Week 9’s high 10 school soccer video games: An SEC showdown for first place, upset alerts and extra

It’s a compelling slate of video games this weekend, together with 5 ranked matchups, 4 of which characteristic double-digit spreads. (Any probability the favorites cowl — and even win — all of these?) Plus a Friday evening bout that would decide the Group of 5 staff within the Faculty Soccer Playoff, in addition to an undefeated staff with out its star quarterback and one other undefeated staff that could be a street underdog to an unranked opponent. And Coach Prime in #Big12AfterDark. Spooky season, certainly.

Let’s rank the highest 10 video games of Week 9, beginning with honorable mentions and counting down.

Honorable Point out: Louisville at Boston Faculty (Fri.), Nebraska at No. 4 Ohio State, Oklahoma at No. 18 Ole Miss, Tulane at North Texas, Texas Tech at TCU, Oregon State at Cal, Michigan State at Michigan, Kansas at Kansas State, No. 22 SMU at Duke.

(All level spreads come from BetMGM; click on right here for stay odds. Stream school soccer on fubo. All kickoff instances are Jap and on Saturday until in any other case famous.)

Hoosier Hysteria has taken maintain of school soccer. Per week after getting the “Massive Midday” therapy from Fox, ESPN’s “Faculty GameDay” heads to Bloomington. Indiana is likely one of the finest tales of the season, however this recreation cracks the record largely as a result of the Hoosiers are beginning Tayven Jackson rather than star quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who’s out with a thumb harm. Rourke has been spectacular — first within the FBS in QB score, second in yards per try, high 15 in yards and touchdowns — although Indiana has seemed adequate to outlive with out him in opposition to Washington, which received smoked by Iowa previous to its bye.

Line: Indiana -6.5

9. No. 17 Boise State (5-1) at UNLV (6-1), Fri., 10:30 p.m., Fubo, CBS Sports activities Community

Operating again Ashton Jeanty has turn out to be a phenom in Boise and past because the Broncos try to trip these 9.9-yards-per-carry coattails to the Mountain West title and a Playoff spot. However the Rebels, with an offense that can also be placing up gaudy numbers, have the identical aspirations and expect a file house crowd at Allegiant Stadium.

Line: Boise State -3.5

8. No. 20 Illinois (6-1) at No. 1 Oregon (7-0), 3:30 p.m., Fubo, CBS

Illinois has crushed three opponents that had been ranked on the time the Illini confronted them (Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan) with a sound strategy on offense and protection. The one time it faltered was a 21-7 loss at Penn State, which is one motive why the unfold at Oregon is so excessive. One other is the Geese following up their large win over Ohio State with a 35-0 street shutout in opposition to Purdue on a brief week. Oregon will attempt to keep away from changing into the fourth staff this season to drop from the No. 1 spot within the AP High 25.

Line: Oregon -21.5

7. Cincinnati (5-2) at Colorado (5-2), 10:15 p.m., Fubo, ESPN

This ought to be a enjoyable quarterback matchup between a pair of unlikely Massive 12 contenders. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is a recognized commodity on all of the commercials and NFL Draft boards, and Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby is likely one of the extra impactful, under-the-radar transfers of the season. Each gamers rank high 15 within the FBS in passing yards and are averaging higher than 8 yards per cross try. The Bearcats are improved in coach Scott Satterfield’s second season, and that is the perfect stretch the Buffs have had underneath Deion Sanders.

Line: Colorado -6.5

6. No. 21 Missouri (6-1) at No. 15 Alabama (5-2), 3:30 p.m., Fubo, ABC

Fairly the script for Missouri final week, with quarterback Brady Prepare dinner leaving the sport in opposition to Auburn, getting taken to a close-by hospital for an MRI after which returning to the sport within the second half to guide a double-digit comeback. Prepare dinner is uncertain to play Saturday, which knocks this one down a number of pegs, however the principle storylines are nonetheless all about Alabama. Finebaum callers are circling after the 24-17 street loss to Tennessee, Bama’s second defeat in three video games. The Tide haven’t misplaced three regular-season video games since 2010, and haven’t misplaced back-to-back regular-season video games since 2007, Nick Saban’s first 12 months on the helm. This 12 months’s model of Alabama nonetheless has SEC and CFP hopes to play for, however one other loss will change that.

Line: Alabama -16.5

5. No. 11 BYU (7-0) at UCF (3-4), 3:30 p.m., Fubo, ESPN

BYU is unbeaten and on the doorstep of the highest 10, coming off an unbelievable last-second comeback over Oklahoma State. But UCF, which has dropped 4 in a row, is a slim favourite on this one. BYU does need to journey two time zones, and the Knights seemingly had Iowa State cornered final Saturday, dashing for 354 yards behind operating again RJ Harvey and new beginning quarterback Jacurri Brown. However UCF has struggled to shut out video games, and BYU’s protection has been stellar underneath head coach Kalani Sitake and defensive coordinator Jay Hill. The system for the Cougars will probably be to maintain UCF’s floor recreation in examine — simpler stated than executed — get a lead and power the Knights to throw the ball.

Line: UCF -2.5

4. No. 5 Texas (6-1) at No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2), 4:15 p.m., Fubo, SEC Community

Think about predicting this as a ranked matchup within the preseason. It not qualifies as a get-right recreation for the Longhorns, and after getting momentarily benched in opposition to Georgia, Quinn Ewers could have added scrutiny as he makes an attempt to quiet the quarterback controversy. Vandy tends to surrender yards on protection, however its plus-six turnover differential is tops within the SEC and it held Kentucky and Ball State underneath 15 factors a chunk the previous two video games. Past the massive win in opposition to Bama, Vanderbilt has additionally taken Missouri to double-OT and bested Virginia Tech and UK. Quarterback Diego Pavia has already confirmed he could cause issues in opposition to extra proficient competitors.

Line: Texas -18.5

3. No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) vs No. 24 Navy (6-0), Midday, Fubo, ABC

This ought to be nearer than final 12 months’s season-opening 42-3 rout by Notre Dame in Eire. It’s one other neutral-site matchup, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, however this can be a vastly improved Navy squad. The Midshipmen are seventh within the FBS at 7.3 yards per play and boast greater than an choice offense underneath head coach Brian Newberry. Navy has but to play an opponent pretty much as good as Notre Dame, nevertheless it did beat a strong Memphis staff and hasn’t been challenged by anybody else. On the opposite aspect, this similar Irish staff misplaced to Northern Illinois, which ought to give the Mids a shot of confidence to drag off the upset.

Line: Notre Dame -13.5

2. No. 3 Penn State (6-0) at Wisconsin (5-2), 7:30 p.m., Fubo, NBC

All of the Nittany Lions have executed is go unbeaten with a top-15 protection, top-10 offense, a High-25 win over Illinois and a giant comeback over USC on the street. Quarterback Drew Allar is finishing greater than 70 p.c of his throws at higher than 10 yards per try underneath new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Penn State is nice, possibly actually good. But James Franklin’s struggles in large video games nonetheless grasp over this program till confirmed in any other case. (And sadly, Penn State made information for different causes this week.) A win over Wisconsin on Saturday gained’t be sufficient to appease all of the doubters, however the Badgers have quietly discovered a rhythm, successful three straight by a mixed rating of 117-16. None of them got here in opposition to groups of Penn State’s caliber, and the Badgers received smoked final month at house by Alabama. However an improved Wisconsin is an intriguing take a look at for Penn State earlier than Ohio State visits subsequent week.

Line: Penn State -6.5

1. No. 8 LSU (6-1) at No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1), 7:30 p.m., Fubo, ABC

Two groups that misplaced high-profile matchups in Week 1 and have been steadily, stealthily climbing their means again up the rankings. Texas A&M, which needed to take care of an harm to beginning quarterback Conner Weigman earlier within the season, lately thumped Missouri. LSU had a dramatic additional time win in opposition to Ole Miss per week later, and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier leads the SEC in landing passes with 18. Either side have potential recreation wreckers on protection in Nic Scourton for the Aggies and Whit Weeks for LSU, and the latter might find yourself successful the Bednarik Award.

Seen a play like that earlier than@WeeksWhit 🤝 @Mathieu_Era pic.twitter.com/7CcEQrOpTm

— LSU Soccer (@LSUfootball) October 21, 2024

There are zero undefeated groups within the SEC, and these are the one two which are nonetheless unbeaten in convention play. Winner sits on their lonesome atop the league standings; loser joins the legion of one- and two-loss groups in tiebreaker hell.

Line: Texas A&M -1.5

 (Photograph of LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier: Wesley Hitt / Getty Photos)