7 most important Week 9 games with College Football Playoff ramifications

You hear it just about every week but this will be the most important weekend in college football. There are College Football Playoff implications everywhere you turn and just one mistake by any contender on Saturday could shake up the potential bracket a ton.

We're here to break down just some of the most important matchups you should have your televisions tuned to this weekend.

7 most important games in Week 9

No. 17 Boise State v. UNLV (Fri.)

If you're willing to stay up late Friday, this game is worth missing out on some sleep (or just sleep in until kickoff on Saturday). Boise State (5-1) currently has the inside track to represent the Group of Five in the College Football Playoff but because they already have one loss (against Oregon in Week 2) it's on thin ice.

UNLV (6-1) has the biggest opportunity in program history to insert itself into the national title conversation with an upset over the Broncos. The bad news — the Rebels haven't beaten Boise State since 1976, ironically when it poached the Broncos' head coach that offseason.

No. 24 Navy v. No. 12 Notre Dame

This game is arguably the biggest in the historic rivalry since Roger Staubach was under center for the Midshipmen. Notre Dame has already been upset once this year, so the cracks are there to be exploited but Navy hasn't defeated the Irish since 2016. This contest will surely be an elimination game for both teams in the playoff race.

Navy ranks 34th in the country in total offense, Notre Dame isn't even in the top 50. However, the Irish boast the No. 10 ranked defense this season. Something's going to have to give on neutral turf at MetLife Stadium. A win would likely see Navy leapfrog its rival Army (7-0) but the opposite result would all but guarantee itself a berth in the Military Bowl.

Washington v. No. 13 Indiana

Based on previous weeks' results, this would seem like a very unusual admission. But this is a prime upset opportunity that everyone should be keeping tabs on. Indiana (7-0) is looking like the brightest of dark horses to make a run at the Big Ten title but there's just one massive thing standing in their way. The Hoosiers will be without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who underwent thumb surgery on Monday and must find a way to win without him.

This is the same Washington team that upset a ranked Michigan team but it also just got walloped by Iowa 40-16. It's the definition of a trap game, especially for a shorthanded Hoosier team. Despite the new 12-team playoff format, a singular loss for Indiana could put it on the outside edge of the bubble because it still has a massive game against No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 23 approaching.

No. 20 Illinois v. No. 1 Oregon

If there are some of you out there that Illinois was a Top 20 ranked college football team this year, I would totally understand. I think there's a decent chunk of the population that wrote off the Illini after they fell to Penn State in Week 5, and again I don't blame them. However, they're still here and this top-ranked Ducks team must respect them.

The No. 1 team in the country has lost three times already this season, albeit they were all SEC teams, so Oregon should expect this game to be held in an atmosphere similar to the wacky 2007 season. The Ducks also own the nation's longest active regular-season winning streak at 13 wins after Liberty (17 wins) fell to Kennesaw State on Wednesday. Liberty inherited that record after Georgia (42 wins) lost to Alabama earlier this season. I'm not going to say curse but it is spooky season.

No. 21 Missouri v. No. 15 Alabama

This is practically an SEC elimination game down in Tuscaloosa. Granted, Alabama already has two losses but that hasn't stopped the committee from inserting them into the playoff anyways because of who they are. If Missouri can finish them off, there's no resurrecting that resume for the postseason whatsoever. The Tigers would need to majorly flip the script on their history with the Crimson Tide. Missouri hasn't beaten Alabama since 1975, losing all five matchups since then.

On the flip side, a loss for Missouri would cement its spot on the outside looking in but a win make a muddied SEC title race even more difficult to make out. There hasn't been this much chaos in that conference in years and we still have too many matchups that could throw more wrenches in the way the season plays out.

No. 5 Texas v. No. 25 Vanderbilt

Everybody knows Texas needs to rebound if its national title aspirations are to be believed now. But to have to travel to Nashville and face an extremely unlikely team that's had the program's number for so long can be very difficult. You read that correctly, Vanderbilt has an 8-3-1 record against the Longhorns all-time. The biggest caveat, the two programs have not played one another since 1928.

So, it's fair to say this is the biggest game of this saga in almost 100 years. There are storylines galore in this game with Vanderbilt having just upset Alabama only a couple of weekends earlier. Can they take advantage of a stunned Texas team or will the Longhorns regain focus and trample the Commodores in revenge?

No. 8 LSU v. No. 14 Texas A&M

Believe it or not, these two programs top the SEC standings going into Week 9. They're both undefeated in conference play but one will have a blemish after Saturday. It's also fair to say that the winner has the inside track to win the SEC title (albeit with Georgia and Texas still waiting in the wings).

This is a storied rivalry that everyone should be tuning in to watch in primetime. LSU leads the all-time series 35-20-2 but neither team has won back-to-back since 2016-17 (LSU). The home team has won the last seven meetings, meaning the Aggies will have the advantage at Kyle Field for this matchup.