CFB Week Nine Preview (National):
#8 Ole Miss-#13 Oklahoma, #15 Missouri-#10 Vandy,
#3 Texas A&M-#20 LSU Games Enjoy Huge Spotlights
(DG’s “This Week In CFB” YouTube Show = below)
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated Oct. 22, 2025)
The 2025 college football season continues through Saturday with a compelling Week Nine schedule.
The most prominent games nationally this time (each previewed below) include three intra-league clashes on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference: #8 Ole Miss at #13 Oklahoma (noon, ABC), #15 Missouri at #10 Vanderbilt (3:30 p.m., ESPN) and #3 Texas A&M at #20 LSU (7:30 p.m., ABC).
Meanwhile, in the Old North State, embattled UNC hosts nationally ranked Virginia, up-and-down NC State visits surging Pitt, overachieving Wake Forest welcomes ACC contender SMU, and — at the Division Two level — #22 Johnson C Smith faces long-time rival Winston-Salem State.
Here are more details on our “Three To See” selections from this week’s national schedule:
National “Three To See,” Game One
#8 Ole Miss (6-1) at #13 Oklahoma (6-1), Sat., noon (ABC)
Since all three of our national games this week involve the same league, let’s take a minute to point out that nine of the top 18 contenders for this year’s 12-team College Football Playoff — including both Ole Miss and Oklahoma in this matchup — are members of the SEC.
That SEC number (nine) is far larger than that of any other league, including the mighty Big Ten. For comparison, no other conference has more than three teams in that top 18, and the ACC has only two, Miami and Georgia Tech.
There also are some advanced team analytics, including ESPN’s Football Power Index, that suggest that truly half of the best teams in college football this season — meaning 10 of the top 20 — come from the SEC, which has only 16 members, and the eyeball test often supports those sorts of grand assessments.
Anyway, there’s a decent chance that neither Ole Miss nor Oklahoma will end up in the SEC’s top three this year, yet here they are, both 6-1 and ranked in the national top 15. That’s another powerful reflection of that league’s stunning depth.
The Sooners, led by fourth-year head coach Brent Venables (formerly Clemson’s long-time defensive coordinator under Dabo Swinney), are playing elite defense this season. Led by senior defensive end R Mason Thomas, who was All-SEC last year, OU is #2 nationally in scoring defense, giving up only nine points per game and a paltry 213 yards per game.
Oklahoma (a five-point favorite) also has a highly regarded NFL prospect at quarterback in John Mateer, a Washington State transfer. A dual-threat QB, Mateer ranks fourth in the SEC in passing yards per game and second in total offense, but he’s battling a hand injury, and he has thrown only seven touchdown passes to go with his six interceptions.
Ole Miss, led by sixth-year head coach Lane Kiffin, has been especially good offensively this season, and the Rebels’ only loss so far came last week, at #9 Georgia, in a high-scoring affair.
The dynamics probably will be much different during this game in Norman, so don’t expect to see huge numbers on the scoreboard, but do expect to see two really good football teams on the field.
National “Three To See,” Game Two
#15 Missouri (6-1) at #10 Vanderbilt (6-1), Sat., 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
In stark contrast to the Ole Miss-Oklahoma matchup, this Missouri-Vanderbilt affair has a chance to turn the scoreboard into a pinball machine. The Commodores and Tigers rank second and third in the SEC in scoring offense, with each checking in at around 40 points per game.
Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia, a 24-year-old sixth-year senior who sued the NCAA to get this final season of eligibility, is one of the best leaders in college football and an extremely dangerous dual threat. He’s completing about 70 percent of his passes, with 15 touchdown throws and only four interceptions, while also averaging more than 60 rushing yards per game.
Missouri’s redshirt junior quarterback Beau Pribula, a Penn State transfer who was stuck behind NFL prospect Drew Allar on the depth chart during his time with the Nittany Lions, won the Tigers’ starting job this spring.
Pribula also has become an effective dual threat, and both QBs are supported by very strong rushing attacks in this game. Mizzou’s sophomore running back Ahmad Hardy, a Louisiana-Monroe transfer who was the Sun Belt Conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2024, leads the SEC with 120 rushing yards per game.
Missouri, led by sixth-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz (the former NC State assistant who went 12-1 during his one year as the head coach at Appalachian State), does have some advantages in this game on the defensive side of the ball, both personnel-wise and statistically.
Led by junior edge rusher Damon Wilson II, a Georgia transfer who was mostly a backup during his two seasons with the Bulldogs, the Tigers rank fourth in the SEC in scoring defense, at 17 points per game.
Part of the fun in this one is that, while neither of these programs has an overwhelming football tradition, both seem to be peaking at the same time.
Fifth-year Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea had losing records in each of his first three seasons with the Commodores, then finished 7-6 after a bowl win last year. Vandy has had only two Top 25 seasons in the past 75 years, but it could happen here in 2025.
Meanwhile, Drinkwitz has posted 11-2 and 10-3 records over the last two seasons at Mizzou, putting the Tigers back in the national spotlight — and the Top 25 — after about a decade of mediocrity.
The Commodores are a two-point favorite over the Tigers.
National “Three To See,” Game Three
#3 Texas A&M (7-0) at #20 LSU (5-2), Sat., 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
In games like this one, where the lower-ranked team is at home against a prominent opponent and its season is definitely on the line, it feels as if the underdog usually finds a way to win, often with the help of big plays and turnovers and a boost from the home crowd. We’ll see.
LSU’s version of “Death Valley” can hold more than 100,000 spectators, and the Tigers also have an NFL prospect at quarterback in fifth-year senior Garrett Nussmeier.
However, fourth-year head coach Brian Kelly has been under siege from many fans and media, in part because LSU is averaging only 26 points per game, which ranks 12th in the SEC, and the Tigers just weren’t productive enough offensively in their road losses to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.
This LSU team clearly is built in a defense-first manner, with NFL prospects at linebacker (redshirt junior Harold Perkins Jr.), safety (Houston transfer AJ Haulcy) and cornerback (Virginia Tech transfer Mansoor Delane), and the Tigers rank 10th nationally in scoring defense, yielding only about 14 points per game.
Meanwhile, one of the intriguing things about this 7-0 Texas A&M squad is that, under second-year head coach Mike Elko (formerly Duke’s head coach and a highly respected defensive coordinator prior to that), the Aggies have been even better offensively than they have been defensively.
A&M has a dual-threat quarterback, redshirt sophomore Marcel Reed, who has been much more productive as a passer than he was last season, both because of his own maturity but also upgrades in the personnel around him. Reed ranks fourth in the SEC in total offense, and he’s done a great job of getting the ball to one of the best receiving tandems in the country.
During the offseason, A&M plucked KC Concepcion from NC State and Mario Craver from Mississippi State. Now both players rank among the best wide receivers in the SEC, and Concepcion is one of the league’s top punt returners, too.
Bottom line: There will be loads of NFL-caliber talent on both sides in this one. We’ll see if the Tigers (a two-point home underdog) can find a way to win on Saturday night.
NOTE: For the in-state edition of our Week Nine college football preview, including analysis on the highest-profile games, plus schedules and TV/streaming options for all 32 teams (FBS, FCS, Division Two, Division Three) in the Bold North State, please click HERE.
