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

The Georgia Bulldogs will spend their first week as the No. 1 team in the FBS preparing for their toughest test of the 2021 season to date.

Georgia hosts the Kentucky Wildcats in a battle between 6-0 teams, but the spread does not reflect how even the two SEC East sides are on overall record.

Kirby Smart's Bulldogs are favored by more than three touchdowns. The No. 1 team has not had an issue covering large point spreads, going 4-1 as a favorite of two touchdowns or more in 2021.

Kentucky heads to Sanford Stadium with a ton of momentum after home wins over the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers, but neither of those teams is in the same stratosphere as Georgia this season.

The other marquee SEC matchup of Week 7 possesses the highest over/under on the entire slate. Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels head to Neyland Stadium to face the high-flying Tennessee Volunteers, who have unlocked a ton of offensive success under Josh Heupel.

Ole Miss is the first of four consecutive Top 25 foes Tennessee will face. Saturday night's game might be the easiest of the quartet for the Vols to win.

Week 7 Odds and Predictions

Sam Craft/Associated Press

Friday, October 15

California at No. 9 Oregon (-14) (Over/Under: 55.5) (10:30 p.m., ESPN)

No. 24 San Diego State (-8) at San Jose State (O/U: 43) (10:30 p.m., CBSSN)

Saturday, October 16

UCF at No. 3 Cincinnati (-20) (O/U: 56) (Noon, ABC)

No. 10 Michigan State (-3) at Indiana (O/U: 51.5) (Noon, FS1)

No. 12 Oklahoma State at No. 25 Texas (-5) (O/U: 60.5) (Noon, Fox)

Auburn at No. 17 Arkansas (-3.5) (O/U: 53) (Noon, CBS)

No. 20 Florida (-9.5) at LSU (O/U: 58.5) (Noon, ESPN)

No. 21 Texas A&M (-7.5) at Missouri (O/U: 61) (Noon, SEC Network)

No. 11 Kentucky at No. 1 Georgia (-22.5) (O/U: 44.5) (3:30 p.m., CBS)

Purdue at No. 2 Iowa (-12.5) (O/U: 43) (3:30 p.m., ABC)

No. 19 BYU at Baylor (-4.5) (O/U: 48) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)

No. 5 Alabama (-17.5) at Mississippi State (O/U: 59) (7 p.m., ESPN)

TCU at No. 4 Oklahoma (-11) (O/U: 66.5) (7:30 p.m., ABC)

No. 13 Ole Miss (-3) at Tennessee (O/U: 79) (7:30 p.m., SEC Network)

No. 22 NC State (-2) at Boston College (O/U: 51) (7:30 p.m., ACC Network)

No. 18 Arizona State (-1) at Utah (O/U: 51) (10 p.m., ESPN)

Predictions against the spread in bold.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. All Times ET.

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No. 11 Kentucky at No. 1 Georgia (-22.5)

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Georgia avoided all of the chaos that engulfed the best teams in the country through six games.

Smart's team bulldozed through its first four SEC opponents by a combined score of 173-23. That run includes a pair of shutouts against the Vanderbilt Commodores and Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Bulldogs defense has been their most impressive unit, but they have been better offensively in the past few weeks with Stetson Bennett under center.

Bennett threw for 231 yards and two scores in Georgia's latest SEC demolition of the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. He has turned the ball over twice this season, and there should be a little extra motivation for him to play better against Kentucky after he was picked off twice and fumbled in a 14-3 win over the Wildcats in 2020.

If Bennett keeps up his progression in the pocket and the Bulldogs continue their high standard of play on defense, they could run away with the contest.

Georgia proved it could shut down a run-heavy offense against Arkansas. The Razorbacks managed 75 rushing yards on 29 attempts in Athens, Georgia, in Week 5.

Kentucky earned 1,276 rushing yards, with Chris Rodriguez Jr. producing 759 yards on 120 carries, on its path to 6-0. However, not one of the rushing defenses the Wildcats have faced is as tenacious as Georgia's unit.

If Kentucky learns from Arkansas' mistakes and earns some yards on the ground, it could stay with Georgia for at least a half. But until a team of any quality proves it can play with Georgia for 60 minutes, it is hard to pick against the Bulldogs, no matter how high the point spread is.

No. 13 Ole Miss at Tennessee (Over 79)

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

High over/under totals and Ole Miss go together as well as chocolate and marshmallows inside a graham cracker during a fall campfire.

Lane Kiffin's high-powered offense has eclipsed the 40-point mark in each of its four victories this year. It hit the 50-point threshold in three of those contests.

While Ole Miss and others have been in the SEC spotlight, Tennessee has quietly put together a handful of strong offensive performances. The Vols put up 107 points in their two conference wins over the Missouri Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks. They had 94 points in a pair of nonconference victories.

Josh Heupel's squad faces a step up in competition Saturday, but it could be well equipped to take on the offensive challenge posed by Ole Miss. Tennessee has a dual-threat quarterback in Hendon Hooker, who has 16 total touchdowns. The Virginia Tech transfer connected with three players for 12 or more receptions in six games.

The Vols' scoring prowess has covered up some of their defensive struggles. They allowed 79 points in their two defeats and 44 combined points in their pair of SEC triumphs. Add in Ole Miss' three concessions of 24 points or more, and you have the perfect mixture for an 80-point affair to light up Neyland Stadium.

First-half scoring is another factor to consider with the over. Tennessee produced a combined 83 first-half points in its past two games. Ole Miss, meanwhile, had 61 points in the first two quarters in its past two wins.