College Football Week 7: In-Depth Looks at This Week's Top 25 Matchups

College football's seventh week is directly under our nose and, I'll be honest, it smells like it's going to be a good weekend of games.

The Big 12 has two such match-ups, both of which they hope will aid in relieving the pressure of conference realignment—for a few hours, at least.

In the Big Ten, No. 11 Michigan visits No. 23 Michigan State, who's back in the Top 25 for the first time since losing to Notre Dame.

Finally, the Pac-12 entertains us with the week's best inter-Top 25 showdown when No. 18 Arizona State visits the No. 9 Oregon Ducks.

Read on. Each team is going to bring something specific to the game. The question is: which one will stand triumphant come Saturday night?

No. 20 Baylor vs. No. 21 Texas A&M

What Baylor will bring to the table

We're all witnesses. And no, I'm not talking about LeBron in this case, but rather Robert Griffin III. RG3, as he's popularly called, is turning heads by completing passes at an 80.3 percent clip. Add in 1,520 yards and 19 touchdowns and we have ourselves worthy Heisman candidate.

Baylor can beat you both ways. They're the only team in the FBS to average over 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per game.

The Bears have been one of the nicest surprises this season, and RG3 has been the most exciting player to follow. Against A&M, we're going to see the Robert Griffin show. Baylor will ride him to victory because frankly, Texas A&M couldn't stop a high school quarterback through the air.

What Texas A&M will bring to table

While Texas A&M may not have Robert Griffin, they don't have too shabby of a quarterback in Ryan Tannehill. The key for Tannehill and the Aggies is going to be not turning the ball over and keeping RG3 on the bench.

They can do this by running the football with their two bruising backs, Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray. Both guys have accounted for 900-plus yards and 13 touchdowns on the season.

As I alluded to earlier, Texas A&M's pass defense is atrocious. They are giving up an average of 347.6 yards per contest to quarterbacks, including almost 500 to Oklahoma State's Brandon Weedon.

It's tough to put pressure and force mistakes from Baylor because Robert Griffin is so disciplined with the football, but if A&M has any chance of winning on defense, that is it. 

The common ground

Both teams won last week to move to 1-1 in conference play, the loser obviously moves below .500 to 1-2. Nobody wants any part of that, so look for this to be an emotional, hard-fought contest.

With Texas A&M moving to the SEC next season, this is likely to be the last time these to teams meet as they won't pick up an out-of-conference series past 2011. Look for Baylor to send the Aggies a warming goodbye gift.

One final thought: Baylor hasn't won in College Station since 1984. That's 27 years and they're 0-2 in that span. Will they sneak out a win in their final trip?

Prediction: Baylor 42 Texas A&M 38

No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 23 Michigan State

What Michigan will bring to the table

Well, this really goes without saying, but Brady Hoke and Michigan are packing their bags with almost 2,000 yards of total offense from one single player alone. Denard Robinson is the premier dual-threat quarterback in college football.

The Wolverines have climbed from unranked to 11th with help from their heralded running attack and much-maligned defense. They have no trouble putting up points, scoring 38 points per game—good for 18th best in the nation. Their running game ranks seventh in the nation at 257 yards per game.

The key for Michigan will be finding a rhythm early. Denard Robinson has to protect the football and continually move the ball north and south against Michigan State's defense.

What Michigan State will bring to the table

Sparty finds themselves back in the Top 25 since that terrible loss to Notre Dame a few weeks ago. Their team is hungry and will certainly come out firing on Saturday.

On offense, a major tipping point for the Spartans will be its offensive line. Michigan has a spunky defensive line that loves to attack the passer, so a key for Michigan State will be protecting Kirk Cousins. Michigan State's offensive line, albeit big and strong, has shown vulnerability much of the season.

Defense is really where State excels. They currently have the nation's top defensive unit, only allowing 10.2 points per game. They'll need to be on their A game for them to keep up with Michigan's explosive offense. They have Jerel Worthy, who is one of the nation's top defensive tackles, and I think he'll be able to do just that.

The key for the Spartans on defense will be how they handle Denard Robinson. To win, they must force him to throw the ball on passing downs. Like I alluded to earlier, force turnovers and capitalize on them—Robinson has tossed nine interceptions on the early season.

The common ground

This is a rivalry game, so it's always a good game to watch. It's even more fun when the outcome directly effects the teams on the national and conference levels.

Michigan State has had two weeks to prepare for this game having not played since beating Ohio State.

State has won the last three match-ups against Michigan. They will look to make it four in a row for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Prediction: Michigan State 24 Michigan 23

No. 6 Oklahoma State vs. No. 22 Texas

What Oklahoma State will bring to the table

This one is easy. Oklahoma State brings the nation's No. 2 passing offense and the nation's highest scoring team at over 51 points per game.

I don't think I need to reiterate the deathly combination that is Brandon Weedon and Justin Blackmon, but for good times, I'll remind you that they've connected for a third of the Cowboys air scores.

If Oklahoma State has a weakness, it's their defense. They give up nearly 28 points per game, but that number has hardly been relevant as they have zero problem outscoring other teams.

They'll come out in this game like they do every game and put on an air show. It's just how they operate.

What Texas will bring to the table

The Longhorns limp into this game with wounds still fresh from their beat-down via Oklahoma a week ago. When I say beat-down, the score doesn't even do it justice. You had to have watched the game.

Texas' secondary looked lost, giving up 305 yards passing in the first half alone. Their prize—Oklahoma State's air attack. Good luck.

Texas will need Special Teams, once again, to keep them in this one. Texas' Fozzy Whittaker scored the lone Longhorn touchdown on a 100-yard kickoff return and would have notched another if not for a penalty bringing it back.

On offense, Texas will remain with the duo-quarterback offense with Case McCoy and David Ash. They'll have to be better at protecting the football and managing the game because of how explosive Oklahoma State's offense is.

The common ground

Despite Texas' career record of 22-3, Oklahoma State won 33-17 in Austin last year, which is exactly where the game will be played this year. So basically you can count out the idea of home field advantage.

I'm not quite sure if their is a common ground that levels this playing field.

I've been saying it all year, and was even louder when Texas jumped to 11, but this Longhorn team is overrated. Oklahoma State is the real deal.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 45-plus Texas 24

No. 9 Oregon vs. No. 18 Arizona State

What Oregon will bring to the table

The Ducks are going to bring offense, offense and more offense on a silver platter when the two teams line up in Eugene.

Oregon is currently ranked in the top five in categories like total yards (5th), rushing yards (5th) and points (2nd). They essentially have an unstoppable offense.

The most important thing to remember here, though, is what Oregon won't be bringing to the game. LaMichael James has been ruled out, and that is a huge blow to the Ducks.

There are two major keys to this game for Oregon—one on offense, one on defense.

On offense, it will be picking up the slack without James. That task will lie with Kenjon Barner and Darron Thomas.

On defense, force turnovers. ASU QB Brock Osweiler is no stranger to making bad decisions.

What Arizona State will bring to the table

Arizona State will have to be quick and attack the ball against Oregon's running game. If not, they could be in for a long night. Arizona State has given up over 180 yards rushing on two different occasions this season, and over 100 on two others.

As a team, they're scoring a lot of points and it's much in part to QB Brock Osweiler. It will be important for him to spread the field to different receivers for Arizona State to win this game.

The key for Arizona State will be in the pre-game. How will they get mentally prepared?

They absolutely cannot turn the ball over against Oregon's defense, especially on the road, because the Oregon offense will make you pay every time.

The common ground

Arizona State comes into this game hot, while most could argue that Oregon limps in without LaMichael James.

The game is being played at Autzen Stadium in Oregon, so that instantly gives Oregon an edge because we're all aware of how that place shakes in night games.

ESPN's College GameDay will be on-site for this game. I expect the crowd to be drunk, rowdy and give Arizona State everything they can handle from the stands.

Prediction: Oregon 42 Arizona State 34