Week 9 of the college football season proved to have massive implications for postseason play, especially in the SEC.

Let's not waste any time. Here are Sports Illustrated's takeaways from the week that was.

Texas A&M's blowout win in Baton Rouge should turn the heat up quickly on Brian Kelly at LSU

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

The primary narrative coming out of No. 3 Texas A&M's 49-25 victory over No. 20 LSU on Saturday night will likely be about Brian Kelly and his lack of traction toward building a championship program in Baton Rouge. There's no doubt that Kelly's seat is warming quickly at LSU, which has expectations of championship or bust. After all, each of the program's last three coaches have won a national title (Nick Saban in 2003, Les Miles in 2007, Ed Orgeron in 2019). In three-plus seasons, Kelly has not won an SEC title, and has not taken the Tigers to a College Football Playoff. He has compiled a 34-14 record though, an indication that he's still a good football coach.

But being merely "good" is not enough at LSU, and the fan base chanting "Fire Kelly" as he exited the field to the tune of a 24-point defeat tells the story of where things stand for the 64-year-old.

Now, let's get to what the narrative should be coming out of Saturday night's game. Texas A&M is a national title contender. Quarterback Marcel Reed is growing increasingly comfortable in the offense by the week, and the Aggies’ defense has proven to be one of the best in the sport through the first two months of the season. Second-year head coach Mike Elko inherited plenty of talent in College Station, and he has gotten the operation humming quickly in his short time with the program.

The Aggies have four games remaining: at Missouri (which will feature a true freshman quarterback for the Tigers), home vs. South Carolina, home against Samford, at Texas. It would be a stunner if A&M is not in Atlanta competing for an SEC title in December, which should serve as a precursor for what could be a deep College Football Playoff run.

Alabama's furious comeback at South Carolina represents step forward under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer

In the fourth quarter on Saturday in Columbia, things were looking dicey for No. 4 Alabama with 10 minutes to play in regulation. Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers scampered into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown run, and the extra point put South Carolina up 22-14.

Alabama would have lost this game last season. The Crimson Tide went 9-4 in year one under Kalen DeBoer, which included a 5-3 conference record. All three conference losses were on the road against teams they were favored against (Vanderbilt, No. 11 Tennessee and Oklahoma).

But instead of turtling down eight win 10 minutes to play like they may have a year ago, the Crimson Tide punched back. Following the Sellers touchdown run, Alabama embarked on a 14-play, 79-yard touchdown drive, which included a four-yard touchdown pass from Ty Simpson to Germie Bernard, and a beautifully schemed up two-point conversion call by DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

South Carolina went on cough up the football with a costly fumble on the next drive, and Alabama converted the turnover into a 25-yard touchdown run by Bernard to put the game away for the Crimson Tide.

From the outside looking in, some may see Saturday as a step backwards considering how dominant the team has looked the last two months. But at a macro level, the win over South Carolina was a big step forward for DeBoer in year two as he continues to build his program in Tuscaloosa.

Saturday's win over Oklahoma should remind Lane Kiffin that he has everything he needs to win at Ole Miss

All the talk around Lane Kiffin these days seems to revolve around which job the 50-year-old is going to take next.

Kiffin strongly considered taking the Auburn job after the 2022 season, but instead signed an extension with Ole Miss to remain in Oxford and continue building the Rebels program. Since signing the extension, Kiffin is 28-6, including 7-1 this season after an impressive 34-26 win in Norman against the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.

The Ole Miss athletic department promised to improve the NIL infrastructure around Kiffin when he elected to stay in Oxford, and the added investment into the program has paid dividends. The Rebels appear to be a serious SEC title contender, and are primed to make their first College Football Playoff appearance in school history if they finish the regular season strong.

Kiffin is expected to be a serious candidate for the Florida vacancy, but there's a case to be made that his job at Ole Miss in 2025 is every bit as good as the one in Gainesville. Revenue sharing and NIL have changed the college football landscape significantly, and the playing field has been leveled.

Kiffin has everything he needs in Oxford to compete for SEC and national titles. Saturday was another data point to prove just how far the Rebels' program has come.

South Florida's second-half collapse at Memphis proves the AAC title race is wide open

The American Athletic Conference is the strongest Group of 6 league in 2025, and the conference remains the favorite to pick up the Group of 6 auto-bid for the College Football Playoff.

However, the non-power conference program that entered Saturday as the favorite to land in the College Football Playoff is now likely out of the race entirely.

No. 18 South Florida traveled to 6-1 Memphis. The Tigers lost a stunner a week ago to interim-coach-led UAB, and were not given much of a chance against a nationally-ranked South Florida team playing very good football.

The Bulls led 31-17 entering the fourth quarter, but allowed three-straight scoring drives to the Tigers while mustering just two punts and a missed field goal on their final three offensive possessions. The result? A stunning 34-31 win for Memphis that places the Tigers back squarely in the hunt for the AAC title race and a chance to make the College Football Playoff.

Navy is 5-0 in the American. Tulane is 3-0 in the conference. Memphis, South Florida, North Texas and Temple are all 3-1 in league play.

The conference is wide open, and who ends up atop of the conference at season's end is anybody's guess.

The Big 12 title race? Also wide open, with Houston entering the picture and Arizona State exiting stage left

Speaking of wide open conference title races, let's head over to the Big 12, where last year's conference title winner—No. 24 Arizona State—has fallen victim to injured starting quarterback syndrome. The Sun Devils are now a long shot to make it back to Dallas to play for a Big 12 title after losing to Houston 24-16 on Saturday. The Cougars are now 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12, and should be ranked in the new AP poll on Sunday.

Thanks to Saturday's win over Arizona State, Houston has now joined a pack of contenders in the Big 12 that features BYU (who scored a two touchdown win at Iowa State on Saturday), Cincinnati (who routed Baylor), and Texas Tech (who shut out Oklahoma State).

It'll be a fun final month for the Big 12.

Georgia Tech is the ACC title favorite, and Haynes King is making a strong case for the Heisman Trophy

No. 7 Georgia Tech smoked unranked Syracuse, 41-16, at home on Saturday in Atlanta thanks to another strong performance from senior quarterback Haynes King.

King, who has flown under the radar a bit this season thanks to Georgia Tech's soft schedule, completed 25 of his 31 passing attempts for 304 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball 12 times for 91 yards and two more scores.

The Yellow Jackets are 8-0, and now travel to NC State and Boston College before hosting Pittsburgh and Georgia to close out the regular season. Georgia Tech is in the driver's seat to make it to Charlotte to play for the ACC championship, and should be considered the favorite to win the conference - especially since Miami needs help to make it into the league title game.

Jackets head coach Brent Key stumped for King as a Heisman contender, and if Georgia Tech finishes the regular season at 11-1 or 12-0, it would be hard to imagine King not making it to New York as a finalist for the prestigious award.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football Week 9 Takeaways: Texas A&M's Blowout Win Turns Up Heat on LSU's Brian Kelly.