College football winners and losers in Week 9: Big Ten title race heats up

And then there were five unbeaten teams.

With college football leaving its second full month, the playoff race is picking up as natural selection claims team after team. Entering Week 9, nine undefeated teams stood. Four lost in one day -- all on the road.

Week 9 wasn't short on storylines nationally, either. From Clemson-Florida State going to the wire to Washington and Utah battling it out in the Pac-12, this was as entertaining a weekend as the 2016 season has provided.

With so much action happening around the country, we here at CBS Sports want to get you caught up on all the noteworthy things that happened -- both the good and not so good. What were the highlights from Saturday of Week 9? What were the moments some programs want to forget? We hash out the best and worst below.

Winner -- Big Ten West excitement: Wisconsin came close to beating a couple of top-10 teams in Michigan and Ohio State but ultimately came up short. That wasn't the case in a 23-17 overtime win over unbeaten Nebraska. The Badgers have one of the better defenses in college football and their offense has been good enough to win games. Now that Wisconsin has its signature win, the Big Ten West is even more wide open than it was before. Nebraska still has a one-game lead in the division, but Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Northwestern are all right there.

Loser -- Unbeaten road teams: Last week, ESPN's Brett McMurphy noted that seven of the nine remaining unbeaten teams heading into Week 9 were playing on the road. (Two teams, Alabama and Western Michigan, were on a bye.) McMurphy also predicted more than half of the undefeated road teams would lose. He was right. Baylor, Boise State, Nebraska and West Virginia all fell from the ranks of the unbeaten teams. Clemson, Michigan and Washington survived, but still, more than half of the undefeated teams playing in Week 9 lost. College football, as they say, has a way of working itself out.

Winner -- Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers: Lamar Jackson is still your Heisman Trophy favorite -- more on that later -- but Peppers is making a fine case to have a defense-first player invited to New York for the ceremony. In a 32-23 win over Michigan State, Peppers scored a touchdown out of the wildcat, scooped up a fumble on a two-point conversion for two points, made a pair of fourth-down stops and finished with seven tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Peppers' versatility makes him a trendy pick for the Heisman, but if anything, it should open the doors to more nuanced consideration about defensive players and college football's highest honor.

Loser -- Deondre Francois' insurance company: Francois is one tough son of a gun, I'll give him that. The Florida State quarterback has been taking hits -- the brutal and devastating kind that would reduce most of us to tears -- since Week 1 against Ole Miss. In fact, Francois' big touchdown against the Rebels came on the same play he took a clean one right across the chin strap. In Florida State's 37-34 loss to Clemson on Saturday, Francois was sacked six times, including on each of the final two plays for the Seminoles. On the year, Florida State has allowed 27 sacks, which doesn't even include all the other hits Francois has taken after getting rid of the ball. This is an issue that dates back to last season, and the Noles have yet to find an answer.

Winner -- Western Michigan: What's that? The Broncos didn't play in Week 9? How could they be winners? Easy: Boise State lost to Wyoming -- and on a safety, no less! That means, come Sunday, undefeated Western Michigan should be front and center to make a New Year's Six bowl appearance. The Broncos don't need to be undefeated to make such a big bowl, but they do need to be the highest-ranked Group of Five team. They should get that distinction without actually having done anything on Saturday. That's what you call easy.

Loser -- Pur-don't do this, Boilermakers: Look, I get it. When you've fired your coach midseason and trying to find a spark, you go to trick plays like this because what's the worst that could happen, right? Well, we no longer have to deal in hypotheticals. Here's exactly what happens when a tricky misdirection play goes awry. The results are ... not great.

Winner -- Lamar Jackson's "Heisman moment": If Jackson does indeed win the Heisman -- there are still five weeks before the season ends -- his winning touchdown pass against Virginia will likely be his signature moment. Down 25-24 with 17 seconds left and only needing only a field goal, Jackson took a shot 29 yards downfield for Jaylen Smith. It was a teardrop pass in excellent coverage. Jackson didn't have his best game, which makes his 451 yards and four scores that much more incredible. But when Louisville needed a big play, it got one from Jackson.

Loser -- A national epidemic revisited: If you don't know by now, college football has a real problem with players dropping the football in celebration before crossing the goal line. Sometimes it has proved to be a costly error, sometimes not. Either way, players need to be far more aware of it. The latest case was Oregon tight end Pharaoh Brown. Here's his early touchdown against Arizona State.

And now here's that touchdown in slow motion.

The score counted and Oregon won 54-35. By itself, Brown's possible end zone drop probably didn't make the difference, but it's an issue that needs further addressing either way. It also takes away from what was otherwise an outstanding individual play.

Winner -- Houston: Despite a 31-24 victory over Central Florida, the reality is Houston hasn't played well in a month. Mounting injuries have been an issue, but so have turnovers. With a playoff spot officially out of the question and a small window for so much as a divisional title, it would be easy for the Cougars to give up on the season. Instead, down 24-3 in the third quarter, Houston came back with 28 unanswered points. That's pride for the Cougars coming through regardless of the opponent.

Loser -- The Big 12's playoff hopes: In true Monty Python style, the final four hopes are not dead yet, but they'll be stone cold in a minute and they're not fooling anyone. Baylor and West Virginia lost Saturday, meaning the last two unbeaten teams in the Big 12 are off the board. There's one realistic scenario in which the Big 12 can still make the playoff and it involves the Mountaineers, who lost by 17 to Oklahoma State. Take it away, you masters of British comedy ...

Winner -- The weirdest football game you didn't see: Oh yes, we're going small-school here. West Virginia Wesleyan's 27-25 win over Charleston (W.Va.) doesn't look bizarre by itself, but a closer gander into the box score shows that two teams walked into the woods hand-in-hand with the hopes of finding spiritual enlightenment only to discover they were three safeties the whole time.

Loser -- Coaches and the wonders of math, Part II: W&L roasted Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz in Week 8 after he gave a baffling answer about the math of kicking a field goal down 14-6 late in the fourth quarter. It would be unfair, then, if we didn't highlight Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio's reasoning for attempting a 34-yard field goal down 20 to Michigan with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter ... which ... yeah.

Winner -- Kentucky coach Mark Stoops: The Wildcats' leader has taken more than his share of criticism during his time at Kentucky and entered the 2016 season on the hottest of seats. However, a convincing 35-21 win over Missouri means the Wildcats are one win away from bowl eligibility. We've seen that movie before with Stoops, but surely this team can handle Austin Peay in mid-November. The challenge will be finding two more wins against Georgia and Tennessee. Still, it's possible Stoops goes from front and center on the hot seat to bowl eligibility to SEC East champs and please don't ruin this fantasy for us.

Loser -- Washington's "ain't played nobody" critics: Of the four leading undefeated teams, Washington had the most to prove. That changed with a 31-24 road win at Utah, which is no easy place to get a victory. The Huskies are 8-0 and control their destiny for the playoff race. There are more tough tests ahead, including games against Southern California and Washington State, but Chris Petersen's team passed its first major test.

Winner -- Texas coach Charlie Strong:Maybe Strong didn't keep his job by beating Baylor, but he definitely didn't lose it. Personally, it always felt like eight wins was the surefire number Strong had to reach to get to Year 4. Starting in Week 9, that required Strong to win out the rest of the season. That will still be hard to do, but Baylor might be Texas' toughest remaining test and the Longhorns won. When Strong absolutely needed a win, he got one.

Loser -- Ohio State's hangover: Yes, the Buckeyes beat Northwestern 24-20, which, you know, is better than not beating Northwestern. Still, coming off its loss to Penn State, Ohio State is not quite itself -- at least not the version we saw in September. The deep ball hasn't been there consistently (if at all), and the offense disappears for quarters at a time. The Buckeyes don't need to play perfectly to win their remaining games, but they're behind Michigan both in quality of play and in the Big Ten East standings.

Winner -- Boston College is streaking no more: It took 12 conference games and nearly two full years, but Boston College ended its winless ACC streak with a 21-14 victory at NC State. I could go into how the Eagles finally put their conference woes behind them; instead, I'll honor coach Steve Addazio and Vine's dying last days by posting short clips of guys bein' dudes.

Loser -- Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly's sense of rhythm: Notre Dame choked away a 20-point and nearly lost to Miami, but a late field goal in the final minute secured the Irish's 30-27 win. That's all well good, except for Kelly's totally off-beat "dancing" -- and we don't mean off beat in a good way.

Winner -- Northwest Missouri State defensive Harold Brantley: The ex-Missouri edge rusher had quite the large-man touchdown against Pittsburgh State. Brantley was on the receiving end of not one, not two, but three laterals in an incredible play.

Loser -- Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney: It's been a disappointing season for Georgia, but the offense has been especially bad. The Bulldogs ranked 12th in the SEC in scoring offense heading into Saturday and put up just 10 points in a loss to Florida. Granted, the Gators' defense is legit, but there's no reason why the offense should be putting this much pressure on true freshman quarterback Jacob Eason. Not when Nick Chubb and Sony Michel are in the back field. Both rushed for more than 100 yards against South Carolina, but neither has eclipsed the century mark since Week 1. The offensive line has its issues, but establishing a run-first identity and growing with Eason has to be this offense's goal. For having great running back talent, Georgia isn't utilizing it well enough.

Winner -- Florida wide receiver Antonio Callaway: Little about Florida's 24-10 win over Georgia was aesthetically pleasing, but Callaway did accomplish a special feat. The sophomore became the first UF player to score a touchdown in five different ways (receiving, rushing, passing, kick return and punt return) during his career. The final touchdown to cap it off was a four-yard run on a sweep. The Gators have one conference loss and sit atop the SEC East with Arkansas, South Carolina and LSU to play.

Loser -- Another Tennessee disappointment: The Vols were the preseason favorite to win the SEC East -- and by an overwhelming margin. Those expectations are further away from being fulfill after Tennessee dropped its third straight game, 24-21 to South Carolina. The Vols' ever-growing list of injuries is well-documented, but all the same, things are going south in a hurry. A once top-10 team is now 2-3 in conference play and in the middle of the pack of a so-so division.

Winner -- Texas A&M wide receiver Christian Kirk: It's been a minute since the electrifying Kirk has taken a punt return back to the house. Against New Mexico State, Kirk had not one but two punt returns for scores totaling 143 yards. Kirk also had a receiving touchdown in the 52-10 win over New Mexico State.