AP top 25 poll: Week 9 college football games most likely to shake up the rankings

Leave it to the reliable SEC to pick up the slack on a college football slate that is otherwise thin on marquee matchups in Week 9.

Not in the SEC, though, with three clashes of ranked teams highlighting the Saturday schedule.

Let's take a closer look at those games and others most likely to impact the AP top 25 poll by weekend's end.

(All point spreads from ESPNBet)

No. 8 Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC) at No. 13 Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1)

This sets up as a likely elimination game for SEC championship contention, which just speaks to how incredibly competitive the top of the conference is this year.

Ole Miss could be in a prime position with a win, though, as it doesn't have another ranked opponent on the schedule the rest of the way (South Carolina, Citadel, Florida, at Mississippi State).

With Texas A&M and Alabama still unbeaten in SEC play and Georgia a fellow one-loss team with a tiebreaker over Ole Miss from the game last week, the Rebels don't fully control their destiny to the SEC championship game, but they do for the College Football Playoff. If they're 11-1 and ranked squarely in the top 10, they will have a spot in the 12-team postseason field. So this game is absolutely massive for Lane Kiffin's team.

It's no less important for Oklahoma, for those reasons and several more. The Sooners have a brutal closing schedule with five straight currently ranked opponents to finish. After Ole Miss, Oklahoma has road games at No. 17 Tennessee and No. 4 Alabama and home games with No. 15 Missouri and No. 20 LSU in that order.

The Sooners really can't afford to drop this one as 5.5-point favorites at home.

No. 15 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC) at No. 10 Vanderbilt (6-1, 2-1)

Can Vanderbilt make college football's best story even better this week with another ranked win?

Vandy, with its highest ranking since 1947, is looking to follow up its thoroughly impressive 31-24 victory over LSU last week and stay alive in the SEC race.

All the while, QB Diego Pavia will look to further his Heisman Trophy campaign -- which gained a full-on Vandy-led publicity campaign this week. Pavia has 1,569 passing yards, 15 TDs, 4 INTs and 438 rushing yards with 4 scores. But this is a tough matchup as Missouri has the seventh-best rush defense nationally (83.86 yards per game allowed).

Missouri is also very much in the SEC race as well with just the one loss -- both of these teams took their only defeat against Alabama.

The Tigers' Ahmad Hardy leads all FBS players with 840 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

Vanderbilt is a 2.5-point favorite at home.

No. 3 Texas A&M (7-0, 4-0 SEC) at No. 20 LSU (5-2, 2-2)

Texas A&M is one of just six unbeaten teams left in college football, but it's only played one ranked opponent so far, so Saturday will be a real gauge for just how good this Aggies team really is.

LSU has its back to the wall after the loss at Vanderbilt last week, and Brian Kelly may be coaching for his job over these final five games, so if ever there was a time for the Tigers to be at their best, this is it.

The Aggies' signature win came 41-40 at Notre Dame in Week 3, and since then they've beaten Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida and Arkansas, who are a combined 2-12 in SEC play.

Texas A&M will be without starting running back Le'Veon Moss for a second straight game, with Rueben Owens II continuing to fill in (14 carries for 69 yards, 2 TDs; 27 receiving yards last week vs. Arkansas).

Texas A&M is a 2.5-point road favorite.

No. 18 South Florida (6-1, 3-0 AAC) at Memphis (6-1, 2-1)

With the expectation that only one Group of Five team makes it into the 12-team CFP field, this game has huge ramifications.

South Florida is the only non-Power Four team currently ranked and in the driver's seat for that playoff spot if it wins out and claims the AAC championship.

But Memphis was undefeated until a week ago when it took a stunning loss at UAB, and to that point, the Tigers looked like perhaps even challengers with the Bulls in that AAC race. This clash on Saturday will tell the tale clearly.

There are other hurdles still toward a CFP berth as the AAC, as Tulane and Navy remain unbeaten in the conference, and North Texas has been excellent outside of its lopsided loss to South Florida.

But this game is one of the biggest on the remaining AAC slate and should reveal the favorite in the conference race.

Memphis QB Brendon Lewis remains "day to day" after being knocked out of that loss to UAB with a lower-body injury. The Tigers were simply a different team without him, so his status will be key.

South Florida is a 6.5-point favorite, but that line will change if Lewis is inactive.

No. 11 BYU (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (5-2, 2-2)

A month ago, Iowa State was a top 15 team, and BYU had just cracked the rankings at No. 25. A lot has changed since then.

The Cougars have just kept winning, including a significant victory over rival Utah last week, while the Cyclones lost their last two games to Cincinnati and Colorado while beset by injuries.

Iowa State is coming off a bye week that helped with some of those injury concerns -- RB Carson Hansen is probable after missing the last game -- and can't take another loss if it wants any chance at making a run in the Big 12.

BYU needs to guard against letting this become a trap game, sandwiched between the momentous win over Utah and an upcoming clash with Big 12 favorite Texas Tech.

Iowa State is a 2.5-point favorite at home.

No. 23 Illinois (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) at Washington (5-2, 2-2)

Illinois is hanging on by a thread in the rankings after getting blown out in its two toughest games vs. Indiana (63-10) and Ohio State (34-16). Of course, those are the top-two ranked teams in the country so there's that.

But after being ranked in the top 10 earlier this season with high expectations, the Fighting Illini need a strong finish to keep this from being a disappointment after a 10-win breakthrough last year.

And Washington is a real obstacle. The Huskies are a team on the rise again under second-year coach Jedd Fisch and have lost only to Ohio State and Michigan while hanging around the fringe of the rankings.

Illinois QB Luke Altmyer tossed his first interception in that loss to Ohio State, but he's been excellent overall while passing for 1,821 yards and 13 TDs. Washington QB Demond Williams Jr., meanwhile, is coming off his worst game as he tossed 3 picks with no touchdowns in the 24-7 loss to Michigan last week.

Washington is a 3.5-point favorite at home.

Baylor (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) at Cincinnati (6-1, 4-0)

Another potential upset game for a ranked team as Cincinnati looks to extend its six-game winning streak.

Despite the gap between the teams in the Big 12 standings, the Bearcats are just 3.5-point favorites at home because Baylor is plenty capable of pulling the upset.

The Bears took a tough 42-36 loss to TCU last week in a shootout that makes Baylor's path to the Big 12 championship game unlikely, with five teams at 0 or 1 conference losses entering the weekend, but they can nonetheless play spoiler.

Baylor has the 11th-ranked offense in the country at 486.1 yards per game, led by gunslinger Sawyer Robertson, who leads all FBS QBs with 2,376 passing yards and 21 TDs but also has 7 INTS.

Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby has been one of the most efficient and dynamic players in the Big 12, meanwhile, passing for 1,732 yards, 18 TDs and 1 INT with 340 rushing yards and 6 TDs.

This should be a fun matchup and will show just how much of a contender Cincinnati is for a Big 12 title and possible CFP berth.