College Football Marquee Matchups: Week Nine Edition

While there are multiple marquee matchups in college football this week throughout the SEC, other conferences in the nation are also holding high-stakes matchups. Let’s take a look at the rest of the games across the country with high implications.

No. 2 Ohio State @ No. 13 Penn State

The undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes are set to take on the one-loss Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Nittany Lions dropped their lone game of the season to Michigan and can’t afford another loss if they wish to keep their division title hopes alive.

Penn State is led by senior quarterback Sean Clifford. In his fifth season with Penn State, Clifford has nearly 1,500 yards in the air along with 13 touchdowns. They are also boosted by a two-headed dragon in the backfield.  Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen have combined for over 1,000 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns, this season.

https://twitter.com/PennStateFball/status/1585066113263894528?cxt=HHwWgIDUqezOpP8rAAAA

The Buckeyes are led by Heisman front-runner C.J. Stroud. Stroud has recorded an astounding 2,021 passing yards along with 28 touchdowns with only four interceptions.

On the outside, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka lead the receiving room and have combined for 17 touchdowns.

Penn State has a real test ahead of them come noon on Saturday, but a win at home against the Buckeyes would give head coach James Franklin one of his best wins during his time in Happy Valley.

Notre Dame @ No. 16 Syracuse

With high expectations coming into the season, the Fighting Irish have been very underwhelming while boasting a 4-3 record through seven weeks. They are set to take on the Syracuse Orange who have been a surprise this season with their lone loss coming to No. 5 Clemson last week.

In heartbreaking fashion, Syracuse lost a late lead to Clemson resulting in a six-point loss. Nonetheless, the Orange are still having a special season.

Garrett Shrader runs the offense for The Orange and has 13 touchdowns in the air along with 1,600 yards.

There has been a steady balance in the passing raid and rushing attack in this Syracuse offense. Shrader is not afraid to use his legs and has nearly 100 carries on the year and an additional six touchdowns. Sophomore Sean Tucker starts at running back where he has put up six touchdowns and 698 yards.

Back in Our House. Back to work.

Be there. Be Loud. Wear Orange. pic.twitter.com/WW4YM4CoLZ

— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) October 24, 2022

Notre Dame is kicking off a two-game road slate against ranked opponents. They are set to take on Clemson, next week. The results in the Fighting Irish’s next two games could set the tone for the future of Notre Dame football.

Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish have had a hard time gaining production in the air. Quarterback Drew Pyne has slowly started to find his groove on his way to 1,077 passing yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Irish have yet to find a playmaker who can step up and make a play when needed. In order to knock off both Syracuse and Clemson in the coming weeks, an unsung hero will have to rise to the occasion and take on a bigger role.

No. 9 Oklahoma State @ No. 22 Kansas State

In another top-25 matchup, Oklahoma State will travel across the border to take on Kansas State.

Kansas State is coming off a loss to No. 8 TCU on the road.

Fifth-year senior Adrian Martinez has been one of the main headlines of college football all season. The all-time purpose yards leader at Nebraska, Martinez decided to use his extra year of eligibility with the Wildcats.

Martinez has 900 yards through the air along with four touchdowns. While those statistics don’t jump off the paper, that’s not where he excels. Martinez has an additional 565 yards on the ground with a whopping nine rushing touchdowns.

In addition to Martinez’s legs, Deuce Vaughn has found success on the ground. He has 744 yards with four touchdowns to compliment Martinez.

Martinez had to leave last week’s matchup early and is listed as questionable for this matchup.

https://twitter.com/KStateFB/status/1584597651844378624

Similar to Kansas State, Oklahoma State’s only loss this season has come to TCU.

Led by senior quarterback Spencer Sanders, Mike Gundy has his Cowboys rolling. Sanders has looked sharp this year en-route to 2,030 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s also limited the turnovers.

Coming off a shootout last week against Texas, Sanders threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns and came out victorious.

Sanders is complimented by Dominic Richardson who has an additional eight rushing touchdowns on the ground and provides a change of pace for the passing attack.

Three games feature ranked matchups this weekend, so expect another week of exciting college football.