If you've read these Friday previews, by now you know my stance: The weeks with the marquee, eight-digit-viewership games -- Bama-Georgia, Oregon-Ohio State, Georgia-Texas -- are great. But the grab-bag weeks, where you don't know ahead of time what the main story will be and there are countless games and storylines to track, are even better.
Welcome to one hell of a Week 9 grab bag. To be sure, we've got big games: LSU and Texas A&M, for instance, will play for the label of Surprise SEC Co-Favorite, and there are five ranked-versus-ranked games in all. But the subplots are legion. No. 3 Penn State has to visit maybe the hottest team in the Big Ten. Two of this season's early darlings -- Indiana and Navy -- step into the spotlight. Boise State and UNLV meet in the biggest Group of 5 head-to-head game of the year. Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt welcome another top-five team to Nashville; they couldn't do it again, could they?
Throw in another week of tight Big 12 matchups, diminished-but-salty rivalry games like Miami-Florida State and Michigan-Michigan State and the biggest smaller-school weekend to date, and you've got yourself one hell of a weekend. Here's everything you need to follow. (All times are Eastern. Lines from ESPN BET.)
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SEC surprises | Big Ten upsets?
G5 showdowns | More Big 12 mayhem
Chaos superfecta | Week 9 playlist
Small-school showcase
A trio of unexpectedly important SEC games
After 0-1 starts, LSU and Texas A&M have produced matching six-game winning streaks. According to SP+ projections they're the No. 2 (LSU) and No. 4 (A&M) most likely teams to win the SEC. The Tigers travel to College Station for one of three games that seem quite a bit more important than they might have a few weeks ago.
