By Phil Simon

With the 2021 college football season past the midway point conference races are heating up. And there are a number of big games on the Week 9 schedule, especially within the Big Ten Conference where a pair of games featuring four nationally ranked teams will have an impact on the East Division standings. Coastal Carolina was never a threat to reach the college football playoff, but the Chanticleers were a good story. Their storybook undefeated season ended last week and they are the only ranked team playing ahead of Saturday’s packed schedule.

Week 9 Schedule
Thursday, October 28

Troy at (24) Coastal Carolina (-18.5)

South Florida at East Carolina

Friday, October 29

Navy at Tulsa
UNLV at Nevada

Saturday, October 30

(2) Cincinnati at Tulane (+24)

(6) Michigan at (8) Michigan State (+3.5)
Without much fanfare Jim Harbaugh has put together a splendid season with the Wolverines. Michigan takes on its second biggest rival in a matchup of the Big Ten’s only unbeatens with plenty at stake. Michigan and Michigan State are both 7-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play, tied with defending league champ Ohio State. And all three reside in the ultra-competitive East Division. The winner of this game takes a big step toward the division title with both having games against Ohio State in the coming weeks. Rivalry games are always fun, but with so much on the line this matchup should be even better.

(9) Iowa at Wisconsin (-3)

Texas at (16) Baylor (-2)

Miami at (17) Pittsburgh (-11)
With Clemson pretty much out of the picture the ACC title is up for grabs. Behind Kenny Pickett the Pitt Panthers are a solid bet to reach the conference championship game. They are 3-0 in league play and 6-1 SU and ATS overall. The Canes have underachieved this season but showed they still have something to play for with an upset of NC State last week. And they can make things interesting in the conference with another upset on Saturday.

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech
Rutgers at Illinois
Indiana at Maryland
UMass at Liberty
UCF at Temple
Bowling Green at Buffalo
Texas State at Louisiana

(22) Iowa State at West Virginia (+6.5)

North Texas at Rice
Missouri at Vanderbilt

Washington State at Arizona State (-14.5)

Hawai’i at Utah State

(1) Georgia vs. Florida (+15.5)
If any team has a chance to unseat Alabama as national champions it’s Georgia. The Bulldogs have looked every bit the No. 1 ranked team in the country rolling over opponents by an average of nearly 32 points per game. The opening line for this SEC matchup looks inviting for Florida with its offense that averages over 500 yards and 34.4 points. Both teams are coming off a bye and the Gators need to fix their defense that surrendered 49 points in a loss to LSU in their previous game.

Texas Tech at (4) Oklahoma (-18)

Colorado at (7) Oregon (-25)

Florida International at Marshall
Louisiana Tech at Old Dominion
Southern Miss at Middle Tennessee
Florida State at Clemson
Boston College at Syracuse
Minnesota at Northwestern

Purdue at Nebraska (-7)

TCU at Kansas State
UL Monroe at Appalachian State

Duke at (13) Wake Forest (-16.5)

Charlotte at Western Kentucky
Wyoming at San José State
Arkansas State at South Alabama
UTEP at Florida Atlantic
Georgia State at Georgia Southern

(10) Ole Miss at (18) Auburn (-1.5)

(12) Kentucky at Mississippi State (+1)

Kansas at (15) Oklahoma State (-31)

(19) SMU at Houston
Oregon State at California
Arizona at USC (-20.5)
Boise State at Colorado State

(20) Penn State at (5) Ohio State (-17.5)
This game became even more important for Penn State after its upset loss to Illinois in nine overtimes last week. The Nittany Lions have now lost two in a row, but they still have a chance at winning the Big Ten East with games remaining against the three teams that are currently 4-0

North Carolina at (11) Notre Dame (-3.5)

Louisville at NC State

UCLA at Utah (-4.5)

Virginia at (25) BYU (-2.5)

Fresno State at (21) San Diego State (-1)
This could be the biggest game in the Group of Five with first place in the Mountain West Conference’s West Division up for grabs. The Aztecs enter the game unbeaten at 7-0 SU and 5-2 ATS using a punishing ground game and stingy defense. They’ve allowed 14 points or less in five of their seven games to rank 7th nationally in scoring defense while placing fifth in total defense.

Washington at Stanford