Steve Spurrier, Sweet QB Matchups, and a Stingy Florida D Tell Week Seven Story

Week seven of the college football season brings us some really intriguing storylines. From some top-notch quarterback matchups in Dallas and South Bend, to a legendary coach who is still looking to get over the hump and get that signature win, this should be another exciting week of football.

Battle of the Top-Rated Quarterbacks

In South Bend Saturday, the top-rated quarterback in the 2007 class in Jimmy Clausen, faces off with the top rated quarterback in the 2009 class in Matt Barkley.

Both are California kids, Clausen being from the celebrity high school Oaks Christian, and Barkley being from Mater Dei HS. They are friends, but come Saturday, this will be all business as the Irish look to finally get over that hump of recent failures and beat the Trojans.

Both Clausen and Barkley were considered "special" quarterbacks coming out of high school, the kind that just doesn't come along every year. Which QB will be special Saturday night may depend on the team around him.

Barkley is just a freshman, but he has the better talent around him. Clausen is on fire this year and is in the thick of the Heisman race, and has the home-field advantage.

Should be a good one. Someone keep an eye on the length of the grass in South Bend this time around.

Rematch in Dallas

Last year was a classic game between Oklahoma and Texas, with the Longhorns coming from behind and beating the Sooners behind the arm of Colt McCoy.

Of course, the Sooners are the ones who made the BCS title game, so if Texas does lose sitting at No. 3 right now, they shouldn't get too down.

This game will feature the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Sam Bradford versus maybe the current favorite in the Heisman race, Colt McCoy. These two are great friends, whose relationship goes beyond the rivalry, much to the dismay of the two fanbases, I'm sure.

McCoy is still completing over 70 percent of his passes like last season, but can Bradford make this his breakout game of 2009 after his tough shoulder injury against BYU and get back into the Heisman race himself?

Despite Bradford coming off injury, I fully expect this game to be much like last year's.

Can Oklahoma rebound after the 3-2 start and get a leg up in the Big 12 title race? Or will Texas come away with a huge win and jump back over Alabama and get the number two spot back in the polls?

Can't get enough of a Bradford/McCoy battle in Dallas.

Will Spurrier Get Over That "Hump"?

Entering his fifth season as head ball coach in Columbia, Spurrier is still looking for that big time signature win to catapult him into a big time season.

In 2005, Spurrier's first season, he beat Florida at home. The Gators, though, were coached by Urban Meyer in his first season and were a year away from having a dominant team.

In 2006, South Carolina was sitting at 5-2, but then lost three straight games and fell back into mediocrity.

In 2007, the Gamecocks were riding as high as ever at 6-1 under Spurrier, but a total collapse at the end of the season saw the Gamecocks lose their last five ballgames.

Last season, Spurrier again had his team poised for a big season at 5-2 and entering a marquee game against LSU. Spurrier lost that game and went on to lose his last three games of the year.

Now comes 2009. The Gamecocks are 5-1 and sitting at 22nd in both polls. Problem is they are making a road trip to Tuscaloosa to face the second-ranked Crimson Tide.

Once again Spurrier has his team ready to make some noise but faces a "hump" game that could catapult his team into some uncharted waters, or send his team into the spiral that has plagued his career so far in the Palmetto State.

You can't like his chances that he will get that signature win this week, and with games at Tennessee, at Arkansas, and against Florida left to go, he can't let this turn into another late-season flop either way.

Can the Gator Defense Stop Mallett?

Arkansas sophomore quarterback Ryan Mallett comes to Gainesville as the top-rated passer in the SEC, averaging 285 yards passing a game. Mallett has also thrown for 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions on the season.

The Gator defense though has been even more impressive so far.

After giving up 228 yards passing to Charleston Southern, I'm sure against backups in mop-up duty, the Gators haven't given up even 100 yards passing in their last four games against Troy, Tennessee, Kentucky, and LSU.

Florida's pass defense is currently ranked No. 1 in the country, while Mallett is a top ten national passer.

Something has to give.

There has been some debate over whose defense is better, Florida or Alabama. Well, the Tide held Mallett to 160 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception, while only allowing Mallett to complete 12-of-35 passes.

Let's see how the Gator defense fares in the Swamp on Saturday.

Can the Hokies Even Their Record in Atlanta in 2009?

Virginia Tech has already played in the city of Atlanta once this year, and the results weren't what they were looking for with a loss to Alabama in the Georgia Dome.

Now the Hokies head to Atlanta for the second time this year in facing ACC rival Georgia Tech, but they are looking for a different outcome this time around.

The good thing for the Hokies is they come in having won four of the last five games in this series, beating Georgia Tech the last two times they've played in Atlanta.

Of course, maybe it's just a Georgia Dome thing. Remember, the Hokies got upset by the Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in 2006.