The good, the bad, and the weird: College football's Week 9 roundup

College football is sport at its zaniest.

The coaches, the college towns, and the fact that games are played (mostly) by those between 18 and 21 years old contribute to Saturdays that are never dull. And with 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, you can't predict where the most memorable moments of the weekend will occur.

Each week this season, theScore is here to break it all down - from the good to the bad to the weird. Here's what happened in Week 9 and why it matters.

The good

Ohio State and Michigan

Arguably, the two biggest winners of the weekend were bitter rivals.

Ohio State continued rolling over every opponent in its way, dominating a Wisconsin team once seen as its toughest competition in the Big Ten. Not only did the Buckeyes score 38 points on a good Badgers defense, but they also smothered running back Jonathan Taylor, limiting him to 52 yards on 20 carries. It was just the second time in Taylor's career that he's been held below 3 yards per carry; the first came against Ohio State two years ago.

Michigan hasn't enjoyed that same level of success this season, but the Wolverines looked their best on Saturday while routing Notre Dame 45-14. Michigan rushed for 303 yards and held Notre Dame to 180 total yards. It was a reminder that, despite losses to Wisconsin and Penn State, the Wolverines could still end this season with 10 wins. That wouldn't be enough to reach the College Football Playoff, but it would be the program's fourth 10-win campaign in five years. Michigan had just four of those from 2000-14.

Minnesota

Nov. 9 has been circled on the calendar for months, as it features the matchup between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama. But that isn't the only game between undefeated teams that weekend.

There will also be a party in Minneapolis, where Minnesota will host Penn State.

It's hard to remember any power-conference team starting 8-0 as quietly as Minnesota has in 2019. The Golden Gophers won their fourth consecutive game by more than 20 points on Saturday, dominating Maryland 52-10.

The last time Minnesota was 8-0, in 1941, it went on to celebrate a national championship. The program has won 10 games just five times in its history, and four of those occurred more than 100 years ago - in 1900, 1903, 1904, 1905, and 2003.

This year, P.J. Fleck's side hasn't faced a ranked team yet, but three of its final four opponents - Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin - are currently in the AP Top 25.

Oregon's playoff hopes

This season has provided a constant reminder not to count teams out after one loss.

In the SEC, Florida and Georgia remain in the mix despite October defeats. And Oklahoma, which has made the playoff as a one-loss team three times in four years, will hope to recover from a 48-41 loss at Kansas State this past weekend.

However, that Sooners loss also gave new hope to Oregon, which climbed to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 after a 37-35 win over Washington State.

The Ducks' lone defeat came against Auburn, a top-15 team, at a neutral site in August, and only one of their seven wins came against a currently ranked opponent (Washington). But Oregon was impressive in winning at the Huskies, and they'll get a chance for another strong victory at USC this weekend. The Ducks aren't dead yet.

The same can be said for Utah, which is now ranked ninth and appears to be playing as well as any team in the Pac-12. The Utes, who lost by a touchdown at USC in September, have won their last four games by a combined score of 146-23.

The bad

Big 12 favorites

Baylor must be glad it had Week 9 off.

Not only are the Bears now the lone undefeated team in the Big 12, but they skipped a weekend that was horrible for favored teams across the conference.

All four favorites fell on Saturday, with Oklahoma's loss to Kansas State while giving 23.5 points being the biggest stunner. Here's what happened elsewhere:

• Texas, which was inexplicably still ranked 15th, dropped its third game of the season at TCU, 37-27. The Longhorns came perilously close to losing to Kansas a week ago. That win is the only thing keeping them above .500 (5-3).
• Iowa State, which appeared to be rising and was back in the top 25, fell 34-27 to Oklahoma State. In that game, the Cowboys' awful turnover luck finally changed; OSU finished plus-two, and that was the difference.
• Texas Tech was a touchdown favorite over Kansas. In hindsight, maybe we should have paid more attention to the Jayhawks under new offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon. Kansas' offense is rolling - imagine that! - and it led the team to a 37-34 win. Carter Stanley has already thrown 19 touchdown passes this season, the most by a KU quarterback since 2009.

Notre Dame

Above, we mentioned the one-loss teams with playoff hopes that are very much alive.

Notre Dame, which entered the weekend with only a close defeat at Georgia on its resume, was part of that group. But no more.

The Fighting Irish's 45-14 loss to Michigan was the most jarring score of the weekend, and their offensive output (180 yards) was the team's lowest mark since 2016 when it went 4-8. More alarming, a run defense that showed warning signs all season got completely exposed.

Arizona State

The other surprising score of the weekend was UCLA 42, Arizona State 32 ... and it wasn't even that close.

The Sun Devils fell behind 42-10 after three quarters in the Rose Bowl as the Bruins rumbled for 217 yards on the ground. Just two weeks ago, Arizona State was 5-1 and heading to Utah for a game that could have determined the Pac-12 South. Now, ASU is tied for fourth in the division standings, behind UCLA, which is 3-2 in the Pac-12.

The weird

The end of Kansas-Texas Tech

Most weeks, you can find something, in some game, that you've never seen before.

Welcome to the end of Kansas' 37-34 win over Texas Tech.

The situation: Tied at 34, KU lined up for a potential game-winning field goal with 13 seconds left, but Liam Jones' 40-yard attempt was blocked. The Red Raiders began to return the football, but defensive back Douglas Coleman - who leads the FBS in interceptions - lateraled the ball to no one. Kansas long snapper Logan Klusman fell on it with two seconds remaining, giving his team another attempt for the win.

With his second chance, Jones nailed a 32-yard kick that gave KU its first victory over Texas Tech since 2001.

Flopping

There's not much more to say about this.

Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant appeared to go down voluntarily in an attempt to slow down LSU's offense. The replay is laughable:

Auburn's defense actually did a better job than most when it came to limiting LSU and quarterback Joe Burrow, but the Tigers still won 23-20.

Meeting of the mascots

Smokey the dog (Tennessee) and Sir Big Spur the gamecock (South Carolina) don't appear to be friends: