College Football Week 7 Preview: Big Ten Boss Battle in Bloomington

Hello college football fans! Welcome to the Week 7 preview.

I may have been slightly presumptive in saying Week 6 was moving week. While we did learn a lot about teams, we didn’t entirely get the full picture like I thought we would. Duke and Pitt both flubbed their opportunities to take control in the race to Charlotte which still seems very much wide open with Wake Forest looking commanding on their trip to Raleigh last weekend. Texas only muddied the SEC waters more by inexplicably dropping the Red River Shootout to Oklahoma in a masterclass in how to throw away a game from Arch Manning. And in the Big Ten, both UCLA and Indiana survived road tests but neither looked impressive in the slightest doing it. We might know less than we did before the weekend!

Welp, never the matter, that just means we get to learn more in Week 7 and onward. We’ve got an absolutely mega slate to look forward to this Saturday. There’s multiple must-watch games in each window, and I might need 6 TVs for what primetime has to offer.

We’ve been lucky to have another awesome year of college football this year, and it’s only just beginning as we head into the second half of the season. But with the recent news of playoff expansion, I’m trying to cherish each and every Saturday more than ever before as Fall Saturdays as we know them may be an endangered species. We’re coming to the late October/November point of the season where it’s really getting to white-knuckling time for the majority of teams’ seasons, and I’m trying to not think about that potentially being stripped away from us next year.

I’ll collect my thoughts more on this and make a separate post, but right now just try to maximize your Saturdays a little bit more than you would typically. Do what you can to make the most of it and enjoy living in the moment because they truly are special.

We’ve got your standard fare below for Week 7 so read up and let us know what games you’re excited for in the comment section!

Games of the Week

Ohio State at Indiana

The Hoosiers (6-0) are featured on Big Noon Kickoff for the 2nd straight week, this time at home in Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. It’s not hyperbolic to say that this is the biggest home football game in Indiana history. The Buckeyes (5-1) have not lost in B-Town since 1988 in what was at the time proclaimed “the darkest day” in Ohio State football history. Since that day, the Hoosiers have only beaten the Buckeyes once, last year’s Big Ten Championship Game. As many Ohio State players have stated this week, the Bucks feel spurned from last year’s defeat and feel that IU “took something from them”. That should give this one a little extra juice. As if it needed it.

Alright, we’re over now with the formalities, so let’s talk matchups. What to watch here for me is what Indiana learned from their first real test last week in Lincoln. To me that means 2 things: rely on the pass to open up the run and rely on your run defense to let you drop more numbers into coverage. Indiana cannot hide Josh Hoover in this matchup like they did against Nebraska. They need to come out aggressive on offense as Ryan Day no doubt watched the tape last week and knows that to slow down this offense you have to stop the run. On defense, the Hoosiers will need an all-out performance from their best defensive unit, the D-line. They’ll fortunately have a slightly easier task with Austin Siereveld and Ja’Kobi Jackson out for the Buckeyes. If the front 7 for Indiana can bottle up the rushing attack, this should allow them to keep Ohio State 1-dimensional through the air where they will certainly get theirs but won’t be able to fully take over the game. If the defense does step up for the Hoosiers, look for returning CB AJ Harris to be a big difference maker. I think Indiana does make the adjustments going into this week, and ekes out the biggest home win in IU history.

Predictions

David Tomlinson: Indiana 28 – Ohio State 27

Cheech Jones: Ohio State 31 – Indiana 20

Alabama at Tennessee

Ain’t no rest for the wicked. After a gutting loss partially due to one of the worst missed pass interference calls I’ve ever seen, the Tide (5-1) must head to Neyland Stadium on the third Saturday in October to take on archrival Tennessee (5-1). So will it be a bounce back spot for Alabama or will the raucous environment exacerbate the issues they had against Georgia? Truthfully, I think the Tide roll here. While the Vols’ defense this year has been stellar, led by DL Xavier Gilliam’s 5 sacks, they have yet to face an offense of this caliber. Keelon Russell is going to carve up this secondary so long as he gets enough time to make plays. Additionally, Tennessee’s offense has been quite a mess. George MacIntyre gets the start again, but I expect him to get pummeled in the pocket by Yhonzae Pierre and co., similar to how Faizon Brandon did against Texas. As long as Alabama can limit DeSean Bishop on the ground, they should flex their muscle here and score a big rivalry win.

Predictions

David Tomlinson: Alabama 37 – Tennessee 17

Cheech Jones: Alabama 35 – Tennessee 24

Missouri at Ole Miss

We should have a fun one in Oxford this Saturday. Offense will be the name of the game as two of the top QBs in the SEC square off. The Rebs (4-1) return home after pounding Vanderbilt in Nashville last weekend 52-17 on the back of a 4 touchdown game from QB Trinidad Chambliss. This offense has yet to be slowed down this year, posting at least 28 points in each of their contests. Missouri (5-1) QB Austin Simmons has led the Tigers to similar performances of their own. He’s had a ton of help on the ground from RB Jamal Roberts who has run for 200+ yards in each of their last 2 games. Not a bad fill-in for Ahmad Hardy, if I may say. This profiles to be a shootout so if anyone can do anything at all on defense, turning the opponent over once or twice would give either squad a monumental edge. I’ll take the home field advantage to win out in this one, but I do expect Mizzou to keep it inside the number here and have a legit shot to win this game.

Predictions

David Tomlinson: Ole Miss 45 – Missouri 42

Cheech Jones: Ole Miss 31 – Missouri 30

Oklahoma State at Houston

Eric Morris’s Cowboys ride high into H-Town as winners of 4 in a row after their shocking opening dud against Tulsa. Oklahoma State (4-1) has rattled off 3 impressive wins against Oregon, West Virginia, and UCF in that time. Drew Mestemaker and the offense have kicked it into high gear after week 1, averaging 45 points per game across their winning streak. Houston’s (5-1) offense has also looked stellar if not quite as explosive, led by super senior QB Conner Weigman. The Cougs have won by double-digits in their last 3 contests, including embarrassing Kansas State in their own building last week. With solid offenses on both sides of the ball, we should be in for a close battle, but Willie Fritz’s defense, which I think will be the difference here, stands in the way. I see Houston making adjustments in the second half defensively that allow them to pull away and seal this victory at home.

Predictions

David Tomlinson: Houston 34 – Oklahoma State 22

Cheech Jones: Houston 42 – Oklahoma State 35

Notre Dame at BYU

This environment should be absolutely electrifying in Provo so long as too many Irish fans don’t fill the stadium. BYU (5-0) hosts its biggest home game outside of the Holy War in maybe my lifetime? Preseason, I thought this spot smelled like a huge upset win for the Cougars, but I’ve changed my tune from what I’ve seen play out so far this season. BYU has struggled mightily to be productive on offense. Bear Bachmeier has managed the offense well, minimizing mistakes and letting the defense do the talking for this BYU team, but they’ve lacked explosive play ability. The Cougar offense has mostly relied on the ground game, so LJ Martin being lost is a massive hole in the BYU attack. Against this vaunted Irish defense, I think even that is going to be too much to overcome. Notre Dame’s (6-0) elite secondary will be too much for Bachmeier to contend with, and while the BYU defense should be able to stuff the Irish on the ground, CJ Carr is too talented to be stymied for 4 quarters. Expect a slugfest in this one, but the only way the Cougars come out on top here is with a statue-worthy effort from Bear Bachmeier.

Predictions

David Tomlinson: Notre Dame 20 – BYU 10

Cheech Jones: Notre Dame 17 – BYU 14

David’s Underdog of the Week

Troy 27 – Louisiana-Lafayette 21

I don’t want to be that guy, but UAB would have been my pick here if I had gotten to publishing this earlier…

Anyways, give me a different Alabama team, the Troy Trojans, to march into Cajun territory and come out victorious. Troy is coming in with extra rest off a bye week after dismantling a poor Southern Miss team in their last outing, while the Ragin’ Cajuns head home after a 4th quarter collapse ended in a 1-point loss to in-state rival Louisiana Tech. I’m expecting Troy QB Goose Crowder to fly high in this one as he can get it done both through the air and on the ground. I’ll take some guy named Troy to take ULL’s Lunch (Winfield) money on Saturday.

Cheech’s Underdog of the Week

California 30 – Wake Forest 26

The Demon Deacons have to travel cross-country to Berkeley, CA to face off against a Cal team that is coming off a gritty win against Virginia Tech. The Bears are expecting both QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and RB Adam Mohammed to play in this one which gives them a big boost. The Cal defense ranks 9th nationally in interceptions, and the Golden Bears also have the 13th ranked offense in terms of passing yards per game. The prodigal son, Tosh Lupoi, has returned, and his success streak will continue.