College Football Week 7 Preview

Week 6 gave us some good games but nothing overly dramatic or a major upset. While a couple top teams have suffered at least one loss, there has not really been any shake ups. With about half the season complete, the top tier of teams have begun to emerge. The SEC had a couple of the early big matchups of the year before Ohio State knocked off two of the biggest challengers in the Big Ten. The ACC gets its first big game next weekend with Florida State and Clemson against each other and Washington is in the middle of a major Pac-12 doubleheader with a game against Stanford last week and Oregon this week.

Looking back at the games highlighted, Miami (FL) gave Georgia Tech their second straight ACC loss as they continued to look like a team with minimal flaws and they will need to keep playing as such if they want to win an ACC title this year against very tough competition. Baylor continued to look very good as well as they had little trouble blowing up the scoreboard again in a much more one sided affair against West Virginia. Mississippi looked to still be lingering from their loss to Alabama as Auburn continued their rebound season with another conference win. Michigan finally put a complete game together and will need to build on that performance with the end of the season and Ohio State in mind. Florida was less than pretty again but made enough big plays in the second half to go into their clash with LSU with only 1 loss. Finally, Missouri is looking much better this year as they are showing the ability to stare SEC competition and be successful and will need a lot of confidence going to Georgia this week.

With my top 5 for Week 6, I went 5-0 bringing my record to 27-3 on the year. Oklahoma was able to methodically pick apart TCU but the Horned Frogs did not go easy as they kept trying to fight back but the Sooners seemed to have an answer at important moments to seal the game. Arizona State and Notre Dame looked like two even matched squads coming in and the type of game they provided equaled that estimation for sure. Lead changes and each team finding ways answer back kept the final of this one wide open. In the end, Notre Dame played one of the more complete games utilizing a couple big plays to pull ahead late and hold on for a nice win. There is not too much to say with Florida State-Maryland besides the fact that Florida State and QB Jamies Winston looked unstoppable and Maryland might not be as good as some thought after their 4-0 start. Florida State and Clemson will meet next week and that one should at least be a little closer.

Ohio State had not really been tested before the last two weeks. They got enough key plays to beat Wisconsin and they took a similar approach despite multiple turnovers to edge by Northwestern. Northwestern was seemingly doing everything right in the first half but couldn't convert touchdowns a couple times in the second half that left the door open and QB Braxton Miller pull his mistakes in the rearview as they turned heavily to a run game that could not be slowed down. Finally, Washington had continued to show early this season that they were a well balanced offense that could play hard against some good teams. However, last week and this were two major opportunities to truly be tested and see how good they really are. Unfortunately for them, they just did not have enough to survive a very good Stanford team who looks like one of the best teams in the country. Every time the Cardinal tried putting Washington away, QB Kenny Price would not lie down as he kept his team alive late. A final drive that could have won the game fell short as a 4th down could not be converted.

Now comes this week's games to spotlight and the weekly top 5.

Games to highlight in Week 7:

Rutgers at #8 Louisville (Thursday): QB Teddy Bridgewater and Louisville get probably their toughest test yet as Rutgers looks to take their best shot as these two rivals add another chapter to what have been some good ones like 2006 and 2012.

Arizona at USC (Thursday): USC has dealt with issues on and off the field this year and get a tough and dangerous Arizona team. The two offenses could provide a close back and forth battle late into the night.

#13 Oklahoma vs Texas: The Red River Shootout is one to always circle around the middle of Texas. It has normally been close affairs that have national title and BCS implications a lot of years. This year though Texas as way more on line as their season is teetering and they are hoping to at least keep it close.

#11 South Carolina at Arkansas: DE Javedon Clowney has gotten some flack for his focus and commitment lately and that might provide enough of a distraction for South Carolina especially if he doesn't play for Arkansas to make this competitive and even sneak an upset.

Top 5 Games of Week 7 (27-3):

5) #9 Texas A&M at Mississippi: Mississippi was looking really good until they ran into Alabama and Auburn. Now they draw QB Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. The Aggies have allowed themselves at times to fall asleep at the wheel and need a couple quick strike drives to put away opponents before games got close. They will need to avoid that type of play because Mississippi is capable of putting a fair amount of points up. The biggest thing is how well the Rebels' offense can click in this one cause that seems to be where their season took a wrong turn. They play better but not well enough to combat Manziel and his dual threat ability. PICK: TEXAS A&M

4) #17 Northwestern at Wisconsin: This is the battle of the two teams who attempted to knock off Ohio State the last two weeks. They both play gritty and this one could be a tough defensive battle with some timely scoring. Northwestern is showing some versatility with how they use their two quarterbacks while Wisconsin is doing a good job balancing the play of their two running backs. Their ability to put pressure and force turnovers was almost enough last week for Northwestern and if they can do the same this week which I think can occur it sets up for a major win. Close one until the end before Northwestern forces a turnover that leads to a deciding score and their defense does enough to hold off Wisconsin. PICK: NORTHWESTERN

3) Missouri at #7 Georgia: Georgia weathered another storm last week against Tennessee on the road and with injuries on their offense it will not get much easier. Missouri looks like a totally different team from last year and will make Georgia work hard in this one. If HB Todd Gurley can do, that will provide QB Aaron Murray and Georgia with a big boost. However, it looks like the Bulldogs will be going to the third string running back and Murray will need to continue his high play to move the ball and put points up. Thus, Missouri will need to apply a lot of pressure because if they can shut down his throwing lanes; that will allow them to build off of what they've done so far with tough defense paving the way for their offense to get plenty of possessions. Georgia will need another good 4th quarter from Murray and a big touchdown drive again paves the way for them to keep escaping close games with major victories and hope that players can return as the season progresses. PICK: GEORGIA

2) #19 Florida at #10 LSU: Another week and another big SEC game. LSU was tested early last week coming off a loss before they clicked in the second half. Florida played an equally sluggish first half last week before they too got going in the second half. Both teams will want to avoid that this week. LSU even in their one loss have shown the ability to throw defenses off with how they use their offensive personnel. Florida has had to make adjustments with their offense largely due to losing their QB Jeff Driskel. This looks like it could be a close one but something tells me that LSU will strike somewhat early and get a couple big plays before the half that sets them up for a cushion entering the second half where the two sides will be a lot closer. LSU just a little too much overall at home. PICK: LSU

1) #2 Oregon at #18 Washington: Washington nearly beat Stanford last week and now hopes to learn from that against a team in Oregon that is easily putting up 50 points a game. Thus, the Huskies' offense led by QB Kenny Price will need to be just as good as last week if not even better cause they will need to be able to put up a lot of points if their defense cannot find a way to make a few big stops. Being at home will provide a key environment for them to hopefully feed off of very much like their opening win against Boise State as they looked nearly perfect. It is just hard to see Oregon's offense being slowed enough and even if they surrender 30-40 points, they can still win by two touchdowns which is scary to think. A close one early before Oregon begins to slowly pull away but Washington will not go easy much like against Stanford so it will be something to watch throughout. PICK: OREGON

Another couple solid top 25 matchups highlight this week's schedule as we will find out a little more about some of the top teams and where they stand. Will there be an upset that shakes the rankings? There haven't been any major ones yet so you just don't know.