Amway College Football Poll 2019: Week 9 Top 25 Rankings Announced

Week 8 of the college football season is in the books, and another contender for the crown took a tumble, meaning a shakeup near the top of the rankings was inevitable.  

Below, we'll take a look at the Week 9 Amway Coaches Poll and break down the key results that led to the updated poll.  

Rankings

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. LSU

4. Ohio State

5. Oklahoma

6. Penn State

7. Notre Dame

8. Florida

9. Georgia

10. Auburn

11. Oregon

12. Utah

13. Wisconsin

14. Baylor 

15. Texas

16. Minnesota

17. SMU

18. Cincinnati 

19. Iowa

20. Michigan

21. Boise State

22. Appalachian State

23. Wake Forest

24. Arizona State

25. Memphis

Dropped out: Washington, Temple

Recap

No Tua? No problem. Well, at least for now.

Despite losing Heisman hopeful Tua Tagovailoa with an ankle injury in the second quarter against Tennessee on Saturday, the top-ranked Crimson Tide rallied behind backup Mac Jones, winning 35-13.

Tagovailoa told his teammates he planned to return for the team's Nov. 9 matchup against LSU, per ESPN, which could be the biggest game of the college football regular season and will likely determine the SEC West. The loser of that game will almost assuredly miss the SEC title game, which could also have serious implications for its College Football Playoff resume. 

A lot is at stake for Alabama in the next few weeks. On Saturday, Tagovailoa's absence wasn't a major issue. But it could become one.

While most of the teams also in contention for the College Football Playoff cruised, including LSU, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma, Wisconsin suffered a shocking upset at the hands of Illinois, losing 24-23 and likely ceding any chance at reaching the Playoff in the process. 

Look at the stat sheet and it appears Wisconsin dominated the game. Its time of possession (40:49) doubled Illinois', and it won the yardage battle 420-315 while largely keeping Illinois from maintaining drives (2-of-10 on third downs). 

But three turnovers—including two in the fourth quarter—and James McCourt's 39-yard field goal as time expired rendered any statistics moot. 

"We had two drives late in the game that ended in turnovers," Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst told reporters. "It's always hard to win on the road, and that made it even harder. We just have to move on and learn from this."

That won't be an easy task. Next week the Badgers face Ohio State, with Iowa and Minnesota yet to come, as well. 

That wasn't the only big result in the Big Ten, as Penn State handed Michigan its second loss on the year Saturday night, beating the Wolverines 28-21.

Penn State's defense provided the seminal moment, stopping Michigan on a 4th-and-goal attempt from the 3-yard line with two minutes remaining in the game. For Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, a signature win in the Big Ten will have to wait.

Finally, two key results came out of the Pac-12, with Oregon holding off Washington and Utah beating Arizona State. Those teams could end up meeting in the conference title game, though USC still sits atop the Pac-12 South ahead of Utah.

Other upsets included Boise State and Missouri losing.

As for next week, Ohio State hosting Wisconsin is a huge matchup for both teams, while Auburn will hope to salvage its playoff hopes against LSU and Michigan will try to quickly recover with a win over Notre Dame. 

And as always, expect the unexpected. A shocking upset is always lurking around the corner.