July 10, 2009

By Adam Caparell
NCAA.com

Over the summer, NCAA.com will look at the FBS schedule, highlighting the top matchups, the can't-miss games and the best storylines for each of the 15 weeks of the regular season. Check in every week to find out which games you simply have to see.

FBS Calendars: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11
Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 & 15

Looking at the schedule a few months in advance, Week 9 could easily go down as the year's best. There are critical matchups in every conference and the day's nationally broadcast games will be appointment television. From the ACC to the SEC to the Big 12 to the Pac-10, the slate of games for Halloween weekend is scary good.

Week 9's Can't Miss Games

Thursday, Oct. 29 - North Carolina at Virginia Tech  
It's the second game a brutal stretch for the Tar Heels. Coming off last week's game against Florida State, UNC has to head to Lane Stadium for a Thursday night ACC showdown. Night games in Blacksburg traditionally have spelled doom for visiting teams. Can Butch Davis' crew buck the trend? It's not going to be easy. Virginia Tech is 15-4 all-time in Thursday night games. UNC, meanwhile, is 0-2 in Lane Stadium and Frank Beamer owns a 5-1 record against the Tar Heels.

Saturday, Oct. 31 - Texas at Oklahoma State
This is a big one in the Big 12 South. Just two weeks removed from their big game with arch-rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns hit the road for the second straight weekend to meet the high-powered and very dangerous Cowboys. The Longhorns have been known to complete a few crazy comebacks in their meetings with the Cowboys - like 2007's 38-35 victory in Stillwater. Two of the nation's premier quarterbacks will be on display in Heisman Trophy runner-up Colt McCoy and Zac Robinson, who gets overshadowed by the likes of McCoy and last year's Heisman winner, Sam Bradford.

Saturday, Oct. 31 - USC at Oregon
USC just got done facing Oregon State last weekend and now the Trojans have to ship up to Oregon to face what will be a raucous Autzen Stadium crowd in a crucial Pac-10 showdown. If these two can make it to this point unbeaten, this game will have gigantic ramifications on the BCS standings, along with the conference. This fall, Oregon has its sights set on the Rose Bowl, otherwise known as the USC Bowl considering the Trojans have been in the game five of the last six years. Oregon has been to the Jan. 1 game just four times in program history, with its last trip coming in 1995.

Saturday, Oct. 31 - Florida at Georgia (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is one of the game's great rivalries. Aside from 1995-96, Jacksonville has played host to the game since 1933, and in all these two SEC East rivals have met 86 times, 46 of those having gone in Georgia's favor. They've split the last two meetings, but the Gators have had the Bulldogs' number of late with Florida having won nine of the last 11 meetings. While the Gators return a large portion of their BCS Championship team from last season, the Bulldogs will have a number of new faces on offense. Joe Cox is under center and Mark Richt could go with the running-back-by-committee approach. It'll be interesting to see how the Georgia offense - minus all those big names from last year - plays against a Gators defense that is expected to be among the strongest in the nation.

Other Games To Keep An Eye On

Friday, Oct. 30 - West Virginia at South Florida  
The Mountaineers have had a tough time cracking the Bulls on the road in recent years. Pat White always seemed to struggle against the USF defense, but now it's Jarrett Brown's team.

Saturday, Oct. 31 - South Carolina at Tennessee
Big things aren't expected out of the Gamecocks or Vols, but won't the lead-up to this game be great? Think of all the sound bites Steve Spurrier and Lane Kiffin will provide.

Saturday, Oct. 31 - Kansas at Texas Tech 
Like high scoring games? This one's for you.