Week 9 of the college football seasons provided plenty of entertainment – much of it coming in the high-wire escape acts that top contenders used to sneak by upstart opponents. 

• #4 Alabama trailed South Carolina 22-14 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter but scored 2 touchdowns in the final 2:16 to pull out the win
• #8 Ole Miss trailed #13 Oklahoma 26-25 heading into the fourth quarter but outscored the Sooners 9-0 in the final period

With over half the regular season in the books, the race for the College Football Playoff remains wide open, and it should be an epic finish to the season. 

Now, let’s take a look at the Week 9 action for Notre Dame opponents.

Notre Dame Opponent Overall Record: 53-40

MIAMI HURRICANES 

Record: 6-1
Week 9 Result: Won 42-7 vs. Stanford

Recap: The Hurricanes played the first quarter like they were still hungover from the loss to Louisville last week and went into halftime tied 7-7 with the Cardinal. Mario Cristobal must have fired up his team at the break, though, as they exploded for 35 second half points, scoring on 5 of 6 second half drives. RB Mark Fletcher Jr. ground out 106 yards and a career-high 3 touchdowns, while Carson Beck was efficient, completing 75% of his passes for 189 yards and a score, while most importantly, playing turnover-free football. On the other side of the ball, the Miami defense held Stanford to just 144 total yards, 8 first downs, and forced 2 turnovers. Miami will be favored in every game the rest of the way but still needs help to get into the ACC Championship game. They’ll continue their journey next week at an SMU team coming off a brutal last-second loss to Wake Forest. 

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Record: 8-0
Week 9 Result: Won 49-25

Recap: Texas A&M outscored LSU 35-7 in the second half, emptying Tiger Stadium by the fourth quarter, validating the Aggies as a national title contender, and as of Sunday evening, ending the Brian Kelly tenure in Baton Rouge. QB Marcel Reed accounted for 310 total yards and 4 touchdowns, but the story of the game was the Texas A&M defensive performance. The Aggies were fresh off surrendering 42 points to Arkansas, but limited LSU to just 278 total yards, including only 60 rushing yards, and a paltry 2-13 on third down conversions. Only 2 untimely first half turnovers kept this one from being even more of a blowout. The Aggies have a well-deserved bye week before traveling to #19 Missouri on November 8th. 

PURDUE BOILERMAKERS

Record: 2-6
Week 9 Result: Lost 27-24 vs. Rutgers

Recap: The Boilermakers fell just short Saturday, losing on a last-second field goal to Rutgers in a heartbreaking loss. Purdue led 24-21 before Rutgers tied the game with 1:06 remaining. In typical Purdue fashion, the Boilermakers fumbled on the first play of the ensuing drive, allowing the Scarlet Knights to kick the game-winner. The Boilermakers really did not deserve to win this one, as they were outgained by almost 200 total yards and had nearly 14 fewer minutes of possession. With a brutal closing slate at #21 Michigan, home against #1 Ohio State, at Washington, and home against #2 Indiana, this felt like the last shot to pull out a win in 2025. 

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Record: 2-6
Week 9 Result: Lost 33-24 vs. Auburn

Recap: The Razorbacks dropped a sixth consecutive game against Auburn, allowing Hugh Freeze to keep his job another week. Arkansas controlled the first half and led 21-10 at the break and 24-16 at the end of the third quarter, but the Hogs turned the ball over on all 4 fourth quarter possessions, allowing the Tigers to steal the win. QB Taylen Green was limited to just 268 passing yards and threw 3 picks, and the talented Arkansas backfield was held to just 63 rushing yards while the Tigers rolled up 230. The Razorbacks will look to pick up their first conference victory against fellow winless-in-the-SEC opponent Mississippi State next Saturday. 

BOISE STATE BRONCOS

Record: 6-2
Week 9 Result: Won 24-3 at Nevada

Recap: The Broncos had a letdown performance after the emotional victory over UNLV last weekend but were fortunate that Nevada is one of the worst FBS teams in 2025. Under the Friday night lights, Boise State managed just 308 total yards, but the Bronco defense bailed out the offense, forcing 5 Wolf Pack turnovers and holding Nevada to just 247 total yards. With the win, Boise State remains undefeated and in control of the Mountain West race, and with South Florida losing to Memphis, very much still in play for a CFP bid. They’ll need to be more impressive moving forward, though, and that starts next weekend on the blue turf against Fresno State. 

NC STATE WOLFPACK

Record: 4-4
Week 9 Result: Lost 53-34 at Pitt

Recap: In what has been a typical NC State performance in 2025, the Wolfpack were explosive on offense, could not stop anyone on defense, and committed way too many penalties. QB CJ Bailey threw for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns, RB Hollywood Smothers had 109 total yards and a score, and TE Justin Joly hauled in 101 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. However, the NC State defense must have never boarded the flight to the Steel City, as Pittsburgh scored on 9 of its 11 drives in the first 3 quarters. With #8 Georgia Tech and #10 Miami up next, NC State is looking at needing to knock off both Florida State and North Carolina to make a bowl this season.  

SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS

Record: 5-2
Week 9 Result: Bye

Recap: The Trojans were thankfully off for a week, giving time for their covered wagons to make the long, arduous trek back from South Bend, one Lincoln Riley hopes to never have to do again. But uh oh, it’s another road game in the Midwest next week under the lights in Lincoln against Nebraska. 

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES

Record: 1-7
Week 9 Result: Lost 38-24 at #19 Louisville

Recap: The Boston College defense managed to hold Miller Moss to just 15 completions and 187 yards passing, but RB Isaac Brown picked up the slack, rushing for 205 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries. Boston College converted 6 more first downs than the Cardinals and possessed the ball for over 11 more minutes, but they could not overcome Louisville’s explosive plays, as the Cardinals averaged 10.2 yards per carry. They’ll need to figure out a way to slow an explosive offense before taking on Notre Dame next week, as the Fighting Irish rank 11th in the nation averaging 7.05 yards per play. 

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN

Record: 7-0
Week 9 Result: Won 42-32 vs. Florida Atlantic 

Recap: The Midshipmen remained undefeated and in control of the American race behind 4 rushing touchdowns and 257 total yards from QB Blake Horvath. RB Brandon Chatman also racked up 184 total yards while FB Alex Tecza added a score. The Navy defense was torched through the air by the Owls, though, allowing 381 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. That will need to get cleaned up fast, as Navy has one of the toughest closing schedules in the country. Navy’s remaining opponents have a combined record of 28-10. They’ll get things started next weekend against a North Texas team that ranks 6th in the country in passing offense. 

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS

Record: 6-2
Week 9 Result: Won 53-34 vs. NC State

Recap: QB Mason Heintschel set a Pittsburgh freshman record throwing for 423 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Panthers ran away from the Wolfpack and improved to 4-0 with Heintschel as a starter. The only negative for Pat Narduzzi’s team is efficiency in the run game, as Pitt posted just 106 yards on 33 carries against an NC State defense not known for being particularly stout against the run. We’ll find out whether the Panthers are for real against a challenging closing slate. After a West Coast road trip to Stanford next weekend, they host #12 Notre Dame, travel to #8 Georgia Tech, and then end the season against #10 Miami. With games against both the Yellow Jackets and Hurricanes remaining, Pitt is very much alive for an ACC Championship game berth and possible CFP bid. 

SYRACUSE ORANGE

Record: 3-5
Week 9 Result: Lost 41-16 at #7 Georgia Tech 

Recap: Syracuse lost its fourth consecutive game since Steve Angeli went down with a season-ending injury, as the Orange offense remains incapable of playing complementary football with a weak defense. Yellow Jacket QB Haynes King continued his Heisman-worthy season by throwing for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding another 91 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. The Orange were able to move the ball, but were just 7-18 on third and fourth down and were outscored 31-7 in the second and third quarters. They will look to get back on track Friday night against North Carolina. 

STANFORD CARDINAL

Record: 3-5
Week 9 Result: Lost 42-7 at #9 Miami

Recap: The Cardinal jumped out to a 7-0 lead but it was all downhill from there. After marching 74 yards on the opening drive Stanford managed just 70 yards the rest of the game. QB Ben Gulbranson threw for just 50 yards and was intercepted twice before being knocked out of the game, while the Stanford rushing attack managed just 55 yards on the ground. With the loss, the Cardinal dropped to 0-5 on the road this season – though they are 3-0 at home. They’ll host red-hot Pittsburgh next weekend on The Farm. 

Story written by Andrew McDonough

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