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Week 9 of college football is here as we begin another weekend of exciting games you won’t want to miss.
Friday night will feature a showdown between No. 17 Mountain West teams Boise State and one-loss UNLV. Most college football fans know the name of Boise State star Heisman Trophy favorite Ashton Genty, but do you know about the Broncos’ quarterback?
No. 8 LSU and No. 14 Texas A&M meet in a big conference matchup on Saturday night. Both are undefeated as the top two teams in the SEC standings enter Week 9, but only one team can leave Kyle Field with a win. Can Texas A&M’s defense keep LSU’s offense off the field?
Our college football experts preview the big matchups, need-to-know stories, and share quotes from next week’s Week 9 slate.
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Top SEC Matchup | Missouri-Alabama | Boise State QB
Quotes of the week
What are the top two teams in the SEC doing heading into the game on Saturday?
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said the similarities between LSU and his team this season were “eerily similar.” Both started with big Week 1 games, and both lost, A&M to Notre Dame and LSU to USC. But both have steadily improved throughout the season and are 6-1, with A&M 4-0 in the SEC and LSU 3-0. They did it in different ways, though. LSU has gotten better on defense, holding Ole Miss to 26 in an overtime win, then giving up just 10 on Arkansas last week. Blake Baker’s defense now ranks third in pressure rate and seventh in sacks, despite losing Harold Perkins for the season in Week 4. Offensively, Garrett Nussmeyer has five 300-yard games, as the Tigers rank eighth nationally in passing offense with 322.4 yards per game. . Nussmeier leads the SEC with 18 touchdowns and an 82.5 QBR.
Meanwhile, Texas A&M has a stingy defense complemented by a strong running game that slows down games and keeps opposing offenses off the field. The Aggies have been able to shut down opponents without applying pressure, hitting the win just 16% of the time, eighth-lowest in the FBS, according to ESPN research. Opponents completed just 54% of passes against the Aggies, 10th best in the FBS, and they made major stops, ranking 16th nationally in third-down defense. On offense, Texas A&M ranked 12th in rushing, averaging 218 yards per game, a stabilizing force as the Aggies overcame Conner Wegman’s shoulder injury in Week 2. Marcel Reed started until Wegman returned to dominate Missouri, going 18 of 22 for 276 yards. . Le’Veon Moss, who has shouldered the load at running back, has five TDs in the past two games and is looking to become the third Aggie to have multiple rushing touchdowns in three straight games since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012. — Dave Wilson
What do Missouri and Alabama need to do to win their matchup in Week 9?
Alabama: It may seem simple, but Alabama needs to play a complete game, and perhaps more importantly, a clean game. Starting in the second half in a 41-34 win over Georgia in Week 4, where the Bulldogs piled up 381 yards after halftime and erased a 28-0 deficit, it was hit or miss with the Crimson Tide. The defense struggled again the following week in a harrowing 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt followed by a shaky 27-25 escape against South Carolina at home in a game in which Alabama took a 14-0 lead, only to see South Carolina recover a late onside kick and have a chance to win. Then a week ago, the offense was a no-show in a 24-17 loss to Tennessee.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe was sensational in the win over Georgia, but he has thrown five interceptions in his past three games. Tennessee sacked him three times, and he was held to 11 yards on 14 carries. Sanctions have been plagued by a crimson tide. They have 62 on the season. Only four FBS teams were penalized more. They were penalized a season-high 15 times against Tennessee, including a 15-yard personal foul on receiver Kendrick Lue during Alabama’s next-to-last drive. — Chris Low
Missouri: There’s no simple path to victory as a road team inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the Crimson Tide have lost just six times since the end of the 2007 season. And Missouri’s path to a historic win in Tuscaloosa won’t be helped by the expected absence of starting quarterback Brady Cook (ankle) and leading edge rusher Nate Noel (foot). . Below the pair of stellar offensive talent, the Tigers must find a way to slow down Jalen Milroe and Alabama the same way Tennessee did a week ago.
The Volunteers limited the Crimson Tide to 75 rushing yards and pressured Milroe 24 times as the junior passer threw a pair of interceptions and completed a season-low 55.6% of his throws in the 24-17 defeat. Missouri enters Saturday ranked 24th in defensive red zone efficiency, and if the Tigers can stay close early, they might hang with an Alabama team that has been outscored 81-55 after halftime in four league games. No SEC team has come back with seven or more points this fall than Missouri, and the Tigers enter Week 9 with a 7-0 record in one game since the start of last season. — Eli Lederman
Maddux Madsen is so much more than the other guy in the backfield for Boise State
Boise State’s Maddux Madsen might be the perfect person to share the backfield with the Heisman Trophy favorite.
Madsen’s path to becoming the starting quarterback at Boise State, where he lines up alongside star Ashton Genty, was not a straight shot. The 5-foot-10 prospect did not receive scholarship offers from two Power 4 schools in his home state of Utah, and came to Boise State only after touted QB recruit Katyn Houser flipped her commitment to Michigan State .
Madsen, a sophomore, doesn’t need lessons on roles or teamwork, what competition demands, how to gain opportunities, and how to overcome adversity. He grew up around baseball fields, where his father, Eric, coached in Utah Valley. Maddux and his four brothers are named after prominent baseball players – Maddux after Hall of Fame player Greg Maddux, brothers Mays (Willie), McGwire (Mark) and Mick (Mantle), and sister Macee Jo (DiMaggio).
“In baseball, I almost failed,” Maddox said. “If I hit .300, it’s pretty elite. So I’ve learned not to let myself get beat up about certain things. Football is obviously a little different, but there’s going to be things that go wrong, and dealing with adversity is something I’ve learned from baseball and translated into football.” foot”.
He has spent much of his Bronco career competing. Last season, he partnered with Tylen Green in a two-quarterback system, which ended when Madsen suffered a knee injury in November. When Boise State added USC transfer Malachi Nelson in January, many assumed the starting job would go to the former ESPN No. 1 recruit.
But Madsen outplayed Nelson in camp, completing 63.8% of his passes for 1,273 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions through six games.
“He doesn’t want anything given to him,” said Boise State coach Spencer Danielson, who informed Madsen after the 2023 season that the team would seek a quarterback. “He wants the challenge, he wants the opportunity to compete, and the stage is never too big for him. He’s always been a guy with a hunter’s mentality. He’s going to win. Maddox is an unwavering young man.”
Danielson saw Madsen’s style from the beginning. After a pass was picked off and intercepted at Georgia Southern on its season opener, Madsen started the next possession with completions of 53 and 36 yards, and Genty capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The following week, Madsen completed just 17 of 40 passes in a 37-34 loss at Oregon, as the Ducks’ defense stifled the Broncos’ receivers and quickly shut down the passing windows.
Since then, Madsen has completed 70.8% of his attempts.
He added: “I understand that there will be noisy stadiums, and there will be things said, so how can I control the match with a neutral mentality?” Madsen said. “I’ve learned that the seriousness with which I have to approach the game is definitely different from what I was in the past. We’re in a no-nonsense situation now, and we have to attack every day with full intent and focus.”
Madsen also realizes that Boise State’s offense will largely run through Genty, who leads the nation in rushing yards and ranks sixth in attempts.
“It’s the best thing ever,” Madsen said of playing with Genty. “I tell people, ‘I have the best seat in the house,’ and I watch him do what he does.”
Jeanty will continue to dominate the spotlight, and rightly so, but Madsen will also be an important factor if Boise State mounts its first College Football Playoff appearance.
“No one wanted to hear about Maddox Madsen because he was a 5-10-year-old kid from Utah who wasn’t drafted,” Danielson said. “He was truly the embodiment of what we are here at Boise State, one of those guys who got counted out, got a chip on their shoulder, and all he did was earn everything he had.” — Adam Rittenberg
Quotes of the week
“I’ve always respected those coaches because that’s where I come from. I started out as a Division II head coach, and he worked his way up. Anytime you can hire an Ivy League grad, it makes me smarter. So it’s worked out well for me.” – LSU coach Brian Kelly, on hiring current Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, a Penn alumnus, as his defensive coordinator in 2017 after Elko made stops at Penn, US Merchant Marine Academy, Richmond and Hofstra, among others.
“Select ‘in,'” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said when asked if quarterback Brady Cook (ankle) would be at practice Tuesday (Cook has since been ruled questionable for Saturday’s game). “I don’t know if I would say Share. I expect he will miss training. But that’s why I don’t let the media practice so you don’t have to worry about what he’s doing or not doing in practice.”
“It’s an excellent opportunity for us on a big stage. When we’re recruiting, we talk about big-time college football and one of the things is you can play Notre Dame every year,” Navy defensive coordinator P.J. Voelker said before Saturday’s game. A match between the Fighting Irish and the Midshipmen. “They are obviously the best players in college football. To have this opportunity is something we all relish.”
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