Week 9 College Football Risers & Fallers: NCAAF Stock Watch

Week 9 was yet again another eventful week in the college football world. In the final week without Tuesday night MACtion, the top of the pack continued to separate themselves from the middle. 

Saturday’s slate started off with Florida State beating down Wake Forest, Penn State narrowly escaping Indiana, and Kansas pulling off an incredible upset against Oklahoma. The mid-day slate saw Clemson’s fourth loss of the season and Georgia, Texas, and Oregon rounding into form. 

The day closed out with Louisville fighting to stay in the ACC race, narrow wins by USC, Washington, Tennessee, and Ohio State, another North Carolina loss, and an Arizona over Oregon State upset. Let’s dig into the stock report as we enter Week 10.

Stock Up

Lance Leipold, Kansas

The head man at Kansas inherited a hapless program that was left for the dead with not a single sign of life. Just two seasons later, the Kansas Jayhawks are 6-2 and in the thick of the Big 12 race after beating Oklahoma for the first time since 1997. All without their starting quarterback, as Jalon Daniels hasn’t played since Week 3. Lance Leipold’s name comes up in every head coaching search and while it would be bittersweet to see him leave the program he so quickly turned around, a higher-touted program is going to land their coach of the future.

So upon this Harbaugh news, just talked to a Detroit associate who covers #GoBlue and he "swears upon a stack of Bible's" that Lance Leipold is now the Wolverine's top candidate. #KUfball pic.twitter.com/88098TFPzg

— GREG SWAIM SHOW (@GSwaim) October 29, 2023

Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State suffered losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State this season, but on Saturday they looked like the team that we saw at the end of 2022 that came out and won a Big 12 title with a strong finish. The Wildcats pounded TCU 41-3 last week and followed it up with a 41-0 shutout over Houston. Quarterback Will Howard also returned, although freshman Avery Johnson looked great in his place. The Wildcats are deservedly back in the AP poll and could catapult themselves into the Big 12 title race against Texas this coming Saturday.

Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon

There is no denying that the Oregon Ducks are one of college football’s powerhouse teams this season. Offensively, wide receiver Troy Franklin is a massive part of the stellar product on the field. Franklin has an ideal receiver frame at 6-3, 187-pounds and has been an alpha receiver for the Ducks this season. He was the go-to guy for Bo Nix again on Saturday, hauling in eight receptions for 99 yards and a score. Franklin is shooting up draft boards and even in a loaded class is making the case to be a first-rounder.

Troy Franklin fakes like he’s gonna sit down, gets the safety to bite and gets behind him for the TD 🔥🦆pic.twitter.com/rEMFBDa1CK

— RanDynasty (@ran_dynasty) October 28, 2023

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

There is no denying that Marvin Harrison Jr. is a generational prospect and the best receiver in college football. However, Harrison is very quickly cementing himself in the Heisman race and could become a favorite before we know it. The phenom had six catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns Saturday against Wisconsin, marking his fourth straight game with over 100 yards and a touchdown. Kyle McCord looks his way early and often week in and week out. If Ohio State runs the table, is there even an argument to not give him college football’s most prestigious award?

On3 Week 10 Heisman Power Rankings🏆

Do you agree? 🤔https://t.co/wNM2o0Uq7I pic.twitter.com/aZbaVEpNSN

— On3 (@On3sports) October 30, 2023

Stock Down

James Franklin, Penn State

Penn State head coach James Franklin just can’t get it done against the big guys. With the talent on the Nittany Lions’ roster entering 2023, there were rumblings that this could be the season that Penn State knocks off Ohio State or Michigan. They failed to beat Ohio State last week and needed some end-of-game magic to beat an Indiana team that’s winless in Big Ten play. As of right now, this team does not pass the eye test as a team that can hang with Michigan and James Franklin’s stock will continue to plummet until he can compete with the big dogs.

North Carolina Tar Heels

Just a week after a horrific loss to Virginia, North Carolina fell again to a Georgia Tech squad that doesn’t have much more juice than that Virginia team. Carolina is now 3-2 in ACC play, quickly falling out of the conversation to push for a conference title. Drake Maye did not play poorly, but the defense surrendered 46 points to a team that averaged just 24.7 prior. While Drake Maye makes the offense a fun watch, this team isn’t winning anything of significance with the defensive struggles. UNC is the USC of the east.

Washington State Cougars

After a hot start to the season that saw wins over Wisconsin and Oregon State, Washington State now sits at 4-4 after an 11-point loss to an Arizona State team that had no FBS wins prior. The Cougars’ fight for bowl eligibility, which was once considered a shoo-in, just got a lot tougher. While Stanford, California, Colorado, and Washington each look like winnable games, they’re also all losable if this team is capable of losing to Arizona State. Quarterback Cam Ward remains an intriguing player to keep an eye on as the Cougars wrap their season up.

Riley Leonard, QB, Duke

Duke’s star quarterback played against Louisville after being dubbed a game time decision, but Riley Leonard did not look good en route to a 23-0 shutout. Leonard completed 9-of-23 passes for 121 yards and an interception as the Blue Devils dropped to 5-3 on the season. The showing also may have hurt Leonard’s draft stock as he fights to sneak into the first round in what is shaping up to be a loaded NFL Draft class.

Man idk about Riley Leonard pic.twitter.com/wNFm44uFZO

— Ethan (@eatin_balls) October 28, 2023

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