CFB Wrap-Up: Takeaways from Week 9's biggest games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Ohio State's top talent takes over

Few schools in the country can compete with Ohio State on the recruiting trail, and that prowess turned out to be the difference in a hard-fought game at Penn State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions' defense stood tall, and they actually took a five-point lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the contest, but three of the Buckeyes' best players flipped the script in a matter of four plays to keep their team perfect.

First it was TreVeyon Henderson, the top-ranked running back in the country from the class of 2021. Henderson scampered 41 yards to restore the Buckeyes' lead with 8:51 to play.

It was the sophomore's first of two touchdowns in the explosive fourth quarter.

Two plays after Henderson found the end zone, it was player of the game J.T. Tuimoloau's turn to assert himself on the defensive end. The top-ranked defensive tackle and No. 5 overall prospect in the class of 2021 beat his man on the line, forced Sean Clifford into a fumble, and recovered it himself for a game-breaking play.

Tuimoloau turned in a defensive performance for the ages Saturday, finishing with two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a touchdown.

Finally, it was star quarterback C.J Stroud's turn. The No. 2 player at his position in the class of 2020 found Cade Stover on the very next play to give the Buckeyes two touchdowns in 34 seconds.

Stroud finished with 354 yards passing, the fourth time he's surpassed the 350-yard mark this season.

It certainly wasn't Ohio State's best performance, but the Buckeyes showed in a 34-second span that a roster as talented as they are can completely turn a game on its head. It's that type of game-breaking potential that should have Ryan Day's crew rolling into the season finale versus Michigan with a perfect record.

Tennessee pounds Kentucky, shuts down Levis

All the hype around Tennessee's revival has centered on the nation's best offensive attack, with the Vols running up scoreboards to the tune of 50 points per contest. That offense was solid once again on Saturday, but it's the defense that deserves some attention in Knoxville for its performance in the 44-6 win over Kentucky.

Tennessee has faced two quarterbacks this season that are projected as potential first-round picks in the NFL draft: Florida's Anthony Richardson and Alabama's Bryce Young. While the Volunteers won both those contests, the duo averaged 454 yards passing with four touchdowns against only one interception. Saturday was their third matchup against a highly-touted quarterback - this time facing Will Levis - but Tennessee had no interest in boosting the senior passer's draft stock.

The Volunteers' defense stopped Levis from the jump, holding the Penn State transfer to just 98 yards passing and intercepting him three times in the win. It's his worst output of the season and second-lowest of his Kentucky career. It's certainly the type of game film NFL scouts will be studying meticulously ahead of next year's draft.

The win Saturday sets the stage for an absolute blockbuster in Athens next weekend, with Tennessee and Georgia battling for top spot in the SEC East.

Michigan torments little brother

Michigan's all-time leading rusher Mike Hart is almost more famous for calling Michigan State 'little brother' in 2007 than he is for his brilliance on the field for the Wolverines. Hart now serves as an assistant on Jim Harbaugh's staff, so he had a front-row seat to watch the Wolverines torment their little brother Saturday with a 29-7 win in Ann Arbor.

The rivalry hasn't always been kind to Harbaugh, with the win now making his record 4-4 versus the Spartans, but there's clearly a massive talent gap between the two programs in 2022. The Wolverines went to the locker room holding a slight 13-7 edge but came out eager to send a message in the third. It's safe to say they delivered that message.

The Wolverines outscored the Spartans 16-0 in the second half, holding their rivals to just 48 yards of total offense over the final 30 minutes. Overall, Michigan outgained the visitors by almost 200 yards of total offense and held them to a paltry 2-of-11 conversion rate on third down.

Rutgers and Nebraska await Michigan before a home date with No. 17 Illinois and a visit to bitter rival Ohio State. The contest in the final week appears likely to once again decide the Big Ten East, the conference title winner, and who gets a spot in the CFP.

Big plays and 2nd-half defense - that's what TCU does

Take the frat boy in "Wedding Crashers" yelling: "Crab cakes and football - that's what Maryland does," but substitute in "big plays and second-half defense" and "TCU." The Horned Frogs yet again leaned on what got them to this point to emerge with a 10-point win at West Virginia and improve to 8-0 for the first time since 2015.

The Horned Frogs used their quick-strike offense in the first half, with three straight touchdown drives featuring a scoring play of 50-plus yards. That brings TCU's total in that category to 12 on the season, good for top in the nation. Max Duggan once again picked apart the opposing defense with 341 yards passing and three touchdowns on just 16 completions.

For the third game in a row, defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie made some outstanding adjustments at the half to change the course of the contest in the second frame. After allowing West Virginia to score 21 points in the opening 30 minutes, the Mountaineers only put up 10 in the second half, with three of those coming off a turnover inside the 30-yard line. Over the last three games, the Horned Frogs allowed a combined 73 first-half points but just 16 second-half points.

While TCU has two road games remaining in November, it doesn't have to leave Texas again for the remainder of the season. It's entirely possible the Horned Frogs will head to the Big 12 title game with a 12-0 record in Sonny Dykes' debut season in Fort Worth.

Georgia leaves no doubt vs. Florida

Whether we still call the rivalry game between Georgia and Florida "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" or not, the Bulldogs' fan base will once again down the celebratory drinks in Jacksonville. The dominant defending champions raced out to a 28-3 halftime lead before coasting in the second half for the 42-20 victory.

Stetson Bennett - who, at 25 years old, is older than 11 current starting quarterbacks in the NFL - threw for 262 yards in the opening half, the highest first-half total of his career. Brock Bowers provided his weekly reminder that he's the top tight end in the country with one of the best catches you'll see this year. The running attack overwhelmed Florida for 249 yards and four touchdowns.

Perhaps most impressive was the stout Georgia defense, which absolutely stonewalled the nation's best rushing attack. Florida entered leading the country with a whopping 6.4 yards per carry but was held to just 100 yards total at a mere 1.9 per rush.

With Florida now out of the way, Georgia can shift its focus to the game of the year in the SEC East - a home date against red-hot Tennessee next Saturday.

Kansas State nearly perfect vs. Oklahoma State

It's tough to play a better game than No. 22 Kansas State did on Saturday against No. 9 Oklahoma State. Despite missing starting quarterback Adrian Martinez for the second contest in a row, the Wildcats executed their plan with flawless precision in a 48-0 blowout - the first time the Cowboys have been shutout since 2009.

Backup quarterback Will Howard torched the defense for 296 yards and four touchdowns through the air, while Deuce Vaughn ran wild for 158 yards and a score. The 48 points are the most Kansas State has scored in a game since the matchup against Kansas in the 2020 pandemic-shortened season.

While the offense was impressive, the defense deserves the bulk of the attention for pitching a shutout against the Cowboys' strong offense. Oklahoma State entered the contest averaging over 465 yards of total offense per contest, good for 23rd in the nation. They were stymied all day by the Wildcats' aggressive outfit, with Kansas State holding Mike Gundy's attack to just 217 total yards.

While it's a great win for Kansas State, it likely ends the Big 12's hopes of seeing a team other than undefeated TCU have a shot at the CFP. With the strong play in the Big Ten and SEC, it's tough to find a scenario where a two-loss Big 12 program is one of the top-four teams in the country.

Lane's got jokes for Jimbo

Lane Kiffin is leaving College Station with a win on the field over Texas A&M and the extra knockout blow from his postgame interview at Kyle Field. Ole Miss piled up a whopping 390 yards rushing in a 31-28 victory, improving to 8-1 on the season and handing Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M its fourth straight loss. Afterward, Kiffin just couldn't resist getting a Halloween joke in at the expense of the Aggies coach.

The Rebels now hit the bye week with a star-studded contest against another coach Kiffin likes to needle, Nick Saban and Alabama, on the other side.

As for the Aggies, things continue to get worse for Fisher in College Station, but there was a bright spot in the form of quarterback Conner Weigman. The highly-touted freshman performed well in large spurts against the Ole Miss defense and became the first quarterback under Fisher to throw for 300-plus yards and four touchdowns since Everett Golson in 2015, according to David Hale of ESPN.

Wake Forest, what are you doing?

Louisville came out of the locker room for the second half trailing Wake Forest 14-13 on Saturday. The Cardinals ran just 12 offensive plays in the third quarter yet somehow went to the fourth having scored 35 points to hold an outrageous 48-14 advantage.

In a performance one had to witness to believe, the Demon Deacons turned the ball over on five straight possessions in the 15-minute frame. That wasn't all, as the 10th-ranked team in the country added three more to finish with eight turnovers in the second half!

What makes Saturday's woes even more mind-boggling is that Wake Forest entered the game having turned the ball over just five times this season. Of the 131 FBS teams in the country, only five schools turned the ball over fewer times than the Demon Deacons had.