Week 9 of the college football season was the final opportunity for teams to make an impression on the committee before the first set of College Football Playoff rankings were released. While a number of top-25 teams escaped with close wins there were also those that failed to get the job done in important games. Here is a look at the biggest losers from Week 9 of the college football season.
Florida State Seminoles
Running back Dalvin Cook put on an absolute show in Tallahassee on Saturday night with 169 rushing yards and four touchdowns versus Clemson. Unfortunately for the Seminoles, Cook’s performance wasn’t enough to steal a victory as Florida State suffered its third loss of the season 37-34. The Seminoles’ passing game never really found its rhythm and while the defense held the Tigers to a combined six points in the second and third quarters they were torched for 17 in the final frame as Florida State blew a 28-20 lead in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles were blown away by Louisville in a 63-20 loss earlier in the year but their last two losses to North Carolina and Clemson have come by an average of 2.5 points. Florida State was fined $20,000 for head coach Jimbo Fisher’s public criticism of the officials but ultimately it was his team’s performance that was the difference in the loss. The Seminoles are clearly one of the better teams in the country but their inability to get the job done in big games has cost them an opportunity to compete in this year’s College Football Playoff.
West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia was absolutely rolling heading in to Saturday’s trip to Oklahoma State but the Mountaineers undefeated season came to a screeching halt with a 37-20 loss to the Cowboys. Quarterback Skylar Howard threw for one touchdown and ran for another but he also had three turnovers in the form of two interceptions and a lost fumble. The West Virginia defense couldn’t slow down the Oklahoma State offense either as they allowed more than 21 points for only the second time this season. The Mountaineers were never expected to record a perfect season but the fact that their undefeated run ended the way it did with the Cowboys beating them up on both sides of the football earned them a spot on this list.
NC State Wolfpack
The Wolfpack’s free fall continued with arguably their most disappointing loss so far this college football season after falling 21-14 to Boston College. It was just their first loss at home and it was hard to watch as NC State struggled to move the football on the ground while quarterback Ryan Finley struggled with turnovers as he threw two interceptions with a sack-fumble. The same team that upset Notre Dame at the beginning of the month looked absolutely terrible in its third straight loss and with games remaining against Florida State, Syracuse, Miami and North Carolina things could get a lot worse before they get better for the Wolfpack.
Miami Hurricanes
NC State isn’t the only team in a free fall right now as Miami dropped its fourth straight loss on the road at Notre Dame on Saturday. The Hurricanes were down 20-0 in the second quarter when they got a break on a Troy Pride Jr. punt return fumble. Miami turned that turnover in to the first score of their 27-0 run that led to them taking the lead in the fourth quarter but just when everything seemed to be working out in their favor things took a turn for the worst. The Hurricanes allowed the Fighting Irish to score a touchdown on a drive that took only four plays to tie the game and then after before forced to punt on their following drive, Miami lined up the game-winning field goal to finish on a 10-0 run and steal a 30-27 victory. A Hurricanes’ team that opened the season with four straight wins has dropped four in a row, with three of those losses coming by a single score. Miami will almost certainly finish outside of the top-25 this season and suddenly a team that seemed like a legitimate contender in the ACC is now in danger of failing to qualify for a college football bowl game altogether right now.
