Favorites dominated their top-25 football matchups this weekend, barring one upset

The GIST: Down-to-the-wire escapes, favorites rolling, and backups doing work — Week 9 had a little bit of everything. Let’s hut, hut, hike into the latest as the gridiron action charges on.

🐱 BYU remains undefeated: BYU is sitting pretty atop the Big 12 standings after beating UCF 37–24 on Saturday. That victory bumped the previously No. 11 Cougars up to No. 9 in the latest AP top-25 poll, a massive jump considering they didn’t receive any votes in week one and went 5-7 last season. Me-ow.

🐂 Texas, 🌰 Ohio State narrowly avoid losses: No. 6 Texas, who was ranked No. 1 as recently as Week 8, needed a late-game field goal to beat Vanderbilt 27–24, narrowly avoiding a second-consecutive L while only dropping one spot in the rankings.

• Elsewhere, No. 4 Ohio State sealed their 21–17 win over Nebraska with a fourth quarter touchdown catch by junior running back Quinshon Judkins. And exhale.

🦆 Oregon dominates, 🦁 Penn State roars back: The undefeated No. 1 Ducks continue to look scary good, securing their lopsided 38–9 win over No. 24 Illinois without needing any late-game heroics.

• But the No. 3 Nittany Lions sure did. They outscored Wisconsin 21-3 in the second half to ultimately win 28–13, thanks in large part to backup QB Beau Pribula, who completed 11 of his 13 passes in the second half.

🤠 Texas A&M holds it down for the underdogs: What would a college football weekend be without at least one upset? Enter No. 14 Texas A&M, who stunned then–No. 8 now–No. 16 LSU 38–23, putting the Aggies atop their conference with a 5-0 record in SEC play for the first time in school history. It also earned them the No. 10 ranking in this week’s poll. Gig ’Em, indeed.