Aggies Sitting Pretty, Buckeyes Less So And Penn State Could Win It All

The final month of the season came into focus on a wild Saturday in college football, especially in the SEC and Big Ten.

Both conferences had massive matchups shape the landscape moving forward and, in multiple cases, left lingering questions that will be fascinating to monitor as we head into November.

What went down in Week 9 and what should we expect down the stretch?

Texas A&M probably punched its ticket to Atlanta

The Aggies have never played in the SEC Championship Game, but that will likely change as the 38-23 win over LSU makes the path to the Peach State very clear.

The Aggies are undefeated in conference play, and have road trips to South Carolina and Auburn on the docket ahead of the rivalry game against Texas at Kyle Field to close out the regular season. Now, granted, those two road trips look a little bit more difficult as South Carolina has been impressive and Auburn finally got things going on Saturday night in Kentucky. But still, that’s not exactly murderer’s row.

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - OCTOBER 26: Conner Weigman #15 of the Texas A&M Aggies throws a pass in the first half against the LSU Tigers at Kyle Field on October 26, 2024 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

What’s more important, though, is that the offense finally found its identity. Veteran quarterback Conner Weigman was pulled midway through the LSU game, and that proved to make a massive difference - in a good way. Freshman Marcel Reed came in and led a stellar comeback that included four touchdowns and one field goal on all five of his meaningful drives (excluding the kneel downs to end it). Reed filled in for an injured Weigman earlier in the season, but coach Mike Elko couldn’t pull the trigger and "Drew Bledsoe" or "Wally Pipp" Weigman until it was the right time.

Saturday night was the right time.

The Aggies have found their stride, cleared multiple hurdles, have the SEC Championship Game in their sights and, barring a disaster, might clinch a College Football Playoff berth midway through the final month of the season.

Should you worry about Ohio State?

Yes, there should be some concern in Buckeye-land after the narrow 21-17 win over Nebraska. Ohio State's  offensive line was sub-par, the defense couldn’t get off the field as the Cornhuskers consistently moved the chains to own the time of possession battle and the Buckeyes rushing attack was average-at-best for the entire game.

COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 26: Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) carries the ball during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on October 26, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Normally, it wouldn’t be much of a concern since every team should be given at least a couple of mulligans either in wins or losses. However, the Buckeyes own a head-to-head loss to Big Ten front-runner Oregon, will head to Penn State next weekend and have undefeated Indiana on the docket in late November.

That’s not exactly a clear runway to get to the Big Ten Championship Game. What’s more, Saturday’s lackluster performance came after a bye week that gave coach Ryan Day a chance to work on some issues following the loss to the Ducks two weeks ago.

It’s safe to say that Ohio State isn’t necessarily on "thin ice" right now, but it won’t take much to get there.

Penn State can win it all

It seems like every team outside of Oregon has a flaw this year, but Penn State showed Saturday night at Wisconsin that its flaws are easily disguised. I write that as if there are multiple flaws, but there is really only one - quarterback. However, it’s not the same problem I anticipated prior to the season.

MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 26: Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (15) passes the ball during a college football game between the University of Wisconsin Badgers and the Penn State University Nittany Lions on October 26, 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI. (Photo by Lawrence Iles/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

I didn’t believe in Drew Allar before the season, but he has been solid all year and was money in the first half in the 28-13 win. An injury forced him out in the second half, but Beau Pribula stepped in with absolutely no drop-off. He only tossed two incompletions out of 13 passes, had 98 yards and a score through the air and 28 more yards on the ground.

The win, combined with Pribula’s success, has set up a massive showdown in Happy Valley between the Nittany Lions and those shaky Buckeyes that are mentioned above. A win for James Franklin’s crew would make it almost impossible for them to miss the Big Ten Championship Game barring multiple massive upsets.

Based on what we saw on Saturday, massive setbacks don’t seem to bother them though.