College Football

College football Week 9 top plays: Ole Miss-Auburn, Ohio State-Penn State, Michigan-MSU, more

Updated Oct. 31, 2021 12:51 a.m. ET

Week 9 of the college football season brought with it a handful of highly anticipated matchups.

In the early window, No. 8 Michigan State kept its perfect record alive as the Spartans took down No. 6 Michigan 37-33 in a Big Ten thriller on FOX's "Big Noon Kickoff."

Meanwhile, Miami knocked off the No. 17 Pitt Panthers 38-34, and Wisconsin pulled off a huge upset over No. 9 Iowa at Camp Randall, winning 27-7. Iowa has now lost back-to-back games to unranked teams. In a massive SEC showdown, Florida became the latest victim to succumb to No. 1 Georgia and its historic defense, with the Bulldogs dominating in a 34-7 victory.

In the late window, Heisman Trophy favorite and potential No. 1 draft pick Matt Corral and No. 10 Ole Miss went on the road against No. 18 Auburn, where they fell 31-20 in the SEC clash. Lastly, No. 5 Ohio State defeated No. 20 Penn State 33-24 to keep its winning streak alive, pushing the total to six straight.

Here are the top plays from Saturday's action.

No. 5 Ohio State 33, No. 20 Penn State 24

Just like home

Penn State was on the road, but its offense looked at home in the first quarter, scoring first to take a 7-0 lead.

Ohio State avalanche

The close of the second quarter was an Ohio State showcase on both sides of the ball. It started with a C.J. Stroud touchdown pass to Chris Olave and ended with a 58-yard scoop-and-score from defensive lineman Jerron Cage.

Ohio State used the momentum to take a 17-10 lead into the half.

Wildcat on the loose

Penn State tied the game in the third quarter behind a Jahan Dotson wildcat touchdown.

Freshman sensation

TreVeyon Henderson is just a freshman, but he has been a star for Ohio State all season. He continued to dominate for the Buckeyes with a 68-yard run that set up a rushing touchdown to put his team ahead 27-17.

In the end, Ohio State came out victorious 33-24, winning its sixth game in a row.

No. 18 Auburn 31, No. 10 Ole Miss 20

Opening punch

Auburn got the ball first and made the most of its opening drive, with Bo Nix finishing an 11-play, 82-yard drive with an 11-yard rushing touchdown.

After holding the Ole Miss offense to a field goal, Auburn marched down the field once again to take a 14-3 lead behind a Tank Bigsby rushing touchdown.

Slight scare

Already facing a 14-3 deficit, Ole Miss was placed in an even deeper hole late in the first quarter, when Corral left the game because of a lower leg injury.

He returned in the second quarter to help lead an Ole Miss scoring drive to make the game 14-10.

Again and again

Nix found success on the ground in the first quarter, so it was only right that he used his legs once again in the second to score another touchdown and give Auburn a 21-10 lead.

No corralling Corral

Return from injury and score a rushing TD? Sounds like something to expect from a Heisman favorite.

After points were scored in abundance in the first half, the second half was a defensive slugfest, with both teams scoring just three points.

That was advantage Auburn, which held on to win 31-20.

No. 1 Georgia 34, Florida 7

Second-quarter spark

It was a scoreless first quarter in Jacksonville after each team missed a field goal, but Georgia was first on the board, as the Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the second frame.

The Gators had a chance to swing the momentum when they picked off Stetson Bennett late in the quarter, but the Bulldogs' defense came up big on the following drive, when Florida QB Anthony Richardson got the ball stripped away from him as he was getting pushed forward by the pile.

Georgia recovered inside Florida's 15-yard line, and the Bulldogs were able to punch it in to take a 10-point lead.

Dawg pound

Georgia extended its lead to 17-0 on this rocket from Bennett to Kearis Jackson.

Shutout continued

With seven seconds to spare, Richardson's pass was intercepted and returned 50 yards for a touchdown, as Georgia took a 24-0 lead headed into the break.

Georgia was never threatened by Florida from that point on, winning 34-7 to continue its reign over the SEC in 2021.

No. 8 Michigan State 37, No. 6 Michigan 33

To the house!

Wideout Andrel Anthony, an East Landing, Michigan, native, exploded down the field after a dime from Cade McNamara, giving UM all the momentum. That run was the second-longest passing touchdown in Michigan's history.

Spartans get a spark

Heisman Trophy hopeful Kenneth Walker put MSU on the board when he hit the gas and made something out of nothing on this 27-yard touchdown run.

Riding the momentum

Walker snagged his second TD of the first half on this short run to put the Spartans on top 14-13.

UM back in front

The Wolverines regained the lead when Anthony leaped in the air for this TD grab –– his second of the day –– from backup QB and fellow freshman J.J. McCarthy.

Big break

David Ojabo nearly came up with a huge strip-sack recovered by UM in the end zone for a Wolverines TD, but after review, it was deemed that Thorne's right shin was down before the ball came loose.

Headed into the break, Michigan led 23-14.

Not so fast

It was a turnover on downs to start the second half, as Michigan's punter bobbled the snap and then took off running while attempting to punt on fourth-and-1 from the MSU 40.

Slingin' it

The Spartans weren't able to capitalize on the turnover, however, and UM got the ball back after MSU went three-and-out. On the ensuing possession, McNamara found Mike Sainristil with this strike for six.

Third time's the charm

This 28-yard pick-up from Jayden Reed set up a Spartans TD from Walker, good for his third of the day.

MSU added a two-point conversion to cut Michigan's lead to 30-22 heading into the final frame.

16 unanswered

The Spartans' defense delivered a big hit on McNamara to force a Michigan punt.

Then Walker (who else?) took it 58 yards to the house for an MSU TD, and after a successful two-point conversion, things were knotted up 30-30 early in the fourth.

Taking off

Michigan hit a field go to retake the lead in East Lansing, but it didn't last long, as UM fumbled on its ensuing possession, and it was recovered by MSU.

With the Spartans in scoring position, we know what happened next.

THE BEST OF THE REST:

Missouri 37, Vanderbilt 28

Mizzou's Connor Bazelak let it rip on this 45-yard Hail Mary as the Tigers jumped in front of Vanderbilt midway through the second quarter.

Clemson 30, Florida State 20

FSU QB Jordan Travis launched this ball to Lawrance Toafili, and his receiver did the rest on a 75-yard touchdown play to take the lead over Clemson.

No. 7 Oregon 51, Colorado 29

Oregon QB Anthony Brown was able to find his receiver on this 28-yard touchdown pass, despite immense pressure from the Colorado defense, to take a 21-0 first-half lead over the Buffaloes.

Colorado fired back with a TD drive to avoid the shutout, capped off by this dazzling grab in the end zone by Ty Robinson.

No. 4 Oklahoma 52, Texas Tech 21

How about this miraculous, one-handed grab from Oklahoma's Jadon Haselwood?

The Sooners capitalized on the momentum, charging downfield and taking the lead with ease.

Washington State 34, Arizona State 21

Washington State got a scoring boost when Calvin Jackson exploded on this 45-yard touchdown run, putting ASU in a 28-0 hole early.

Wisconsin 27, No. 9 Iowa 7

Wisconsin pulled off a huge upset over No. 9 Iowa at home, thanks to the Badgers' explosive passing game and stout defense, which allowed zero points until midway through the third frame.

Liberty 62, Massachusetts 17

Liberty’s Malik Willis –– who could be the first QB taken in the 2022 NFL Draft –– launched an absolute missile on this touchdown as the Flames decimated UMass.

Miami 38, No. 17 Pittsburgh 34

The Pitt Panthers didn't know what hit them when Miami pulled out this trick play to take the lead.

Rutgers 20, Illinois 14

Illinois knotted things up against Rutgers after Brandon Peters dropped this dime to Isaiah Williams.

Houston 44, No. 19 SMU 37

Houston and SMU went back-and-forth all game, but the Cougars had the ball last and that proved to be the deciding factor in their walk-off upset win.

No. 11 Notre Dame 44, North Carolina 34

Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams proved he could go the distance, taking this run 91 yards for a touchdown.