Oh No, Brandon: Week 9 CFB Recap

Another great week of America's best sport is in the books. We had epic collapses, statement wins and one grown man accepting that maybe life will only ever be pain.

Here's your weekly recap:

- Poor Brandon Walker

They don't get much worse than this, folks. Brandon Walker, Mississippi's prodigal son, returned home to Starkville to watch Mississippi State hopefully finally finish one of these upset bids against a ranked SEC opponent this season. The Bulldogs entered the fourth quarter leading 31-14.

And then disaster struck.

MSU is 4-4 and may very well finish 4-8 with a tough back end of the schedule, but I honestly believe there's a pretty good football team in there somewhere. They just can't finish a damn game. Texas cut the Bulldogs' lead to a touchdown with just over four minutes to go, forced a three-and-out, returned the ensuing punt 79 yards for a touchdown and then won in overtime with an incredible catch literally right in Brandon's face.

I'm all for laughing at the big fella when appropriate, but this was just cruel.

- Texas A&M Is a Bona Fide National Title Contender

Even with an early season win on the road at Notre Dame, some people still questioned just how legitimate Texas A&M was coming into this week. Nobody doubted whether the Aggies were good, it was just a matter of if they belonged in the national title conversation or would be more on the verge of fighting for a College Football Playoff spot.

Those questions should be gone.

A&M trailed 18-14 at halftime in Death Valley and then spent the second half bending LSU over a barrel. The Aggies scored 35 straight points before the Tigers notched a touchdown in the final minute to only lose by 24 at home. Marcel Reed threw a bad pick in the end zone — so Texas A&M probably should have put up a 50 burger — but played pretty well otherwise and added more than 100 yards on the ground.

I would still put this team a step below Ohio State and Indiana, but this is a squad that could absolutely be playing for the national title in January.

- Memphis Is Now in the Group of Five Driver's Seat

Mississippi State's collapse really took some of the heat off South Florida, which led 31-17 at the start of the fourth quarter and gave up 17 unanswered points in the final frame to lose a critical game in the quest for the Group of Five's automatic CFP bid. The Tigers are now one of three teams in the American Conference that likely control their own destiny in that regard, alongside 7-0 Navy and 6-1 Tulane, both of whom play Memphis in November.

Whoever emerges as the champion from that league will almost certainly get the G5 Playoff spot and there are still five teams more than alive in that race — USF can still avenge this loss in the title game and look out for North Texas, too. But as of right now, Memphis is the leader in the clubhouse.

- Mizzou's Hail Mary Comes Up an Inch Short

After a largely uneventful game offensively, Vanderbilt and Missouri had quite the final few minutes. Vandy scored with 1:52 to go and Mizzou got far enough down the field to have one last shot on a Hail Mary — with a true freshman quarterback after Beau Pribula left the game with his leg in an air cast in the third quarter.

The ball sailed down to the goal line and was somehow caught, but Kevin Coleman came up with the ball just a couple inches shy of the goal line. Brutal.

Vanderbilt's dream season rolls on to Austin next week and if the Commodores are able to leave Texas with a win, there isn't much left between them and a Playoff berth.

- Ole Miss Punched a Playoff Ticket

I know it's college football and anything can happen, but I think you can go ahead and consider one of the SEC's CFP bids accounted for in the form of the Ole Miss Rebels. These guys should probably be 8-0 and even if they get tripped up in Starkville to end the season, I don't see another loss on that schedule.

This team will be in the Playoff led by Trinidad Chambliss, who has come out of nowhere to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football since he took over for Austin Simmons. He had another 300-yard performance on Saturday and added 53 more on the ground. The Rebs' offensive numbers haven't necessarily been explosive the last few weeks, but Chambliss moves the ball and puts them in a position to put points on the board.

I am bullish on this team.

- Kentucky Fumbled Three Times on One Play

I kno the eyes of America weren't largely on Tennessee-Kentucky during the night slate, so I needed people to see this play. Kentucky fumbled not once, not twice, but three times on one down before the Vols eventually recovered to set up one of their seven touchdowns.

I didn't even see the second fumble until the replay. These are the kinds of things that happen when these teams meet on the football field, though. Even in years where Kentucky has a team with the theoretical ability to beat Tennessee — which this one certainly did not — it will produce something like a triple fumble.