Week 8 was not a good one for ranked college football teams, as nine suffered losses and four dropped out of the top 25 — two of which were beaten by unranked opponents. Louisville (No. 19), Illinois (No. 23), Arizona State (No. 24) and Michigan (No. 25) replaced those four schools, with the latter three returning to the top 25 after a one-week absence.
Louisville and Arizona State earned their spots in the rankings by respectively defeating then-No. 2 Miami and then-No. 7 Texas Tech last week. Illinois, which was 17th in the nation two weeks ago, jumped back into the top 25 despite being idle.
Week 9 of the 2025 college football season has 22 of the top 25 teams in action, and three games pit ranked clubs against each other in SEC showdowns on Saturday. The first takes place at noon ET, when eighth-ranked Ole Miss — which fell from the fifth spot with its loss to then-No. 9 Georgia last week — visits No. 13 Oklahoma.
No. 10 Vanderbilt, which climbed seven spots with its 31-24 victory over then-No. 10 LSU in Week 8, hosts No. 15 Missouri at 3:30 p.m. ET, while No. 3 Texas A&M visits No. 20 LSU at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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Oklahoma is a 4.5-point favorite against Ole Miss at FanDuel Sportsbook, while the total is set at 54.5. Missouri is a 2.5-point underdog against Vanderbilt with the total set at 52.5, and Texas A&M is a 2.5-point favorite in its matchup with LSU with the total set at 47.5.
Week 9 began Tuesday with a pair of games and two more took place on Wednesday. But the possibilities for parlays still are plentiful, as 49 additional contests take place this weekend, including one on Thursday. SportsLine has revealed its top three-leg parlays, with one involving favorites and another consisting of underdogs.
SportsLine’s top three-leg favorites parlay would bring a return of +326, while the parlay involving three underdogs offers a +1847 return.
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Money line favorites parlay for Week 9
SMU vs. Wake Forest
This ACC matchup features two teams looking to extend winning streaks. SMU (5-2, 3-0), which defeated Clemson 35-24 on the road last week, is seeking its fourth consecutive victory. The Mustangs have scored at least 31 points in five of their seven games this season, including four of their wins. Junior quarterback Kevin Jennings has thrown at least two touchdown passes in six of his seven contests and connected for a score once against Clemson with senior wideout Jordan Hudson, who finished with seven catches for a career-high 131 yards.
Wake Forest (4-2, 1-2) has posted back-to-back wins for the second time this year as it defeated Virginia Tech 30-23 on Oct. 4 and rolled past Oregon State 39-14 seven days later. Sophomore QB Deshawn Purdie made his first start since transferring from Charlotte in January and threw four scoring passes in place of the injured Robby Ashford (thumb). Receiver Chris Barnes hauled in three of the TD tosses, gaining 102 yards in the process, while Demond Claiborne rushed 16 times for 144 yards and a touchdown for the Demon Deacons. It was the third 100-yard performance of the season for Claiborne, who is 10th in the nation with an average of 7.81 yards per carry.
The Mustangs, whose 20-game winning streak during conference play in the regular season is the longest active run in the country, have yet to lose to the Demon Deacons. SMU won all three of the previous meetings between the teams, most recently posting a 14-7 victory in 1975. SportsLine’s Inside the Lines team’s projection model sees the Mustangs remaining perfect as they defeat Wake Forest in 73% of its simulations.
Ball State vs. Northern Illinois
The Bronze Stalk Trophy is up for grabs for the final time when Northern Illinois (1-6, 0-3) hosts Ball State (3-4, 2-1) in a MAC showdown. The Huskies, who are moving to the Mountain West next year, set a season high in points last week but were trounced 48-21 at Ohio for their sixth consecutive loss. Northern Illinois has been solid defensively despite the slide, ranking third in the conference and 22nd in the nation with an average of 172.3 passing yards allowed. The squad also is third in the MAC in scoring defense (20.3 points allowed) and fourth in total defense (323 yards allowed).
Ball State is looking to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season after cruising past Akron 42-28 last Saturday. Quarterback Kiael Kelly threw for one touchdown and ran for three others, while Qua Ashley eclipsed the 140-yard mark for the second time this year, rushing for 143 and a TD on 20 carries. On the other side of the ball, defensive end Nathan Voorhis registered his ninth sack of 2025. The senior is tied for second in the nation and is 2.5 sacks shy of matching the Ball State single-season record set in 2017 by Anthony Winbush.
The all-time series is even at 25-25-1, but the Cardinals have won three straight and five of the last six meetings following a 10-game winning streak by the Huskies. Last season, Ball State allowed a 12-point lead to slip away but posted a 25-23 victory on a 52-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The ITL team’s model doesn’t believe the Cardinals will make it four straight wins as its simulations have Northern Illinois winning 80% of the time.
Western Michigan vs. Miami (OH)
Two of the top teams in the MAC also square off Saturday as Miami (4-3, 3-0) hosts Western Michigan (4-3, 3-0). The schools have taken identical paths to a share of first place in the conference, losing their first three contests of the season before posting four-game winning streaks. Miami is coming off a 44-30 triumph over Eastern Michigan and has outscored its opponents 127-51 during its run.
Quarterback Dequan Finn threw two touchdown passes and also ran for a pair of scores for the RedHawks, who have won 10 consecutive MAC regular-season games. Western Michigan has been just as impressive during its winning streak, scoring 124 points while allowing only 30 after blanking Ball State 42-0 last time out. Redshirt sophomore Broc Lowry completed a pair of touchdown passes and also ran for a score while becoming the first Broncos quarterback since Paul Jorgensen in 1973 to reach triple digits in rushing yards, gaining 108 on 13 attempts.
Western Michigan ranks second in the conference in scoring defense, as it has allowed an average of 17 points per game, and is tied with Oklahoma for first in the nation with 28 sacks. The Broncos won eight consecutive meetings with Miami before the RedHawks posted a 34-21 victory in 2023 to improve to 38-24-1 in the all-time series. The ITL team’s model is feeling another triumph for Miami, which wins in 76% of its simulations.
Money line underdog parlay for Week 9
Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma
Eighth-ranked Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1) looks to halt its streak of nine straight road losses against AP-ranked power conference teams when it visits No. 13 Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1) for this SEC clash. The Rebels also are seeking their third 7-1 start in four years as they come off their first loss of 2025, a 43-35 setback at then-No. 9 Georgia. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for one touchdown and ran for two more in the defeat while racking up 263 passing yards, becoming the first Ole Miss signal-caller since Eli Manning in 2001 to throw for at least 250 yards in each of his first five starts.
Oklahoma bounced back from its first loss last week as it rolled to a 26-7 victory at South Carolina. It marked the fourth time this season the Sooners, who are second in the country in scoring defense (9.4 points allowed), kept their opponent under 10 points. Oklahoma registered six of its FBS-leading 28 sacks in the win and limited the Gamecocks to 54 yards on the ground. The Sooners, who allowed a passing TD for just the third time this year, are third in the country against the run (80.4 yards allowed), fourth against the pass (132.6) and first in total defense (213).
The Rebels and Sooners met last season for only the second time, with Ole Miss posting a 26-14 victory at home. The ITL team’s model believes the Rebels will remain perfect in the all-time series as its simulations have them winning 58% of the time.
Missouri vs. Vanderbilt
These SEC schools have followed the same path to get to 6-1 overall and 2-1 during conference play this season, winning their first five games, losing to a top-10 opponent and rebounding with a close victory. The Commodores, who are coming off a 31-24 triumph over then-No. 10 LSU that earned them that spot in the rankings, are off to their best seven-game start since 1950 and looking to go 7-1 for the first time since 1941. Diego Pavia, who also ran for a pair of touchdowns last week, threw his 35th scoring pass since transferring from New Mexico State prior to the 2024 campaign to tie Kurt Page (1981-84) for fifth place on Vanderbilt’s all-time list.
No. 15 Missouri got past Auburn 23-17 in double overtime as quarterback Beau Pribula ran for the game-winning touchdown after failing to throw a scoring pass for the first time this season. The victory was the 22nd in a row against unranked opponents for the Tigers, who have dropped four straight versus top-25 teams. Missouri, which hasn’t defeated a top-10 club since beating a seventh-ranked Georgia squad in October 2013, is fifth in the nation in total defense (243 yards allowed per game) and 10th in total offense (486.6 yards) – making it one of only three teams in the country currently in the top 10 in both categories.
Missouri has dominated the all-time series, going 12-4-1 overall while winning five straight and eight of the last nine meetings. The Tigers posted a 30-27 double-overtime victory over the Commodores at home last season, and according to the ITL team’s model, they’ll make it six in a row versus Vanderbilt as they win in 62% of the simulations.
Texas vs. Mississippi State
The matchup between No. 22 Texas (5-2, 2-1) and Mississippi State (4-3, 0-3) completes this all-SEC parlay. Texas dropped one spot in the rankings as it was outgained 395-179 by Kentucky and needed overtime to get past the Wildcats 16-13 last week. However, it marked the sixth time this season that the Longhorns limited their opponent to 14 points or fewer, and the school is third in the country with an average of 11.3 points allowed.
Texas, which also is fifth nationally against the run (83.3 yards allowed), has won 24 of its last 25 overall meetings with unranked teams and 19 straight at home. Meanwhile, Mississippi State’s current three-game losing streak includes a pair of setbacks against ranked opponents. The Bulldogs have dropped 15 consecutive meetings with SEC rivals, which is the longest active losing streak during conference play in the FBS.
The Longhorns have won three of the five all-time meetings between the teams, including last year’s 35-13 triumph in which quarterback Arch Manning threw a pair of touchdown passes to DeAndre Moore Jr. and also ran for a score. However, SportsLine analyst Gene Menez sees the Bulldogs posting just their second win in their last 12 contests against ranked opponents, as he doesn’t have much confidence in Manning being able to succeed against a Mississippi State defense that’s fifth against the pass in the SEC (187.3 yards allowed) and leads the conference in both interceptions (10) and total takeaways (13).
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