- Copyright 2024 © CollegeFootballPoll.com
- About CFP / Contact
- Legal Statements
The schedule may be short on ranked vs ranked matchups, but don't let that fool you. This week's slate is anything but light.
In games already played this week, Louisiana (7-1, 4-0) took control of the Sun Belt's west division with a 23-17 win at Texas State (4-4, 2-2) on Tuesday night as the consensus preseason favorite Bobcats fade from the picture.
On Wednesday, Liberty lost for the second straight week as Jacksonville State took a 31-21 road win to keep pace with Western Kentucky in Conference USA. That same night, the Hilltoppers downed Kennesaw 31-14 in Bowling Green.
Two other Tuesday night games saw FIU notch a 34-13 win at home over New Mexico State, and Sam Houston won 9-3 at home over Louisiana Tech in a pair of CUSA battles. The Bearkats are the only CUSA team with just one loss so this appears to have boiled down to a 3-team race.
Four more games will be played before Saturday rolls around, beginning with Tulane at Charlotte in the lone Thursday night affair.
The 3-game Friday night slate includes San Diego State at Boise State in battle between two of the three teams that are undefeated in Mountain West play. The Aztecs are just 3-4 over-all, but 2-0 in the conference, while the Broncos sport records of 6-1 over-all and 3-0 in league play. The third team is Colorado State (5-3, 3-0) which heads to Nevada on Saturday.
Friday also serves up a non-conference clash in East Hartford between independent UConn and Sun Belt member Georgia State. The two schools met for the first time last season with the Panther chalking up a 35-14 win at home.
The third match on Friday has USF traveling southeast to Boca Raton to take on FAU in an American Athletic Conference showdown. Neither school is in the AAC title hunt.
SEE: Complete schedule and picks.
Saturday's action has all kinds of interesting games taking place.
We'll start with Game 2 in the Commander-in-Chief's competition with Army West Point hosting Air Force at noon on CBS. This has been a down year for the Falcons who are just 1-6 over-all with the only victory being a hard fought win over FCS Merrimack to begin the season. Army enters the week as one of the remaining eight undefeated teams in the FBS.
The other seven schools with unblemished marks are Oregon, Penn State and Indiana in the B1G, Miami (FL) at Pitt in the ACC, and BYU and Iowa State in the Big 12. All but the Cyclones are in action.
Oregon visits Michigan as Game 2 of the CBS double-header, Penn State has a huge home clash with Ohio State at Noon on FOX, Indiana hosts Michigan State at 3:30 on Peacock, Miami entertains Duke at Noon on ABC, Pitt travels to SMU at 8:00 on the ACC Network, and Iowa State hosts Texas Tech at 3:30 on ESPN.
Some of the other games are the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville where Georgia and Florida annually collide, the birth of a new B1G rivalry with UCLA headed to Nebraska, and an ACC collision in New York with Syracuse hosting Virginia Tech.
We also have Arkansas at Ole Miss, Arizona State at Oklahoma State, and North Carolina visiting the wreck that has become Florida State.
The parade continues with South Carolina hosting Texas A&M, Louisville visiting Clemson, Iowa hosting Wisconsin, and Tennessee welcoming Kentucky,
Naturally, your school's game is the most important one to you this week and every week, but here's a closer look at four of this week's contests.
If not now, when? That's the question everyone is asking about Penn State.
The Nittany Lions have a golden opportunity to finally break though against the Buckeyes, who’ve won seven straight and 11 of the last 12 in the series. Now, OSU still has one of the best rosters in America, but the team looked mortal in October, needing to rally last week to beat Nebraska at the 'Shoe. Meanwhile, Penn State is brimming with mojo right now. Two weeks ago, the Lions came from behind to beat USC at the Coliseum, and in Week 9 they defeated Wisconsin in Madison after losing QB Drew Allar. While the team really needs Allar at full strength for this one, backup Beau Pribula has already proven he can lead the offense when needed.
Florida’s wicked November schedule begins Saturday in Jacksonville against rival Georgia.
The Gators’ next four games are against top 20 opponents, and they’ll need at least one upset to become bowl-eligible and improve Billy Napier’s job security. Florida has actually played well over the last four games, winning three and only losing to No. 7 Tennessee by six in Knoxville. It’ll be interesting to see how gifted true freshman QB DJ Lagway performs against a top-tier Georgia defense that was last seen shutting down Texas in Austin two weeks ago. The Dawgs have won the last three meetings between the schools, all by more than three touchdowns.
The Aggies are the last remaining SEC team without a conference loss. That’s quite the turnaround for Mike Elko’s team, which hasn’t experienced defeat since the opener versus Notre Dame.
Elko pushed all the right buttons in Saturday night’s thrilling comeback win over LSU. Now, the Aggies' staff has to keep the players laser-focused on this week’s trip Columbia. The Gamecocks have been giant-killers under Shane Beamer, and they’ve already almost knocked off LSU and Alabama this season, losing those games by a total of five points. This matchup will be stacked with elite pass rushers, like A&M’s Nic Scourton and South Carolina’s tandem of Kyle Kennard and rookie Dylan Stewart.
Pitt and SMU in Dallas with major ACC championship implications. Yeah, it might take a little while to get used to, but it’ll be fun Saturday on the Hilltop.
The Panthers and the Mustangs are two of the four remaining ACC schools without a conference loss. Neither was expected to be in this position before the season began. SMU is in its first year in the league, and the team looked a little shaky early on. However, Rhett Lashlee’s program has regrouped to win five straight, including a nail-biter with Duke Saturday. Meanwhile, Pitt has risen to No. 18 in the polls with its best start since 1982. In Thursday’s Syracuse game, the Panthers picked off five Kyle McCord passes, taking three back for touchdowns.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best player with the Maxwell Award. CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a member of the voting panel.
Here’s a look at some of last week’s standout performances on offense.
Tulsa trailed UTSA, 35-7, at halftime, yet furiously rallied back for a 46-45 win behind the Cooper Legas to Benjamin connection. Legas threw three second-half touchdown passes to Benjamin, including two in the final 2:26 to pull out the miraculous win. The sixth-year senior finished with seven catches for 125 yards and those three TDs, covering 74, 20 yards and the clinching four-yard, toe-tapping reception.
Brosmer had his best game at Minnesota to lead the Gophers to an unexpectedly easy win over Maryland, 48-23. Minny jumped out to a 24-0 lead and never looked back enroute to its third straight victory. Brosmer was locked in throughout the rout. He completed 26-of-33 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns, two apiece to Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer.
The Hogs were without leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson for this week’s trip to Starkville, so Green took matters into his own hands. With plenty of help from Jackson’s backups, Green & Co. obliterated Mississippi State, 58-25. In the best evidence yet of his potential running Bobby Petrino’s offense, the Boise State transfer accounted for six touchdowns, including a career-best five through the air, 393 total yards, and six Big Time Throws.
Maybe Auburn’s issues aren’t so complicated after all. Maybe the team just needs to feed Hunter more often. Auburn snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday, scoring 24 unanswered points to beat Kentucky in Lexington. Hunter hoisted the offense on his shoulders with a personal-best 278 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. His first TD put the Tigers ahead and his second TD put the game out of reach.
Have we normalized what Hunter is doing in Boulder? Because nothing that he’s doing this season is normal. Hunter played more than 130 snaps in Colorado’s 34-23 win over Cincinnati that secured bowl-eligibility. On offense, he caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, No. 12 had two tackles and broke up four passes to help limit the Bearcats to just 180 yards through the air.
Behind a terrific Thursday night from Joseph, the Monarchs won a critical showdown with Georgia Southern to seize control of the Sun Belt East. The redshirt freshman from Newport Beach, Calif. looked like the future in Norfolk in just his fourth start. Joseph completed 20-of-26 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 69 yards and another touchdown on the ground in the 47-19 win.
For the first time all season, Maxwell Award candidate failed to throw a touchdown pass in a game. Martinez was more than willing to pick up the slack as the Hurricanes disposed of rival Florida State, 36-14, to remain undefeated. Martinez, the pile-driving transfer from Oregon State, needed only 15 carries to tally a season-high 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
Don’t mind McMillan. He’s just taking care of business and improving his draft grade for 2025. The Wildcats may be fading, losing for the fourth consecutive time, but that hasn’t deterred McMillan from continuously performing like a future first round pick. Against West Virginia Saturday, he led all Week 9 receivers with 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown. His 91.3 grade from PFF also topped all receivers.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. Here’s a look at last week’s standout defenders.
It was vintage Pat Narduzzi Thursday night as Pitt wreaked havoc on the Syracuse backfield to move to 7-0. The Panthers tormented Orange QB Kyle McCord into five interceptions, including three pick-sixes in just the opening half. Biles kicked off the defensive scoring on Syracuse’s opening and would also go on to collect a game-high 12 tackles, one sack, and a pair of hurries of McCord.
Back-to-back wins have Baylor back to .500, with hopes of playing a bonus game in December. A week after upsetting Texas Tech, the Bears held off Oklahoma State in Waco, 38-28. While the offense continued to play well, Jones spearheaded the defense. The sixth-year senior from Odessa, Tex. racked up a dozen tackles, including 10 solo stops, three TFLs, a sack, and a forced fumble that the offense parlayed into a touchdown.
The Tigers escaped Charlotte to remain in the hunt for the AAC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. RB Mario Anderson Jr. led the offense while Martin once again spearheaded the D. The junior keyed an effort that yielded just 13 first downs to the 49ers, making a team-high 10 stops, including two for minus yards and 1.5 sacks of Deshawn Purdie.
Don’t look now, but the Aggies are the last remaining SEC team without a conference loss. Texas A&M, which fell to Notre Dame in the opener, has reeled off seven straight wins, highlighted by Saturday night’s 38-23 victory over streaking LSU. The Ags forced Garrett Nussmeier into his worst game of the season, picking off three of his passes and allowing him to complete just 50% of his throws. Mayes had two of those interceptions to go along with two tackles and PFF’s third highest grade for a Week 9 cornerback.
The incredibly athletic Perkins was the last person struggling Oklahoma wanted to face Saturday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway. The 6-1, 210-pound sophomore, who freelances between edge and linebacker, whipped the Sooner linemen and helped the Rebels to a 26-14 victory. Perkins registered a career day with 11 tackles, including five behind the line of scrimmage and three of his team’s nine sacks.
The Hoosiers were without their starting quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, so the defense stepped up and chipped in to beat Washington and remain undefeated. Ponds, who followed head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison, got the scoring started with a 67-yard pick-six in the opening quarter. The sophomore from Miami intercepted another Will Rogers pass to go along with five tackles and a tackle for loss.
Kaimon Rucker? More like Kaimon Wrecker as far as Virginia is concerned. The Tar Heels arrived in Charlottesville reeling and mired in a four-game losing streak. They left town with a 41-14 total team effort that improved their chances for a bowl. Carolina is a different team when Rucker’s at full strength, which hasn’t happened often this fall. This past Saturday, he wrecked the ‘Hoos for eight tackles, 3.5 stops for loss, three sacks, and a pick while earning PFF’s top Week 9 grade for an edge rusher.
With a win over UNLV Friday night in Las Vegas, Boise State seized control of the Mountain West and the automatic Group of Five playoff berth. While RB Ashton Jeanty was the main attraction, the defense keyed the victory, holding the Rebels almost 20 points below their season scoring average. Teubner led the unit with 14 tackles, including eight solo stops, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.
The Maxwell Football Club supports former Alabama and Seattle Seahawks star RB Shaun Alexander in annually naming the top college freshman.
Reed was the ultimate sparkplug when the Aggies needed it most Saturday versus LSU. Trailing 17-7 at halftime, Mike Elko summoned his true freshman from the bench in what would be a stroke of coaching genius. Reed responded by leading the offense to four consecutive touchdown drives, three of which he finished with TD runs, as A&M pulled away for a crucial 38-23 victory. He accounted for 132 total yards, but the way he flipped the entire dynamic of the game cannot be explained in numbers alone.
One such game takes place this week when Maine visits Oklahoma.
FBS schools are 109-6 in such games this season, and a collective 1,909-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there are 121 scheduled scheduled matchups between FBS and FCS schools with 119 schools playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
This year, 15 schools do not play a FCS opponent and 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, are repeats from last year's list of schools that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
ARMY - Won 11 straight overall.
Last: Won 45-28 at home over East Carolina on Saturday, October 19.
Next: After a bye week, Army hosts Air Force on Saturday, November 2.
LIBERTY - Had won 17 straight regular season games.
Last: Lost 27-24 at FBS newcomer, and previously winless, Kennesaw State on Wednesday, October 23. The Flames had not played for 15 days since eking out a 31-24 home won over FIU in overtime On Tuesday, October 8. And that was the first game for the Flames in 17 days after serving a bye week and an unexpected off week when the game at App State was scratched due to Hurricane Helene.
Next: Hosts Jax State on Wednesday October 30.
OREGON - Won 14 straight regular season games
Last: won 38-9 at home over Illinois on Saturday October 26.
Next: Visits Michigan on Saturday, November 2.
GEORGIA - Won 28 straight home games.
Last: Won 30-15 at Texas on Saturday, October 19.
Next: After a bye week, plays Florida in Jacksonville on Saturday, November 2.
TULANE - Won 16 straight conference games.
Last: Won 45-37 at North Texas on Saturday, October 26.
Next: Visits Charlotte on Thursday, October 31.
TEXAS - Won 9 straight true road games (at opposition venue) - tied with SMU.
Last: Won 27-24 at Vanderbilt on Saturday, October 26.
Next: After a bye week, hosts Florida on Saturday, November 2.
SMU - Won 9 straight true road games (at opposition venue) - tied with Texas.
Last - Won 28-27 on OT at Duke on Saturday, October 26.
Next: Hosts Pitt on Saturday, November 2.
KENT STATE - Lost 17 straight over-all. Lost 12 straight conference games. Lost 7 straight home games.
Last: Lost 52-21 Western Michigan on Saturday, October 26.
Next: After a bye week, hosts Ohio on Wednesday, November 6.
STANFORD - Lost 12 straight home games to FBS foes.
Last: Lost 27-24 at home to Wake Forest on Saturday, October 26.
Next: Visits NC State on Saturday on Saturday, November 2.
TEMPLE - Lost 18 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 56-34 at Visits East Carolina on Saturday, October 26.
Next: After a bye week, visits Tulane on Saturday, November 9.
PFF is widely recognized as the industry leader in the advanced data collection and analysis for American football. Since 2011, PFF has led football’s charge into the world of analytics. Their services are trusted by all 32 NFL teams and over 100 FBS programs. Major broadcast networks, national media outlets and player agencies all use PFF as a resource as well. PFF’s media network provides fans with apps, tools, podcasts and other content to help satisfy their thirst for deeper insights in the game. For more information about PFF, please visit: pff.com
Rich Cirminiello is the VP of College Awards at Maxwell Football Club. He can be followed on Twitter at @Rich Cirminiello