College football Week 9 preview: What one-loss teams need to do

There’s a lot more to celebrate this Halloween than chocolate bars, candy corn (no judgment here) and kids in cute costumes.The College Football Playoff selection committee’s first ranking release, for example. Will it be a Halloween trick or a treat? With the decision on the horizon, what do one-loss teams have to do this week to stay in contention for a sought after area in the top four?Our press reporters

break down what it will take in Week 9 for Oregon and Utah, who face one another, Texas and Penn State– all one-loss groups– to stay in the CFP image. We’re likewise looking at QBs to watch in Week 9, including an under-the-radar player, and significant quotes from the week.

How can these one-loss teams show themselves and stay pertinent in Week 9?

Keep in mind: Not all one-loss teams were consisted of, notably Alabama, which is still quite in the CFP image but has a Week 9 bye.

Oregon: Just win. Is that too simple? A loss at Utah would efficiently remove the Ducks from the CFP equation, while a win keeps them in the game. Beyond the basic mathematics, going to Salt Lake City to play among the nation’s finest defenses provides an important opportunity to make a declaration about what this offense can be. If quarterback Bo Nix is genuinely a Heisman Prize candidate– which still must hold true– there’s no much better method to show himself than with a big day in this matchup.It’s still tough to picture a scenario where a one-loss Pac-12 team, offered the depth the conference has this season, would be neglected of the CFP. And if Oregon were to fill that theoretical profile, then its only loss would have been a heartbreaker on the roadway against Washington. Far from an unforgivable loss.The Ducks

still have USC and Oregon State on the schedule, so they’ll have possibilities to impress, but this will be the most significant test for their offense. The Utes have actually permitted more than 14 points just two times this season.– Kyle Bonagura

Utah: Aside from getting a hurt Webcam Increasing back (he was eliminated for the season last week), the Utes require to continue accumulating the declaration wins. Going to LA and lasting longer than USC without Increasing was Step 1, but the approaching game versus Oregon, along with matchups against Washington (in Seattle) and Colorado in the house will go a long method towards showing Kyle Whittingham’s team is good enough to win a third straight Pac-12 title and have an outdoors shot at the playoff.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Regardless of their strong protective efforts(they have the 12th-best defense in the country according to SP +), their opportunities most likely rest on just how much they can get out of backup quarterback Bryson Barnes. The junior shined against the Trojans, throwing for three touchdowns, but he’s no Rising, and Utah has been able to win in spite of its quarterback situation.And yet, we’re well past the point of questioning a Whittingham-led group

, injuries or not. The Utes are greater than the sum of their parts. That identity has actually been sufficient for them so far. The only concern is, can they keep it up?– Paolo Uggetti Texas: The Longhorns will be dealing with Steve Sarkisian’s alma mater, BYU, with backup quarterback Maalik Murphy most likely making his very first college start after Quinn Ewers was sidelined by a shoulder injury suffered versus Houston.Texas’ defense will be under the spotlight against BYU, which has the very best record against Texas(4-1) of any challenger the Longhorns have actually dealt with at

least 5 times. After giving up approximately 12.8 points per game(consisting of a 34-24 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa)as Texas began 5-0 and climbed to No. 3, Oklahoma went 75 yards in 5 plays with 1:17 left to upset the Longhorns 34-30. Recently, after dominating the first 22 minutes of the Houston game with a 21-0 lead, Houston’s Donovan Smith passed for 378 lawns and three goals and the Longhorns needed to hold back a last-second fourth-down try on the 10-yard-line to win 31-24.”The lesson found out here is we have to have a killer impulse,”Sarkisian said after the game.”Individuals aren’t going to lay down against us. … We unwinded.” Whether it’s Murphy, who shined in the spring game (9-of-13 passing for 165 lawns )but has attempted simply 8 passes in his Texas profession, or freshman Arch Manning, who has the pedigree and was the No. 5 general player in this

year’s ESPN 300, a lot of eyes will be on how the Longhorns look versus BYU.The Allstate Playoff Predictor currently provides Texas a 25%chance of making the College Football Playoff. Only 6 groups( including Oklahoma at 63 %)lead it. So if Texas can win out, consisting of a possible rematch with OU in the Huge 12 title game, it would likely be in. The killer impulse might be the distinction.– Dave Wilson Penn State: While the desire to just whitewash yet another loss to Ohio State– its 11th in the last 12 conferences in between the 2 schools– would be a strong one, Penn State requires to observe the extreme lesson found out last weekend in Columbus.Failing to transform on its first 15 third-down attempts and going 1-for-16 because department in the 20-12 loss, its offense handled a season-low 240 total lawns– the program’s least expensive given that last season’s October loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor( 268). The capability to sustain drives against elite competition and returning to running the football with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen

, who integrated for 74 yards on 18 brings versus Ohio State, is paramount.Quarterback Drew Allar had a hard time strongly last week(18-of-42 passing for 191 backyards and an interception)in his first real hostile environment and will aim to rebound in your home versus Indiana this weekend.Despite the loss, Penn State’s defense under defensive organizer Manny Diaz stays second nationally both in scoring defense(9.7 PPG )and passing defense(144.7 YPG)– a force to be dealt with.Its Big Ten East title hopes flickering, there will be absolutely nothing Penn State will have the ability to do

if it can’t beat Michigan when the Wolverines pertain to State College on Nov. 11. Its offense will need to be humming to maximize that opportunity.– Blake Baumgartner Which QB are you most eagerly anticipating watching this weekend?

You may not have heard of Thomas Castellanos yet, but the Boston College sophomore quarterback is starting to get seen. Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports ACC: We are going under the radar here and selecting Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who has emerged as a running force in the ACC. Given that he ended up being the full-time starter in Week 2, BC has actually changed into a rush-heavy offense, playing to its strengths

behind Castellanos and a much better offending line.Castellanos is coming off back-to-back 100-yard hurrying games– the only Power 5 quarterback with multiple 100-yard hurrying games this season. BC is likewise coming off consecutive 300-yard hurrying games as a team. The last time that occurred was in 2017. Do you understand what else took place in 2017? That was the last time BC overcame a 1-3 record to make a championship game. BC started 1-3 and is now on a three-game winning streak headed into its game Saturday versus UConn. This is a huge game for a few factors. A loss to UConn last season was most likely the low point in a disappointing 3-9 campaign. Avenging that loss gets BC to 5-3, just one win away from bowl eligibility. Castellanos is a huge type in getting there.– Andrea Adelson Huge 12: Offered the stakes and the circumstances, it’s got to be whoever gets the nod at Texas. Murphy is a 6-foot-5, 238-pound redshirt freshman whose accuracy on deep balls in the spring game appeared like the missing out on piece of the Texas offense last season. Then there’s Manning, whose jerseys are for sale in every shop in town as fans demand a peek of the future and football royalty.”We’ll go through the week and Arch and Maalik will both get a lots of associates,” Sarkisian stated Monday.” If the game was being played today, Maalik would start the game and once again, Arch will be prepared to go.” Huge 10: Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord had the ability to come out of the Penn State game without a turnover, which is an accomplishment in itself considering how good the Nittany Lions’defense has actually been this season.McCord was likewise able to get the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr., who had 162 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t that long back McCord remained in a quarterback battle with Devin Brown, trying to hold on as the starter.McCord has shown improvement throughout the season and finished the win over Penn State with 286 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t a best game for McCord, however he showed enhancement and has actually now helped the Buckeyes beat 2 top-10 opponents this season.Ohio State will deal with Wisconsin this week with the Badgers 5-2.”We discussed it on Sunday, as a group, that we have actually got to bring it this week. [Wisconsin] is playing well, they’re a good football group,”Ohio State coach Ryan Day said at his weekly news conference.”They have actually got an actually excellent chance to win their side and we can’t let recently affect today. Champion groups bring it every week, they do not have ups and downs and disappointments, so we’re not enabled to have a letdown.”McCord has another opportunity against the Badgers to continue his improvement,

settle into the offense and develop his self-confidence as Ohio State moves closer to its end-of-the-season match with Michigan.– Tom VanHaaren Pac-12: A quick evaluation of Utah quarterback Barnes’season does not reveal a lot to be impressed with. Statistically, he’s been amongst the worst in the Pac-12 (633 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions in 6 looks). Nevertheless, after the resident “pig farmer “headed out and led Utah to a win versus USC– and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams– recently, it’s time to climb up aboard the Barnes bandwagon. At least for this week.The Utes appeared destined for a lost season without Rising for the very first several weeks, but with competent quarterback play this is a team that has the prospective to remain in the conference title race.– Bonagura SEC: LSU’s Jayden Daniels has actually played his way to the forefront of the Heisman Prize race, but Florida’s Graham Mertz has silently been among the most efficient passers in the league.The Wisconsin junior transfer is 3rd nationally in completion portion(76.2 )and has passed for 1,897 lawns, 12 touchdowns and simply 2 interceptions. In his past 2 starts (wins over South Carolina and Vanderbilt), he’s completed 71% of his passes for 677 yards, six goals and no interceptions.Mertz will face his most difficult test yet Saturday against No. 1 Georgia, which is third nationally in enabling simply 5.1 yards per effort. The Bulldogs have intercepted more passes (nine) than they’ve given up goal passes(8 ). If the Gators (5-2, 3-1 )are going to upset the Dawgs and remain in the SEC East race, they will

likely require to make more explosive plays in the death game. They’re connected for 101st nationally in completions of 30 lawns or longer(8)through 7 games and have tossed simply 2 goal passes versus FBS challengers that were longer than 20 lawns.–

Chris Low Quotes of the week play 0:56 Deion Sanders shares his thoughts on sign stealing amid Michigan probe Colorado coach Deion Sanders states taking signals would not always assist Michigan’s football team.” Everyone’s attempting to get an edge anywhere they can. You can have somebody’s whole strategy. They could mail it to you. You’ve still got to stop it.”– Colorado coach Deion Sanders, on sign stealing in college football.”You can’t steal signs and do any of this stuff if you have a helmet communicator. “– Alabama coach Nick Saban, echoing other coaches in favor of brand-new sideline communication in the wake of accusations of sign stealing by Michigan.”They’ve got a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback.

So they’re going to make some things, which’s just the way it is. But we’ve got ourselves a pig farmer at quarterback, so we’re proud of that guy, too.”– Kyle Whittingham, after Utah’s win versus USC in Week 8.