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The seventh week of the college football season is poised to be the most compelling yet, with six games featuring teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25. The slate includes a top-five confrontation and an additional top-10 matchup.
No. 4 Ohio State will travel to face No. 5 Indiana in a contest between the last two national champions. The winner of this Saturday afternoon game will gain a crucial advantage in the race for the Big Ten championship game and bolster its College Football Playoff seeding resume.
In prime time, No. 2 Notre Dame will visit No. 8 BYU in the first top-10 game ever played at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This matchup carries substantial playoff weight due to its potential to enhance each team's resume. Neither squad has faced a demanding schedule thus far.
Elsewhere, No. 16 Mississippi State will head to No. 22 LSU, where a Bulldogs victory would essentially extinguish LSU's playoff aspirations in Lane Kiffin's first season. No. 6 Alabama, aiming to rebound from a home loss to now-No. 1 Georgia, will visit No. 14 Tennessee.
The quarterback duel in No. 13 Missouri at No. 9 Mississippi is particularly intriguing. Missouri's Austin Simmons started last season as Mississippi's starter before giving way to Trinidad Chambliss, who remains the starter in Oxford. The other Top 25 game features No. 18 Oklahoma State at No. 20 Houston in Big 12 play. The Cowboys struggled mightily the past two years, but with 91 newcomers and first-year coach Eric Morris, they have become one of the season's feel-good stories after losing to Tulsa and then starting a four-game win streak with an upset of Oregon.
Key Analysis
No. 4 Ohio State (5-1, 3-0 Big Ten) at No. 5 Indiana (6-0, 3-0), noon ET (Fox): The Buckeyes have won four straight since a fourth-quarter collapse at Texas. The defending champion Hoosiers have won 22 consecutive games after a fourth-quarter comeback at Nebraska. The last meeting between these teams was the Big Ten championship game last year, when Ohio State was the reigning national champion and ranked No. 1. Indiana's 13-10 victory was its first in 31 tries in the series and snapped the Buckeyes' 16-game win streak. Much attention will be on three of the nation's top receivers: Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith, who has posted impressive numbers, and Indiana's Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh, the country's premier tandem.
Preseason Heisman favorite CJ Carr of No. 2 Notre Dame has done nothing to diminish his candidacy through six games. He has thrown 16 touchdown passes against one interception, averaging 229 passing yards per game with 70% accuracy. However, his schedule has been mediocre, and he has slipped behind Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith and Miami QB Darian Mensah in the betting markets. Both have put up phenomenal numbers. Carr has a chance to make a statement against BYU's top-10 defense.
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier has shouldered a heavier load since star RB LJ Martin was injured against TCU on Oct. 3. Bachmeier threw for 329 yards and ran for 109 yards last week against Iowa State and is entering the Heisman conversation. Like Carr, he gets a big stage, but Bachmeier will face what appears to be an even better defense.
4: Kicks or punts Vanderbilt has had blocked, most in the nation, after having none blocked the previous two seasons. 10: Oregon State freshman Jesse Legree's nation-leading receptions of 30-plus yards. 18: Pittsburgh's interceptions returned for touchdowns since 2020, most in the nation. 23: Nebraska has held each of its first six opponents to this many points or fewer for the first time since 2010. 47.8%: Utah opponent pass completion rate, on track to be the lowest by a team since 2016. 106: UTEP's consecutive games since 2017 without its defense returning an interception for a touchdown, the longest streak in the country.
Northwestern (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) at Michigan State (2-4, 0-3), noon ET (Peacock): It's the Pat Fitzgerald Bowl. Fitzgerald was a two-time consensus All-America linebacker at Northwestern in the mid-1990s and later served 17 years as the program's longest-tenured head coach. He was fired shortly before fall camp in 2023 amid a hazing scandal. He filed a $130 million wrongful termination lawsuit, and the two sides settled last summer, with Northwestern acknowledging it could not establish that Fitzgerald was told by players about the hazing or that he directed or condoned it. Fitzgerald restarted his college coaching career in December when Michigan State hired him. David Braun, who joined the Northwestern staff as defensive coordinator seven months before Fitzgerald's firing, is now head coach and has the Wildcats off to their best start in six years.
Rutgers' Greg Schiano was listed here five weeks ago after an embarrassing 37-21 season-opening home loss to UMass. Maryland's Mike Locksley was here two weeks ago after a 51-point home loss to UCLA. Things haven't improved for either team. The Scarlet Knights' only win during a 1-4 start was against Howard. The Terrapins are 2-4 with wins over Hampton and UConn. Locksley is the only coach on a hotter seat than Schiano, according to rankings by CoachesHotSeat.com and other observers. Neither athletic department wants to pay a buyout and conduct a coaching search, but it appears imminent for one and probably both. Locksley would be owed $9.7 million and Schiano about $18 million, according to media reports. Rutgers visits Maryland on Saturday. May the best coach win.
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Originally reported by yourvalley_net.