Conference races heat up with crucial matchups in week nine of college football

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No. 7 University of Georgia (6-1, 4-1) at No. 9 University of Florida (6-1, 4-1)

Two top 10 teams from the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) will be going head-to-head in Jacksonville, Florida this Saturday.

Anticipate a low-scoring, defensive battle as both teams have held opponents to an average of less than 20 points this season— Georgia at 16.3 points per game and Florida at 16.6 points per game.

On the other side of the ball, two good quarterbacks will be tested against good defenses.

Georgia’s sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm has thrown for 1,409 yards and 13 touchdowns on 99 completions this year, while throwing four interceptions.

Florida’s sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks has thrown for 1,406 yards and 15 touchdowns on 103 completions, and has been intercepted five times this season.

This is a huge game for both teams, as they are both in a three-way tie in their division of the SEC along with the University of Kentucky.

The Bulldogs and Gators will kick-off on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

No. 18 University of Iowa (6-1, 3-1) at No. 17 Penn State University (5-2, 2-2)

A win against Penn State would do a big favor in keeping the Iowa Hawkeyes— tied for second in the West Division of the Big Ten—in order to keep them in the race to appear in the conference championship game.

The Hawkeyes offense averages 30.6 points per game, led by junior quarterback Nate Stanley. Stanley has thrown 16 touchdowns so far this year along with 1,559 passing yards.

Sophomore running back Toren Young joins Stanley in the backfield. He has 403 rushing yards on 82 carries, finding the end zone twice.

One matchup to look for in this game is the Nittany Lions’s high-powered offense, which has averaged 42.6 points per game this season, up against the Hawkeye defense, which has held its opponents to just 14.1 points per game.

Penn State’s senior quarterback Trace McSorley—who has thrown for 1,461 yards and 11 touchdowns on 111 completions—will face another big test this weekend.

The Big Ten foes will square up Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

No. 14 Washington State University (6-1, 3-1) at No. 24 Stanford University (5-2, 3-1)

Washington State and Stanford are both tied for second place in the Pac-12 North Division, making this an interesting matchup.

The Cougars’s high-powered offense averages 40.7 points per game led by senior quarterback Gardner Minshew. The senior has thrown for 23 touchdowns along with 2,745 yards this season on 254 completions.

Junior running back James Williams adds to the offensive attack. He has amassed 313 yards on 73 carries with six touchdowns.

Stanford’s offense is led by junior quarterback K.J. Costello, who has thrown for 1,842 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Costello’s favorite target, senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, has 632 receiving yards on 37 receptions and has caught nine of Costello’s 13 touchdowns.

This Pac-12 contest with big implications will begin at 6:00 p.m. Saturday on the Pac-12 Network.

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