CFB Week 9 viewer’s guide: Poll upheaval on the horizon?

College football continues with a week that could provide some chaos.

One week after Ohio State lost to underdog Penn State on the road, seven top 10 teams have road games Saturday.

NOON GAMES

The early window has three games that should interest Ohio State fans.

Second-ranked Michigan travels to Michigan State as a huge favorite in a series the Spartans have dominated recently.

A Wolverines victory on ESPN would actually benefit the Buckeyes…. unless No. 24 Penn State is upset at Purdue on ABC in the same window.

That’s because Ohio State needs to root for a three-way tie (including Michigan) in the final Big Ten East standings over a tie between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions, who would have the tiebreaker in that scenario. Of course, the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes must win out for that to be an issue.

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Also at noon is a game between No. 10 West Virginia and Oklahoma State in Stillwater (Fox).

The Mountaineers remain unbeaten and are climbing the rankings slowly. The sooner they lose, the less Ohio State has to worry about the Big 12 when playoff teams are chosen.

3:30 WINDOW

Ohio State, now ranked sixth, plays host to Northwestern as a 27-point favorite on ESPN. The Buckeyes could be ready to roar after a frustrating week, or the Wildcats could extend their misery.

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Also in the afternoon, somehow FS1 found two ranked teams in the Pac-12, and they will play each other as No. 4 Washington is at No. 17 Utah.

14th-ranked Florida travels to Georgia for a rivalry game on CBS, and No. 8 Baylor is at Texas.

NIGHT GAMES

A pair of undefeated teams take on potentially dangerous two-loss squads on the road in the evening.

No. 7 Nebraska is at No. 11 Wisconsin on ESPN at 7 p.m. while ABC will have No. 3 Clemson at No. 12 Florida State an hour later on ABC.

Both of those games would appear to have upset potential, particularly with the Cornhuskers being largely untested and Wisconsin already having played two top 10 teams.

LATE-NIGHT THRILLS?

Since no one in the Pac-12 is eating its own, enticing nightcaps might be few and far between the rest of the season.

4-3 Stanford at 2-5 Arizona (FS1) and 5-2 Washington State at 2-5 Oregon State (ESPN2) are the late-night affairs this weekend.

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