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Week nine of the college football season is almost here, and this weekend's slate is packed with good games. There are numerous matchups featuring top-25 teams this week, and they will all be crucial as the race for the College Football Playoff is heating up. One top-25 matchup this week that should be interesting features Drew Allar and the Penn State football team hitting the road for a tough matchup under the lights against Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions are 6-0 and ranked #3 in the country, but the Badgers are hoping to end their perfect season.
Penn State is off to a great start this year, but this will be their toughest test to date. Wisconsin has looked much better in recent weeks and the home night game atmosphere will be rocking. The Nittany Lions will need a good performance from quarterback Drew Allar if they want to win.
Before we talk more about Allar and predictions for his performance, let’s take a deeper look at both of these teams.
Wisconsin is playing good football right now
The Wisconsin football team didn’t look great at the beginning of the season as they lost badly to both Alabama and USC. Those losses are looking worse by the week, but the Badgers have looked good in recent weeks.
Wisconsin has now won three games in a row, and they have won them all in dominating fashion. The Badgers are currently sitting at 5-2, and a win this weekend against #3 Penn State would vault them into the polls and make this team a real College Football Playoff contender.
Penn State football is looking to stay perfect
The Penn State football team is in prime position to make the College Football Playoff as they are 6-0, but this team wants to win out and go to the Big Ten title game. They host Ohio State next week, and that will be the only game this year that the Nittany Lions are underdogs.
This is going to be a big test for Penn State, and it looks like their most difficult matchup to date. They did beat USC on the road, but the Trojans have looked worse and worse each week while the Badgers have looked better and better.
If Penn State is going to win, they need to play clean football, and that starts with QB Drew Allar. Here are three predictions for his performance:
Drew Allar will throw for under 150 yards
Drew Allar tends to struggle when Penn State has a big game, so it’s a safe bet that he won’t light up the stat sheet in a road night game against Wisconsin. This feels like it will be a classic ground and pound Big Ten game, so Allar really just needs to focus on taking care of the football.
Drew Allar will be responsible for at least one turnover
In Penn State’s last big game (USC), Allar ended up throwing for 391 yards. But wait, we just talked about how he usually struggles in big games. Well, Allar needed to throw the football 43 times to get those 391 yards, and he also threw three interceptions. That’s not great. Allar will once again be responsible for some costly turnovers this weekend.
Drew Allar and Penn State will lose
Penn State is ranked #3 in the country because a lot of teams ahead of them have lost, not because they’ve truly looked like the third best team in the country. The Nittany Lions really haven’t played anyone all that good, and they are going to lose this weekend at Wisconsin and again next weekend against Ohio State.
The Nittany Lions and Badgers will kick off from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison at 7:30 ET/6:30 CT on Saturday night, and the game will be airing on NBC. Penn State is currently favored by 6.5.
Other notable week nine matchups
This matchup between the Penn State football team and Wisconsin should end up being a close one, and there are a lot of other good matchups across college football this weekend as well. Let's take a peak at the slate.
ESPN's College GameDay heads to the biggest game of the week every week, but they sometimes will choose another campus to hit more schools that don't typically get as much attention. They will be in Bloomington this weekend as Indiana is 7-0 and hosting Washington. The Hoosiers are hot, but there are definitely some bigger games this weekend.
Starting in the ACC, 5-1 Syracuse will take on undefeated #19 Pitt on Thursday night. That's a huge game in the conference race. We also have a rivalry game on Saturday as #6 Miami will be hosting Florida State. The Seminoles are 1-6, so this was expected to be a better matchup when the season began.
There are a couple intriguing matchups in the Big 12 as well. Kansas and Kansas State will get together for a rivalry clash, and the Jayhawks will look to spoil the Wildcats' season. Also, Cincinnati at Colorado under the lights in Boulder will be a good one as well.
The Big Ten has a lot of good games this weekend. Washington at Indiana is obviously an intriguing one, and this Nebraska at Ohio State game that we discussed is one to watch as well. In the afternoon, #20 Illinois at #1 Oregon is the one to watch, and then there are a couple good night games as well. It's rivalry week in Michigan as the Wolverines will host Michigan State, and then #3 Penn State has this tricky road test against 5-2 Wisconsin that we discussed.
In the SEC, there are three top-25 matchups this weekend. #21 Missouri will visit #15 Alabama, and the struggling Crimson Tide need a win. #5 Texas will look to bounce back from their loss against Georgia as they will travel to play #25 Vanderbilt. Lastly, #8 LSU will visit #14 Texas A&M under the lights.
Not done yet! Teams not in conferences matter too, and we have a top-25 clash between #12 Notre Dame and #24 Navy this week. Buckle up, week nine is going to be fun.
