College Football Picks Week 7: Odds, Predictions, Schedule, Rankings for Top 25

Week 6 of college football saw a ton of points and plenty of teams shuffling in the newest AP poll. It was a particularly bad day to be a team from Texas or Florida. Texas A&M's win over the Florida Gators was the only bright spot for teams from the two recruiting hotbeds. 

The Gators suffered their first loss of the season, Miami endured a blowout loss to Clemson, and Texas is definitively not back. The Longhorns lost the Red River Rivalry and fell out of the Top 25 altogether. 

In all, there were four games that featured two ranked teams over the weekend. Clemson and Texas A&M took care of business in theirs. North Carolina asserted its dominance over Virginia Tech to jump into the top five, and Georgia knocked Tennessee down a peg or two. 

The Week 7 slate features only one game against two ranked teams but it's a big one: No. 2 Alabama will welcome No. 3 Georgia to Tuscaloosa. It's the undisputed game of the week, but there are still some ranked teams that should be on upset alert as they face a single-digit spread against an unranked opponent. 

Here's a look at the latest Associated Press poll with predictions for the game of the week and two games that could have surprising results. 

Week 7 AP Top 25

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Georgia

4. Notre Dame

5. North Carolina

6. Ohio State

7. Oklahoma State

8. Cincinnati

9. Penn State

10. Florida

11. Texas A&M

12. Oregon

13. Miami (Florida)

14. Auburn

15. BYU

16. Wisconsin

17. SMU

18. Tennessee

19. Michigan

20. Iowa State

21. Louisiana-Lafayette

22. Kansas State

23. Virginia Tech

24. Minnesota

25. USC

Top 25 Week 7 Schedule and Odds

Wednesday, October 15

Coastal Carolina at No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette (-7), ESPN at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, October 16

No. 17 SMU (-7) at Tulane, ESPN at 6 p.m.

No. 15 BYU (-3) at Houston, ESPN at 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 17

No. 1 Clemson (-27.5) at Georgia Tech, ABC at noon

No. 8 Cincinnati (-4) at Tulsa, ESPN2 at noon

Pittsburgh at No. 13 Miami (-10.5), ACC Network at noon

No. 14 Auburn (-3) at South Carolina, ESPN at noon

Kentucky at No. 18 Tennessee (-5.5), SEC Network at noon

Louisville at No. 4 Notre Dame (-16), NBC at 2:30 p.m.

LSU at No. 10 Florida (-14), ESPN at 3:30 p.m.

No. 11 Texas A&M (-7) at Mississippi State, SEC Network at 4 p.m.

No. 5 North Carolina (-10) at Florida State, ESPN at 7 p.m. 

No. 3 Georgia at No. 2 Alabama (-4), CBS at 8 p.m.

Boston College at No. 23 Virginia Tech (-10.5), ACC Network at 8 p.m.

All times ET; Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and Caesars Palace

No. 3 Georgia at No. 2 Alabama

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Nick Saban is famously undefeated against his former assistants, but that record was almost broken when the Crimson Tide survived a shootout with Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss squad in Week 6. 

This week, that record comes under greater fire when Kirby Smart rolls into town with his Georgia team. The Bulldogs are coming off a 44-21 demolition of Tennessee, while Alabama outdueled Ole Miss 63-48. 

The Tide defense might not be what it usually is but their offense is especially potent. By Bill Connelly's SP+ metric, Alabama has the best offense in the country while Georgia has the No. 1 defense. 

The battle in the trenches will be particularly important to watch. The Bulldogs are especially fierce against the run. They've only surrendered 1.49 yards per carry through three games but will be tested against an Alabama rushing attack that is averaging 5.11 yards per carry. 

Georgia has a potent rushing attack of its own but will need a big game from former walk-on quarterback Stetson Bennett to give them the best chance to beat the Tide.

Alabama's run defense is characteristically stingy but the secondary has been anything but. It is currently 55th in passer rating allowed. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral put up 365 yards on 21-of-28 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The question is whether Bennett can do the same.

While Georgia is equipped to go toe-to-toe in the trenches, it will need a big game from the quarterback to keep up with the explosiveness of the Crimson Tide's offense. 

Prediction: Alabama 31, Georgia 27

No. 11 Texas A&M at Mississippi State

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

It doesn't take long for things to turn upside-down in the SEC. Mike Leach's Bulldogs were riding high with a win over national champion LSU in Week 1, but they went on to put up 16 total points against Kentucky and Arkansas in losses. 

On the other hand, Texas A&M stumbled out of the gate with a five-point win over Vanderbilt in which it scored just 17 points and then got throttled against Alabama. However, their 41-38 win over Florida at the weekend has them back within striking distance in the polls. 

Recency bias would say the Aggies should cover the seven-point spread easily. But in the words of Lee Corso, not so fast. 

After back-to-back games against Alabama and Florida, it would be easy for Jimbo Fisher's team to overlook the struggling Bulldogs. However, the matchup is intriguing. 

That's because Texas A&M has struggled in the secondary. They gave up a combined 93 points in two weeks to Alabama and Florida with both Mac Jones and Kyle Trask enjoying big days. K.J. Costello and Mississippi State have struggled in back-to-back weeks, but Kentucky and Arkansas have done much better against the pass statistically than their Aggie counterparts. 

With all due respect to Kellen Mond and the Aggies offense performance against Florida, this is going to be a shootout as it's a good spot for Mississippi State to get back on track.

Sound the alarms, this is a textbook letdown spot for a team coming off a big win. 

Prediction: Mississippi State 42, Texas A&M 38

No. 15 BYU at Houston

Willie J. Allen Jr./Associated Press

Before Saturday's action kicks off, there's an important Group of Five game set to go down on Friday. To this point in the season, only Cincinnati is ranked higher outside of the Power Five than the BYU Cougars. 

Led by impressive quarterback Zach Wilson and a road-grading offensive line, the Cougars have been an offensive juggernaut on their way to a 4-0 start. The hype took a hit on Saturday though as UTSA gave them a run for their money in Provo, Utah. 

The Cougars from Utah came away with a 27-20 win but will see a much better team this week when they go on the road to face their Houston counterparts. 

After a number of cancellations, Houston made its season debut with a 49-31 win over Tulane. Keeping in mind that was a 49-point performance despite five turnovers, that's an impressive display of offense. 

BYU hasn't seen a team like this so far this season, and their defense will be tested more seriously than before. This could become a shootout. And if Houston can clean up its mistakes from its first game, BYU could be in trouble. 

Prediction: Houston 45, BYU 35