College Football Week 7 Wrap up
Estimated 5 minute read
Weekly round up featuring rankings, media, and analysis from this week in college football.
Might as well call this week’s edition the Big Ten wrap up.
Games of the Week
No. 3 Oregon Ducks (6-0): 32
No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1): 31
Find more on this game below in the Trending Up and Trending Down sections. Oregon survived a missed field goal, 2 two-point conversion failures, and a fourth and goal turnover at the Buckeyes’ 2 yard line. Ohio State’s final minute time management and penalty miscues resulted in no field goal attempt to win despite the final 6 plays (including penalties) coming in Oregon territory. In contrast, Dan Lanning’s squad committed what may have been a brilliant illegal substitution intentional penalty with 6 seconds remaining to derail the Buckeyes.
No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1): 50
Purdue Boilermakers (1-5): 49 (OT)
Purdue, which had lost their last 4 games by a combined score of 184-44, came back from a 27-3 deficit against No. 23 Illinois to take a 43-40 lead with 46 seconds remaining. Illinois sent the game to OT on a David Olano 38 yard field goal and then on a 25 yard pass to open the extra action. Down 7, Purdue scored a touchdown and decided to go for the win with a two-point conversion. QB Ryan Browne failed to get a pass off and was sacked, sealing the win for the Illini.
No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0): 33
USC Trojans (3-3): 30 (OT)
So far, teams crossing time zones in Big Ten play have struggled, including the Trojans, who lost at Michigan and at Minnesota. This time, the away team came through with the overtime win. The Nittany Lions overcame a 20-6 halftime deficit to claim a 33-30 win in Los Angeles. Tight End Tyler Warren caught 17 of Penn State quarterback Drew Allar’s 30 completions while adding a completion of his own for 9 yards. Miller Moss overthrew a pass that would have put the Trojans in field goal range with 14 seconds left that Penn State picked off. Kicker Michael Lantz missed a field goal, giving the Nittany Lions the coveted “wins with score” designation. Ryan Barker split the uprights with a 36 yard attempt to win the game.
My Week 7 Heisman Top 5
Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State Broncos: 126 carries, 1,248 yards, 9.9 ypc, 18 TDs (1 rec)
Dillon Gabriel, QB Oregon Ducks: 76.1% 1,709 yards, 13 TDs, 3 INTs, 4 rush TDs
Travis Hunter, WR/CB Colorado Buffaloes: 49 catches, 587 yards, 12 ypc, 6 TDs, 16 tackles, 3PDs, 2 INTs, 1 FF
Cam Ward, QB Miami Hurricanes: 69.2% completion, 2,219 yards, 20 TDs 5 INTs, 161 yards rushing, 3 TDs
Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama Crimson Tide: 72.7%, 1,483 yards, 12 TDs, 4 INTs, 319 yards rushing, 11 TDs
Week 7 Players of the Week
Offensive: Tyler Warren, TE Penn State Nittany Lions: 17 catches 224 yards, touchdown, carry 4 yards 1/1 passing 9 yards in 33-30 W vs USC Trojans
Defensive: James Pearce Jr, DL Tennessee Volunteers: 7 tackles 1 TFL .5 sacks 1 FF 1 FR (on one yard line) in 23-17 W vs Florida Gators
Week 7 Trending Up
No. 2 Oregon Ducks
The Ducks’ dramatic comeback win against No. 2 Ohio State has them as co-favorites for the Big Ten title according to ESPN Bet. The best news for Oregon is that by winning, they have given themselves insulation on the track for an at-large CFP bid if they fail to win the Big Ten championship. Oregon will try to avoid a Friday night letdown against 1-5 Purdue as 27.5 point favorites.
Week 7 Trending Down
No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels
Through 4 weeks to begin the season, Ole Miss had obliterated weaker competition to the tune of 220-22 and No. 6 ranking in the AP Top 25. 3 weeks later, Ole Miss is 1-2 in SEC play after losses to Kentucky and No. 13 LSU. The Rebels are now longshots to win the conference but remain alive for a CFP bid.
Clock Management
I will say that game and clock management is much more difficult from the sideline than on TV or on a video game. I’ve looked back at close games at the elementary school flag football games I’ve coached after the fact and kicked myself for obvious errors. That said, these are P4 head coaches making boneheaded decisions. Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Will Howard failed to realize that the clock began running on the ready to play signal, losing valuable time in the final minute of the game approaching field goal range. On the game’s last play, Howard scrambled in an attempt to set up the game winning try only to slide with no time remaining. After Penn State tied up their contest with USC with 2:53 remaining. The Trojans operated in slow motion, going 28 and 39 seconds between plays from their own 37 and Nittany Lion 49. Quarterback Miller Moss threw an interception to end their chance at a field goal attempt with 14 seconds remaining. USC would go on to lose in overtime and fell to 1-3 in conference play.
Midseason G5 Power Rankings
No. 23 Army Black Knights (6-0): Defeated UAB Blazers 44-10. Next: East Carolina Pirates
No. 25 Navy Midshipmen (5-0): Bye. Next: Charlotte 49ers
No. 15 Boise State Broncos (5-1): Defeated Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors 28-7. Next: Bye
UNLV Rebels (5-1): Defeated Utah State Aggies 50-34. Next: at Oregon State Beavers
James Madison Dukes (5-1): Defeated Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 39-7. Next: at Georgia Southern Eagles
I’m still of the opinion that Boise State and Tulane are the most talented G5 teams. Tulane has two P4 losses, which hurts. Boise State has my Heisman frontrunner Ashton Jeanty putting up numbers that EA Sports College Football 25 fans would consider unrealistic and Tulane has electric freshman Darian Mensah at quarterback. ESPN’s FPI has Boise State at 23 and Tulane at 25. Navy and Army both have a path to the CFP through an AAC Championship. Army is already 5-0 in conference play, with games against East Carolina, North Texas, and UTSA remaining. They will be favored in each. The largest challenge looming is a game against No. 12 Notre Dame. Navy sits at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in AAC play. Navy also faces Notre Dame and gets Tulane in conference play, both of which they will be underdogs. UNLV and James Madison both rank outside of the AP Top 25 but remain in contention for their conference championships, with UNLV facing Boise State at least once and Oregon State on the road.
