College football Week 9 overreactions: Texas A&M is nation’s best team, Iowa has CFP hopes and Auburn should still fire Hugh Freeze

This writer, admittedly, had his doubts about No. 3 Texas A&M amid its 7-0 start to the 2025 season. That record did include a gritty road win against No. 12 Notre Dame, but the rest of A&M’s résumé left a lot to be desired and the Aggies struggled against a pair of bad teams in Auburn and Arkansas. 

Consider this my official apology for ever doubting this version of Texas A&M. The Aggies look like the best team in college football. 

Week 9 was a coming out party, of sorts, for Mike Elko’s squad. The Aggies marched into LSU‘s Tiger Stadium at night and stomped all over one of college football’s venerated venues in a 49-25. 

It was even less competitive than the final score may indicate. LSU scored an entirely useless — and somewhat sad — touchdown with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter. Those were the only points that the Tigers put on the board over the final 30 minutes of action after holding an 18-14 lead at halftime. 

The defense bounced back from its poor showing against Arkansas by holding LSU under 300 total yards, including just 60 yards rushing. That pass rush, led by star EDGE Cashius Howell, is ferocious. 

Offensively, quarterback Marcel Reed made a couple of mistakes, but he’s also got the playmaking ability to make up for any interceptions. It helps when he’s throwing to an absolutely stacked receiving corps. 

Studs like Ashton Bethel-Roman, KC Concepcion and Mario Craver are making highlight-worthy plays on a routine basis. If the defense performs like it did Saturday — and it has for most the season, outside those stinkers against Notre Dame and Arkansas — than Texas A&M is the most complete team in the country. 

Put the Battered Aggie Syndrome aside, A&M fans. Elko’s quickly built one of the best teams in school history. Now forming in College Station: A bonafide national title contender. 

Auburn shouldn’t kick the can down the road 

The general consensus is that Auburn coach Hugh Freeze bought himself at least another week by surviving a Week 9 road scare against a bad Arkansas team. Here’s some advice, Auburn: don’t. 

We all know where this is headed. It’s inevitable. Before Saturday’s win, Freeze led the Tigers to a third-straight 0-4 start to SEC play. That’s never happened in Auburn’s history. He’s on track to be the first Auburn coach since 1950 to go three consecutive seasons with a losing record against conference opponents. 

This isn’t going to get better. No one that’s actually watched Auburn this year thinks that. The Tigers entered the season with the talent to compete. Freeze has had to time to build his roster. There’s no more excuses. 

Other prominent programs have already made the call. Two SEC schools are dealing with vacancies. Auburn knows it’s going to need a new coach entering 2026. Why lose anymore precious time in vetting options? 

Iowa is a legit CFP team 

Sleep on the Hawkeyes at your own peril. Iowa earned bowl eligibility and improved to 4-1 in Big Ten play with a dominant 41-6 win in Saturday’s Floyd of Rosedale showdown against a solid Minnesota side. 

Yes, Iowa scored 41 points. It reached that mark in just about every way possible. The Hawkeyes had: 

Two quarterback rushes for a touchdown. A 29-yard scoring connection between quarterback Mark Gronowski and wide receiver Reece Vander Zee. A 34-yard pick-six from defensive back Zach Lutmer. A 50-yard punt return touchdown from star specialist/gadget weapon Kaden Wetjen. 

Iowa’s lone conference loss came by five points against Indiana, which ranked No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25. The path to 10-2 is there for the Hawkeyes, and any Big Ten team that reaches 10 wins has a legitimate argument for a spot in a 12-team playoff. 

Especially since Iowa’s 10-2 record would include a win against No. 6 Oregon. The Ducks haven’t looked entirely convincing this season and Iowa gets that game at home in two weeks. It will be a huge test, but the Hawkeyes look capable of producing a stunner. 

Malachi Toney is the best playmaker in the nation 

There are better pure wide receivers in college football, though Toney has the capability to reach All-American heights at the position. But few players are having as big of an impact on their team in as many ways as Toney is for the ninth-ranked Hurricanes. For a nod that would make Michael Irvin proud, let’s tab Toney as college football’s best pound-for-pound playmaker. 

Toney reclassified from the 2026 to the 2025 class, which would usually put him up against a learning curve. But from Day 1 he’s looked like quarterback Carson Beck‘s favorite target as a true freshman, which is an impressive feat in its own right. He’s also emerging as one of college football’s best return specialists. 

Toney is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball. He had five catches for 52 yards in Miami‘s Week 8 win against Syracuse, which marked his fifth game with at least 50 yards receiving this season. He also had 73 punt return yards and would have housed a punt were it not for his own teammate getting in the way. 

What a find he was by Miami’s coaching staff. He’s brought some serious juice to the Hurricanes. It’s scary to imagine what his ceiling will be as his continues to grow and adjust to the collegiate level. 

Pitt’s Mason Heintschel will be a household name 

It’s a big year for freshmen in the ACC. Pittsburgh is, quietly, 6-2 after winning its fourth game in a row in Week 8 against NC State. The catalyst for this midseason run? 

Handing the offense to true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel, who has more than rewarded his coaching staff’s faith in him. He set a program freshman single-game record with 423 yards passing against the Wolfpack. He also produced three touchdowns with his arm and took care of the ball while avoiding turnovers. 

Heintschel is now up to 1,207 yards and nine touchdowns passing in just four starts. He’s reached at least 300 yards passing in all but one of those starts. 

Impress your football friends by mentioning Heintschel’s name now. He’s not going to be a secret for much longer. 

How’d we do in our pre-week overreax predictions?

Before the week began, we rolled out a new twist on this feature where we predicted what the college football world at-large would be buzzing about come Sunday. Here’s what we guessed, and how we did:

Vanderbilt will win vs. Mizzou and continue march to Atlanta for SEC Championship: A gutty win wasn’t sexy but Vanderbilt got it done and even covered. A trip to Atlanta will depend on how the top of the SEC shakes out the next month. One-loss Vandy is currently slated to make the College Football Playoff. A road trip to Austin vs. the Longhorns looms. Ty Simpson will pull ahead in Heisman Trophy race: Alabama escaped South Carolina with a win, Simpson continued to deliver glittery moments on the national stage and he’s got the second-shortest odds to win the Heisman at +330, behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who lit UCLA up. This is Brian Kelly’s last year: Well, we already touched on LSU’s disgrace of a Saturday night showing in Baton Rouge. The writing is on the wall. Nobody looks happy. We’re in for another ‘Black Sunday’: We shall see, but Auburn’s Hugh Freeze won and Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith held up well at home against rival Michigan in an 11-point loss. Wisconsin lost 21-7 at No. 6 Oregon, which may not be an embarrassing enough result for the Badgers to pull the plug on Luke Fickell after issuing a vote of confidence.