Six saddest college football fan bases after Week 9

Louisiana State Tigers head coach Brian Kelly during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium. Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Week 9 became the point of no return for some teams across college football -- the tipping point where season goals officially moved out of reach.

And it also proved to be the point of no return for one high-profile coach.

There's no mystery who that is, so let's get right into it. These are the six fan bases feeling the worst this weekend.

1. LSU

The "Fire Kelly" chants broke out as LSU blew a four-point halftime lead and let No. 3-ranked Texas A&M reel off 35 straight points Saturday night.

The 49-25 loss at home is the punctuation mark on coach Brian Kelly's tenure with the Tigers, with LSU firing Kelly on Sunday.

Breaking: LSU head coach Brian Kelly was informed of the school's intention to dismiss him from his position today, per @PeteThamel.

The school is expected to inform the team of this development tonight. Talks about the terms of his departure are expected to continue. pic.twitter.com/ReK3xExK5q

— ESPN (@espn) October 27, 2025

With their fate this season now sealed, the Tigers missed the playoffs in all four seasons since the program made the splash hire to lure Kelly away from Notre Dame.

LSU (5-3, 2-3 SEC) is also now completely out of the rankings after losing three of its last four games. Things may only get worse for the Tigers, as No. 4 Alabama is next on the schedule.

Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) against the Houston Cougars in the second half at Mountain America Stadium. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

2. Arizona State

Arizona State was one of the great stories in college football last season as it made an unexpected run to the Big 12 championship and a CFP berth.

If the Sun Devils wanted to repeat those feats, they needed to win out, and it looked at least feasible with no ranked opponents on the remaining schedule.

But those hopes ended Saturday as Arizona State was stifled in a 24-16 loss to Houston. The Sun Devils were shut out for three quarters and already trailed 24-0 before getting on the scoreboard for the first time. Quarterback Sam Leavitt was in and out of the game with an injury, which didn't help.

Houston deservedly moved into the rankings for the first time all season with the win, slotting in at No. 22 in the AP poll with a 7-1 record.

The Sun Devils, meanwhile, dropped to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12 race, which still has four teams with 0 or 1 conference losses and a two-loss Utah team that holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over them. There will be no playoff return for Arizona State this year.

South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh looks on during the second quarter against the Memphis Tigers at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

3. South Florida

South Florida entered the weekend controlling its path to the CFP berth reserved for the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion, but a 34-31 loss at Memphis means the Bulls are going to need some help the rest of the way.

South Florida (6-2, 3-1) is now out of the AP Top 25 poll and behind Navy (7-0, 5-0), Tulane (6-1, 3-0) and Memphis (7-1, 3-1), by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker, in the AAC standings.

Navy has a daunting remaining schedule, still having to play North Texas, the Bulls and Memphis in conference, so the Midshipmen could certainly fall off. Tulane has to play Memphis, too.

So it's possible the Tigers drop another game, or Navy drops two, but the path to the playoffs would have been a lot easier for the Bulls if they didn't blow a 31-17 fourth-quarter lead Saturday.

Memphis scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but South Florida had a chance to tie it late. Getting the ball with 1:07 left, the Bulls drove all the way to the Memphis 24 to position for a potential game-tying field goal. But first opting to take one more shot at the end zone, they were flagged for holding, moving the ball back 10 yards for a 52-yard field goal try that failed.

It was a brutal penalty that could potentially cost South Florida a playoff spot when all is said and done.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables shouts during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Ole Miss Rebels at Gaylord Family Ð Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. Ole Miss won 34-26. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

4. Oklahoma

Let's be realistic -- it was unlikely Oklahoma was going to make it through this final five-game stretch unscathed with ranked Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri all in a row and then LSU to close it out.

But the opportunity was at least there for the Sooners to control their own destiny. A 34-26 loss at home to Ole Miss changes the equation considerably.

Oklahoma could still play its way into the playoff, sure, but that will require winning out and beating Alabama on the road.

The bigger problem for Sooners fans after Saturday night is finding the confidence in coach Brent Venables to be able to do that.

With a few notable exceptions, Venables hasn't fared overall well in big games during his four years leading the program -- including the ugly 23-6 loss to Texas earlier this month. He's 2-5 vs. ranked opponents over the last two seasons (and the Texas loss is not on that tally as the Longhorns were unranked at the time), so the likelihood of Oklahoma reeling off three such wins in a row seems low.

The now-No. 18-ranked Sooners came into Saturday as one of the top defenses in the country -- tops in fewest yards allowed and second in points allowed -- and hadn't let any team score more than 23. But the Rebels piled up 431 yards and those 34 points, including 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, to seize the game.

Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee on the sidelines earlier this season. Credit: Ken Ruinard-GREENVILLE NEWS-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Ken Ruinard-GREENVILLE NEWS-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

5. SMU

SMU won 11 games each of the last two seasons and reached the CFP last year, and the Mustangs had every reason to expect to build on that momentum this year.

But they're now 5-3 after a 13-12 loss at Wake Forest and looking at a congested path in the ACC race.

The Mustangs have only one ACC loss, so they're not out of it, but so do four other teams, while Georgia Tech and Virginia remain unbeaten in the conference.

SMU led 12-10 late in the fourth quarter and looked to have potentially sealed the game when Wake Forest fumbled at the Mustangs' 6 with less than 2 minutes to play. But SMU went three-and-out and gave the Demon Deacons one last shot at their own 42 with 12 seconds left. Improbably, Wake Forest completed a 25-yard pass to the SMU 33, spiked the ball to stop the clock and got a 50-yard Connor Calvert field goal as time expired to win it.

SMU punted within four plays on each of its final three drives, leaving the door wide open for Wake Forest to take the game as it did. The Mustangs had won 20 straight regular-season conference games going back to their time in the ACC before this loss.

North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick reacts against the California Golden Bears in the first quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

6. North Carolina

North Carolina fans must feel like they just can't catch a break in what continues to be a maddening season in Bill Belichick's first year at the helm.

After having a go-ahead touchdown vs. Cal negated when the receiver fumbled just before the goal line in an eventual 21-18 loss last week, this time the Tar Heels took a ranked Virginia team to overtime, only to lose on a failed two-point conversion.

The Cavaliers started overtime with a touchdown and extra point, North Carolina answered with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Gio Lopez to Davion Gause, and Belichick elected to try for the win rather than the tie. Ben Hall caught a pass in the flat but was stopped short of the end zone on the two-point try as Virginia prevailed, 17-16.

“I would've kicked it. ... But hey, he's won a lot of football games,” Cavaliers coach Tony Elliottt said.

Ouch.

The Tar Heels are 2-5 overall without a win over a power conference opponent this season after a second straight painful finish.