ACC
Maryland's resurgence in recent weeks has been fueled by a number of sparkling performances. Saturday, it was quarterback Danny O'Brien's turn to shine. O'Brien tossed a career-high four touchdown passes to lead the Terps to a 62-14 rout over Wake Forest.
Elsewhere in the conference, Montel Harris almost single-handedly won for Boston College, rushing 39 times for 142 yards and catching a 36-yard touchdown pass to lead the Eagles to a 16-10 win over Clemson.
Meanwhile, North Carolina State's Russell Wilson made another case for the ACC Player of the Year distinction against Florida State Thursday. Wilson rushed for three touchdowns and found tight end George Bryan for a touchdown in the closing minutes to give the Wolfpack a win.
Duke engineered an upset over Navy Saturday behind a big day from Sean Renfree, who threw for over 300 yards and accounted for three touchdowns.
While those players were finding success, others were struggling.
Clemson's Andre Ellington failed to rush for 50 yards against Boston College, and North Carolina's T.J. Yates put up modest numbers as the Heels were nearly upset by William & Mary.
But the most disappointing performances of the weekend came from the Miami Hurricanes in the loss to Virginia. Jacory Harris left the game early with an apparent head injury, and the Miami backups all but threw the game away.
Big 12
Ryan Tannehill had solid fantasy value as a wide receiver for Texas A&M, but he has emerged as an elite fantasy option at quarterback in light of Jerrod Johnson's struggles.
Tannehill made the switch back to his old position look like a brilliant move Saturday, completing 36-of-50 passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns to lead Mike Sherman's Aggies to an impressive win over Texas Tech.
Elsewhere in the Big 12, Nebraska's Roy Helu ran wild against Missouri in Lincoln. Helu carried 28 times for a school-record 307 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Huskers to a huge win in the Big 12 North race.
Oklahoma is still in the thick of things in the Big 12 South, and rebounded from last week's loss to Mizzou by trouncing Colorado. Landry Jones threw for over 400 yards for the Sooners, finding star receiver Ryan Broyles nine times for 208 yards and three scores.
Baylor's offensive machine took a while to get going against Texas, but the Bears rallied to beat the Longhorns as quarterback Robert Griffin totaled three touchdowns on the day.
Running back Kendall Hunter was the center of the Oklahoma State offense due to Justin Blackmon's one-game suspension, and he did all the Cowboys could have hoped for, rushing for 143 yards in the win over Kansas State.
Big East
It was a week filled with strong defensive play in the Big East.
Syracuse may have accomplished the most, holding Cincinnati's attack to under 300 yards of total offense. Playing without Zach Collaros, the Bearcats' normally productive receivers enjoyed little success. D.J. Woods caught a touchdown, but Armon Binns finished with just three catches for 28 yards as Syracuse cruised to a 31-7 win.
Elsewhere, Pittsburgh got touchdown runs from Dion Lewis and Ray Graham to beat Louisville, and Jordan Todman rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown to help UConn rally for a win over West Virginia in overtime.
A lowlight of the weekend was a knee injury to the conference's (surprise) top fantasy option of 2010, Louisville running back Bilal Powell. Powell's ability to play in the upcoming week is up in the air.
Big Ten
Coming off a heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin last week, Ricky Stanzi and the Iowa Hawkeyes rebounded in a big way against Michigan State. Stanzi threw three touchdowns and Adam Robinson had another productive day to help an angry Iowa team roll to a 37-6 win over Michigan State.
Kirk Cousins tossed three interceptions in the loss before being removed with the game out of hand in the third quarter. Making matters worse for Sparty, the running game was a non-factor for a third straight game.
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Terrelle Pryor threw two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Ohio State over Minnesota. Wideout DeVier Posey went over 100 yards receiving for the Bucks and also hauled in a touchdown from Pryor.
Don't look now, but Illinois' improvement could be enough to get Ron Zook off the hot seat. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase continued his solid redshirt freshman season against Purdue Saturday, throwing four touchdowns and adding 118 yards rushing as Illinois hammered the Boilermakers.
Michigan's Denard Robinson was rested and ready to go for the Wolverines, who traveled to Happy Valley Saturday night. Robinson put up impressive numbers as usual, throwing for 190 yards and a score and rushing for 191 yards and three touchdowns as Michigan suffered another defeat in Big Ten play.
On the other side, Penn State's Evan Royster became the school's all-time leading rusher and racked up 150 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Conference USA
The offenses were clicking in Conference USA this week, in a big way. It starts with the quarterbacks.
Southern Mississippi's Austin Davis accumulated nearly 400 yards of total offense and accounted for three touchdowns as the Eagles fell to UAB 50-49 in overtime Saturday.
Kyle Padron threw for 354 yards and a touchdown as SMU recorded a much-needed victory over Tulane.
Houston's David Piland had the best day of them all, throwing for 292 yards and five touchdowns as the Cougars cruised against Memphis.
Dominique Davis had another big day for East Carolina, throwing three touchdowns and running for two more as his Pirates fell to Central Florida.
Several Conference-USA running backs went wild in Week 9.
UCF's Ronnie Weaver ran for 180 yards and two scores, and SMU's Zach Line finished with 177 yards and two scores.
Elsewhere, Gregory Ray of Memphis racked up 176 yards and a touchdown while Houston's Michael Hayes finished with 123 yards and a score.
Dwayne Harris had another solid effort in the receiving game for ECU, finishing with nine catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Independents
Notre Dame's difficult season took two more steps in the wrong direction Saturday, losing to Tulsa and likely losing its starting quarterback for the season at the same time.
Freshman Tommy Rees replaced Dayne Crist and had his moments against the nation's worst pass defense, throwing for 334 yards and four touchdowns. But Rees also threw three interceptions, including a critical one late to help Tulsa hang on.
Elsewhere, Navy's Ricky Dobbs threw for 227 yards and two scores and ran for 83 yards and a touchdown to help the Midshipmen embark on a furious rally against Duke. In the end, though, the comeback attempt fell just short as Duke held on for a 34-31 win.
MAC
Western Michigan and Northern Illinois met in a highly-entertaining game Saturday in Kalamazoo.
The Northern Illinois duo of running back Chad Spann and quarterback Chandler Harnish predictably led the way for the Huskies. Spann rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown and Harnish threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another to help the Huskies escape with a win.
Western Michigan's Alex Carder was impressive in the defeat, throwing for 360 yards and three touchdowns. His two star wideouts, Jordan White and Juan Nunez, combined for 19 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns, though White had the vast majority of that production.
Quarterback Mike Gerardi threw for 209 yards and a score and Bernard Pierce rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown as Temple shutout struggling Akron.
Elsewhere, Ohio quarterback Boo Jackson totaled over 300 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns to help the Bobcats rally to a big win against non-conference foe Louisiana-Lafayette.
MWC
In preparation for what figures to be an epic clash next Saturday in Salt Lake City, TCU and Utah both came away with wins in Week 9.
TCU's Andy Dalton threw for 252 yards and two scores, including one to the dynamic Jeremy Kerley.
Utah struggled to hang on against Air Force in Colorado Springs, but got two touchdown runs from Eddie Wide and one from Matt Asiata to pull off a 28-23 win.
Elsewhere in the Mountain West, Ryan Lindley carried the load with Ronnie Hillman struggling to find running lanes against Wyoming. Lindley threw for 356 yards and three scores as San Diego State engineered a 48-38 win over Wyoming.
Finally, Colorado State's Leonard Mason rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns in limited action as the Rams steamrolled New Mexico.
Pac-10
Oregon's offensive attack was at it again Saturday in Los Angeles. LaMichael James rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns and Darron Thomas threw four scoring passes as the Ducks completely overwhelmed USC's defense.
Elsewhere, Andrew Luck got the better of Jake Locker Saturday in Seattle. Luck threw for 192 yards and a score and ran for 92 more yards as Stanford shutout the Huskies.
Locker finished with a mere 64 yards passing in the game, his latest poor effort in what has been a season to forget.
Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers had a memorable game Saturday against Cal, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Colby Prince.
Arizona's Matt Scott made his second-straight start in place of Nick Foles and threw for 319 yards to help the Wildcats defeat UCLA.
SEC
Cam Newton did it on the ground, through the air and even as a receiver for Auburn Saturday night against Ole Miss. Newton passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns and hauled in a beautiful fade pass for a 21-yard touchdown early in the game.
With Newton running less than usual, freshman running back Michael Dyer shouldered the load and ran for a career-high 180 yards and a touchdown.
Elsewhere in the SEC, Ryan Mallett enjoyed big success against Vanderbilt's defense. Mallett completed 27-of-44 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns as Arkansas won easily.
Nothing came easy for South Carolina Saturday, but the Gamecocks used 184 yards rushing from Marcus Lattimore and a late touchdown catch by Alshon Jeffery to preserve a home win over Tennessee.
The Volunteers made things interesting thanks to a huge day from Denarius Moore, who caught six passes for 228 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party had a strange ending and featured plenty of noteworthy performances. Florida's versatile Trey Burton rushed for over 100 yards and scored two touchdowns, and Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
But in the end, Murray's three interceptions proved to be the difference in the game, as Florida won in overtime on a Chas Henry field goal.
Sun Belt
It was another slow week fantasy-wise in the Sun Belt.
North Texas' Lance Dunbar had the most productive effort in Week 9, rushing 30 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns as the Mean Green powered through Western Kentucky.
Troy's star receiver Jerrel Jernigan hauled in five receptions and ran for a touchdown in the loss to Louisiana-Monroe, while Western Kentucky star Bobby Rainey finished with 157 yards from scrimmage as the Hilltoppers fell to 1-7 on the season.
WAC
Kellen Moore threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns to lead Boise State to a comfortable home win over Louisiana Tech Tuesday night.
But the Broncos looked a bit vulnerable at times throughout the game, getting several lucky breaks and allowing Bulldogs' running back Lennon Creer to gain 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, fellow WAC powers Nevada and Hawaii kept right on rolling.
Nevada's Colin Kaepernick passed for 190 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 102 yards and a score to help the Wolfpack improve to 7-1 on the season.
Hawaii's Bryant Moniz had another strong showing Saturday, throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns and adding 43 yards and a score on the ground. The Warriors are now 7-2 on the season, including a victory over Nevada.
