College Football Overtime: Texas A&M's contender status, Mississippi State's collapse lead Week 9 takeaways

Week 9 of college football's 2025 season had a bit of everything. Texas made a historic fourth-quarter comeback, Texas A&M made Death Valley at night seem tame, Virginia kept playing in overtime and Wisconsin finally scored! There weren't the parade of upsets that have characterized the season thus far. But there were some highly important moments and plays that will have an impact on the playoff race and an increasingly active coaching carousel.

Week 9 is over and you know how this works: Let's run through College Football Overtime, highlighting everything you need to know from the week that was in college football.

ONE BIG THING: TEXAS A&M IS A LEGIT NATIONAL TITLE THREAT

For all of the headlines, big-name coaches, "Swagcopters," sellout crowds, high-profile recruits and even one electric Heisman winner, Texas A&M Aggies hasn't been a legitimate national title threat in the sport's modern era. Hundreds of millions (likely billions) have been spent chasing that goal with only two finishes in the top five to show for it since 1956.

But, entering November and following the Aggies' emphatic 49-25 win at LSU, it's abundantly clear that Texas A&M is a contender.

No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0) now owns ranked road victories against then-No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 20 LSU (5-3). The Aggies have the most explosive receiver pairing (Mario Craver, KC Concepcion) south of Columbus, Ohio. They have a havoc-causing defensive front (sixth in sacks entering the week), an elite offensive line (top 20 in pressure rate allowed, top 30 in rushing yards created before contact) and perhaps most importantly a difference maker at quarterback in Marcel Reed, an evolving passer who can also change a game in an instant with his legs.

The Aggies, in a way that they haven't been at any other point in the modern era, are a complete team.

It's one that you can trust, too. Consider Mike Elko's track record as a head coach. He took over a three-win Duke team and immediately won nine games. He went to Texas A&M and inherited a cultural disaster of a locker room.

He overhauled the roster quickly with 28 transfers and scraped out eight wins despite his then-starting quarterback suffering a nagging injury in Week 1 of the 2024 season. Now, with another year to reset the roster and build, the Aggies have ascended.

There's none of the drama that plagued previous Texas A&M teams.

Instead, the Aggies are a well-coached, explosive team that can score with anyone and is built to be a nightmare for opposing offensive lines.

I feel confident in saying this 8-0 Texas A&M team is much different than last year's that also began the season 5-0 in SEC play. There's no inexperience at quarterback or a lack of exterior weapons.

Expect Texas A&M to play for the SEC championship in Atlanta. And don't be shocked if they make a deep run in the College Football Playoff.

It's what complete teams do.

REPORT CARD

A. OLE MISS

I didn't love Lane Kiffin calling out an opposing player on national television in his postgame interview, which followed the Rebels' 34-26 win over Oklahoma. That ain't classy by a 50-year-old head coach. But you have to give No. 8 Ole Miss (7-1) credit for its resolve on the road and with the way that Kiffin and his staff rebuilt the roster this offseason.

Ole Miss buckled late last week when Georgia made a second-half charge.

This time, the Rebels weathered a second-half comeback by the No. 13 Sooners (6-2), responding with a 9-0 fourth-quarter run.

Remember, last year was supposed to be Ole Miss's generational run. The Rebels went all in on the 2024 season and College Football Playoff but fell painfully short with eight eventual draft picks, including a first-round quarterback in current New York Giants rookie starting quarterback Jaxson Dart, heading to the NFL.

Regression was expected — and, perhaps, even acceptable — in 2025. The Rebels signed another good transfer class, but many of the All-America-caliber pieces who headlined last year's roster were gone.

It hasn't mattered much because Ole Miss did a stellar job evaluating in the 2025 college football transfer portal, landing obvious stars like Nebraska's Princewill Umanmielen (two TFLs, 1 1/2 sacks) and unheralded gems such as Ferris State quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

The Rebels haven't crossed the line yet. But given a remaining schedule of South Carolina, The Citadel, Florida and Mississippi State, they seem almost assured of finishing 10-2 and earning a playoff spot.

Get the latest football and recruiting scoop on your favorite college team today.

It's a heck of a response from a program that seemed to blow its playoff window a year ago.

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