Welcome to spooky season.

The final October weekend of the 2026 college football season officially happens on Halloween. Who will treat us to exceptional performances? Here are our Week 9 players to watch.

North Texas RB Jahiem White

  • Florida Atlantic at North Texas (7:30 p.m. ET Thursday, ESPN/DIRECTV)

The West Virginia transfer has to be licking his chops after seeing how Rice ran all over Florida Atlantic's defense in Week 8. White has been unstoppable in October and has 861 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on just 116 carries. He's also been a force in the pass game with 27 catches for 250 yards and two scores. FAU beat Rice 51-49 in Week 8 but allowed 499 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 51 carries.

Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele

  • California at NC State (Noon ET, ACC Network/DIRECTV)

JKS is back as Cal's starting quarterback and the Bears are heading across the country for a 9 a.m. body clock kickoff. That's not a great recipe when you have to win three of your final five games to simply get bowl eligible.

After dealing with injuries and what appeared to be a brief benching, the former Oregon commit is back as Cal's starting QB. He was 27-of-37 passing for 265 yards and a TD against SMU in Week 8, but the Bears were outscored 42-0 in the second half in the 59-20 loss.

Navy QB Jackson Gutierrez

  • No. 5 Notre Dame vs. Navy (Noon ET, ABC/DIRECTV)

The Midshipmen are scuffling this season. Gutierrez has taken over for the injured Braxton Woodson at quarterback and has been the team's rushing workhorse. On the off-chance that Navy can keep it close with the Fighting Irish, you'll probably hear a lot about Gutierrez on Saturday.

Through seven games, Gutierrez has rushed for 869 yards and has accounted for 19 of Navy's 28 offensive touchdowns this year. The Midshipmen are averaging over 6 yards a play on offense. But they're 2-5 because of a defense that's allowing over 29 points per game.

Syracuse WR Umari Hatcher

  • No. 19 SMU at Syracuse (Noon ET, ESPN2/DIRECTV)

Hatcher is making the most of his sixth season with the Orange. He entered 2026 with 52 career catches for 755 yards and six scores. This season alone, he has 54 catches for 887 yards and eight touchdowns. Hatcher had four catches for 103 yards and a TD in the Orange's overtime win over North Carolina in Week 8 and has at least 100 yards in each of his last four games. That game against UNC followed up a 13-catch, 224-yard performance against Louisville.

Colorado WR Joseph Williams

  • Kansas State at Colorado (2 p.m. ET, TNT/DIRECTV)

Williams continues to be one of the lone bright spots in Colorado's dreadful season. And Saturday might be the Buffs' best chance for a conference win given the injuries Kansas State is dealing with at quarterback.

Williams leads the team with 46 catches for 643 yards and has caught five touchdowns. He had nine grabs for 135 yards in Colorado's loss to Oklahoma State in Week 8 and has at least five catches over each of Colorado's last five games despite the change from JuJu Lewis to Isaac Wilson at quarterback.

TCU QB Jaden Craig

  • Kansas at TCU (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1/DIRECTV)

Can TCU's offense stop turning the ball over? Coach Sonny Dykes made offensive staff changes after a 24-20 loss to West Virginia in Week 8. Craig had three turnovers in that game as the Horned Frogs are averaging nearly two turnovers a game and scoring just over 23 points per game.

Craig, a Harvard transfer, is completing 67% of his passes and is averaging 8.6 yards per attempt. However, he hasn't been helped by a run game that's averaging barely over 3 yards a carry.

Miami RB Javian Mallory

  • No. 1 Miami at North Carolina (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC/DIRECTV)

Mark Fletcher is still the lead back for the Hurricanes while QB Darian Mensah and WR Malachi Toney headline the Heisman Trophy discussion. But Mallory has been the breakout star of the season as he leads the team in rushing yards.

Mallory has 444 yards on just 59 carries and is tied with Fletcher for the team lead in rushing touchdowns, with seven. He's rushed for two touchdowns in each of Miami's last two games and had 103 yards against Florida State. The Tar Heels are allowing nearly 155 rushing yards per game. Fletcher and Mallory could roll.

Mississippi State QB Parker Puckett

  • Mississippi State at No. 11 Texas (7:30 p.m ET, ESPN/DIRECTV)

With Kamario Taylor now officially out for the season, Puckett — who goes by Billy — will get a chance to see if he can lead the Bulldogs to a bowl berth. The Bulldogs are massive underdogs at Texas, but have three straight home games against Vanderbilt, Auburn and Tennessee Tech after that. Two wins should be doable from that stretch.

If MSU is going to upset Texas, Puckett will have to take a massive leap forward. He's 41-of-64 passing so far this season for just 368 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

Source: Yahoo Sports