College Football: Top 5 Games to Watch in Week 7
It will be another exciting week of college football, especially with both Mississippi schools looking to earn another huge victory for the second week in a row.
As if there wasn’t enough interest in the SEC West already, No. 2 Auburn travels to Starkville to face No. 3 Mississippi State, while No. 3 Ole Miss heads into hostile Kyle Field in hopes of knocking off a No. 14 Texas A&M team that knows how to score points.
With much of the focus on games in the SEC West, the SEC East could be decided this week with No. 13 Georgia out to prove it can take down No. 23 Missouri without one of the best players in the country, Todd Gurley.
No. 12 Oregon and No. 16 UCLA will surprisingly limp into the Rose Bowl, after both suffered crushing defeats at home last week. The winner in this matchup will stay in the hunt for a national title.
Speaking off joining the national title hunt, the winner of No. 9 TCU and No. 5 Baylor in Waco, Texas, will be the front-runner to win the Big 12 and join the national title race as well. The Horned Frogs could put themselves in position to win their first conference title since 2011, which was when they were still a member of the Mountain West Conference, with back-to-back wins over Oklahoma and Baylor.
On a Saturday that could feature many high-scoring outcomes, here are the top five games to watch in Week 7.
No. 13 Georgia at No. 23 Missouri
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No. 13 Georgia at No. 23 Missouri, Noon ET, CBS
No team in this meeting since Missouri joined the conference two years ago has won at home. In 2012, Georgia went into Columbia and trounced the Tigers 41-20, but in 2013, Missouri upset the Bulldogs on the road 41-26. In both of those seasons, the winner in this matchup has gone on to represent the SEC East in the SEC Championship Game.
Georgia has rebounded from its loss at South Carolina on Sept. 13 with three wins over Troy, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. It will be up to a Bulldogs offense, which is averaging 288.8 rushing yards per game, to have success against a Tigers defense that is surrendering 144.6 rushing yards per game.
The big story heading into Saturday’s contest will be the loss of Heisman-contending running back Todd Gurley, who was suspended indefinitely on Thursday because of an investigation dealing with NCAA violations.
It will now be up to true freshman running back Nick Chubb, who has rushed for 224 yards and two touchdowns this season, to carry all of the workload because of a depleted backfield. With potential issues in the run game, look for quarterback Hutson Mason to be forced into making more plays with his arm.
The Tigers come into Saturday’s contest off a bye week. They were upset at home by Indiana 31-27 on Sept. 20 and then bounced back with a big 21-20 win at South Carolina on Sept. 27. While Georgia is run-heavy, the Missouri offense led by quarterback Maty Mauk has the luxury of using a balanced offensive attack. The Bulldogs will be up against running back Russell Hansbrough, who rushed for three touchdowns at South Carolina, as well as wide receiver Bud Sasser (454 yards, four TDs).
The Missouri offense will now not have as much concern keeping up on the scoreboard with Gurley no longer in the Georgia lineup, but it will still need a strong outing defensively. Missouri ranks tied for second in the SEC with 18 sacks and has held opponents to 20.6 points per game this season.
In what should be an exciting matchup between these two SEC East Division foes, Gary Pinkel’s squad squeaks by Georgia at home and puts itself in position to win a second straight division title.
Prediction: Missouri 35, Georgia 30
No. 2 Auburn at No. 3 Mississippi State
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No. 2 Auburn at No. 3 Mississippi State, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
ESPN College GameDay will make its first trip ever to Starkville, Mississippi, for what will be the most important game of the week. The third-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs will get their toughest test yet against the second-ranked Auburn Tigers, which they have lost to 11 of the last 13 times.
With a convincing home win over hated rival LSU 41-7 last Saturday, Auburn is determined to make another run at a national championship. It boasts one of the most explosive offenses in the country with 497.2 total yards per game, 42 points per game and 268 rushing yards per game.
Senior quarterback Nick Marshall accounted for 207 passing yards, 119 rushing yards and four total touchdowns against LSU. He will look to Cameron Artis-Payne (594 yards, five TDs) in the backfield and wide receivers D’haquille Williams (385 yards, three TDs) and Sammie Coates (200 yards, one TD). Coates had a career-high 144 yards and one touchdown against LSU last Saturday.
While Auburn’s offense will look to light up the scoreboard for a third consecutive week, Mississippi State’s offense is looking to do damage of its own. Junior quarterback Dak Prescott has taken the country by storm and has led the Bulldogs into uncharted territory. He has averaged 268 passing yards, 91 rushing yards and four touchdowns in conference play so for this season.
Besides the team simply relying on the talent of Prescott, junior running back Josh Robinson has turned out to be a big playmaker offensively, as he is currently fourth in the SEC with 592 yards and six touchdowns.
Regardless if Mississippi State is scoring an impressive 42.6 points per game, it will face a tough Auburn defense. The Tigers defense, led by defensive tackle Gabe Wright and linebacker Cassanova McKinzy, will look to shut down Prescott and company with the second best defense in the conference.
There won’t be a lack of scoring in this game with two highly potent offenses facing off. The Bulldogs have thrived in their last two games and become a team to watch out for in the SEC, but Gus Malzahn has his Tigers rolling. It doesn’t appear their nine-game conference winning streak will be ending on Saturday.
Prediction: Auburn 42, Mississippi State 31
No. 12 Oregon at No. 18 UCLA
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No. 12 Oregon at No. 18 UCLA, 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox
It’s just seven weeks into the college football season, and two Pac-12 title contenders are already playing in what will be a College Football Playoff elimination game. Both teams were upset at home last week and are now trying to put themselves back in not only the College Football Playoff race but in the conference race as well.
Oregon’s 31-24 loss at home to Arizona was it first defeat in Autzen Stadium since the end of the 2012 season. With injuries hurting the offensive line, along with the defense giving up 453.8 yards per game (tied for 104th in the country) and struggling to stop opposing offenses on key third-down situations, there is already pressure amounting on Mark Helfrich’s Ducks.
Marcus Mariota is still in the running to win a Heisman Trophy by passing for 1,411 yards, 15 touchdowns and no interceptions, but it will be more difficult with a line that has let opposing defenses get to him 12 times in the last two games.
Oregon is averaging an impressive 43.6 points per game and has the potential to give UCLA difficulties on defense if it can be successful through the air and get into short-yardage situations on third down. Wide receiver Devon Allen has become Mariota’s main target in the passing game, along with running back Byron Marshall. In Oregon’s four losses since 2012, it has been held to less than 30 points.
UCLA started off the season a bit shaky and then manhandled Arizona State 62-27 on Sept. 25. The Bruins appeared to be on the right track but were upset on Saturday night at home by Utah 30-28.
In that loss, the Utes defense sacked quarterback Brett Hundley 10 times. That’s at least a positive thing for a struggling Ducks defense heading into Saturday’s showdown.
Hundley, who still is in the Heisman race with 1,310 passing yards and nine touchdowns, has weapons in both the pass and run games. Paul Perkins leads UCLA with 540 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while Jordan Payton leads the receiving corps with 491 yards and three touchdowns.
It’s going to be a close and intense matchup in the Rose Bowl. The two will battle late into the fourth quarter, but the Ducks bounce back and make a game-changing play to knock off the Bruins.
Prediction: Oregon 38, UCLA 33
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No. 9 TCU at No. 5 Baylor
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No. 9 TCU at No. 5 Baylor, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2
Baylor hasn’t been challenged yet this season, but it will be on Saturday when it faces a pesky TCU squad that upset fourth-ranked Oklahoma 37-33 last week.
Quarterback Bryce Petty leads an explosive Bears offense that’s averaging the most points in the country with 51 per game. His main target in a passing game that is racking up 343.2 yards per game is freshman speedster KD Cannon (527 yards, five TDs).
While Petty struggled by completing just seven of 22 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns against Texas last Saturday, running back Shock Linwood put on a solid performance with 148 yards and one touchdown.
Baylor also shut down a subpar Longhorns offense to just seven points and 144 passing yards. The defense, led by middle linebacker Bryce Hager, is holding opponents to only 12.4 points per game and 267.2 total yards per game. The Bears will have their hands full against a TCU offense that can score points and be productive through the air as well.
TCU was going to be a dark-horse Big 12 title contender heading into the season, but no one anticipated it causing havoc just one game into conference play.
Junior quarterback Trevone Boykin has been impressive thus far by passing for 1,176 yards and 10 touchdowns. The improvement of Boykin behind center has done wonders for an offense that is currently putting up 42.8 points per game and 320 passing yards per game.
Much like Baylor, the Horned Frogs, who have always been a defensive-focused team under 14th-year head coach Gary Patterson, are among the best in the country. They’ve held opponents to 13.5 points and 279.3 yards per game.
Both teams have been good defensively, but this Big 12 matchup is going to turn into an old-fashioned shootout in Waco. In the last two matchups between these two teams, the winner has scored more than 40 points.
The Horned Frogs will give the Bears all they can handle, but Petty and company will come away with a critical win to keep their national championship hopes alive.
Prediction: Baylor 45, TCU 38
No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 14 Texas A&M
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No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 14 Texas A&M, 9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Ole Miss is one of the most talked-about teams in the country after its come-from-behind 23-17 victory over third-ranked Alabama last week. Texas A&M, on the other hand, is coming off a disappointing 48-31 road loss to Mississippi State.
Hugh Freeze’s Rebels didn’t have much time to celebrate one of the biggest wins in school history, as they travel into College Station with hopes of pulling off a win in Kyle Field. Quarterback Bo Wallace had an impressive outing against the Crimson Tide by throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns.
Ole Miss’ receiving corps, which consists of Laquon Treadwell (362 yards, four TDs), Cody Core (315 yards, four TDs) and Vince Sanders (302 yards, three TDs), will need to be reliable and make game-changing performances if the offense is going to have any success against the Aggies.
Texas A&M likely has the toughest October schedule in the country. Its easiest game of this month's stretch was at then-No. 12 Mississippi State last week. Despite the loss to the Bulldogs, quarterback Kenny Hill managed to still pass for 365 yards and four touchdowns. His downfall was throwing a career-high three interceptions.
Sophomore Josh Reynolds has been a threat for opposing defenses this season with 402 yards and seven touchdowns, but the offense is hoping senior Malcome Kennedy, who missed the Mississippi State game with a separated shoulder, will be able to go Saturday. Without Kennedy in the lineup, the receiving corps struggled in the first half with key dropped passes.
An issue this week for the Aggies offense will be putting points up against a stingy Ole Miss defense. The Rebels are currently second in the country in points allowed per game (10.2). It allowed only 10 points against then-No. 3 Alabama last week and is allowing just 152.4 passing yards per game. Look for a Robert Nkemdiche-led defense to put pressure on Hill in hopes of coming away with critical turnovers.
This matchup isn’t even the best game in its own conference this week, but SEC West and national title implications are in play. A win for Ole Miss could put the team at No. 2 with an Auburn loss, while a loss for Texas A&M would likely eliminate it from any chance of winning a division title.
Kevin Sumlin is among the best coaches in the country, and he will have his Aggies ready to go Saturday night. Ole Miss’ offense won’t be able to keep up with Texas A&M’s in the end, and the Rebels go down in what will be another close game for a third consecutive year.
Prediction: Texas A&M 34, Ole Miss 28
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