{"id":18924,"date":"2025-10-24T07:08:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T07:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/18924\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T07:08:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T07:08:18","slug":"college-football-week-9-oddly-specific-predictions-lsu-hands-texas-am-first-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/18924\/","title":{"rendered":"College Football Week 9 oddly specific predictions: LSU hands Texas A&M first loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

As conference races tighten and the battle to make the College Football Playoff gets more interesting, we\u2019re down to six unbeaten teams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana and No. 3 Texas A&M were all ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll, but No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 11 BYU and unranked Navy were not.<\/p>\n

Finishing a regular season undefeated isn\u2019t as easy as it used to be. But if we had to handicap it, Indiana has the best odds to accomplish the feat. The Hoosiers face only one team that currently has a winning record, Maryland, down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Navy has two ranked opponents and two other 6-1 teams left on its schedule.<\/p>\n

Texas A&M faces three ranked teams over its final five games.<\/p>\n

Georgia Tech plays two ACC teams with winning records, including red-hot Pittsburgh at home, and rival Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.<\/p>\n

Every Big 12 team remaining on BYU\u2019s schedule currently has a winning record, and two, Texas Tech and Cincinnati, are ranked opponents the Cougars will play on the road.<\/p>\n

Ohio State plays its next four games against teams with losing records \u2014 Penn State, Purdue, UCLA and Rutgers \u2014 but finishes its season at Michigan, which has beaten the Buckeyes four times in a row.<\/p>\n

Here at Oddly Specific, we\u2019re just fighting to finish over .500 and make it to a bowl game. Last week, we went 5-4 picking straight-up winners \u2014 including our first upset special in a month (thanks, BYU) \u2014 to improve to 44-29 for the season.<\/p>\n

We start our Week 9 selections with our stat-stuffer picks.<\/p>\n

Most passing yards<\/p>\n

Cincinnati\u2019s Brendan Sorsby is quietly having one of the best seasons by a quarterback in the country. He\u2019s thrown 18 touchdowns and only one interception and ranks sixth in passing efficiency while also ranking as a top-25 rusher at his position. Baylor\u2019s Sawyer Robertson doesn\u2019t run it. He throws it a lot and faces a Cincinnati passing defense that ranks 13th in the Big 12. Robertson puts up 350-plus passing yards, but the 21st-ranked Bearcats win and cover the 5.5-point spread.<\/p>\n

Most rushing yards<\/p>\n

Navy\u2019s Blake Horvath, Air Force\u2019s Liam Szarka and Georgia Tech\u2019s Haynes King are the three quarterbacks with four 100-yard rushing games this season. Horvath\u2019s 106.7 yards per game ranks eighth nationally. This week, Navy is a 15.5-point favorite at home against Florida Atlantic, which ranks 111th against the run. I\u2019m counting on Horvath to put up lots of rushing yards (200-plus) in a win \u2014 but I do think the Owls will keep it interesting.<\/p>\n

Most receiving yards<\/p>\n

Illinois\u2019 Hank Beatty is one of 22 players with three 100-yard receiving games this season. He ranks 12th in receiving yards per game (88.1) and fifth in yards after the catch (328), per TruMedia. Beatty will once again be the main target for Luke Altmyer on Saturday when the Illini play as 4.5-point underdogs at Washington, which ranks 91st in passing defense. Beatty finishes with 190-plus receiving yards and one touchdown, but Washington ekes out a 3-point win.<\/p>\n

What can\u2019t Hank Beatty do?!<\/p>\n

Since at least 1995, Beatty is ONLY the second Big Ten player to have a pass, rush, receiving AND punt return TD in a single season (Steve Breaston, 2003).<\/p>\n

Hank Beatty, a jack of all trades. pic.twitter.com\/n4rE8kNauP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) September 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Five big gamesNo. 8 Ole Miss at No. 13 Oklahoma (-5.5)<\/p>\n

Lane Kiffin credited Brent Venables and the Sooners this week<\/a> for being really good at studying opponents\u2019 play signals. Oklahoma\u2019s defense leads the country in sacks, pressure rate and fewest yards allowed per play and ranks fifth in pass efficiency defense. As good as that is, Oklahoma lost to Texas two weeks ago because John Mateer and the offense turned it over three times and couldn\u2019t score. Good news for Venables: Ole Miss ranks 12th in the SEC in scoring defense and is nearly as bad in turnover margin (minus-4) as his Sooners (minus-5). Mateer (300-plus total yards, two TDs) outduels Trinidad Chambliss (280-plus yards, one TD, two turnovers), and Oklahoma stays in the SEC title race with a 4-point win.<\/p>\n

No. 18 South Florida (-3.5) at Memphis<\/p>\n

This game lost some steam when UAB knocked Memphis out of the AP rankings Sunday, but the Tigers still have a chance to stay in the American Conference race. Alex Golesh\u2019s Bulls are the highest-ranked Group of 5 team and are averaging 49.8 points per game against non-Power 4 schools. With Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis banged up, USF QB Byrum Brown (320-plus yards total offense, three TDs) leads the Bulls to a two-score victory.<\/p>\n

No. 15 Missouri at No. 10 Vanderbilt (-2.5)<\/p>\n

How much has college football evolved? The Commodores have gone from ultimate underdog to favorites in back-to-back weeks at home against ranked opponents. Missouri, though, is much better offensively than the LSU team Vanderbilt beat last week. The Tigers are pretty good at running the ball and stopping the run \u2014 also strengths of Vanderbilt. The difference is that Diego Pavia (15th in passing efficiency) is better than Beau Pribula (51st). Pavia accounts for three scores, and Vandebilt covers the spread at home.<\/p>\n

No. 11 BYU at Iowa State (-2.5)<\/p>\n

After four consecutive misses with the upset alert selections, BYU made me a winner last week by taking care of business at home against Utah. This week, Kalani Sitake\u2019s Cougars are underdogs again. Iowa State, meanwhile, has dropped two in a row and needs a win to stay in the Big 12 race. The Cyclones are 5-0 all-time against BYU and are coming off a bye week. The issue is that Iowa State\u2019s run defense is very mediocre. LJ Martin (120-plus rushing yards, two TDs) is the difference as BYU pulls off another upset.<\/p>\n

Houston at No. 24 Arizona State (-7.5)<\/p>\n

BYU and Cincinnati are 4-0 in the Big 12, while Houston and Arizona State are two of the three Big 12 teams sitting at 3-1 in league play. The Sun Devils \u2014 the defending Big 12 champs \u2014 are coming off a top-10 win at home over Texas Tech. Houston\u2019s most impressive win to this point? Arizona, which ranks 56th in Chris Vannini\u2019s 136 ranking<\/a>. The Sun Devils win at home behind two Sam Leavitt touchdown passes.<\/p>\n

Including the Big 12 Championship, the Sun Devils have won 11 consecutive games versus Big 12 opponents when Sam Leavitt starts. <\/p>\n

The longest active streak among ALL Power Four quarterbacks. pic.twitter.com\/T4Jy0B7vGt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Erik Ruby (@ErikRuby) October 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Upset alertNo. 3 Texas A&M (-2.5) at No. 20 LSU<\/p>\n

The Aggies have won four straight over LSU in College Station but have lost six straight in Baton Rouge, with the last win coming in 1994. Yet, Mike Elko\u2019s team enters as a road favorite in large part because he has one of the most potent offenses in college football. LSU, on the other hand, relies too much on quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and hasn\u2019t scored more than 24 points against an FBS opponent in 2025. Here\u2019s the reality: Brian Kelly (5-10 versus ranked opponents at LSU) needs this game badly. It\u2019s not easy to win in Death Valley at night (LSU is 10-8 at home as an underdog since 2010). Nussmeier throws a late touchdown pass to hand the Aggies their first loss.<\/p>\n

Reader predictions<\/p>\n

Thanks for contributing to the fun and calling your shots again last week.<\/p>\n

The hits \u2026<\/p>\n

Nate J.: \u201cJeff Brohm leads the Cards to a 3-point win on the road to stun Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evan: \u201cIndiana wins. Fernando Mendoza throws four TDs. Cignetti doesn\u2019t smile once.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cory: \u201cMatt Rhule and Nebraska\u2019s stay in the top 25 doesn\u2019t last long after losing to Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kyle G: \u201cOregon travels across the country and takes out a week\u2019s worth of frustration on Rutgers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack A.: \u201cStanford over Florida State in overtime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The misses \u2026<\/p>\n

Darnell Thomas: \u201cMemphis wins again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff: \u201cTaylen Green has over 350 total yards, and Arkansas upsets Texas A&M. Bobby Petrino rides his motorcycle Sunday morning to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brent P: \u201cJojo Trader finally sees the field and makes a big catch or two in a Miami 31-17 win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ike: \u201cUSC knocks Notre Dame out of the playoff conversation as the Irish secondary from the first two games shows up, and Jayden Maiava throws for 300-plus yards and three scores.\u201d<\/p>\n

T.E.: \u201cGeorgia gets beat by 10-plus points in Kirby Smart\u2019s worst home loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett: \u201cWashington\u2019s rushing attack helps it past a struggling Michigan defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter S.: \u201cLSU\u2019s offense FINALLY wakes up as Nuss throws for 300 and three touchdowns in a 34-17 win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Week 8 report card<\/p>\n

The good: Favored Notre Dame, Alabama and Georgia all won at home against ranked opponents \u2014 just as I predicted.<\/p>\n

The bad: I didn\u2019t believe in Pavia and Vanderbilt at home against LSU, and I said Miami would have its hands full against Louisville but would survive \u2014 thus missing the most notable upset of the week.<\/p>\n

Just missed: I finally came close to hitting my first stat-stuffer of the season by correctly forecasting Dylan Riley and Boise State to knock UNLV from the list of unbeatens, but Notre Dame\u2019s Jeremiyah Love (228 yards vs. USC) upstaged Riley, who finished third in rushing for the week with 201 yards.<\/p>\n