Nine Best College Football Games to Watch in Week 9: Contenders vs. Pretenders Week

We’re just over a week away from Halloween and spooky season has come a lot earlier for some college football programs than others. Nevertheless, a ton of teams are still in the mix for their conference championship games—and Saturday should do wonders for helping us thin the herd.

If you’re only into college football for the heavy hitters, Week 9 isn’t for you. But this Saturday features some of the most intriguing games of the season, including three matchups between Big Ten teams that sit at 5–2. That’s why we’re calling this “Contenders vs. Pretenders Week”—because it’s time to separate the real from what’s fake and a number of the best games to watch this week will help us do that.

Along with the summaries of what to watch in each of this week’s nine best games, Sports Illustrated positions the participants of each matchup as contenders or pretenders—in whatever way makes sense for the time being. Whether that’s relevancy in the conference, an opportunity to play in a league title game or being bona fide CFP or national championship hopefuls, the goals are a little different for each school. Nevertheless, some will contend and some will pretend from here on out this season.

Let’s dive in.

No. 8 Mississippi Rebels (6–1) at No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners (6–1)

Saturday, noon ET, ABC

All due respect to the Big Ten clashes that will come later, but the battles between the SEC’s upper-middle class have deeper ramifications when it comes to what programs might backdoor their way into the playoff. Look no further than the matchup in Norman, Okla., this weekend. This should be the only game Ole Miss isn’t favored in for the rest of the season, but arguments could be made about the Rebels’ lack of quality wins outside of LSU if they lose Saturday. Meanwhile, the Sooners didn’t need John Mateer to do much to polish off South Carolina after a Red River Rivalry loss. That won’t be the case this weekend as Mateer goes toe-to-toe with the dual-threat Trinidad Chambliss. Oklahoma’s defense (first in FBS in yards per play allowed, second in points allowed) will only be able to do so much to contain the Division II transfer, meaning the Sooners will need to put points on the board. Verdict: With these quarterbacks? And Oklahoma’s defense? Contenders.

No. 18 South Florida Bulls (6–1) at Memphis Tigers (6–1)

Saturday, noon ET, ESPN2

If I could deem something as unwatchable, it would’ve been Memphis’s late-game, goal-line execution in last week’s head-scratching loss to a UAB team that had fired its coach the previous week. The Tigers false started three times in their final seven plays, including twice on the Blazers’ 1-yard line and failed to get into the end zone to force overtime. The result gives this week’s game against the Group of 5 front-runner a little less luster, but it’s must-win territory for Memphis. South Florida has been on fire since the Miami loss, winning by 27 points or more in each of the last four games and averaging 57 points while doing so. Adequately channeling last week’s frustration and this week’s desperation should allow Memphis to stay closer than the Bulls’ recent opponents. Verdict: Still both Group of 5 Playoff contenders, but the train is dangerously close to teetering off the tracks for Memphis.

Northwestern Wildcats (5–2) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (5–2)

Saturday, noon ET, FS1

The first of three Big Ten matchups featuring six teams that all pose the question, What should we make of this? Northwestern was the hammer to the nails of DeShaun Foster and James Franklin, delivering losses to both UCLA and Penn State in what proved to be both coaches’ final outings with their schools. But the Wildcats and their ground-heavy approach haven’t actually beaten a Big Ten team with a winning overall record. The Huskers are almost in the same boat with wins over Maryland and Michigan State (who have a combined 1–7 record in the Big Ten) and are fresh off a 24–6 loss at Minnesota. Dylan Raiola was sacked nine times by the Golden Gophers and Nebraska ranks 131st in sacks allowed per game, which doesn’t bode well against a deep Northwestern defensive line that rounded into form with a shutout of Purdue last week. Verdict: Both pretenders unless the winner of this game also takes down USC in their next matchup—for the Huskers on Nov. 1, for the Wildcats on Nov. 7.

No. 11 BYU Cougars (7–0) at Iowa State Cyclones (5–2)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox

The Bachmeier show is required viewing until the Cougars have a tally in the loss column—because this team simply doesn’t know how to lose. BYU was outgained by more than 100 yards by Utah in the Holy War and gave up 226 yards on the ground and still won thanks to a timely interception, plus four fourth-down stops. Still, the Cougars again go into Saturday as underdogs, this time to a reeling Iowa State team. The Cyclones badly needed a bye after one-score road losses to Cincinnati and Colorado, the former of which saw Matt Campbell’s typically stingy defense allow 260 rushing yards. BYU is second in the Big 12 in rushing and 10th nationally, which should give the Cougars the matchup advantage as they look to stay undefeated. Verdict: Still contenders for the Big 12’s automatic bid, but not much past that. For now.

No. 15 Missouri Tigers (6–1) at No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores (6–1)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Both teams pulled out tough games against Auburn, on the road, and LSU, in Nashville, last week. Yes, you read that correctly: Missouri beat Auburn and Vanderbilt beat LSU in the year 2025. Welcome to the new cream of the crop in the SEC. Fun aside, both of these teams are legitimately good, anchored by dynamic quarterbacks and physical run games. As for the actual matchup, it’s all about which defense will be able to contain the two stars: Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia and Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy. Pavia was exceptional against LSU, amassing 246 total yards and three scores. Plus, he seems to thrive off the home crowd energy in Nashville, which should be the place to be in college football come Saturday. Verdict: At-large playoff contenders in the new-look SEC. Just like we all predicted!

Minnesota Golden Gophers (5–2) at Iowa Hawkeyes (5–2)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Minnesota made a statement last week by knocking off then-No. 25 Nebraska in dominant fashion, instilling a bit more confidence than the one-score wins over Rutgers and Purdue had. On the other side, Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since he threw a pair against UMass in Week 3, but it hasn’t caught up with the Hawkeyes yet because of his skill set as a runner. That could prove more challenging against Minnesota’s defense, which has spent ample time in the backfields of opposing teams, racking up 23 sacks (second Big Ten, tied-eighth FBS) and 47 tackles for loss (tied-third Big Ten). Verdict: Still pretenders but don’t count out Iowa. With two losses by five points or less, the issue will be quality wins. If the Hawkeyes could shock Oregon and/or USC on the road, they may be in the playoff conversation.

No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini (5–2) at Washington Huskies (5–2)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

To close out the Big Ten’s Contenders vs. Pretenders Week is a pair of teams that probably fancied themselves having a shot at being the third best program in the league this season. Illinois just can’t keep up with the best of the best, losing by a combined 71 points to the top two teams in the country, Ohio State and Indiana. Washington took an even bigger blow this past weekend when Demond Williams Jr. threw three interceptions and was completely at a loss with Michigan’s defense in a 24–7 defeat. All eyes will be on how Huskies star running back Jonah Coleman (FBS-leading 12 rushing TDs) fares against Illinois’s defense front, which has been much better since the Indiana trouncing. Also keep an eye on two of the best receivers in the Big Ten: the Illini’s Hank Beatty and the Huskies’ Denzel Boston. Verdict: Illinois still has a chance to contend for a playoff bid with a win given the final four games on the schedule. Washington is more of a pretender.

No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies (7–0) at No. 20 LSU Tigers (5–2)

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC

The Aggies have played with fire a number of times this season, but starting off a three-game road trip by eking out Arkansas was perhaps the biggest cause for concern yet. In fairness, Texas A&M was up 10 with less than a minute to go, so this game wasn’t as close as the final score suggested. Even still, giving up 527 yards to the 2–5 Razorbacks was a new low. Awaiting this week is a trip to Baton Rouge, where Brian Kelly’s Tigers are teetering on the cliff of another disappointing season. The offense, which was expected to be much better with draft hopeful Garrett Nussmeier behind center, has come up well short of expectations and ranks 12th in the SEC in both yards per game and scoring. Even worse, the Tigers are 15th in the league when it comes to running the ball. The season-opening win over Clemson feels like a long time ago and Kelly could greatly help himself with an upset this weekend. Verdict: At this point, A&M is a contender. LSU … not so much.

Houston Cougars (6–1) at No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils (5–2)

Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2

To close out a day that isn’t top heavy, but has intriguing matchups up and down the slate, is the latest battle between Big 12 programs trying to gain an upper hand. Arizona State is back on track with a healthier Sam Leavitt having handed Texas Tech its first loss a week after losing by 32 at Utah. The Sun Devils no longer control their own destiny with Cincinnati and BYU a game ahead, but count out the toughness of Leavitt and the steady hand of Kenny Dillingham at your own peril. At Houston, the Willie Fritz turnaround feels real, even if the Cougars were pushed to the limit at home against Arizona last Saturday. The Cougs also have a pair of skill players to match ASU’s Raleek Brown–Jordyn Tyson duo with Amare Thomas, one of college football’s best deep threats, and Dean Connors, a hard-nosed running back. Verdict: This game is pivotal with the winner staying in the Big 12 mix and the loser likely going full pretender.