Tennessee's Dramatic Win Headlines Pivotal Week for College Football Playoff Hopefuls

Although the College Football Playoff race has a constant presence, the discussion is relatively tame until a marquee weekend in October ignites the conversation.

That spark arrived in Week 7.

On a showdown-filled Saturday—one with Top 25 matchups in all five power conferences—four unbeaten Top 10 teams endured their first setback of the season. Several more ranked teams lost. And while some of the losing teams remain in championship contention, the winners took one valuable step toward the CFP.

No. 5 Michigan opened the day with an overpowering—and momentarily confusing—win over Big Ten adversary Penn State, which entered as the nation's 10th-ranked team.

Despite a dominant first half, the Wolverines only led 16-14 at the break because Penn State managed one long run, a pick-six and held U-M to three field goals. The final 30 minutes reflected what happened all game, resulting in Michigan's 41-17 triumph at the Big House.

As a team, the Maize and Blue racked up 418 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards both rushed for 166-plus yards and two scores.

Michigan reached the CFP last season, but Ohio State opened 2022 as the Big Ten favorite and had retained that status throughout the year. Even if that feeling hasn't changed, the Wolverines put together their most convincing performance of the season on Saturday.

Michigan provided a flame. Tennessee made it into a bonfire.

In a roller-coaster game on Rocky Top, the sixth-ranked Volunteers finally beat Nick Saban. Thanks to Chase McGrath's deflected-but-still-good 40-yard field goal as time expired, they edged No. 3 Alabama 52-49 and snapped the program's 15-game skid to Saban.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young had a prolific game in his return from a shoulder injury. Based on recent history, it's reasonable to believe we haven't heard the last of the Crimson Tide.

But the game belonged to Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt.

Hooker threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns, all of which went to Hyatt. The breakout star grabbed six passes for 204 yards, along with those Tennessee-record five scores. Hooker also tossed two clutch completions to set up McGrath's extremely unique kick.

Suddenly, the Vols—whose goalposts ventured out of Neyland Stadium and into the Knoxville night—have shifted from a fun breakout story to a real threat. They still need to navigate Kentucky and reigning-champ Georgia to emerge from the SEC East, but Tennessee has announced itself as a contender.

Two other Top 25 teams are taking aim at a similar opportunity.

The field-storming at Neyland came minutes after No. 13 TCU completed an incredible win. No. 8 Oklahoma State stormed out to a 24-7 lead, but TCU slowly trimmed the deficit and evened the score with a 94-yard drive in the closing minutes of regulation.

After alternating touchdowns to begin overtime, the Horned Frogs held OSU to a field goal in the second period. TCU prevailed on Kendre Miller's short touchdown run, winning 43-40 and improving to 6-0.

The celebration will be short-lived for Sonny Dykes and his Horned Frogs, who are the Big 12's final unbeaten team. Next week, they host Kansas State in what could be a vital win for TCU's postseason—and the Big 12's CFP—hopes. While the visitors aren't an Alabama-level opponent, K-State is the lone other unblemished team in conference play.

Syracuse and Clemson will be battling for that status in the ACC next weekend.

Even though news of a season-ending shoulder injury to North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary's year dimmed the shine on the contest, No. 18 Syracuse dispatched the 15th-ranked Wolfpack. Syracuse now holds a 6-0 record for the first time in 35 years.

Clemson, which has 37 straight home victories, will most certainly be the favorite. But the Orange put themselves in position to pull off a very meaningful upset—or serve as a quality win on Clemson's resume.

The fourth Top 10 loss required an emergency call because the blaze went out of control.

In dramatic fashion with a last-minute touchdown, two-loss Utah downed seventh-ranked USC. UCLA is perfect right now, but the Bruins play at Oregon next weekend and take on USC later. Once again, the Pac-12's playoff hopes are in danger of vanishing way too early.

This smoke from this specific fire will soon dissipate. Another weekend of impactful games will take its place.

When we look back at 2022's moments that shaped the College Football Playoff, however, Week 7 will be prominently featured on the list.