These were the 10 most impressive and impactful performances from around college football in Week 9.
Now that the first College Football Playoff rankings are out, there is more clarity on the playoff chase picture and the stakes of each game moving forward.
Week 10 on the college football schedule happens to absolutely loaded with pivotal matchups that will serve as CFP elimination games for some programs.
But before putting the focus there, as always, the “Game Balls” from last week have to be delivered.
From superlative stat lines to impactful performances in the biggest moments of the biggest games, the starting list of candidates for inclusion was overflowing as usual.
There wasn’t room for USC freshman tight end Mark Bowman, who had 3 catches for 79 yards in the Trojans’ 30-18 upset of then-No. 2 Ohio State last Saturday night, but he did have the singular most incredible play of the week. And that deserves its own spotlight here.
College Football Game Balls for Week 9
Ultimately, there can be only 10(ish) honorees each week — these were the ones that made the cut as the most impressive and impactful performance from Week 9.
1. Troy S Justin Powe
Fifth-year senior safety Justin Powe doubled his career interceptions tally in one game, leading Troy to a 24-21 overtime upset of James Madison while making 3 interceptions — including a 37-yard pick-6 touchdown return — along with 7 tackles and 2 pass breakups.
Per the Football Writers Association of America, Powe is the first player since 2017 and just the fifth player since at least 1995 with that many interceptions, tackles and PBUs in a game with a pick-6.
Troy was down 21-7 early in the third quarter when Powe snagged his second interception of the game and took it to the house for a touchdown. It was a tied game later that quarter when he nabbed his third pick.
And for good measure, he also broke up James Madison’s Hail Mary attempt in the end zone at the end of regulation to force overtime.
Those were Powe’s first interceptions of the season while he had 3 total over his first four years of college football.
Troy improved to 4-4 with the huge upset win while Powe deservedly reaped a bunch of honors, including Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week, Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and Jim Thorpe National Defensive Back of the Week.
Along with his first career TeamFB7 Game Ball!
2. Iowa State RB Aiden Flora and WR Jamal Polite Jr.
Iowa State earned its first ranked victory under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers, outlasting then-No. 24 Oklahoma State in a back-and-forth Big 12 shootout Saturday that the Cyclones eventually won 51-49.
It’s been a tough first season for Iowa State — the Cyclones evened their record at 4-4 with the upset — but running back Aiden Flora has been a shining bright spot throughout this fall.
Flora, a former walk-on who was mostly relegated to special teams work under the former coaching staff, has emerged as one of the best stories in all of college football.
With a career-high 221 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 29 carries Saturday, Flora is up to 937 rushing yards on 7.2 yards per carry with 8 TDs (and 80 receiving yards). He ranks seventh nationally in rushing.
As for the big win Saturday, Flora had a 75-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that gave Iowa State a 45-35 lead at the time.
As much as Flora deserves the Game Ball spotlight, we have to give him shared billing because of what WR Jamal Polite Jr. contributed to the win as well.
The true freshman had a breakout game with 6 catches for 171 yards and a TD after having 115 receiving yards all season coming into the week. His 33-yard reception sparked the Cyclones’ game-winning field goal drive in the final minute.
3. Memphis QB Marcus Stokes
Marcus Stokes has had a banner season for Memphis and he delivered one of his best performances — out of many — in the Tigers’ 49-22 Week 9 win over Army.
Stokes completed 29 of 35 passes for 371 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs while rushing for 30 yards and a score. It was his second straight game and third this season with 5 totals TDs.
Overall, Stokes has thrown for 2,532 yards, 25 TDs and 6 INTs while rushing for 261 yards and 3 scores for the 7-2 Tigers.
4. North Texas QB Tayven Jackson
Tayven Jackson is no stranger to stuffing the stat sheet, but he was particularly dialed in during North Texas’ 48-41 win over FAU as two of the most dynamic offenses in college football duked it out.
Jackson completed 33 of 46 passes for 404 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs while rushing for 41 yards in the win.
Overall, the fifth-year senior has passed for 2,577 yards, 22 TDs and 5 INTs in a breakout season after bouncing from Tennessee to Indiana to UCF to start his college career.
We’ll let Jackson have sole possession of this Game Ball, but let’s add a shoutout to North Texas RB Jahiem White, who had 26 carries for 186 yards and 2 TDs (plus 27 receiving yards) in the win.
5. Texas Tech RB J’Koby Williams
Already with one loss, Texas Tech has no margin for error in its quest to return to the College Football Playoff, so the Red Raiders were in real peril last Saturday while trailing Arizona by 10 points in the first half and 23-17 late in the third quarter.
Especially while turning the offense over to a new quarterback in well-traveled veteran Thomas Castellanos, who completed less than 50% of his passes (albeit with 2 passing TDs and 117 rushing yards and a score).
But Texas Tech leaned on star running back J’Koby Williams, and he answered in a big way with 175 yards and a TD on 14 carries, averaging 12.5 YPC.
That included a 64-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter to cap a game-swinging run of 17 straight points for the Red Raiders on the way to a 34-26 win.
That marked a career-best rushing performance for the junior, who is now up to 794 yards and 6 TDs (plus 166 receiving yards) for the season.
6. Texas LB Rasheem Biles
Rasheem Biles has been one of the most impactful defensive transfers in the country this season and showed his value again Saturday, keying Texas’ 31-3 defensive domination of Mississippi State.
Biles had 8 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks while forcing 2 fumbles.
Texas was up 10-0 just before halftime with Mississippi State driving into Longhorns territory when Biles delivered a strip sack, with defensive tackle Maraad Watson returning the fumble 61 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 halftime lead.
Biles, a transfer from Pittsburgh, has 60 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions and 3 pass breakups this season.
7. Baylor QB DJ Lagway
Fresh off firing head coach Dave Aranda, Baylor played with renewed focus and motivation last week in rolling to a 41-9 road win at UCF — arguably the Bears’ most impressive performance of the season.
Leading the way was QB DJ Lagway, who completed 16 of 25 passes for 319 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs.
Lagway, the Florida transfer, has been up and down for Baylor this season with 1,651 passing yards, 13 TDs and 4 INTs and had just 1 TD and 2 INTs over his previous two games before playing to his top potential in this one.
8. South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers
We had to ding LaNorris Sellers a little for his 2 interceptions, but he makes the list nonetheless for an all-around impressive performance in South Carolina’s 42-25 win at Oklahoma.
Despite the 2 picks, Sellers completed 19 of 24 passes for 301 yards and 3 TDs and also rushed for 96 yards and 2 scores on 13 attempts. That marked season-highs for passing yards and total yards for the veteran QB.
South Carolina is surging with three straight wins to improve to 5-3 and landed on the initial CFP rankings at No. 21.
Sellers has been inconsistent overall this season — like the Gamecocks in general — but he’s coming on strong down the stretch and now has 1,849 passing yards, 16 TDs (half of those coming in this three-game win streak) and 7 INTs with 603 rushing yards and 6 scores.
9. Delaware QB Nick Minicucci and WR Sean Wilson
The prolific Delaware duo was at it again last week in a 35-21 win at Western Kentucky, as Nick Minicucci completed 32 of 38 passes for a season-high 414 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs and Sean Wilson hauled in 9 receptions for 183 yards and 2 scores.
Minicucci’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Wilson in the third quarter accounted for the only points of the second half and gave the Blue Hens the cushion needed to close out the win and improve to 4-4.
After missing a month in the middle of the season due to injury, Minicucci is building momentum with 9 passing TDs, 1 INT and a rushing TD over the last two games.
As for Wilson, this is the second time this season he’s posted a line like this after earlier tallying 9 catches for 185 yards and 2 scores vs. Coastal Carolina in September.
10. Washington S Alex McLaughlin
Alex McLaughlin delivered what proved to be the decisive points in Washington’s 17-10 win at Nebraska, returning an interception 48 yards for a touchdown with just 1:15 remaining to stun the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska had led 7-3 just moments earlier before giving up a 25-yard touchdown on defense and then the pick-6 two plays into the ensuing drive.
McLaughlin keyed the stifling defensive performance overall while matching his season-high with 9 tackles and had a pass breakup while helping the Huskies improve to 5-3. The interception was his third of the season.
Honorable Mentions
FAU QB Caden Veltkamp and WR Easton Messer: These two are no stranger to the TeamFB7 Game Balls spotlight. They miss the cut this week only because FAU was outdone by North Texas in that aforementioned 48-41 shootout, but the Owls’ offensive stars sure did their part. Veltkamp passed for 452 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT and Messer had 16 catches for 189 yards and 3 TDs.
North Carolina QB Billy Edwards Jr.: If not for a late fumble that setup a Miami touchdown and helped seal the game for the Hurricanes, Edwards would have been high on the Game Balls list after completing 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs — by far his best game with UNC — while the Tar Heels put a real scare into the top-ranked Hurricanes before losing 38-35.
Duke RB Nate Sheppard: Sheppard has been arguably the best running back in college football this season and scored a career-high 5 TDs last week while rushing for 97 yards (with 32 receiving yards) in a 47-2 win over Boston College. Overall, the sophomore standout is up to 972 rushing yards (fifth-most nationally), 302 receiving yards and 18 total TDs (most in the FBS).
Oregon QB Dylan Raiola: It’s been a wild ride for Raiola this season, first leading Oregon to a win over USC off the bench, then getting benched and now re-emerging as the Ducks QB. He passed for 336 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs in a 34-26 win over then-No. 20 Northwestern last week.
Colorado LB Gideon Lampron: Lampron posted a career-high 15 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in a 27-24 overtime win over Kansas State to snap a five-game losing streak for Colorado. Both of his sacks came in the second half and forced Kansas State into untenable third-and-long situations leading to punts.
Louisville WR Tre Richardson: Richardson didn’t find the end zone in Louisville’s 52-24 win over Stanford, but he sure helped the Cardinals get there a bunch of times while catching 10 passes for 140 yards and rushing 4 times for 49 yards — all season-highs for the receiver.
South Florida DE CJ Hicks: Hicks tied a school record and became the first AAC player since 2024 to register 4 sacks in a game in a 30-10 win over UAB. He had 5 total tackles and added a pass deflection.
Boise State WR Rasean Jones: The freshman set career-highs with 9 receptions for 117 yards and 3 TDs in Boise State’s 46-45 win over Texas State. That included 4 catches for 65 yards and 2 scores in the fourth quarter as the Broncos scored 18 points in the final 6:15 of the game to erase an 11-point deficit.
Pittsburgh RB Damon Ferguson Jr.: Ferguson, a freshman, hadn’t had more than 20 carries in a game this season before rushing 31 times for 185 yards and 2 TDs (plus 11 receiving yards) in Pitt’s 34-11 win at Georgia Tech.
Miami DL Marquise Lightfoot Jr.: Lightfoot might have saved Miami’s No. 1 ranking and undefeated record when he delivered a strip-sack on Edwards that the Hurricanes recovered at the UNC 37 with 5:33 remaining. Leading by a just a field goal at the time, Miami used that short field to add a touchdown that proved decisive in the 38-35 win. Lightfoot also had 7 tackles and 2 sacks in all.
