ESPN College Football

Each Sunday, our bloggers review what happened during the past weekend. What did they learn in Week 9?

ACC

Georgia Tech stands alone. After Virginia Tech's loss to North Carolina on Thursday night, there is a new undisputed heavyweight in the Coastal Division -- and the entire ACC, for that matter. Georgia Tech should be the ACC's lone representative in the top 15 of the BCS standings once they're released later on Sunday, and after USC's loss to Oregon, the Yellow Jackets made a case for being the nation's best one-loss team. With its eight wins, Georgia Tech has been the most consistent team the conference has to offer this season, and there's no reason the Jackets shouldn't win their final three games against Wake Forest, Duke and Georgia.

Big 12

Kansas State proved more in a loss Saturday than in any of its earlier conference wins. It looked bleak for Bill Snyder's team after it fell into an early 28-9 hole after spotting Oklahoma the first three touchdowns of the game. But the wily and resourceful Kansas State coach had his Wildcats prepared, and they made the Sooners sweat to win a tougher-than-expected struggle after a determined and resourceful comeback. The Wildcats were four-touchdown underdogs but certainly didn't play like it. We learned much about KSU's resiliency as it produced more points against OU in a 42-30 loss than any team this season. And KSU still controls its destiny in the North Division with three upcoming games to finish the season against Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. All of them look winnable if the Wildcats play like they did Saturday night in Norman.

Big East

It's a two-team race. West Virginia's loss means that only Pitt and Cincinnati remain unbeaten in the Big East. Sure, the Mountaineers still can capture the league title if they win out and beat both the Panthers and Bearcats. But right now, Cincinnati and Pitt are in the driver's seat, especially because both teams each have only one road game left. The Dec. 5 game between the two in Heinz Field looks more and more like the de facto Big East championship game.

Big Ten

Iowa can be very explosive on offense. Rallies are nothing new for Iowa, but the Hawkeyes normally use defense and special teams to erase deficits. Many doubted whether the Hawkeyes had enough offensive firepower to bounce back after really struggling for the first three quarters against Indiana. But quarterback Ricky Stanzi and wide receivers Marvin McNutt and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos answered those questions with a huge fourth quarter against Indiana, which blew a 14-point lead. Iowa exploded for 28 points in the final 11:38 and finished with its highest-scoring total (42) of the season despite committing six turnovers. The Hawkeyes simply own the fourth quarter this season, outscoring opponents 100-38.

Pac-10

Oregon is a national title contender. Sure, the national title game looks as if it'll be the SEC champ versus Texas. Or maybe Iowa. Sure, the Ducks still have to answer for the loss at Boise State way, way, way back in the Paleolithic era. But no one is playing better all-around football right now than Oregon. No one. All the other national title contenders will watch highlights of the Ducks' 47-20 win over USC and go, "Thanks, Boise State, we sure don't want to play those Ducks!" Now, Stanford, which will host the Ducks on Saturday, might not be saying that.

SEC

Ole Miss was a fraud. Some people have a hard time admitting they were wrong. I'm not one of those people. I was wrong, dead wrong, about Ole Miss being a legitimate player to win the Western Division title. In fact, at this rate, the Rebels will be fortunate to land in a New Year's Day bowl after losing 33-20 at Auburn on Saturday. Other than FCS foe Northern Arizona next week, it's hard to find another definite win on the Rebels' schedule. Tennessee and LSU both come to Oxford, and Ole Miss closes the season by traveling to Mississippi State. The Rebels (5-3, 2-3) will have to beat either the Vols, Tigers or Bulldogs to gain bowl eligibility. The win over Northern Arizona won't count, because the Rebels already have one win over an FCS opponent (Southeastern Louisiana). It's obvious all that offseason hype was just that -- hype.

Non-AQ

Two in the BCS. TCU coach Gary Patterson put it out there after Saturday's win that that he thought both TCU and Boise State would deserve a bid to a BCS bowl should both schools go undefeated. He said there weren't a lot of "great teams" in the top 10 of the BCS standings, and that's been proved with the late-game heroics that have been needed to preserve some wins during the past two weeks. Boise State handled Hawaii fairly easily thanks to a defense that forced six turnovers that were turned into 30 Boise State points.

Notre Dame

Roby Toma was not just a Te'o throw-in. Rival fans accused Notre Dame of giving receiver Toma a scholarship just because he was the high school teammate and best friend of stud recruit Manti Te'o. Well, Toma proved his value by catching two passes for 13 yards in his first career game Saturday, pressed into action because of Robby Parris' injury. Even if Toma had been merely a recruiting enticement, he might have been worth it. Te'o continues to improve at linebacker and recorded nine tackles -- two of them for losses -- against Boston College.