Feel that waft in the air? Top ten teams losing on the road, others dominating their conference opponents as if they were FCS West, and a slow march to another Alabama-Clemson National Championship Game. It’s late October football, baby.

Let’s get into the winners and losers from Week 9.

Winners 

No. 1 LSU Tigers

Another week, another marquee victory for the LSU Tigers. And now they find themselves atop the AP Poll.

While it was definitely their ugliest win of the season, they still found a way to get the job done, with a home win 9th ranked Auburn Tigers 23-20. 

One of the keys to LSU’s win was its balance on offense; Heisman front-runner Joe Burrow completed 32 of his 42 passes for 321 yards, with and a touchdown through the air and another on the ground. Burrow did a great job of spreading the ball around too – four different players had at least seven catches. 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire also had a huge day, rushing with 26 carries for 136 yards and one touchdown. 

The defense stepped up, holding Auburn to just 287 total yards and forced two turnovers.

Their matchup against Alabama on Nov 9 is looking to be a classic – as all their matchups look to be before the Crimson Tide steamroll LSU over and over again.

No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes

Facing their biggest test of the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes ran away with the game in the second half to dispatch the Wisconsin Badgers 38-7. 

JK Dobbins had a huge day on the ground rushing for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. 

Ohio State’s defense continued to prove that they’re one of the best units in the nation, holding the Badgers to just 191 yards of total offense. Had Wisconsin not blocked a punt early in the second half to set up their only touchdown of the game, they would have been shut out. 

At the forefront of this dominant Buckeye defense is Chase Young, who had four sacks in the game to add to his season total of 13.5, which already surpasses his 2018 campaign. Young has the best case for a defensive player to win the Heisman in a long time.

No. 14 Michigan Wolverines

After the way that Michigan got destroyed by Wisconsin coming off of a bye week, they turned the tables on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, dominating them 45-14.

The win was the Wolverine’s first signature win of the season. 

With the game appearing to look like it was played in the middle of monsoon for extended periods of time, the Wolverines ran the ball down Notre Dame’s throat, rushing for 303 yards. 

Michigan’s defense also stepped up, keeping the Fighting Irish to under 200 yards of total offense. 

It was the biggest win of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure, as the embattled coach looks to make a case that he belongs in Ann Arbor.

Losers

No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners 

The Oklahoma defense that we’re used to seeing showed up in their 48-41 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats. 

The Sooner defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed, as the Wildcats were able to do whatever they wanted on the ground, rushing for 213 yards and six touchdowns. 

Yet despite being down by as many as 25 points early in the fourth quarter, Jalen Hurts brought the team within a touchdown with under two minutes to go but a failed onside kick attempt sealed their fate. 

Now with the loss to Kansas State, the floodgates have opened for a one-loss SEC a one-loss team to get into the playoff. Oklahoma needs to run the table and hope that the other conferences eat themselves.

Texas Longhorns

Another team who claimed that they’re back and another instance where it appears as though that was a lie. 

The Texas Longhorns have been in a downward spiral since their loss to Oklahoma and that continued with their 37-27 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs. 

Sam Ehlinger had his worst start of the season, throwing four interceptions. 

Even with their win over Kansas, it was a back-and-forth game where they needed a last-second field goal to win 50-48. 

Who would’ve thought the Baylor Bears would be the last undefeated team in the Big 12. 

Arizona State Sun Devils

It’s one thing to get blown out by the Utah Utes. It’s a completely different thing to get blown out by the UCLA Bruins. 

The Sun Devils were down 42-10 after three quarters before scoring 22 in the fourth when the game was already out of hand. 

The Bruins ran the ball at will, with Joshua Kelley scoring four touchdowns and for 164 of UCLA’s 217 yards on the ground. 

After a great start to the season, Arizona State will find themselves on the outside looking in again when the Pac 12 title game takes place.

Looking ahead

The World’s Largest Cocktail Party: No. 6 Florida Gators vs No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs

For the second straight year, one of the best rivalry games in college football will dictate who represents the SEC East in the SEC championship game. 

The Gators and Bulldogs appear to be trending in opposite directions with Florida giving LSU one of their toughest games of the season and they just beat South Carolina who upset Georgia just one week earlier. The Bulldogs have struggled to find a passing game with Jake Fromm throwing for just 35 yards against Kentucky. 

Then again, Florida looked to be on the upswing last year before Georgia dominated them in Jacksonville 36–17. 

No. 15 SMU Mustangs vs No. 24 Memphis Tigers

The AAC East seemed to get decided when Cincinnati beat UCF 27-24, and the winner of the SMU vs. the Memphis will likely determine the AAC West. 

The Tigers just barely squeaked by Tulsa 42-41 and the Mustangs did the same with their 34-31 win over Houston. 

Expect points and lots of them with two top ten offenses in scoring going at it in Memphis.