By this point in the college football season, we usually have a pretty good idea of which teams are good and which are not. But this year, there is quite a lot yet to be settled in all the power conferences as October draws to a close.
The Week 9 slate does not feature many head-to-head encounters in the sport’s top tier, but it does offer a handful of important contests that could help set the stage for some epic showdowns during the November stretch drive.
We present these five games for recommended viewing, with the caveat as always that you should keep one eye on the scoreboard and one hand on the remote in case unexpected events start to unfold elsewhere.
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 13 Penn State
Saturday, noon ET, Fox
Follow every game: Live NCAA College Football Scores
Why watch: This is the clear headliner on the Saturday schedule. The Buckeyes are seemingly on a collision course with archrival Michigan for Big Ten supremacy, but the Nittany Lions might still have something to say about the race in the East Division. After being shut down by the aforementioned Wolverines a couple of weeks ago, Penn State turned in a solid performance against Minnesota last time out. Nittany Lions QB Sean Clifford, who still struggles with accuracy at times, must be at his sharpest as he goes against the active Buckeyes’ back seven that features LB Tommy Eichenberg and DB Tanner McCalister. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud has been quite accurate all season, hitting on 70% of his attempts….
