Offenses may have had the upper hand this weekend, but there were still some solid defensive performances that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Using PFSN’s defensive impact rankings, here are the top 10 defenses in Week 9 of the 2025 season.
10) Wyoming Cowboys
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 83.4 (B)
Wyoming posted its second shutout of the season to achieve a .500 record at 4-4. The Cowboys rank 56th in defensive rankings on the season, but the offense significantly holds them back, ranking 110th in offensive impact scores. The most impressive part of this win was the fact that Wyoming allowed just one yard on four total plays in the red zone. Colorado State was never even close to hurting the Cowboys.
9) Boise State Broncos
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 83.4 (B)
Boise State has quietly put together a solid season after many wrote the Broncos off following a rough loss to South Florida. It turns out South Florida is a legitimate playoff threat, and the Broncos’ defense isn’t too shabby. This is the third time this season they have ranked inside the top 20 and the second time in the top 10.
8) SMU Mustangs
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 84.0 (B)
While SMU is typically known for offense over the past two seasons, its defense stood out in a very disappointing loss. Just under a year removed from a playoff berth, the Mustangs fell to Wake Forest 13-12 to drop to 5-3 in 2025.
According to TruMedia, defenses that force five turnovers in a game are 168-17 since 2019. Defenses that force six fumbles are 26-11 since 2019. The Mustangs’ defense ends up on the rare side of both of these stats. Despite causing this much chaos, the offense just could not get it done.
7) San Diego State Aztecs
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 85.5 (B)
The San Diego State Aztecs are quickly becoming rivals to their basketball program — and in a similar fashion. Both teams have suffocating defenses and thrive on slow possessions (bottom 20 in seconds per play for football and bottom 100 in possessions per game for basketball).
They rank 11th this season in Defi with an 87.4 score and a second-best 10.4 points per game allowed. This is now their fourth game within the top 10 and fifth of seven in the top 14. Even with an offense ranked 108th, the Aztecs are sitting pretty at 6-1 and should honestly be in consideration for the Top 25, and maybe that Group of Five playoff spot.
6) Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 86.3 (B)
After their worst six quarters of football this season (Louisville plus the first half of Stanford), the Miami Hurricanes are back to business as usual. They are featured in the top 10 for both offense and defense in the Week 9 rankings after a monstrous second half against general manager Andrew Luck and team.
5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 86.4 (B)
The Demon Deacons got lucky enough to be on the other side of those atrocious SMU statistics. When I say lucky, I am, of course, referring to the impressive performance of the Wake Forest defense, which bailed out the five-turnover game from their offense.
Wake Forest held the Mustangs to just 247 yards of total offense, the second-lowest mark since 2019. They also managed to force three turnovers of their own to offset such a bizarre mark.
4) Utah Utes
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 86.7 (B)
Not having your starting quarterback doesn’t matter at all when your defense can create chaos the way the Utah Utes did against Colorado in Week 9. The Utes managed seven sacks and an absurd 55.8% pressure rate, both of which make it nearly impossible for the other team to win.
John Henry Daley continues to be the driving force along the defensive line, ranking second in edge rusher impact rankings. He ranks second in the nation in splash plays (12), seventh in pressure rate (19.4%), and tied for third in sacks (9.5).
3) Iowa Hawkeyes
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 88.9 (B+)
The Iowa Hawkeyes are quietly making the case for a playoff appearance with their best defensive play coming in the later weeks of the season. This is the second time in three weeks that they have ranked in the top three, and they rank 10th overall on the season with an 88.4 score.
Even the No. 2 team in the nation (Indiana Hoosiers) struggled to get much going against this Iowa defense. With their next two games against Oregon and Southern California, Iowa will get the chance to stamp itself as a top defense or crumble under pressure.
2) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 91.2 (A-)
Much like Utah, the Texas Tech Red Raiders are a mainstay on this list because of an elite pass rush. David Bailey ranks first in sacks (10.5) and second in pressure rate (23.8%) this season, and his running mate, Romello Height, is fourth in pressure rate and 22nd in sacks.
As a team, Texas Tech ranks 14th in pressure rate despite blitzing at the 19th-lowest rate in all of the FBS. The Red Raiders had only one sack in their 42-0 win over Oklahoma State in Week 9 but still managed to force two turnovers and hold the Cowboys to just 182 yards of total offense.
1) Indiana Hoosiers
Week 9 PFSN College Defi Grade: 93.5 (A)
For the second time this season, the Indiana Hoosiers are ranked No. 1 in the defensive rankings. With five of their eight outings ranking in the top 10, it’s no surprise that the Hoosiers rank first in defensive impact on the season with a 97.8 score. Indiana joins Oklahoma and Ohio State as one of three defenses having historically elite levels of success to this point.
The eventual Big Ten championship between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Indiana Hoosiers could end with single-digit scoring if it weren’t for two elite, high-powered offenses on the other ends of these amazing defenses. Regardless, the Hoosiers have one of the best teams in the nation this season, and it’s exciting to continue watching their utter dominance on both sides of the ball.
