Winners and losers from Week 9 of the college football season

Kansas pulled off a stunner, making it one of the day’s biggest winners. Meanwhile, Clemson turned in another clunker, relegating it to the loser bracket.

Here is a look at them, as well as the rest of the winners and losers from Week 9 of the college football season.

WINNER

Kansas: After 26 years and 18 games of misery, Kansas (6-2, 3-2 in Big 12) got the last laugh against Oklahoma as a member of the Big 12. The Sooners are headed to the SEC and the Jayhawks gave them a memorable parting gift with their 38-33 win. It can’t be overstated the phenomenal job Lance Leipold has done in three seasons as Kansas head coach. He took over a program that went 0-9 in 2020 and hadn’t made a bowl game since 2008. With the victory, the Jayhawks matched their win total from last season and are one win away from securing only their fourth winning season since 1996.

LOSER 

Big 12: While the Jayhawks’ win might make conference commissioner Brett Yormark happy in the short term, it could end up as a significant loss. Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1 in Big 12) was the Big 12’s last unbeaten team, giving the conference an uphill climb to make the College Football Playoff. Conferences receive $6 million for getting a team into the College Football Playoff, money the Big 12 could miss out on due to the Sooners’ loss. Texas and Oklahoma are the only one-loss teams remaining in the conference. Yormark might want to start rooting for both.

WINNER

Oregon: The Ducks solidified themselves as the best one-loss team in the country with their dominant 35-6 road win against No. 13 Utah (6-2, 3-2 in Pac-12). The defending Pac-12 champion was no match for No. 8 Oregon (7-1, 4-1 in Pac-12). The Ducks outgained the Utes 390-241, quarterback Bo Nix averaged eight yards per pass attempt and running back Bucky Irving averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Outside of a tight road win at Texas Tech, Oregon has been dominant in its six other wins. When the first CFP rankings are released on Tuesday, the Ducks should be the top one-loss team. 

LOSER

Being ranked No. 10: The No. 10 ranking in the Associated Press top 25 poll is the 13th floor of the college football season. In Week 5, Utah was ranked 10th and lost to Oregon State, 21-7. The following week, Notre Dame lost 33-20 to Louisville. The Irish got revenge in Week 7 in a 48-20 win against USC. The streak continued last week when Virginia defeated North Carolina 31-27. Penn State escaped Week 9 with a 33-24 win over Indiana, but let’s face it: a win by single digits against the Hoosiers is basically the same as a loss. For the fifth consecutive week, a team ranked No. 10 looked nothing like one of the 10 best teams in the country. 

WINNER

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis: The Seminoles made their case for a top-four ranking in the CFP with an impressive 41-16 win over Wake Forest, and Travis led the charge. He finished with 388 total yards and four touchdowns. This season, he is 164-of-253 (64.9 percent) for 2,109 yards, 24 total touchdowns and only two interceptions. Per OddsChecker, Travis (+900) is fifth in Heisman odds. His stock will rise after Week 9.

LOSER

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s words coming back to haunt him: The Tigers dropped to 4-4 with their 24-17 loss to the Wolfpack, their worst record through eight games under Swinney since 2010. The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy recalled Swinney’s comments from two weeks ago that haven’t aged well.