Florida-Georgia, Ohio State at USC Headline Week 9 Halloween Slate

Halloween Saturday closes October with the kind of slate that sorts out November. Week 9 of the 2026 college football season brings three games between ranked teams, a top-three team playing without its starting quarterback on the road, the No. 1 team in the country visiting a famous coach in Chapel Hill, and a rivalry game between Notre Dame and Navy at an NFL stadium. Several teams playing on Saturday are one loss from falling out of the playoff picture.

Friday night already delivered one rout, one overtime finish and one program first.

Friday finals: a rout, an overtime finish and a first

Baylor beat UCF 41-9 in Orlando on Friday night, in the Bears' first game since the school fired head coach Dave Aranda. Interim coach Joe Klanderman won his debut behind quarterback DJ Lagway, who threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns on 16-of-25 passing, including a 77-yard score to Gavin Freeman. Baylor (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) led 20-6 at halftime and held UCF (4-4, 2-3) without a touchdown, one week after the Knights upset then-No. 2 BYU. UCF scored only on three Rhett Armstrong field goals.

Tulane beat Charlotte 38-31 in overtime. Tulane (4-4, 2-2 American) trailed 31-21 in the fourth quarter, cut the gap to 31-24 on a field goal, stopped a Charlotte fake punt with 1:58 left, and tied the game on Trace Johnson's 11-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Roberts with 10 seconds left. Johnson finished 28-of-36 for 284 yards and one touchdown. In overtime, short-yardage quarterback Dagan Bruno scored on a fourth-and-goal sneak, and the defense held Charlotte out of the end zone from first-and-goal at the 4. Johnnie Daniels ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns for Tulane.

Sacramento State beat Kent State 31-10 at Hornet Stadium for the first Mid-American Conference win in program history. The Hornets (2-7, 1-5 MAC) trailed 10-6 at halftime, then outscored Kent State 25-0 in the second half. Freshman Isaiah Ene ran for a career-high 107 yards and two touchdowns, Donovan Turner returned an interception 38 yards for a score, and the defense forced five takeaways. Kent State (3-6, 2-3) scored first on a 92-yard touchdown pass from Dru DeShields to Wayne Harris.

Noon window: Lubbock and Foxborough

No. 21 Arizona at No. 14 Texas Tech, noon ET on ESPN, opens the ranked slate. Both teams are 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12, and USA Today called the game a possible elimination game for the Big 12 championship race. Arizona has won five straight since a Week 2 loss at BYU, including a 39-3 win over Iowa State last week. Quarterback Noah Fifita has thrown 18 touchdown passes and run for three more. Texas Tech comes home after a 37-24 loss at Cincinnati and needs its defense to slow Fifita down.

No. 6 Notre Dame vs. Navy, noon ET on ABC at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, runs at the same time. It is the 99th meeting of the rivalry, and the teams play for the Rip Miller Trophy, according to Navy Athletics. Notre Dame is 6-1 and ranked No. 6 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Navy is 2-5. The Irish had an open date last week after taking their first loss of the season, 28-24 at BYU.

The rivalry moves to Atlanta

No. 20 Florida vs. No. 3 Georgia, 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, is the afternoon centerpiece. The annual rivalry game leaves Jacksonville this year because EverBank Stadium is under a major renovation. Georgia is still carrying a home loss to Auburn, and quarterback Gunner Stockton needs a cleaner game after a rough outing. Florida rallied to upset Texas in its last game, and USA Today expects both Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones to take snaps at quarterback. The winner keeps a direct path in the SEC race.

Prime time: two 7:30 kickoffs with playoff weight

No. 2 Ohio State at No. 25 USC, 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Ohio State makes the cross-country trip without starting quarterback Julian Sayin, who is sidelined with an injury. Either freshman Luke Fahey, who entered the Indiana game when Sayin left, or sophomore Tavien St. Clair will start, with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith as the main target. USC lost at Wisconsin last week, and USA Today noted another loss could effectively end the Trojans' playoff chances. Quarterback Jayden Maiava and running back King Miller carry the USC offense.

No. 1 Miami at North Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, runs head-to-head with it. Miami holds the top spot in the US LBM Coaches Poll, and no ACC opponent other than Florida State has come within two scores of the Hurricanes. Quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney lead Miami. North Carolina, coached by Bill Belichick, lost to Syracuse last week, but a prime-time home game against the No. 1 team is a chance to reset its season. Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and receiver Jordan Shipp are the Tar Heels' best hopes against the Miami secondary.

What happens next

The first College Football Playoff rankings come out on Tuesday, and Saturday's results draw the first draft of that bracket. A Georgia win keeps the Bulldogs near the top of the SEC race; a Florida win drops Georgia toward the bubble. USC cannot survive another loss.