NCAA Week 9 results and Top 25

This week I drop my Big Ten Report and the Poor and Great Performers to concentrate on the conference and division races.  As that gets smaller and less complicated, the Performers will return.

We had several upsets this week, which will be covered in the Upset Alert.  Three of those affected unbeaten teams, knocking us down to five unbeatens.

Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0) [1]
2. Georgia Bulldogs (8-0) [3]
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) [5]
4. Wisconsin Badgers (8-0) [4]
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-1) [2]
6. Clemson Tigers (7-1) [6]
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1) [9]
8. UCF Golden Knights (7-0) [7]
9. Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-1) [10]
10. Washington Huskies (7-1) [11]
11. Virginia Tech Hokies (7-1) [12]
12. Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) [13]
13. TCU Horned Frogs (7-1) [8]
14. Auburn Tigers (6-2) [15]
15. Miami Hurricanes (7-0) [17]
16. Iowa State Cyclones (6-2) [19]
17. Stanford Cardinal (6-2) [18]
18. Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-2) [20]
19. Arizona Wildcats (6-2) [25]
20. South Florida Bulls (7-1) [14]
21. USC Trojans (7-2) [NR]
22. Washington State Cougars (7-2) [16]
23. Michigan Wolverines (6-2) [24]
24. Toledo Rockets (7-1) [NR]
25. Memphis Tigers (7-1) [NR]

Dropped out: North Carolina State Wolfpack [#21], West Virginia Mountaineers [#22], Michigan State Spartans [#23]
On the Edge: South Carolina Gamecocks (6-2), Boise State Broncos (6-2), Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3), Ohio Bobcats (6-2), Northern Illinois Huskies (6-2), Marshall Thundering Herd (6-2), Northwestern Wildcats (5-3)

Upset Alert
There were so many, I'll examine them by conference.  In the ACC, Pittsburgh exposed some of Virginia's weaknesses, which may cost them any chance at the division title if other teams follow suit.  Pittsburgh, who hasn't been showing excessive offense this season, found deficiencies at defensive positions that allowed them to move the ball and score 31 points.

In the American Athletic, previously unbeaten South Florida could not keep pace with the Houston Cougars.  The Bulls attempted a fourth quarter comeback, but they ran out of time.  Houston showed that if you could get around the Bulls defense and establish an early lead, the Bulls offense may not be designed to come from behind.

The Big XII lost their only remaining unbeaten team, as TCU fell to Iowa State.  The Cyclones knocked off their second unbeaten team in three weeks, and are improving every week.  This time their defense ruled, as they held TCU to seven points and less than 300 yards.

Conference USA saw a change in division leadership, as Florida International knocked off Marshall to make Florida Atlantic the only team without a conference loss.  The Golden Panthers scored on nearly every possession, frustrating the Herd's defense at every turn.

The Mountain West saw two upsets.  Air Force handed Colorado State their first conference loss, awarding sole possession of the Mountain Division lead to Boise State.  Air Force's offense woke up for this game, and rolled over the Rams.  At night, Fresno State, who was running away with the West Division title, was upset by UNLV, making that division much more competitive.

Arizona continued to roll in Pac-12 play as they handed Washington State their second loss.  That leaves Washington as the sole one-loss team in the conference, and nearly assures that no Pac-12 team will play in the playoffs.

Races for the Crown
From now until the last week of the season, I will be looking at the conference and divisional races and providing the current status, and what scenarios are needed to teams to win (or be eliminated).

Atlantic Coast Coastal: Miami leads the division.  Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Virginia are the only teams mathematically still in the hunt.  Virginia is eliminated by either a Miami win or Virginia loss. Miami faces Virginia Tech and Virginia faces Georgia Tech this week, so this week's game could go a long way to determine who remains in the hunt.
Atlantic Coast Atlantic: NC State still leads.  Louisville and Florida State are the only teams out of the hunt, but it's precarious for many.  A win by NC State and a loss take out Boston College and Wake Forest.  Clemson faces NC State this week.  A Wolfpack win practically guarantees a lock on the title.  A Clemson win helps everyone.
American Athletic East: UCF leads. It's practically a two-team race.  Cincy is out, and everyone but South Florida would be eliminated with a UCF win or a loss. UCF plays SMU, so it won't be an easy win, but a Golden Knights win serves two purposes:  making it a two-team race with South Florida, and putting SMU's divisional chances at risk.
American Athletic West: Memphis leads, but only by half a game over SMU. SMU has three tough games in a row, so Memphis likes that.  Tulsa is already eliminated, and Tulane will be out with a loss or Memphis win.  The combination of a Memphis win and a loss knocks out Navy and Houston, so that SMU game this week gets even more important.
Big XII: Iowa State's win creates a 4-way logjam at the top.  It may be one of them, as Texas Tech, Kansas, and Baylor are all out, and Kansas State is out with one more loss.  There are too many potentials to discuss scenarios, but by beating both TCU and Oklahoma Iowa State controls their own destiny.
Big Ten West: Wisconsin controls this one.  They have already beaten Nebraska and Northwestern, the two teams within two games of them.  Iowa is three games back and faces Ohio State this week.  Basically, a Wisconsin win this week clinches the title, and they face Indiana, who has failed to win a Big Ten game this season (despite playing many opponents close).
Big Ten East: Ohio State's defeat of Penn State and Michigan State's loss to Northwestern gives the Buckeyes lone possession of the lead.  Indiana is out, and both Maryland and Rutgers will be out of contention with a loss or Buckeyes win.  Penn State and Michigan need the Buckeyes to lose twice to get a chance for the division title. Ironically, since the Spartans still play the Buckeyes, Michigan State can win the division if they win out.
Conference USA East: Florida Atlantic leads the division.  All of the teams are still potentially in the hunt, but a loss or Owls win eliminates half of them.  The other teams all face Florida Atlantic in upcoming weeks (yes, the Owls enter their toughest stretch), so this division will get shaken up.
Conference USA West: North Texas leads the division.  UTEP is out.  Rice is out with a loss or North Texas win.  Southern Miss and UAB need North Texas to lose twice in three remaining conference games. Since two of those are against UTEP and Rice, that is not likely. Louisiana Tech is really the only team with a chance.  They need to beat North Texas this week and win out.
MAC West:  Toledo and Northern Illinois are both unbeaten in the division.  Ball State and Eastern Michigan are already out of contention, and Central Michigan loses their chances with a loss and a win by EITHER Toledo or Northern Illinois.  Western Michigan faces both leaders in the last two weeks, so their chances are slim.  This may turn into a two-team race, and they play each other this week.  The winner of that game gains the lead and the upper hand, as the loser would need the winner to lose twice.
MAC East: Akron leads by a half game over Ohio.  All of the teams are in, but half of them are out with a loss or Akron win.  Akron still faces the other two contenders, Miami Ohio and Ohio, in the next two weeks.  Winning out seals the division.
Mountain West West:  Fresno State leads, but their loss this week makes it closer and more interesting.  Hawaii and San Jose State are out.  Nevada is out with a loss or Fresno State win.  UNLV and San Diego State needs Fresno State to lose two of their three remaining conference games, while winning all of their remaining conference games.  Not a likely scenario.
Mountain West Mountain: Thanks to a Colorado State loss, Boise State holds sole possession of the lead.  New Mexico is out, and Utah State is out with a loss or Boise State win.  Boise faces Nevada this week, so that win is likely. Colorado State faces Boise the following week, so a win there helps their chances.  Wyoming and Air Force need Boise State to lose twice
Pac-12 North: Stanford has a half-game lead over Washington. Stanford faces both Washington State and Washington in the next two weeks, and those are the three teams competing for the title.  The next two weeks will determine the winner.
Pac-12 South: USC holds a half-game lead over Arizona.  Utah and Colorado are out, and UCLA is out with a loss or USC win.  Arizona State needs USC to lose twice, which seems unlikely.  That leaves Arizona, who is gaining strength and faces USC in two weeks.  A Wildcat win puts them in the drivers seat.
SEC West: Alabama leads, and they face three of the four teams remaining in contention.  A&M is out with a loss or Alabama win.  Alabama faces LSU this week, and a win would remove them from contention. They then face Mississippi State, with the same situation.  That leaves Auburn, who would have to win all of their remaining games before beating Alabama in the Iron Bowl in the last week.
SEC East: Georgia leads by two games, and faces a situation similar to Wisconsin.  They face South Carolina this week, which is the team in second place.  If the Bulldogs beat them, they nearly clinch the division.  They WILL clinch if Kentucky loses, otherwise the contest the following week between Kentucky and Georgia will likely determine the winner.
Sun Belt: Arkansas State and Appalachian State share the lead right now.  They do not face each other, so we have an interesting situation.  Arkansas State has the better remaining schedule, as they only team with a winning record remaining is a contest against Troy on the last week. Only Coastal Carolina is out, but four others get removed with a loss and a win by EITHER Arkansas State or Appalachian State, so next week the contenders should dwindle significantly.