CFB Blitz: Early Week 9 takeaways

College Football Blitz recaps the most important developments from the day's top games and examines their significance moving forward.

Print the Ole Miss CFP T-shirts

A 7-1 record and a final month that won't see Ole Miss play a ranked opponent or leave the state of Mississippi? Print the damn CFP T-shirts, the Rebels are going to the playoffs. Lane Kiffin grabbed the biggest road win of his tenure in Oxford on Saturday, with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and a stout defensive effort delivering a victory at Oklahoma. That sets Ole Miss up as strongly as any team in the nation to trot into the CFP. And before you say it - yes, we know Kiffin and the Rebels blew it down the stretch last year. But it feels different this time around.

Chambliss - who was playing Division II football last year - excelled against one of the nation's top defensive units, throwing for 315 yards and adding 53 on the ground. Still, Kiffin has proven over time that he can put up points with 11 dudes off the street on offense. The defense is what stood out most Saturday, putting on perhaps the most impressive effort of the season. Oklahoma hit two explosive touchdowns of 65-plus yards, but outside of those scores, it was just 218 total yards on 60 plays. The Sooners were just 4-for-14 on third down and gave up three sacks and six tackles for loss.

As you can guess, Lane was certainly feeling himself after the massive victory.

Outside of Oklahoma, there's certainly one fan base that won't be thrilled with the result: those who support Florida. Kiffin is widely regarded as the favorite for the Gators' head coaching job after the program fired Billy Napier last week. However, a playoff run with the Rebels would push back Florida's timeline to speak with Kiffin and increase the likelihood he stays in Oxford.

Drama kings of Texas

The idea that everything is bigger in Texas certainly extends to the drama surrounding the Longhorns. Last week, the offense posted just 179 total yards but somehow pulled off an overtime win at Kentucky thanks to a goal-line stand. However, that was boring compared to what the team went through Saturday.

First came a report in the morning that Steve Sarkisian's representatives had engaged in discussions with NFL decision-makers about head coaching vacancies. That prompted his agency to deny the activity a few hours later in a statement - not exactly what you want your team dealing with right before a game. Texas then looked sluggish at Mississippi State for the opening three quarters, eventually trailing 31-14 heading to the fourth, surely too big a deficit to overcome on the road, right?

The Longhorns roared back with 24 points in the final 15 minutes, forcing overtime on Ryan Niblett's 79-yard punt return for a touchdown. Want to add drama in the extra session? How 'bout Arch Manning, who was having his best performance of the year, exiting with an injury? Backup Matthew Caldwell entered and tossed an absolute dime on his only pass of the contest - a 10-yard throw to Emmett Mosley for the game-winning score.

Another dramatic win for the Longhorns keeps them teetering on the line of playoff contention for another week. As for Mississippi State, a litany of questionable decisions in the fourth quarter and overtime highlighted exactly why the Bulldogs have lost 16 straight SEC games.

Bama's dynamic duo rises in the moment

They might not have reached the iconic status of legendary duos like Mario and Luigi, Batman and Robin, Outkast, or Tom and Greg from "Succession," but when you need a perfect play in a big moment, there's no better combo in college football than Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb.

The coach-coordinator duo made magic with perfect play-calling on numerous occasions at Washington, and they've brought that to Alabama with Grubb on staff after he spent last season in the NFL. That was evident in the clutch at South Carolina on Saturday, with the Crimson Tide desperately needing a two-point conversion to tie the game late.

They weren't done there, making an excellent running call for receiver Germie Bernard in the final minute to win the contest - albeit against a defense that looked like they were letting Alabama score to get the ball back.

It certainly wasn't the prettiest outing for Alabama, but that's understandable given the gauntlet it just ran. The Gamecocks were the first unranked opponent in the Crimson Tide's last five games, an incredible run that DeBoer's program somehow navigated perfectly.

Alabama gets a chance to catch its breath for a week before facing LSU off the bye. Oh, and black-hoodie DeBoer is now 15-2 when wearing his favorite garment on the sideline.

Indiana smashes glass slippers

The all-business and somewhat surly Curt Cignetti definitely gives off the vibe of someone who has no time for fairy tales. The second-year Indiana coach confirmed that on Saturday, smashing Cinderella UCLA's glass slipper with an emphatic 56-6 beatdown at home. The loss ended the Bruins' three-game conference winning streak since naming Tim Skipper the interim head coach and Jerry Neuheisel Jr. as offensive coordinator.

Cignetti has made it clear: the scoreboard operator should be ready to work during home games while he's in Bloomington. With Saturday's blowout in the books, the Hoosiers are now averaging 34.5 points per game under Cignetti in home contests against Big Ten opponents. A lights-out defense makes life hell for any road team, something Indiana rolls out every week. On Saturday, the Hoosiers posted three sacks, seven tackles for loss, and forced three turnovers. The Bruins barely topped the 200-yard mark for the game on a meager 3.8 yards per play.

The Hoosiers hit the road three times in their final four outings, but Maryland, wounded Penn State, and Purdue aren't exactly a murderers' row. Add a home contest with Wisconsin, and it's tough to see anything other than an undefeated Hoosiers in the Big Ten title game at the start of December.

Eyes on Vanderbilt

For the first time ever, millions of people watched Vanderbilt open a football season 7-1 on Saturday. No, it's not the only time the Commodores have hit that number, but with fewer than 8,000 TVs nationwide in 1941, it's safe to say the program's start wasn't heavily watched. Clark Lea's Vanderbilt continued its unbelievable surge with ESPN's College GameDay in town, taking down No. 15 Missouri in an absolute brawl in Nashville. It certainly wasn't the prettiest contest, with the Commodores barely topping 250 yards in total offense. But the defense turned in an outstanding showing down the stretch to hold the line.

Missouri held the ball for a whopping 36 minutes of action, running 78 plays in the contest compared to 45 for Vanderbilt. No matter the discrepancy, the defense held when needed, including on a last-second Hail Mary pass in the dying seconds. As he's done all season, Diego Pavia supplied the key moment on offense, plunging in for the eventual winning touchdown in the final minutes.

The Commodores still have some work to do, but it might be time to start having conversations with your great-grandparents about a top-five Vanderbilt. After all, they're the only ones who won't think you're crazy, given the last time that happened.

Good or lucky, BYU deserves our attention

Five power conference programs entered Saturday undefeated, but only BYU found itself ranked outside the AP Poll's top 10. Whether it was due to an underwhelming schedule or a lack of dominant wins, the Cougars didn't receive the same level of respect nationally as the other unbeaten teams. Voters won't be able to keep BYU on the outside this week after a significant road win at Iowa State - a game that essentially flipped on a special-teams error.

A massive blunder on punt coverage gifted BYU the ball in Iowa State territory, setting up the go-ahead touchdown. The Cougars followed with a pick-6 on the next drive, turning what was once a 14-point deficit into a stunning 14-point win to put themselves 8-0 for the second straight season - the first time the program has ever done that.

An undefeated team with a true freshman quarterback named Bear Bachmeier - who compiled more than 350 total yards Saturday - should probably be getting more of our attention. Expect that to change after the bye week with a trip to Texas Tech.

Scoring bingo for Iowa

Collect your prize if you were playing Iowa scoring bingo for Saturday's game versus Minnesota. The Hawkeyes put up points early and often on the Golden Gophers, with extra credit given for the variety of attack in the 41-3 blowout.

The Hawkeyes putting up that many points while finishing with less than 300 yards of total offense might be the most on-brand stat line in college football. Don't look now, but after losses to Iowa State and Indiana, Iowa is now firmly in the mix to make some noise in the Big Ten down the stretch. The Hawkeyes hit the bye week with a visit from No. 6 Oregon on deck when they return.