College Football Week 9 Takeaways: Texas A&m's Blowout Win Turns Up Heat On Lsu's Brian Kelly

Week 9 of nan assemblage shot play proved to person massive implications for postseason play, particularly successful nan SEC.

Let's not discarded immoderate time. Here are Sports Illustrated's takeaways from nan week that was.

Every action has an adjacent and other reaction.

The superior communicative coming retired of No. 3 Texas A&M's 49-25 triumph complete No. 20 LSU connected Saturday nighttime will apt beryllium astir Brian Kelly and his deficiency of traction toward building a title programme successful Baton Rouge. There's nary uncertainty that Kelly's spot is warming quickly astatine LSU, which has expectations of title aliases bust. After all, each of nan program's past 3 coaches person won a nationalist title (Nick Saban successful 2003, Les Miles successful 2007, Ed Orgeron successful 2019). In three-plus seasons, Kelly has not won an SEC title, and has not taken nan Tigers to a College Football Playoff. He has compiled a 34-14 grounds though, an denotation that he's still a bully shot coach.

But being simply "good" is not capable astatine LSU, and nan instrumentality guidelines chanting "Fire Kelly" arsenic he exited nan section to nan tune of a 24-point conclusion tells nan communicative of wherever things guidelines for nan 64-year-old.

Now, let's get to what nan communicative should beryllium coming retired of Saturday night's game. Texas A&M is simply a nationalist title contender. Quarterback Marcel Reed is increasing progressively comfortable successful nan discourtesy by nan week, and nan Aggies’ defense has proven to beryllium 1 of nan champion successful nan athletics done nan first 2 months of nan season. Second-year caput coach Mike Elko inherited plentifulness of talent successful College Station, and he has gotten nan cognition humming quickly successful his short clip pinch nan program.

The Aggies person 4 games remaining: astatine Missouri (which will characteristic a existent freshman backmost for nan Tigers), location vs. South Carolina, location against Samford, astatine Texas. It would beryllium a stunner if A&M is not successful Atlanta competing for an SEC title successful December, which should service arsenic a precursor for what could beryllium a heavy College Football Playoff run.

Alabama's furious comeback astatine South Carolina represents measurement guardant nether second-year coach Kalen DeBoer

In nan 4th fourth connected Saturday successful Columbia, things were looking dicey for No. 4 Alabama pinch 10 minutes to play successful regulation. Gamecocks backmost LaNorris Sellers scampered into nan extremity area for a 10-yard touchdown run, and nan other constituent put South Carolina up 22-14.

Alabama would person mislaid this crippled past season. The Crimson Tide went 9-4 successful twelvemonth 1 nether Kalen DeBoer, which included a 5-3 convention record. All 3 convention losses were connected nan roadworthy against teams they were favored against (Vanderbilt, No. 11 Tennessee and Oklahoma).

But alternatively of turtling down 8 triumph 10 minutes to play for illustration they whitethorn person a twelvemonth ago, nan Crimson Tide punched back. Following nan Sellers touchdown run, Alabama embarked connected a 14-play, 79-yard touchdown drive, which included a four-yard touchdown walk from Ty Simpson to Germie Bernard, and a beautifully schemed up two-point conversion telephone by DeBoer and violative coordinator Ryan Grubb.

South Carolina went connected cough up nan shot pinch a costly fumble connected nan adjacent drive, and Alabama converted nan turnover into a 25-yard touchdown tally by Bernard to put nan crippled distant for nan Crimson Tide.

From nan extracurricular looking in, immoderate whitethorn spot Saturday arsenic a measurement backwards considering really ascendant nan squad has looked nan past 2 months. But astatine a macro level, nan triumph complete South Carolina was a large measurement guardant for DeBoer successful twelvemonth 2 arsenic he continues to build his programme successful Tuscaloosa.

All nan talk astir Lane Kiffin these days seems to revolve astir which occupation nan 50-year-old is going to return next.

Kiffin powerfully considered taking nan Auburn occupation aft nan 2022 season, but alternatively signed an hold pinch Ole Miss to stay successful Oxford and proceed building nan Rebels program. Since signing nan extension, Kiffin is 28-6, including 7-1 this play after an awesome 34-26 triumph successful Norman against nan No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners connected Saturday.

The Ole Miss diversion section promised to amended nan NIL infrastructure astir Kiffin erstwhile he elected to enactment successful Oxford, and nan added finance into nan programme has paid dividends. The Rebels look to beryllium a superior SEC title contender, and are primed to make their first College Football Playoff quality successful schoolhouse history if they decorativeness nan regular play strong.

Kiffin is expected to beryllium a superior campaigner for nan Florida vacancy, but there's a lawsuit to beryllium made that his occupation astatine Ole Miss successful 2025 is each spot arsenic bully arsenic nan 1 successful Gainesville. Revenue sharing and NIL person changed nan assemblage shot scenery significantly, and nan playing section has been leveled.

Kiffin has everything he needs successful Oxford to compete for SEC and nationalist titles. Saturday was different information constituent to beryllium conscionable really acold nan Rebels' programme has come.

South Florida's second-half illness astatine Memphis proves nan AAC title title is wide open

The American Athletic Conference is nan strongest Group of 6 convention successful 2025, and nan convention remains nan favourite to prime up nan Group of 6 auto-bid for nan College Football Playoff.

However, nan non-power convention programme that entered Saturday arsenic nan favourite to onshore successful nan College Football Playoff is now apt retired of nan title entirely.

No. 18 South Florida traveled to 6-1 Memphis. The Tigers mislaid a stunner a week agone to interim-coach-led UAB, and were not fixed overmuch of a chance against a nationally-ranked South Florida squad playing very bully football.

The Bulls led 31-17 entering nan 4th quarter, but allowed three-straight scoring drives to nan Tigers while mustering conscionable 2 punts and a missed section extremity connected their last 3 violative possessions. The result? A stunning 34-31 triumph for Memphis that places nan Tigers backmost squarely successful nan hunt for nan AAC title title and a chance to make nan College Football Playoff.

Navy is 5-0 successful nan American. Tulane is 3-0 successful nan conference. Memphis, South Florida, North Texas and Temple are each 3-1 successful convention play.

The convention is wide open, and who ends up atop of nan convention astatine season's extremity is anybody's guess.

Speaking of wide unfastened convention title races, let's caput complete to nan Big 12, wherever past year's convention title winner—No. 24 Arizona State—has fallen unfortunate to injured starting backmost syndrome. The Sun Devils are now a agelong changeable to make it backmost to Dallas to play for a Big 12 title aft losing to Houston 24-16 connected Saturday. The Cougars are now 7-1 wide and 5-1 successful nan Big 12, and should beryllium classed successful nan caller AP canvass connected Sunday.

Thanks to Saturday's triumph complete Arizona State, Houston has now joined a battalion of contenders successful nan Big 12 that features BYU (who scored a 2 touchdown triumph astatine Iowa State connected Saturday), Cincinnati (who routed Baylor), and Texas Tech (who unopen retired Oklahoma State).

It'll beryllium a nosy last period for nan Big 12.

Georgia Tech is nan ACC title favorite, and Haynes King is making a beardown lawsuit for nan Heisman Trophy

No. 7 Georgia Tech smoked unranked Syracuse, 41-16, astatine location connected Saturday successful Atlanta acknowledgment to different beardown capacity from elder backmost Haynes King.

King, who has flown nether nan radar a spot this play acknowledgment to Georgia Tech's soft schedule, completed 25 of his 31 passing attempts for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns. He besides carried nan shot 12 times for 91 yards and 2 much scores.

The Yellow Jackets are 8-0, and now recreation to NC State and Boston College earlier hosting Pittsburgh and Georgia to adjacent retired nan regular season. Georgia Tech is successful nan driver's spot to make it to Charlotte to play for nan ACC championship, and should beryllium considered nan favourite to triumph nan convention - particularly since Miami needs thief to make it into nan convention title game.

Jackets caput coach Brent Key stumped for King as a Heisman contender, and if Georgia Tech finishes nan regular play astatine 11-1 aliases 12-0, it would beryllium difficult to ideate King not making it to New York arsenic a finalist for nan prestigious award.

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