The Spun’s 2020 College Football Staff Picks: Week 9

The final college football weekend of October is upon us. Somewhat surprisingly, there is just one game between ranked teams this weekend.

No. 3 Ohio State travels to No. 18 Penn State, in a significant Big Ten battle. Ohio State looked the part of a College Football Playoff contender against Nebraska last weekend, while Penn State was upset by Indiana in dramatic fashion.

There are, of course, some other very significant games to be played as well. Michigan looks to keep the good feelings from last weekend's win at Minnesota rolling, facing a rebuilding rival Michigan State. Unranked Auburn and LSU teams clash as they look to claw their ways back to respectability. Texas can gain some much needed momentum if it can upset undefeated No. 6 Oklahoma State.

Down in the Group of Five, No. 7 Cincinnati has a big battle with fellow AAC power Memphis, while No. 22 SMU has to deal with Navy's triple option attack. No. 11 BYU, in its quest for an undefeated season, can try and rack up style points against a struggling Western Kentucky squad.

After being down one pick entering Week 8, Andrew McCarty vaulted into the lead. He was 21-6 last week, hitting toss-up picks including Auburn vs. Ole Miss, Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State, Michigan vs. Minnesota, and Northwestern vs. Maryland.

This week, the most notable split comes in the LSU-Auburn game, though KSU-West Virginia, Coastal Carolina-Georgia State, Indiana-Rutgers, Texas-Oklahoma State, and Louisville-Virginia Tech all have some varied picks.

Here’s where things stand after last week’s picks:

1. Andrew McCarty: 96-35
2. Matt Hladik: 95-36
3. Tzvi Machlin: 94-37
4. Chris Rosvoglou: 93-38
5. Dan Lyons: 92-39
6. Alek Arend: 90-41
7. Andrew Holleran: 89-42
8. Steve Driscoll: 87-44
9. Matt Lombardi: 86-45

Here are our picks for Week 9 of the 2020 college football season:

Each week, we pick every college football game involving Power Five and/or ranked teams. Check back as we update our standings.