College Football Playoff picks after Week 9
With the first College Football Playoff rankings to be released on Tuesday, Week 9‘s games were the last chance for some teams to make their cases to be included in the top four of the committee’s initial rankings.
The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida State Seminoles did so in resounding fashion. Behind 388 total yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Jordan Travis, FSU crushed the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 41-16. In Jacksonville for the annual rivalry with the Florida Gators, UGA also easily took care of business. In the 43-20 win, the Bulldogs didn’t seem to miss star tight end Brock Bowers, who was out with an ankle injury. Eight different Georgia players caught passes and the running game piled up 171 yards.
The Oklahoma Sooners — the last undefeated team in the Big 12 — fell. After leading the Kansas Jayhawks 21-17 at halftime, OU’s defense fell apart in the second half. First, KU quarterback Jason Bean ripped off a 38-yard touchdown run, then the Jayhawks mounted touchdown drives of 65 and 80 yards to finish off the upset. It was Kansas’ first win in the series since 1997.
The other two remaining undefeated Power 5 teams — the Washington Huskies and Ohio State Buckeyes — survived road games. Ohio State again won a low-scoring slugfest, beating the Wisconsin Badgers 24-10. The Huskies, coming off a scare against the Arizona State Sun Devils last week, traded big plays with the Stanford Cardinal before holding on to win 42-33. Huskies quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix Jr. threw a late interception that wasn’t costly and finished with 369 yards passing and four touchdowns.
Next week, Georgia could get a test from Missouri, while Washington is on the road again, this time to face the USC Trojans.
With all that in mind, here’s a look at how our ESPN college football writers ranked their top four this week.
Andrea Adelson: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Ohio State
Blake Baumgartner: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Bill Connelly: 1. Michigan 2. Georgia 3. Ohio State 4. Florida State
Heather Dinich: 1. Ohio State 2. Florida State 3. Georgia 4. Washington
David Hale: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Ohio State
Chris Low: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Ohio State 4. Florida State
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Ohio State 4. Florida State
Ryan McGee: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Washington 4. Florida State
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Alex Scarborough: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Washington 4. Florida State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Dave Wilson: 1. Michigan 2. Georgia 3. Ohio State 4. Florida State
