What We Know About Week 9's College Football Upset Alerts

Columbus, Ohio — Ohio State enters Week 9 without starting quarterback Julian Sayin, who is out indefinitely with an arm injury, forcing the No. 2 Buckeyes to turn to a backup as they travel to face USC on Saturday, according to ESPN college football writer Bill Connelly in his Week 9 upset-alert breakdown.

Who starts at quarterback for Ohio State against USC?

Connelly writes that freshman Luke Fahey is the likely starter for Ohio State in the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, which will air on NBC. The game marks the first extended look at the Buckeyes' plan after Sayin's injury, with Connelly noting it is a chance to see "Ohio State's Julian Sayin successor of choice" against a USC team looking to spring an upset, per ESPN.

Why is the Big Ten race unsettled entering Week 9?

Beyond Columbus, the conference's contention picture has been reshaped by quarterback injuries, according to Connelly's column. UCLA and Ohio State remain unbeaten in Big Ten play but are both managing long-term injuries at the position, he writes, while Indiana reached 4-1 last week despite what Connelly describes as a "limited QB." Oregon, meanwhile, has fallen out of the conference race after its own quarterback injury, the column states. Connelly says this week's Oregon and Indiana games will help determine whether 3-1 Northwestern and Minnesota should be considered contenders.

How many ranked teams have lost in recent weeks?

Connelly frames the run-up to Halloween as one of the more volatile stretches of the season: 21 ranked teams have lost over the past three weeks, he writes, more than half of them to unranked opponents. A top-two team has lost to an unranked team in each of those three weeks, according to the ESPN column.

Which teams are flagged for upset alert in Week 9?

Connelly's breakdown — titled "Utah, Georgia, Ole Miss on upset alert" — places those three programs among the teams facing elevated risk of a loss this week, according to ESPN. The full survey covers 31 matchups across the sport, with Ohio State-USC serving as a marquee test of how a backup-quarterback situation affects a contender's standing heading into November.

What is Connelly watching for heading into the weekend?

Connelly opens the column by citing a string of historical Halloween-era upsets — including Miami's 2015 win over then-No. 22 Duke, Texas's 1998 road win over Nebraska, and Oregon's 2009 rout of USC under Chip Kelly — as evidence the holiday weekend has a track record of reordering the sport's hierarchy, according to ESPN. Whether this Halloween adds to that list, he writes, will depend on how Ohio State's backup-led offense performs in Los Angeles and on results elsewhere across his 31-game survey.

For the complete matchup-by-matchup breakdown, see Connelly's full Week 9 upset-alert column on ESPN.

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