No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 10 Penn State locked in tight contests late

Welcome to Week 9, the group of games that precedes the first edition of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings for the 2023 season.

It’s the time of year where top teams are on upset alert as the season can change drastically with just one result. Upsets can emerge where we least expect them, so we’ll have our eye out for major surprises in addition to watching the big games listed below.

Here’s what we’re watching close early on Saturday (scroll for live updates):

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET | TV: CBS | Line: UGA -14.5 | Total: 47

Coming out of the bye week at 7-0, Georgia’s quest for a third consecutive national title is about to ramp up, beginning with a rivalry game vs. Florida (5-2, 3-1 SEC) in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs have not faced many challenges but will square off with a Florida team that has won five of its last six before a three-game stretch vs. ranked opponents. This will be UGA’s first game without star tight end Brock Bowers (ankle). On the offensive side for Florida, how will Graham Mertz and Co. fare against the vaunted Georgia defense?

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: Oregon -6.5 | Total: 47.5

Oregon and Utah are two of the four teams with one loss in Pac-12 play jockeying for position behind undefeated Washington. Oregon lost its showdown with UW a few weeks ago but has since rebounded. Utah is the two-time defending Pac-12 champion and is firmly in contention for a three-peat despite a barrage of injuries. The Utes will be without starting QB Cam Rising for the rest of the season. His replacement, Bryson Barnes, led the Utes to a last-minute win over USC in Week 8.

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: UL -4 | Total: 46

Louisville has typically been a middle-of-the-pack team in the ACC, but Jeff Brohm has UL in contention for a conference title midway through his first season. The Cardinals got off to a 6-0 start that included a big win over Notre Dame, but they followed that up by losing to Pitt. Duke, meanwhile, is coming off a tough loss to FSU and QB Riley Leonard has been hobbled by an ankle injury. This is a big game in the ACC race, so Duke needs Leonard on the field.