Bleacher Report's College Football Ultimate Guide to Week 7
Behold college football’s glorious bone-in ribeye. Cooked medium rare, of course, served with a delicious side of steamed asparagus—the asparagus you could never possibly concoct in your own kitchen—and some lobster mac and cheese.
Week 7 is splendid. It’s so good, so important and so deep that I implore you to abandon responsibilities and family members. Do whatever is required to free up this Saturday. You will not regret it.
Seasons will be lost. College Football Playoff campaigns will survive (or start). Ranked teams will fall, just like they have all along, and clarity—a word unfamiliar to the 2015 season—may actually become a reality.
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If you thought this week was madness, wait until the actual games kick in.
The SEC will feature two of the biggest games of its season—one that we circled long ago and another we never saw coming. The Big Ten will counter with its own duo of meaningful matchups, headlined by a Michigan rivalry that suddenly feels larger than life.
As for what treasures await, here is a rundown of the biggest games, the anti-College Football Playoff and a final word about the sudden turmoil in Los Angeles.
The Buffet: Previewing the Top 5 Games of the Week
5. UCLA at Stanford (Thursday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Forget about waiting until Saturday. The appetizer will be served Thursday night. Two Pac-12 teams still very much in the mix for accolades that stretch beyond the conference will play in a game that means plenty.
After the first Saturday of the season, it didn’t seem like we’d be saying this about Stanford. But following the loss to Northwestern, the Cardinal rallied. Wins over USC, Oregon State and then a flat-out demolition of Arizona in Week 5 have Stanford playing with confidence coming off a bye.
UCLA also enjoyed a bye leading up to the midweek conference tussle, although it heads into this game playing a much different tune. The Bruins’ ugly 38-23 loss to Arizona State in Week 5 caused all momentum to reach a screeching halt. Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has enjoyed his ups and downs, although the ups are simply superb.
I refuse to call this an elimination game—not with how strange things have been. But I won’t downplay the importance of this, either. Massive implications, ahoy.
4. Iowa at Northwestern (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2)
It’s Week 7, and Iowa is bowl-eligible. This is a sentence that is factual and strange. Don’t bother looking it up; I double-checked the results to confirm that the madness is real. Here we are.
After an ugly win against Illinois—a game in which running back Jordan Canzeri carried the ball 43 times—Iowa finds itself in a peculiar position. No, the Hawkeyes aren’t the nation’s most talented team.
But please, if you will, look at this schedule. Things could get inexplicably weird if Iowa wins this week.
The bad news for the Hawkeyes is that defensive end Drew Ott, one of the conference’s best players, is out for this game—and out for the season—after tearing his ACL. Elsewhere, they are banged up.
The good news for Iowa is that its opponent comes into this game licking its wounds. Northwestern scored exactly zero points against Michigan in Week 6. After giving up an opening kickoff return for a touchdown, the game quickly unraveled. And yet, I implore you not to jump off the bandwagon just yet. The Wildcats, despite obvious offensive issues, are still capable.
Iowa is beat up. Northwestern is trying to get on track. This one has huge Big Ten West implications, just like we saw coming.
3. Florida at LSU (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Speaking of significant games we didn’t see coming, I present LSU-Florida. Both teams, just like we all predicted, are undefeated and ranked in the Top Eight of the AP poll.
Florida, quite simply, has been magnificent. After derailing Ole Miss in Week 5, many—including myself—assumed the raw Gators would struggle with Missouri in the ultimate letdown situation. They responded by squeezing the life out Gary Pinkel’s team in a 21-3 road win.
And then this week happened. With all going according to plan, we learned that Florida quarterback Will Grier was suspended for a year after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
"It's something he feels horrible about," head coach Jim McElwain told reporters this week. "It's an honest mistake, and yet can be prevented by checking with our medical staff. This is a mistake we'll learn from.”
Treon Harris, you’re up again.
LSU will have its starting quarterback, although thus far the passing game really has yet to get going. With Leonard Fournette essentially running through defenses like he has the invincibility star from Super Mario Bros., it’s easy to see why the Tigers are operating the way they are.
His latest effort, as casual of an 87-yard touchdown as you will ever see, put the Tigers in complete control against South Carolina last Saturday.
Even with a backup quarterback, Florida is more than capable. And with the best player in the country poised to match up against one of the nation’s best defenses, I don’t need to tell you how badly you need to watch.
2. Alabama at Texas A&M (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
One of the SEC’s budding rivalries will enjoy another installment Saturday. The stakes? Well, let’s just say it’ll require your wallet, your 2003 Camry and that watch. Never mind. You can’t buy in.
Two weeks from now, Texas A&M could emerge as a College Football Playoff favorite. Forget about being a team with great recruiting and a huge stadium; the Aggies, led by a defense infused with gifted freshmen and sophomores, are suddenly a problem for their opponents.
Kevin Sumlin’s team enjoyed a well-timed bye last week, sitting back on its undefeated mark as Alabama grinded out a win against Arkansas. Nick Saban’s team, having been declared dead after its loss to Ole Miss—is suddenly running around the hospital with its IV still attached.
And yet, Alabama remains a bit of a football curiosity. As good as quarterback Jake Coker looked in Week 5, he produced two interceptions in Week 6. It wasn’t all bad by any means, but he’s also one of the sport’s great wild cards.
How will Alabama slow down freakishly talented defensive end Myles Garrett? How will Texas A&M deal with human bowling ball Derrick Henry? The schematic matchups and intrigue in this game are endless.
1. Michigan State at Michigan (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
How many of you, by a show of hands, thought Michigan State would be an underdog to Michigan in Week 7 of Jim Harbaugh’s first season? One more question, if you don’t mind. How many of you liars with your hands raised took college courses in Ann Arbor?
Here are we are, less than two months into the season, and Michigan suddenly looks like the team we thought we’d see in three years. The Wolverines have not allowed a point—forget about a touchdown; I’m talking a single scoreboard movement—in three weeks. That’s three straight shutouts. The demolition of Northwestern in Week 6 was deliberate, direct and unavoidable.
But now, it’s onward and upward.
"As I said early, we've got a tremendous opponent,” Harbaugh told reporters following the win. “Coming off this impressive win, congratulations—next. It's a heck of a football team, no doubt. We look forward to a great week of preparation. That's really what has to happen."
Michigan State enters Week 7 with the opposite momentum. In fact, in the past two games Sparty had to sweat out wins against Purdue and Rutgers. After conquering Oregon in a nail-biter early on, Mark Dantonio’s group has looked vulnerable to say the least.
Still, Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook might be the best player in this game. And yet, operating without a bona fide star, Michigan looks like the superior opponent. This is going to be so much fun.
The Game I Am Unreasonably Excited For: Ole Miss at Memphis (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2)
Please, whatever you do, make a point to watch this game. Memphis, having endured the ultimate rebuild, is about to play one of its most important games in program history.
The Tigers are a substantial underdog, as expected. Given the way their defense has looked with significant departures, this is not unexpected. Ole Miss should visit the end zone quite frequently.
But Memphis, led by supremely gifted quarterback Paxton Lynch, who has yet to throw an interception, should score as well.
With an entire community ready to embrace this lovely underdog, the environment should be spectacular. Sit back, relax and enjoy.
The NSFW Game of the Week (Sponsored by Kansas): Texas Tech at Kansas (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1)
Oh, Kansas. This is not fun. I know you’re starting from scratch and beginning a long rebuild, and I admire you for it. It’s hard. Injuries, departures and, well, the last head coach did not make life easy.
And after playing Baylor at home—a game that saw a score of 52-7 at halftime—the Jayhawks now welcome Texas Tech, the nation’s second-best offense behind, you guessed it, Baylor. Again, this is no fun.
The good news for Kansas is that it should be able to score against a defense with serious holes. The bad news for Kansas is pretty much everything else.
Upsets to Keep an Eye On
Arizona State at Utah (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN): Utah has been one of the season’s best stories. Still, even in a game where they forced roughly 1,896 turnovers, Utah barely sneaked by Cal in Week 6. Arizona State, despite some early struggles, appears to have hit its stride. Chances are this will be close (and weird) late.
Louisville at Florida State (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN): Through some voodoo and a superhuman effort from running back Dalvin Cook, Florida State has managed to stay unbeaten. Louisville, already with three losses, is a team many have abandoned altogether. Make no mistake about it, however: The Cardinals can still play.
USC at Notre Dame (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC): It has been a strange and difficult week for USC, to say the least, for reasons well-documented at this point. And as strange as it may seem, the team may find sanctuary, finally, when it plays. While Notre Dame looks like the favorite, the Trojans still have a plethora of talent to make things close despite the week that was.
Individual Matchup of the Week: Cam Robinson vs. Myles Garrett
Alabama’s supremely gifted left tackle and Texas A&M’s freaky defensive end know each other well. Not long ago, they were going up against one another in recruiting camps. Here’s Garrett getting the best of Robinson before the Under Armour All-America Game:
On Saturday, however, these two will duke it with much more on the line than recruiting star power. And as high as the upside is for Robinson, Garrett might be the best defensive player in the sport. Containing him will be no small feat.
For a preview of the 2017 NFL draft, just have a look at these two battle.
The Anti-College Football Playoff
Each week we spend copious amounts of time sizing up the four teams destined for the College Football Playoff. That’s fine and all, but let’s spend the next 30 seconds doing the exact opposite.
Instead of searching for the four best teams in the sport, let’s look for the four worst teams and make a playoff.
And so the Anti-College Football Playoff is born, a four-team postseason featuring really, really bad teams.
Here are your semifinals. Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds.
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Wyoming
The Jayhawks are 0-5 and just lost at home to Baylor by 59 points. This season, Kansas is giving up 556.6 yards per game, which ranks No. 124 in the nation. They are the No. 1 seed in this postseason of bad. Congrats?
Wyoming is 0-6 with losses to Eastern Michigan, New Mexico and North Dakota. While there was ample competition for this spot—and it could be won (lost?) in the coming weeks—the Cowboys have the edge right now.
No. 2 North Texas vs. No. 3 UCF
Oh, get your tickets for this game now. They’ll go quickly...maybe.
North Texas is making a serious push for the No. 1 seed. With its 66-7 loss to Portland State in Week 6, a loss that ultimately resulted in the firing of head coach Dan McCarney, things have taken a turn. In the past three games, North Texas has allowed 177 points.
Its opponent has endured a different kind of fall. Just a few years removed from a BCS bowl game, UCF is winless and lifeless. The Knights were just blown out by UConn and also have losses to FIU and Furman—yes, Furman—on the resume.
Parting Shot: Farewell, For Now, Head Ball Coach
His final words before exiting the podium were short, awkward and, in every way imaginable, perfect. As Steve Spurrier addressed the media, confirming his resignation—not his retirement, a point he made clear early on—he exited the stage in a familiar way.
He didn’t come close to breaking down. He didn’t embrace those looking on with a gigantic bear hug. In fact, more than anything, he probably cut the whole thing off early so he could make his tee time.
“OK, let’s get moving,” Spurrier told reporters before exiting the stage. “I’ve had enough here.”
In a profession all about putting on a tremendous face and serving a billboard to push further agendas—mainly recruiting—Spurrier always stayed true to form. He is a true original, lovable but rough around the edges. He has no duplicate and never will.
He will be remembered for his endless sound bites. At SEC media days, Spurrier’s podium visits were the main attraction. His joyful jabs at Dabo Swinney, Clemson, Tennessee and others never felt forced. This was who he was; he just didn’t quite have the appropriate filter for it all. This was our gain.
And yes, he was one hell of a coach. He changed an entire conference and helped build Florida into the power it is today. His offensive mindset shaped the future of the sport, and the scoreboard destruction you see on Saturdays is an extension of a brand he helped introduce.
Spurrier is one of the many reasons I do what I do today. The perfect cocktail of success and pageantry, he exemplifies what makes college football unique and special. It was never more than a game to him—a game he cared deeply about.
But there was a line, and he refused to talk up his accomplishments. He let us do that, even though it made him uncomfortable.
Perhaps this isn’t the end. Perhaps Spurrier will latch on somewhere as an offensive coordinator or assist in some other capacity. Or, as he alluded to in his goodbye, maybe he will spend his last football years coaching high school football until he finally says goodbye for good.
This would be a fitting next chapter. Imagine it: a 73-year-old Spurrier running the score up on a helpless high school team on a Friday night not far from his home, doing so not for the modest compensation, but to simply scratch the itch.
Whatever he does next, we wish him well. There will never be another like him.
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