College football stock up, stock down from Week 9: Iowa remains alive, Ohio State stunned

Another week of college football did not disappoint. Both Week 7 and Week 8 saw a lot of upsets, and while this weekend didn’t see as many — there was a lot of good football. The biggest upset of the weekend took place in Los Angeles.

USC took down the Buckeyes, who were without star quarterback Julian Sayin. Ohio State started freshman Luke Fahey in his place and the offense stalled too many times, not being able to sustain drives. USC was able to get out to a quick lead and never looked back.

In other news, Indiana went into overtime for the second game in a row, and came away with a win for the second week in a row.

Following another great weekend of football, here is our weekly stock up, stock down.

MORE: Predicting College Football Playoff field after Week 9: Ohio State falls after stunning loss

Stock up: Iowa remains alive

Iowa was coming off a tough loss on the road last weekend to Minnesota. The Hawkeyes’ offense couldn’t get rolling in the 13-10 loss they suffered to the Gophers. And Wisconsin was playing as good football as anyone, but it’s never easy to win in Kinnick.

The Badgers found that out during Iowa’s 30-0 win over Wisconsin in Week 9. Iowa’s win propels the Hawkeyes to 6-2, and Iowa is firmly in the hunt to make the College Football Playoff, with a outside chance of getting to the Big Ten Championship Game. Quarterback Hank Brown was great, throwing for 222 yards and two scores.

Iowa has to go on the road to both Northwestern and Illinois, while getting Purdue and Nebraska at home. The ‘Cats lost to Oregon this week, and Iowa’s road to 10-2 looks possible.

Stock down: Ohio State’s life after Julian Sayin

Major questions surrounded Ohio State after Julian Sayin exited the game two weeks ago against Indiana. The Buckeyes held on to beat the Hoosiers, but the moment looked too big for freshman Luke Fahey when he came into the game. To his credit, Fahey played respectably for his first career start on Saturday against USC.

He made freshman mistakes, but his playmakers also dropped some passes in the game. Fahey’s offensive line didn’t do him any favors, either. The USC defense had push off the ball and Fahey faced a lot of pressure.

The Buckeyes lost, 30-18, and Ohio State dropped to 6-2 on the season. And for the Buckeyes, they actually ran the ball quite well for how their run game has been in 2026. The problem was Ohio State’s defense.

USC had a few big plays en route to the win and Ohio State isn’t built to counter that. Without Sayin behind center, the Buckeyes are going to need to keep things close, or get out to an early lead. With games against Oregon, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan still to be played, the Buckeyes are no longer guaranteed to make the playoff.

Stock up: Indiana survives and advances

The defending national champions appear to be very beatable. But the only stat that matters — wins and losses — the Hoosiers are 8-1. Indiana got past Minnesota in overtime in Week 9 and won 23-16. It was the Hoosiers’ second overtime game in as many weeks.

In all reality, Indiana could have four losses in a row. Nebraska could’ve beaten the Hoosiers, Ohio State did beat Indiana, and both Michigan and Minnesota had chances to win the game. But that’s all shoulda, coulda, woulda. Curt Cignetti’s team continues to find a way to win games.

In a league full of parity, nobody is going to judge Indiana’s wins, or how the Hoosiers get them. All that matters is that Indiana continues to win, and that’s what it’s doing.

Grant Wilson took over for Josh Hoover in the game and he passed for 156 yards and a score. That will be something to keep an eye on when Indiana takes the field in two weeks against USC.

Stock down: Arizona takes a major hit in winnable game

This was in Lubbock, but Arizona has been the better team. Texas Tech was coming off a loss to Cincinnati last week, and the Red Raiders opted to make a quarterback change ahead of the top-25 showdown. Former Boston College and Florida State transfer Thomas Castellanos started in place of Will Hammond, and he had three total touchdowns.

Arizona was up 17-7 and then 23-17 toward the end of the third quarter. But Texas Tech’s newfound offense was too much for the Wildcats’ defense. Plus, Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita made some uncharacteristic mistakes while throwing for over 400 yards.

After losing 34-26 to Texas Tech, Arizona fell to 6-2 (3-2). The Wildcats have now lost to both BYU and the Red Raiders. Their path to the Big 12 title game is sparse. The Big 12 might only get one team into the College Football Playoff — two at most — and Arizona might’ve lost its spot.

Stock up: Miami, Notre Dame fend off adversity ahead of big clash

Week 10 is going to showcase one of the biggest games of the season when Miami travels to Notre Dame to take on the Irish. With that game taking place next weekend, both programs faced some adveristy in a look-ahead game.

Navy gashed Notre Dame early on and the Irish were up just 14-13 at half. But Marcus Freeman’s team put it on in the second half and came away with a 35-13 win over Navy.

It wasn’t the same for Miami. The Hurricanes took on more than they wanted against North Carolina. The Tar Heels continue to improve under Bill Belichick and North Carolina was right in the game until the final whistle blew. Miami would pull away with a 38-35 win.

Now all eyes turn to Week 10.

Stock down: Florida’s high-powered offense

Remember Florida’s 52-28 win over then-No. 4 Ole Miss? Seems like an eternity ago. The Gators would lose their next two games before stunning Texas on the road. But Florida met its match on Saturday in Atlanta against Georgia.

The Bulldogs beat Florida 27-8, and the scoreboard doesn’t match how the game went. Georgia dominated from start to finish, and the Gators’ offense had no idea how to get things going. Starting quarterback Aaron Philo was benched after he threw an interception. Tramell Jones Jr. tried to spark Florida’s offense, but he tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble.

Star running back Jadan Baugh could only muster 38 yards on 17 carries. UF’s top-five offense in the SEC looked more like a bottom-tier offense. The Gators fell to 5-3 on the season, and while we’ve seen a lot of good from Jon Sumrall in Year 1, Florida is clearly a year away.

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