Last weekend five of the AP Top-10 teams fell, including Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, UCLA and Texas A&M.
Saturday also gave one of the greatest day in sports history in the state of Mississippi with No. 11 Ole Miss defeating No. 3 Alabama and No. 12 Mississippi State’s 48-31 rout of No. 6 Texas A&M. But fear not college football fans, week seven has games you won’t want to miss.
Texas vs No. 11 Oklahoma, Noon, ABC
The Red River Rivalry has lost a little bit of its luster thanks to the Longhorns’ struggling to catch a break this season, but keep in mind an unranked Texas surprised everyone last season and beat the then-No. 11 Sooners handily 36-20.
OU is coming off a tough road loss to TCU, which could make the Longhorns fall victim to a rebound beat down.
No. 13 Georgia @ No. 23 Missouri, Noon, CBS
Although all the talk in the Southeastern Conference is about the Western division, this week’s matchup could be pivotal to the SEC East race.
Missouri leads the East standings, but running back Todd Gurley comes to town with more than 700 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, as well as the best chances to win the Heisman Trophy with his odds at 8/5.
No. 2 Auburn @ No. 3 Mississippi State, 3:30pm, CBS
This matchup features one of the best quarterback battles we’ll see all season with Auburn’s Nick Marshall and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott.
Both are dual threat guys, but Prescott has the edge in the air with over 1,200 yards passing and 13 touchdowns on the season. Mississippi State’s defense was impressive against Heisman hopeful Kenny Hill by sacking him four times. Both these western teams are undefeated, but Mississippi State could get the edge by having back-to-back home games. Not to mention ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Starkville, Miss., for the first time in the show’s history.
No. 9 TCU @ No. 5 Baylor, 3:30pm, ABC/ESPN2
This one’s a huge Big 12 matchup that additionally has major college football playoff implications. TCU is coming off of an upset victory over Oklahoma but travels to Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor which boasts the country’s second ranked total offense. Whichever team wins this matchup could very likely end up winning the conference, and if the winner runs the table they could find themselves with a playoff bid come December.
No. 12 Oregon @ No. 18 UCLA, 3:30pm, FOX
This game would have been the marquee matchup of the weekend. That was before both Oregon and UCLA lost to unranked teams last week. It’s a cross-divisional PAC-12 game, but will affect who makes it to the title game if we have a tie-breaker situation in either divisions. Whichever team’s quarterback has the better day between Oregon’s Marcus Mariota or UCLA’s Brett Hundley should get the edge on Saturday.
No. 7 Alabama @ Arkansas, 6pm, ESPN
The Crimson Tide are usually a force to be reckoned with after a loss, but if they dwell too much on the loss against Ole Miss, Arkansas could catch them by surprise. If Bret Bielema could pull off the upset and get his first SEC win against the Tide, it would without a doubt be his biggest win of his career.
No. 3 Ole Miss @ No. 14 Texas A&M, 9pm, ESPN
Hugh Freeze is coming off of the biggest win of his career after upsetting Alabama, but the Rebels have a big test on Saturday night in College Station, Texas. Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace put together the game-winning drive to put the Rebels on top of Bama late in the fourth quarter, but he gets to meet explosive Aggie linebacker Myles Garrett, who already has six solo sacks, a number good for sixth in the country. The Rebel defense isn’t without playmakers either—the secondary has ten interceptions and ranks second in the country in pass efficiency defense.
Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott (15) throws a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014. MSU won 48-31.
