College Football Week 9 Picks: Rivalries in Spotlight to Close October

Ohio State–Penn State, Kentucky-Tennessee, Georgia-Florida and Michigan–Michigan State all headline the weekend.

As October comes to a close, the stakes in this college football season continue to get higher. This is the last weekend before the first College Football Playoff top-25 rankings are released by the selection committee, which will provide plenty of insight into where individual teams stand in their postseason hopes.

But first, there are more games to be played. The action kicks off Thursday night, when Louisiana travels to Southern Miss in a Sun Belt battle (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and No. 14 Utah heads to Washington State (10 p.m. ET, FS1). 

Saturday’s lineup includes a few marquee battles, plus a couple of big rivalries that seem more one-sided this year on paper. No. 2 Ohio State will face its biggest test yet when it plays No. 13 Penn State in Happy Valley (12 p.m. ET, Fox), while No. 22 Kansas State hosts No. 9 Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox) over in the Big 12. 

The final top-25 clash of the day will be No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), with the Vols getting their first SEC opponent since their upset of Alabama. As for the rivalries, No. 1 Georgia will take on unranked Florida in the annual World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS), while No. 4 Michigan hosts 3–4 Michigan State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) aiming for its first win in the series since 2019.  

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Who will get a win this week and further case to be ranked by the CFP committee? Our picks for 15 key games are below. 

Standings to Date:

Ross Dellenger: 81–40
Richard Johnson: 81–40
Pat Forde: 80–41
Molly Geary: 80–41
John Garcia: 78–43

SI’s straight-up picks for college football Week 9:

Plus, some betting insights from SI Sportsbook: