QB Garrett Nussmeier and LSU are home underdogs vs. undefeated Texas A&M. Steve Roberts / Imagn Images

As conference races tighten and the battle to make the College Football Playoff gets more interesting, we're down to six unbeaten teams.

No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana and No. 3 Texas A&M were all ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll, but No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 11 BYU and unranked Navy were not.

Finishing a regular season undefeated isn't as easy as it used to be. But if we had to handicap it, Indiana has the best odds to accomplish the feat. The Hoosiers face only one team that currently has a winning record, Maryland, down the stretch.

Navy has two ranked opponents and two other 6-1 teams left on its schedule.

Texas A&M faces three ranked teams over its final five games.

Georgia Tech plays two ACC teams with winning records, including red-hot Pittsburgh at home, and rival Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Every Big 12 team remaining on BYU's schedule currently has a winning record, and two, Texas Tech and Cincinnati, are ranked opponents the Cougars will play on the road.

Ohio State plays its next four games against teams with losing records -- Penn State, Purdue, UCLA and Rutgers -- but finishes its season at Michigan, which has beaten the Buckeyes four times in a row.

Here at Oddly Specific, we're just fighting to finish over .500 and make it to a bowl game. Last week, we went 5-4 picking straight-up winners -- including our first upset special in a month (thanks, BYU) -- to improve to 44-29 for the season.

We start our Week 9 selections with our stat-stuffer picks.

Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby is quietly having one of the best seasons by a quarterback in the country. He's thrown 18 touchdowns and only one interception and ranks sixth in passing efficiency while also ranking as a top-25 rusher at his position. Baylor's Sawyer Robertson doesn't run it. He throws it a lot and faces a Cincinnati passing defense that ranks 13th in the Big 12. Robertson puts up 350-plus passing yards, but the 21st-ranked Bearcats win and cover the 5.5-point spread.

Navy's Blake Horvath, Air Force's Liam Szarka and Georgia Tech's Haynes King are the three quarterbacks with four 100-yard rushing games this season. Horvath's 106.7 yards per game ranks eighth nationally. This week, Navy is a 15.5-point favorite at home against Florida Atlantic, which ranks 111th against the run. I'm counting on Horvath to put up lots of rushing yards (200-plus) in a win -- but I do think the Owls will keep it interesting.

Illinois' Hank Beatty is one of 22 players with three 100-yard receiving games this season. He ranks 12th in receiving yards per game (88.1) and fifth in yards after the catch (328), per TruMedia. Beatty will once again be the main target for Luke Altmyer on Saturday when the Illini play as 4.5-point underdogs at Washington, which ranks 91st in passing defense. Beatty finishes with 190-plus receiving yards and one touchdown, but Washington ekes out a 3-point win.

Lane Kiffin credited Brent Venables and the Sooners this week for being really good at studying opponents' play signals. Oklahoma's defense leads the country in sacks, pressure rate and fewest yards allowed per play and ranks fifth in pass efficiency defense. As good as that is, Oklahoma lost to Texas two weeks ago because John Mateer and the offense turned it over three times and couldn't score. Good news for Venables: Ole Miss ranks 12th in the SEC in scoring defense and is nearly as bad in turnover margin (minus-4) as his Sooners (minus-5). Mateer (300-plus total yards, two TDs) outduels Trinidad Chambliss (280-plus yards, one TD, two turnovers), and Oklahoma stays in the SEC title race with a 4-point win.

This game lost some steam when UAB knocked Memphis out of the AP rankings Sunday, but the Tigers still have a chance to stay in the American Conference race. Alex Golesh's Bulls are the highest-ranked Group of 5 team and are averaging 49.8 points per game against non-Power 4 schools. With Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis banged up, USF QB Byrum Brown (320-plus yards total offense, three TDs) leads the Bulls to a two-score victory.

How much has college football evolved? The Commodores have gone from ultimate underdog to favorites in back-to-back weeks at home against ranked opponents. Missouri, though, is much better offensively than the LSU team Vanderbilt beat last week. The Tigers are pretty good at running the ball and stopping the run -- also strengths of Vanderbilt. The difference is that Diego Pavia (15th in passing efficiency) is better than Beau Pribula (51st). Pavia accounts for three scores, and Vandebilt covers the spread at home.

After four consecutive misses with the upset alert selections, BYU made me a winner last week by taking care of business at home against Utah. This week, Kalani Sitake's Cougars are underdogs again. Iowa State, meanwhile, has dropped two in a row and needs a win to stay in the Big 12 race. The Cyclones are 5-0 all-time against BYU and are coming off a bye week. The issue is that Iowa State's run defense is very mediocre. LJ Martin (120-plus rushing yards, two TDs) is the difference as BYU pulls off another upset.

BYU and Cincinnati are 4-0 in the Big 12, while Houston and Arizona State are two of the three Big 12 teams sitting at 3-1 in league play. The Sun Devils -- the defending Big 12 champs -- are coming off a top-10 win at home over Texas Tech. Houston's most impressive win to this point? Arizona, which ranks 56th in Chris Vannini's 136 ranking. The Sun Devils win at home behind two Sam Leavitt touchdown passes to Jordyn Tyson.

The Aggies have won four straight over LSU in College Station but have lost six straight in Baton Rouge, with the last win coming in 1994. Yet, Mike Elko's team enters as a road favorite in large part because he has one of the most potent offenses in college football. LSU, on the other hand, relies too much on quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and hasn't scored more than 24 points against an FBS opponent in 2025. Here's the reality: Brian Kelly (5-10 versus ranked opponents at LSU) needs this game badly. It's not easy to win in Death Valley at night (LSU is 10-8 at home as an underdog since 2010). Nussmeier throws a late touchdown pass to hand the Aggies their first loss.

Thanks for contributing to the fun and calling your shots again last week.

The hits ...

Nate J.: "Jeff Brohm leads the Cards to a 3-point win on the road to stun Miami."

Evan: "Indiana wins. Fernando Mendoza throws four TDs. Cignetti doesn't smile once."

Cory: "Matt Rhule and Nebraska's stay in the top 25 doesn't last long after losing to Minnesota."

Kyle G: "Oregon travels across the country and takes out a week's worth of frustration on Rutgers."

Jeff: "Taylen Green has over 350 total yards, and Arkansas upsets Texas A&M. Bobby Petrino rides his motorcycle Sunday morning to celebrate."

Brent P: "Jojo Trader finally sees the field and makes a big catch or two in a Miami 31-17 win."

Ike: "USC knocks Notre Dame out of the playoff conversation as the Irish secondary from the first two games shows up, and Jayden Maiava throws for 300-plus yards and three scores."

T.E.: "Georgia gets beat by 10-plus points in Kirby Smart's worst home loss."

Bennett: "Washington's rushing attack helps it past a struggling Michigan defense."

Hunter S.: "LSU's offense FINALLY wakes up as Nuss throws for 300 and three touchdowns in a 34-17 win."

The good: Favored Notre Dame, Alabama and Georgia all won at home against ranked opponents -- just as I predicted.

The bad: I didn't believe in Pavia and Vanderbilt at home against LSU, and I said Miami would have its hands full against Louisville but would survive -- thus missing the most notable upset of the week.

Just missed: I finally came close to hitting my first stat-stuffer of the season by correctly forecasting Dylan Riley and Boise State to knock UNLV from the list of unbeatens, but Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love (228 yards vs. USC) upstaged Riley, who finished third in rushing for the week with 201 yards.

College Football Week 9 oddly specific predictions: LSU hands Texas A&M first loss