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College football scores, schedule, NCAA top 25 rankings, games today: Alabama, Texas in action

NCAA football scores, live updates and highlights from the full slate of Week 9 action on Saturday

The stage is set for another chaotic Saturday of college football as the final weekend of October is sure to bring more dramatic finishes, upsets and consequential results. As the season barrels on, conference title races are heating up, as is the competition for entry into the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

Given the playoff's expansion, there are CFP implications in virtually every game involving teams ranked inside the AP Top 25 this week, and the action begins early. No. 12 Notre Dame and No. 24 Navy are tangling in the early window, as are Nebraska and No. 4 Ohio State. Can No. 13 Indiana keep its unbeaten start going? That will also be determined as the Hoosiers host Washington.

The afternoon slate is headlined by a top-20 Big Ten battle on CBS as No. 1 Oregon hosts No. 20 Illinois. At the same time, No. 15 Alabama will be looking to get back on track as it hosts No. 21 Missouri. Finally, the evening slate is highlighted by a top-15 SEC showdown between No. 8 LSU and No. 14 Texas A&M as both teams look to remain unbeaten in league play.

All times Eastern

College football scores, schedule: Week 9

No. 12 Notre Dame 51, No. 24 Navy 14  -- Recap
No. 4 Ohio State 21, Nebraska 17 -- Recap
No. 18 Ole Miss 26, Oklahoma 14 -- Recap
No. 13 Indiana 31, Washington 17 -- Recap
No. 20 Illinois at No. 1 Oregon -- CBS -- LIVE updates
No. 21 Missouri at No. 15 Alabama -- ABC -- GameTracker
No. 5 Texas at No. 25 Vanderbilt -- 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network -- Expert picks, preview
Florida State at No. 6 Miami -- 7 p.m. on ESPN -- Expert picks, preview
No. 8 LSU at No. 14 Texas A&M -- 7:30 p.m. on ABC -- Expert picks, preview
No. 3 Penn State at Wisconsin -- 7:30 p.m. on NBC
Kansas at No. 16 Kansas State -- 8 p.m. on ESPN2
No. 22 SMU at Duke -- 8 p.m. on ACC Network
Check out the entire Week 9 scoreboard

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Live updates
 

Oregon strikes quickly against Illinois 

Early 1Q: No. 1 Oregon 7, No. 20 Illinois 0 

That was easy for Oregon. The Ducks started the game with the ball and drove down the field in a 9-play, 83-yard drive that ate up just over four minutes off the clock. Illinois had a chance to get off the field near the end of the possession, but the Illini rushed just three on third-and-6 from their own 31-yard line. That gave Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel plenty of time to scan the field, and wide receiver Tez Johnson plenty of time to find an open spot in the secondary. Gabriel hit Johnson as he broke open, and Johnson used his speed and agility to race around defenders for a big score. 
 

Ole Miss gets it done

The Ole Miss offense found life in the third quarter with consecutive touchdown drives as the Rebels created some separation on their way to a 26-14 win over visiting Oklahoma. The Sooners led 14-10 at halftime but sputtered for much of the second half in Jackson Arnold's return to the starting quarterback role. Jaxson Dart finished 21 of 29 passing for 306 yards with a touchdown. With leading receiver Tre Harris out, Dart's top target was tight end Caden Prieskorn, who made five grabs for 71 yards with a TD.
 

Ohio State survives

Final: Ohio State 21, Nebraska 17

Jordan Hancock intercepted Dylan Raiola at Ohio State's 45-yard line with 1:16 remaining to seal an uncomfortably close Big Ten victory for the Buckeyes. The Cornhuskers had the football twice in the final six minutes with a chance to drive for a go-ahead touchdown. But Ohio State's defense came up with the game-changing plays needed to avoid a potentially catastrophic home loss.
 

Notre Dame handles business

No. 12 Notre Dame secured a crucial 51-14 win against No. 24 Navy Saturday, extending the winning streak against its old rival to seven games and logging another crucial bullet point on its College Football Playoff résumé. The Fighting Irish led bell-to-bell, but things really spiraled out of control for the Midshipmen late in the second quarter when a series of crucial mistakes led to three straight Notre Dame scoring drives. 
 

Appreciating Dillon Gabriel's career 

A familiar face will guide the newest No. 1 team in college football on B1G Time this Saturday. Dillon Gabriel, the 23-year-old southpaw, is the latest Heisman-contending quarterback for the Oregon Ducks, who are No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 polls for the first time since 2012. Oregon hosts No. 20 Illinois in another primetime showcase (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) for Gabriel, who burst onto the scene in 2019 as a true freshman for UCF and is marching up NCAA record books on school No. 3.

Dillon Gabriel's career unlike any other: Seven stories that make the Oregon QB worth appreciating
Blair Angulo
 

Texas vs. Vanderbilt prediction, pick

One of only five matchups between ranked teams will take place in Nashville this week when No. 25 Vanderbilt hosts No. 5 Texas. Yes, you read that correctly. The Commodores (5-2) are ranked for the first since 2013 and enter the week on a three-game winning streak that includes victories over Alabama and Kentucky. Texas (6-1), for its part, is hoping to bounce back after suffering its first loss of the season last week to Georgia.

Texas vs. Vanderbilt live stream, where to watch, TV channel, football game odds, spread, prediction, pick
Chris Hummer
 

Alabama vs. Missouri prediction

No. 15 Alabama is in unfamiliar territory, but, thankfully for the Crimson Tide, they have a shot to get back on track after a nightmare road trip in Tennessee. The Tide have lost two games before November for the first time since 2007, and though they are not entirely eliminated from contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff, according to sports betting apps, the margin for error may have disappeared following road losses to Vanderbilt and the Vols.

Alabama vs. Missouri live stream, where to watch, TV channel, odds, spread, prediction, pick
Brandon Marcello
 

Indiana stays unbeaten

Final: No. 13 Indiana 31, Washington 17

Playing without star quarterback Kurtis Rourke, Indiana found a way against Washington as Justice Ellison ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries to support backup QB Tayven Jackson. But the MVP was cornerback D'Angelo Ponds, who intercepted two passes and ran one back for a touchdown. The Hoosiers limited Washington to 3 of 11 on third downs and 1 of 3 on fourth downs as they improved to 7-0.
 

Ohio State responds

With its back against the wall in the fourth quarter against Nebraska, Ohio State went 75 yards on eight plays for a go-ahead touchdown. Will Howard hit Quinshon Judkins for a 9-yard score to cap the drive, putting the Buckeyes back in front 21-17. That snapped a streak of five straight possessions without points for Ohio State.
 

Legendary Nebraska drive

4Q: Nebraska 17, No. 3 Ohio State 14

The Cornhuskers have not beaten Ohio State since 2011 when the Buckeyes were interim-coached by Luke Fickell during a 6-7 season. Needless to say, today is a little bigger. Nebraska just put together one of its most important drives since joining the Big Ten to take a three-point lead in the fourth quarter. It's Nebraska's first fourth quarter lead against a top-five opponent since they led Texas in 2009. 

Nebraska didn't need any breaks to knife down the field. Running back Dante Dowdell and tight end Thomas Fidone II combined for the majority of yardage on the ground and through the air, including a 33-yard throw from Dylan Raiola to Fidone. Raiola needed to hit Isaiah Neyor on a key third down to set up a one-yard run from Dowdell. Now, it's up to the Nebraska defense to give the Cornhuskers a chance. 
 

Ole Miss creates some space

3Q: No. 18 Ole Miss 23, Oklahoma 14

It's been an ugly day for Ole Miss, but the offense has taken things personally to start the second half. The Rebels flew down the field with back-to-back touchdown drives of a combined 15 plays. Ole Miss is struggling to run the ball, but Jaxson Dart has 262 yards and a touchdown throw with four receivers over 50 yards. Oklahoma has a chance to respond. 

 

Nebraska's D locking down

End 3Q: No. 4 Ohio State 14, Nebraska 9

Ohio State's offense is struggling to get anything going in the second half as Nebraska's defense fights hard. The Buckeyes have reached three or fewer plays on all four of its second-half drives, including three three-and-outs and an interception. After a controversial Nebraska punt went through the back of the end zone, the Cornhuskers got a key tackle for loss to force another Ohio State punt. 

Suddenly, Nebraska is driving down the field behind chunk plays by both Dante Dowdell and Thomas Fidone II. The Cornhuskers have failed to reach the end zone, but that has to change here. 

 

Nebraska battling Ohio State 

Late 3Q: No. 4 Ohio State 14, Nebraska 9 

Nebraska is giving Ohio State a serious battle Saturday afternoon, and the Huskers have some stellar defensive and special teams play to thank. Though there have been a huge coverage breaks that have allowed the Buckeyes to score explosive touchdowns, Nebraska did just net a potentially game-changing play when defensive back Malcolm Hartzog Jr. intercepted Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and returned the ball to Ohio State's 7-yard line. 

Nebraska's offense was unable to take advantage. The Huskers went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, but running back Dante Dowdell was stoned at the line of scrimmage. All nine of Nebraska's point have come from the leg of kicker John Hohl, who has hit two field goals from at least 47 yards. The Huskers might need to generate another big defensive play to firmly push this one into upset territory, but they're hanging around. 

 

Oklahoma up on Ole Miss at the half 

Half: Oklahoma 14, No. 18 Ole Miss 10 

Turns out Jackson Arnold may be the answer for Oklahoma after all. The former five-star quarterback, who was benched late in a rough game against Tennessee and didn't return to the field until Oct. 19 against South Carolina, is cooking Ole Miss thus far. Arnold finished the first half with 10 completions for 110 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown was crucial, as he gave the Sooners their halftime lead. 

Taking a snap from Ole Miss' 9-yard line, Arnold danced around pressure and extended the play by rolling to his right. While keeping his eyes downfield, he threw a strike to wide receiver Jacob Jordan, who fell just past the goal line to secure the score. Jordan, who had 28 yards and the touchdown catch, has emerged as a favorite target for Arnold. 
 

Ohio State hurting Nebraska with explosives

2Q: Ohio State 14, Nebraska 3

Ohio State has scored on consecutive possessions with touchdown passes of 40 yards (Will Howard to Tate Carnell) and 60 yards (Howard to Jeremiah Smith). Howard is 7 of 7 for 141 yards. This bomb to Smith was perfectly placed and came as an answer to a field goal from the Cornhuskers. The Buckeyes started slow offensively but have now found a high-flying gear.
 

Indiana strikes again

2Q: Indiana 14, Washington 0

Tayven Jackson hit Omar Cooper Jr. for a 42-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter put Indiana up 14-0 on Washington. Jackson is filling in for the injured Kurtis Rourke and hadn't done much until that strike, which was set up by D'Angelo Ponds' second interception of the game. Ponds began the scoring with a pick-six and made another big-time play to give Jackson and IU a short field.
 

Nightmare start for Navy 

1Q: Notre Dame 14, Navy 0

Notre Dame marched 75 yards on nine plays for a game-opening touchdown. Then, on Navy's first possession, running back Alex Tecza fumble a pitch. ND Shuler recovered it and ran it back 28 yards to the Navy 7-yard line. From there, Riley Leonard found Kris Mitchell for a 6-yard touchdown. That was just the third turnover of the season for Navy, and it was quite costly.
 

Indiana with a statement start

D'Angelo Ponds intercepted Will Rogers and ran it back 65 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring in Bloomington. The Huskies were driving when Ponds jumped a swing pass and took it to the house. Given that the Hoosiers are without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, they were going to need a big game from their defense. So far, so good.
 

Michigan's Will Johnson expected to be out

Michigan is expected to be without star cornerback Will Johnson for its Saturday night rivalry game with Michigan State, according to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. Johnson is ranked No. 2 overall in the 2025 CBS Sports NFL Draft Prospect Rankings and is an integral piece of the Wolverines defense. Johnson left Michigan's 21-7 loss at Illinois last week in the first quarter with an apparent ankle injury.

Will Johnson injury: Michigan expected to be without star CB for rivalry game vs. Michigan State
David Cobb
 

Curt Cignetti's turnaround vision

It takes some further research to determine the "why" of Indiana's turnaround. Fourteen of those 27 transfers have started at least one game. As you will see below, transfers lead the Hoosiers in passing, receiving, tackles, sacks and tackles for loss. It's still too early in the NIL era to determine what a meaningful percentage of contributing players in a transfer class is, but Indiana seems to have gotten its money's worth.

Flush with cash and aligned with NIL, Indiana has tools to sustain Curt Cignetti's turnaround vision
Dennis Dodd
 

Ohio State vs. Nebraska preview

No. 4 Ohio State is looking to pick itself up off the mat this weekend at home against Nebraska. The last we saw the Buckeyes, Will Howard was taking a little too much time to get down to set up a game-winning field goal attempt in the Buckeyes 32-31 loss to No. 1 Oregon at Autzen Stadium. They spent last weekend on a bye thinking about what might have been and hearing a lot of questions about their team.

Ohio State vs. Nebraska live stream, where to watch, TV channel, odds, spread, prediction, pick
Tom Fornelli
 

Ole Miss WR Harris out against Oklahoma

Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris is out against Oklahoma, according to ESPN. He was not spotted during his team's warmups, and did not take the field with the rest of the wide receivers before the game. His absence is a huge blow for the Rebels, who are looking to bounce back from a recent loss to LSU. Harris, a CBS Sports Midseason All-American, currently leads the SEC with 59 catches for 987 yards. He's also tied for second in the league with six touchdown. 

 

Oklahoma's QB situation speaks to bigger issues

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold was one of the hyped first-year signal-callers in the country coming into the season, and for good reason. Arnold was the No. 1 player in Texas, a consensus five-star who was poised to lead Oklahoma into the SEC and continue the reputation of star-studded quarterbacks in Norman, even post-Lincoln Riley. Four weeks later, Arnold was benched for a largely unheralded true freshman, Michael Hawkins Jr., a nearly unmatched quick hook for a player of Arnold's stature. Arnold had a tremendous amount of pressure to be the face of the program put on him. Rather than trying to protect him from it, Oklahoma's staff added to it.

Why Oklahoma's jarring mismanagement of prized QB Jackson Arnold speaks to bigger Brent Venables issues
Shehan Jeyarajah
 

The Six Pack

If it wasn't already obvious after reading this column over the last decade, I am somewhat of a data nerd. So when I see people brag about how competitive their conference is or how much parity exists in a league, I try to find out whether or not that's accurate. It helps that I have easy access to the information through this job, which saves me hours of doing it myself, too.

The Six Pack: Oregon vs. Illinois, LSU vs. Texas A&M among top Week 9 college football picks
Tom Fornelli
 

Bowl Eligibility Heat Check

It's crunch time in college football. As the calendar churns on towards November, plenty of teams are feeling various degrees of pressure. Some are in the thick of the 12-team College Football Playoff race with plenty of games over the last month that will swing their seasons either way. Then there are the teams that are just hoping to make a bowl game. 

Bowl Eligibility Heat Check: Oklahoma, USC among notable teams in danger of missing postseason bid
Will Backus
 

College football coaching carousel

A smattering of news on the coaching carousel as it pertains to jobs of the open and not-quite-yet variety. Plus, interim coach status updates at Fresno State and Utah State and whether we may see another Group of Five opening in Ruston.

College football coaching carousel latest: Names for ECU, Southern Miss and whether Aranda is safe at Baylor
Richard Johnson
 

College football quarterback power rankings

As far as quarterbacks are concerned, the prevailing thought coming into 2024 was that no conference was stronger at the position than the SEC. Yet, here we are, and there are only two SEC QBs included in the Power Rankings this week, and one of them isn't here for his performance as much as his grit.

College Football QB Power Rankings: Penn State's Drew Allar makes return after getting squeezed out last week
Tom Fornelli
 

Tiering the wins/losses of every CFP contender

In less than two weeks, the College Football Playoff selection committee will reveal its first batch of rankings for the 2024 season. It's an unenviable task only made more difficult by a wave of conference realignment that has seen the Power Five consolidate into a Power Four. Within the new 16- to-18-team power conferences is a wild amount of schedule variability that is going to make parsing résumés a nightmare. College football might be well-served to adopt college basketball's quadrant system. If it did, here's how the résumés of the sport's top teams would look entering Week 9.

College Football Playoff race: Tiering wins, losses for top-25 teams into quadrants entering Week 9
David Cobb
 

While they were away: Three big Ohio State questions

The No. 4 Buckeyes return from a bye this week and host Nebraska at Noon ET. I surveyed Patrick Murphy of Bucknuts247 and we ran through three big questions.

1. How costly is the Josh Simmons injury?
2. Where are Ohio State fans with Will Howard midway through the season?
3. What are your thoughts on the play of the secondary, specifically with how Caleb Downs has fit in so far?

Check out the answers. 

Answers to Ohio State's burning questions as No. 4 Buckeyes return from bye: Will Howard progress, injury woes
John Talty
 

College Football Playoff bubble watch

Unbeaten Navy gets its spotlight moment in Week 9 against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have won six straight in the series, but this Navy team is different, fueled by dual-threat Blake Horvath at quarterback. He is responsible for 20 touchdowns this season and only has one turnover. He accounted for six scores during the Midshipmen's victory over Memphis, one that opened eyes nationally and stamped Navy as a threat in the AAC.

College Football Playoff Bubble Watch: LSU vs. Texas A&M headlines, Navy gets golden opportunity
Brad Crawford
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