till the ultimate two minutes of the primary half, nevertheless it did not actually matter. Alabama suffocated Missouri the complete recreation and compelled the Tigers into three turnovers. It is the second straight week that Alabama has performed effectively on the defensive facet after dropping 24-17 every week in the past to Tennessee. On this recreation, the Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-2) clamped down on the Missouri passing recreation. Brady Prepare dinner began at quarterback for the Tigers and was clearly not one hundred pc. He left the sport after injuring his hand. Drew Pyne relieved Prepare dinner and was intercepted 3 times, as Alabama held Missouri to 72 passing yards. Alabama now will get every week off earlier than touring to LSU on Nov. 9 in a recreation the Tide will virtually actually must win to remain in playoff competition. — Low
Earlier rating: 15
The Broncos dealt with their hardest convention matchup of the common season towards UNLV and escaped with a 29-24 win. Regardless of an uncharacteristic recreation from Ashton Jeanty (he nonetheless had 128 dashing yards and a landing), Boise State was in a position to maintain UNLV scoreless within the second and fourth quarters, which proved to be essential within the end result. At instances this season, the Broncos’ protection has been nothing to jot down house about (they allowed 30 factors to Utah State and 45 to Georgia Southern), however they have been stout sufficient, particularly in stopping the run and in main the nation in sacks, to permit Jeanty and the offense to deal with opponents. The unit is permitting solely 117 yards per recreation on the bottom whereas the passing protection is within the backside 20 within the nation. Because the season continues, Boise might want to shore up their cross protection whereas additionally hoping they will create extra turnovers (solely six to date this season) to maintain their run towards a playoff berth going. — Uggetti
Earlier rating: 17
The Wildcats averted a consequential upset to rival Kansas when Chris Tennant kicked a 51-yard discipline purpose with 1:42 left in a 29-27 win. The win retains Kansas State a recreation again of each BYU and Iowa State within the Large 12 standings, which suggests if it wins out it could be assured a spot within the convention title recreation. (It performs Iowa State within the regular-season finale). Defensively, Ok-State stood tall when it mattered, holding Kansas with out a level on its ultimate 4 drives over which the Jayhawks gained only a mixed 30 yards. — Bonagura
Earlier rating: 13
The Tigers coach is aware of precisely what LSU wants to enhance after a 38-23 loss to Texas A&M. “Proper now, I might run the quarterback towards us,” Brian Kelly mentioned. And the Aggies did: After holding Conner Weigman to only 6 of 18 passing for 64 yards, Marcel Reed got here off the bench and rushed 9 instances for 62 yards and three touchdowns. “They did not actually make any changes,” Reed mentioned afterward. So there is a beginning place. With Alabama and Jalen Milroe arising on Nov. 9, the Tigers have a bye week to determine tips on how to cease him. — Wilson
Earlier rating: 18
The Mustangs survived a wild 28-27 time beyond regulation win over Duke, during which they turned the ball over six instances and nonetheless discovered a approach to come out with the victory and keep undefeated in ACC play. Although a lot of the main focus has been on the offense and quarterback Kevin Jennings, SMU’s protection has been among the many most constant within the ACC — significantly at creating turnovers and stopping the run. Certainly, Duke scored zero factors off these six SMU turnovers as a result of the Mustangs protection stepped up each time. But when there may be one space for enchancment, purple zone protection has been an space during which they’ve struggled. Opponents have gotten contained in the purple zone 24 instances this season, and scored 20 touchdowns. Up subsequent is an enormous matchup with ACC championship video games towards undefeated Pitt. — Andrea Adelson
Earlier rating: 23
The Rebels’ protection put collectively a dominant second-half efficiency within the 26-14 win over Oklahoma, shutting out the Sooners by permitting simply 94 yards on 2.5 yards per play. Pete Golding’s protection teed off on a struggling Sooners offensive line with a season-high 10 sacks and acquired stops on eight of 9 third downs. That is a confidence-building effort coming off the time beyond regulation loss at LSU. Ole Miss’ line of defense has been wonderful to date and benefited from getting Princely Umanmielen again within the lineup towards the Sooners. They’ve all of the expertise they want and have allowed simply 39 whole factors over their six wins. The secret now could be staying wholesome and taking part in with poise below stress. We’re now lower than two weeks away from Georgia coming to Oxford. — Olson
Earlier rating: 20
Whereas rival Navy was self-destructing early and getting overwhelmed up by Notre Dame, Military was on bye, watching on tv and preparing for a difficult pair of video games. First, Air Power visits West Level for a bitter rivalry recreation; then the Black Knights go to North Texas. A win within the latter recreation would all however lock up a spot for Military within the AAC championship, nevertheless it may require slightly little bit of stiffening in cross protection. North Texas quarterback Chandler Morris is a relentless and environment friendly passer, however Military got here into the bye week ranked simply 113th in completion fee allowed (64.6%). UNT’s protection should make some stops towards a dynamite Military offense, however the Imply Inexperienced are joyful to make this one a observe meet if Military cannot make stops both. — Connelly
Earlier rating: NR
Again within the spring, Colorado coach Deion Sanders assured a bowl berth this season, and the Buffaloes have already completed that eight video games in after a 34-23 win over Cincinnati. Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter took on starring roles once more, however the complete staff has taken a step ahead after a 4-8 debut season below Sanders, which additionally included a 1-8 mark in league play. Colorado is 4-1 within the Large 12 with extra to return. The Buffaloes have been vastly improved in lots of areas, however one the place they will proceed to get higher in is run protection, the place they’re permitting almost 4 yards per carry. Colorado is off subsequent week earlier than happening the street to play Texas Tech to maintain its sleeper Large 12 championship hopes alive. — Adelson
Earlier rating: 25
Wazzu continues to discover a approach to win, having come out on the profitable facet of the 4 one-score video games it has been in. Towards San Diego State on Saturday, the Cougars trailed 26-14 within the fourth quarter earlier than scoring touchdowns on drives of 80 and 63 yards to win. Even at 7-1, there’s a lot WSU must get cleaned up. SDSU’s 414 yards of offense have been essentially the most it has gained towards an FBS opponent all season and is a part of a development during which the Cougars have been straightforward to maneuver the ball towards (they’ve allowed greater than 400 yards in six video games this season). They’ve a manageable remaining schedule with Utah State, New Mexico, Oregon State and Wyoming, however an 11-1 document in all probability will not be adequate for a playoff spot. — Bonagura
Earlier rating: 22
The Preventing Illini didn’t appear like the Twentieth-best staff within the nation Saturday as they traveled to Eugene and successfully misplaced the sport within the first half, if not the primary quarter, permitting 35 factors earlier than the break. Oregon took their foot off the fuel within the second half and received 38-9, however the assertion was made fairly loudly and it left Illinois wanting like a staff that did not belong. Regardless of wins towards Kansas, Nebraska and, most just lately, Michigan, Illinois’ protection ranks 79th within the nation at stopping the run. To revive their season within the ultimate 4 video games, the Illini additionally should be much better at stopping groups on third down. The Geese transformed six of 11 third-down makes an attempt Saturday and general, Illinois is permitting a forty five% conversion fee on third down — good for 118th within the nation. — Uggetti
Earlier rating: 24
Brady Prepare dinner pulled off heroics every week in the past towards Auburn, struggling a excessive ankle sprain, reentering the sport and main a fourth-quarter comeback. Because it turned out, making an attempt one thing related towards an offended Alabama staff in Tuscaloosa, after lacking most of every week of observe, was too tall a job. Prepare dinner went simply 7-for-12 for 30 yards and left the sport late within the first half. Backup Drew Pyne threw three interceptions, and regardless of the Tigers’ protection taking part in certainly one of its greatest first halves of the season, Mizzou fell 34-0. Within the second half, Mizzou’s greatest defensive difficulty — massive performs — started to rear its ugly head. Alabama loved rushes of 32, 28, 35 and 62 and completed the sport with 282 non-sack dashing yards at 8.1 yards per carry. Offense misplaced this recreation, but when the Tigers nonetheless wish to make one thing of the season, the big-play points nonetheless want cleansing up. — Connelly
