Can you believe we are now halfway through the college football regular season? The better teams are starting to separate themselves, but they are so few and far between in this era of parity that more chaos could be coming. However, a couple of big games really made it easier to separate teams this past weekend. Here are our 10 takeaways from Week 7.
1. Oregon’s MONSTER win; Questions surround Ryan Day
The Ducks held off the Ohio State Buckeyes 32-31 to really take control of the Big Ten race. After looking ugly early in the year, Dan Lanning’s team now looks dominant with Dillon Gabriel at quarterback. However, OSU dropped another top five matchup under Ryan Day here, so could he be starting to feel the pressure a bit? Watch out.
2. Penn State’s BIG road win; Questions surround Lincoln Riley
Sticking with huge Big Ten games that were once B1G-Pac-12 matchups and were both hosted by the former Pac-12 schools this week, the Nittany Lions scored a thrilling win over the USC Trojans in overtime in Los Angeles. All of a sudden, Lincoln Riley doesn’t look special anymore, and he should also feel the heat, but James Franklin’s team is now clear-cut top 5.
3. Texas looks like the best team in college football
Steve Sarkisian has had to deal with his quarterback getting hurt, and the Longhorns have played two marquee games, one on the road and the other at a neutral site. They have won those games by an average of 25 points. With Quinn Ewers back, Texas could be in for a dominant stretch run. As of now, though, they are clear-cut No. 1.
4. One-loss teams survive vs. inferior competition
Both the Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Vols bounced back from bad losses to score ugly wins over the South Carolina Gamecocks and Purdue Boilermakers respectively. The Georgia Bulldogs held off the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and the Illinois Fighting Illini needed overtime to beat the Purdue Boilermakers. All should be happy about winning, but they should also all be concerned.
5. Other one-loss teams quietly back in mix with impressive wins
On Friday, the Arizona State Sun Devils prevailed over the Utah Utes in a battle of two one-loss teams. The LSU Tigers and Kansas State Wildcats did the same thing Saturday over the Ole Miss Rebels and Colorado Buffaloes respectively. Meanwhile, the Clemson Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish scored blowout wins, so all of these teams are quietly in the College Football Playoff mix.
6. Iowa State, BYU, Pitt hanging around
Yes, the two undefeated remaining Big 12 teams are the Cyclones and the Cougars, who beat the West Virginia Mountaineers and Arizona Wildcats respectively this past weekend, and the Pittsburgh Panthers join the Miami Hurricanes as the only undefeated teams in the ACC. Miami had a bye, but Pitt held off the Cal Golden Bears. In this era, a win is a win.
7. Army, Navy ranked, College Football Playoff contenders
The Black Knights dominated the UAB Blazers, and the Midshipmen didn’t play. As a result, both teams are undefeated, and both teams are ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since 1960. We’re a week closer to that possibility that they are the top two teams in the Group of Five College Football Playoff race when the selection committee makes its choice…before these two face each other.
8. Boise St. still leads Go5 CFP race
Before jumping on the Army-Navy train, don’t forget that the Broncos with just one loss are still the best team in the Group of Five College Football Playoff race. Ashton Jeanty looks like a Heisman leader as they beat the Hawaii Warriors 28-7. However, don’t sleep on the Liberty Flames, who won a midweek game last week over the FIU Panthers and are now 5-0.
9. College football Heisman race
1. Cam Ward
2. Ashton Jeanty
3. Dillon Gabriel
4. Travis Hunter
5. Kurtis Rourke
10. Top 10
1. Texas
2. Oregon
3. Penn State
4. Miami
5. BYU
6. Iowa State
7. Ohio State
8. Georgia
9. Pittsburgh
10. Alabama
