College Football Week 9: 5 bold predictions

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Week 9 is here and looks to be another great week. Here are some bold predictions to get you ready for Week 9 of the college football season.

While Week 8 looked like a rather boring week, there was quiet a lot of action that occurred. The biggest upset of the year occurred, unranked Penn State beat No. 2 Ohio State 24-21. Ohio States special teams failed them, and Penn State took advantage. Penn State blocked a field goal that would have put the Buckeyes up by a touchdown, and returned it for a touchdown of their own. That would be all they needed. Along with Penn State’s upset win, Alabama once more showed their dominance and beat No. 6 Texas A&M 33-14. I know people bring up this notion almost every year, but this may be Sabans best year yet. The talent that exist on this Crimson Tide team is insane. They are deeply talented in every area of the ball.

Along with Alabama, the new No.2 team in the country, Michigan also rolled to a 41-8 win over Illinois. Could we be looking at a Alabama vs. Michigan championship game? Well that’s a bold prediction for another day. For now lets just stick to five bold predictions for Week 9 of the college football season.

Sep 24, 2016; Evanston, IL, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers cornerback Joshua Kalu (10) celebrates an interception against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Ryan Field. The Cornhuskers won 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

5. The Big Ten could have 3 teams in the top 5

The Big Ten has Michigan at No. 2, Ohio State at No. 6, Nebraska at No. 7, and Wisconsin at No.11. Four teams in the top 11 of the polls. If a few teams lose this week and some of these Big Ten teams win, we could be looking at three Big Ten teams in the top five. To start with, No. 7 Nebraska has to play at No. 11 Wisconsin this week. Nebraska wins that game, because Wisconsin is overrated in my mind. They are lacking a passing threat in their offense. So Nebraska wins, and stays undefeated. Next, Ohio State wins against Northwestern. Lets be real, Northwestern doesn’t have much of a chance. The Buckeyes will be angry that they lost and will take that anger out on Northwestern. Finally No. 2 Michigan beats Michigan State. In all likely hood, this is going to happen as well. Michigan will not lose to Michigan State this year. They simply won’t let it happen.

With the Big Ten figured out, all that’s left is for a few other teams to lose. Which is very possible. No. 3 Clemson has to play on the road at No. 12 Florida State. Not any easy place to play, and Clemson hasn’t looked like a champion team this year. Clemson losing is possible. What is a lot less likely to happen is for No. 4 Washington to lose. They play at No. 17 Utah, which will be a test. There is more about both games later on.

Lets just say that Clemson and Washington both do lose. If that is the case, the top five would look something like this:

Three Big Ten teams in the top five and a huge top five showdown the next week as Ohio State and Nebraska prepare to battle.

Oct 22, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Karan Higdon (22) rushes for a touchdown in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

4. Michigan gets their revenge

If you’ve been under a rock for the last year and don’t remember what happened last time Michigan and Michigan State played a football game, check this out and then come back. Ill wait. Remember now? Alright, lets continue on then. That play was by far the best and most exciting play of all of last year. With out that, Michigan State probably doesn’t go to the Big Ten championship and probably doesn’t go to the college football playoff, only to be put on blast by Alabama. I mean the Spartans didn’t even put up one point.

Well after what happened last year, I’m not expecting this game to be pretty. Michigan comes in at 7-0 and No. 2 in the country. Meanwhile Michigan State is 2-5 and nowhere near the polls at the moment. Now the game is being played in East Lansing and yes I do believe that in rivalry games that the underdogs always step up and play a great game. In all reality, ever sense Lloyd Carr stepped down as the head coach at Michigan, Michigan State has dominated this rivalry. Since 2008, the Michigan State is 7-1 against Michigan and they are on a three game win streak against the Wolverines at the moment.

A lot of fans like having rivalry games played at home, but with this game I think most Michigan fans are glad that it’s in East Lansing. They want to see their Wolverines crush the Spartans, badly. With the way these two teams have played this year, something tells me that’s going to happen. Michigan knows that they are the better team and that they are suppose to win this game, there is a reason they are 24 point favorites. They only team stopping Michigan from getting to where they want to get, is Ohio State. More commonly known to Michigan fans as, that team down south.

Oct 15, 2016; Corvallis, OR, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Troy Williams (3) and Utah Utes offensive lineman Garett Bolles (72) react to a touch down during the fourth quarter at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cole Elsasser-USA TODAY Sports

3. Utah ends Washington’s playoff hopes

Washington has look extremely impressive all year long and has rightfully earned the No. 4 ranking in the country. They have dominated in every game, scoring at least 35 points in every game. Along with Washington, Utah has been a bright spot in the Pac-12 this year, just like they were last year. Utah has a 10 win season last year and a nine win season the year before that. Utah is legit, people tend to just not give them credit. They have been in the polls every week since the Week 4 and are currently sitting at No. 17.

What has made Washington so deadly this year has then their quarterback, Jake Browning. He has thrown for 1709 yards, 26 touchdowns and only two picks. If he isn’t in the running for the Heisman, the system is broken. He has played out of his mind all season long. In Washington’s game against Oregon, Browning threw six touchdown passes. He has been great for this team. To counter him, Utah comes in with a great defense. On average, Utah is forcing their opponents into 3rd down and 8.3 yards to go. Michigan, Miami, and Alabama are the only other teams making third downs harder for their opponents then Utah. With the recent return of their running back, Joe Williams, Utah is looking good for this game.

Joe Williams ran for 332 yards and four touchdowns last week against UCLA. Utah is at their best when Williams can run like that. Washington comes into Utah as 10 point favorites, but I’m thinking that they may leave with their first lost of the season. Utah were co-champions of the Pac-12 south last year. They want to be Pac-12 champs, no questions asked this year. This is how they can do it. Beat Washington and they will control their own faith in the Pac-12. Washington losing will hurt their playoff chances tremendously. Other one loss teams, like Louisville and Ohio State are lurking right behind them. Utah will make this tough for the huskies.

Sep 24, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) runs the ball in the second quarter as South Florida Bulls linebacker Danny Thomas (53) defends at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

2. Florida State hands Clemson their first loss

Clemson and DeShaun Watson, have under preformed for most of the year. With the exception of the Louisville game. They beat only beat Troy by six points. Their opening game against Auburn wasn’t all that pretty, and they got lucky against NC State. That game should never have gone to overtime, they were lucky it got that it got that far. They committed four turnovers against NC State. If they do that against Florida State, they won’t have much of a chance. Meanwhile, it seems that Florida State has gotten things figured out. They have gotten themselves to just outside the top 10 after dropping rather far down.

It obvious that Florida State’s defense will have to step up if they are going to win. They are giving up just under 30 points a game. Their offense has been putting up points, averaging about 35 points a game. The good news is that in the last few weeks, the defense has looked good. giving up just 28 points total in the last two weeks, which have resulted in wins. Keep that up, and the Seminoles have a great chance. Add on Dalvin Cook and now you’re putting together an upset. He has rushed for 900 yards and seven scores on the year. He has gone for over 100 yards rushing in his last four games played as well. Being an opposing team in Tallahassee is no easy task either. When the crowd gets loud and they get their tomahawk chops going, it becomes intimidating.

Florida State will look to shut down DeShaun Watson and keep him in the pocket. If he escapes he will give the Seminoles problems all day long. Clemson has been shaky all year. They will need to play a complete game on order to come away with the win. The same goes for Florida State. Their defense can’t go and give up 30 points just like that. They need to control Clemson and let their Offense go out and get them a lead. Which is what I believe will happen.

Oct 1, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Jalen McCleskey (1) and wide receiver James Washington (28) celebrate a touchdown against the Texas Longhorns during the first half at Boone Pickens Stadium. Cowboys won 49-31. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

1. Oklahoma State upsets No. 10 West Virginia

In all honesty, Oklahoma State should be 6-1 right now and probably ranked. That loss they took to Central Michigan way early on in the season, doesn’t look very good, but it also should never have happened. Literally. Central Michigan was wrongly awarded an extra play with no time left. With that play the Chippewas pulled off the old hook n’ ladder and scored a game winning touchdown. Aside from that game, the Cowboys have looked sharp all year. West Virginia on the other hand has yet to lose and has looked very good all year.

The Mountaineers are No. 10 in the country and are looking to get to 7-0 on the season. That’s a tough task with their next game coming at Oklahoma State. He has gone under the radar this year, but Oklahoma State’s QB, Mason Rudolph has been spectacular this year. He has thrown for just under 2300 yards. He has 14 touchdowns and just two picks. He has done this in just seven games. The NFL is hitting week 8 this week, if you compare his passing yards to the NFL leaders at the moment, Rudolph would rank second, only behind Matt Ryan. Oklahoma State’s offense is explosive, while West Virginia has been winning with a stingy defense. They only allow 17.8 points a game, while the Cowboys average 41.1 points a game.

To me, that margin seems way to big for West Virginia to cover. Oklahoma State likes to score points and they should be able to score a lot of points in this game. They are at home and are an underrated team in my mind. They have a great chance at win against at top 10 team.