College Football Week 7: How the Top 25 Fared

Week 7 of the college football schedule brought some interesting match-ups.  Four games on the schedule match top 25 teams, and 20 of the top 25 are are in action. 

There were more than a few questions coming into the day.  Some of those questions would be answered, while others would just lead to more questions.

After six weeks of relatively few upsets or surprises, we got a few in Week 7. 

So let's take a look at how the Top 25 fared.

No.24 Auburn vs Florida

Florida at No.24 Auburn

It was 7-6 at half-time in favor of Auburn.  The entire game was a matter of inches.

Total offense for Auburn was only 278 yards, but that was enough to beat Florida who only had 196 yards total.

The key to this game was turnovers.  Florida turned the ball over three times, once in the air, and twice on the ground.  The Gators tried to get a run game going all day, but it was not to be, averaging only 2.2 yards per carry for the game.  

Passing wasn't any better.  Jeff Driskel went 9/18 for 76 yards, Jacoby Brissett went 5/10 for 45 yards and 1 interception, and Trey Burton even threw a pass, but it was only good for 8 yards.  

In the end, Auburn gutted it out.  They are now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, while Florida falls to 4-3 and 2-3 in SEC play. 

Final Score: Auburn 17 Florida 6 

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

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

Baylor came into this game with high hopes.  Many were saying this was Baylor's year.  Well, it wasn't Baylor's game. 

The Bears kept it interesting, they actually took the early 7-0 lead, and even pulled back ahead 14-10 in the second quarter.  However, that was the last time they would lead.

The game was 24-14 at the half in favor of Texas A&M, and the Aggies never looked back.  

Outscoring the Bears 31-14 in the second half Texas A&M stepped up its game and dominated the third and fourth quarters.  

Ryan Tannehill threw for over 400 yards in the victory and a career high six touchdowns.  The Aggies finished with an amazing 681 yards total offense.

Heisman candidate and Baylor quarterback Robert Giffin III had his own stellar performance, but it proved not enough.  He went 28/40 three touchdown passes, and 430 yards in the air.  

Texas A&M has now won four straight over the Baylor Bears, but this one was probably the most painful in that same time period.  Baylor will now, no doubt, drop from the top 25.

Both teams are now 4-2 overall, Baylor drops to 1-2 in the Big 12 while Texas A&M improves to 2-1. 

Final Score: Baylor 28, Texas A&M 55

No.19 Virginia Tech vs Wake Forest

No. 19 Virginia Tech at Wake Forest

Wake Forest jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and it looked like we might have another upset in the making.  However, VT would come back to score the next 28 points to go up 28-10. 

Wake Forest added a touchdown, but it wouldn't be enough as the Hokies took care of business late.  They ended up running away with it in the fourth quarter.  

Logan Thomas ran for two scores and threw for two for Virginia Tech.  He led his team to 473 yards total offense on the day.

The Demon Deacons of Wake Forest were trying to make it two upsets in a row, having beat Florida State in their last game, but today would not be their day.  It was a valiant effort and certainly better than the 52-21 loss the Hokies last year. 

Final Score: Virginia Tech 38 Wake Forest 17

No.17 Kansas State vs Texas Tech

No. 17 Kansas State at Texas Tech

So when these two teams play I have some advice... hold on to your hats.  You knew it would probably be a high scoring affair.  They didn't disappoint. 

The two teams combined for a total of 75 points and over 900 yards offense.

Texas Tech lit it up with 586 yards offense and 30 first downs, and yet they lost the game. 

Kansas State only had 339 yards offense and 16 first downs, but it was enough to take the game from the Red Raiders. 

This game came down to the wire with Texas Tech having one last chance to pull off the upset.  However, they were stopped on fourth down to end the game. 

The entire game went back and forth, with the lead changing five times.

The key to the game was turnovers.  Texas Tech had three interceptions and one fumble.  Overcoming four turnovers proved to be too much.  

K State is now 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12 while Texas Tech falls to 4-2 and 1-2 in the Big 12

Final Score:  Kansas State 41 Texas Tech 34

No.16 Illinois vs Ohio State

No. 16 Illinois at home against Ohio State

Upset-

Daniel Herron made his return from suspension count.  He ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on Saturday to help lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to an upset victory against Illinois. 

Despite having just 17 yards passing, and 228 yards total offense the Buckeyes went into Champaign, and celebrated a win. 

Illinois turned the ball over three times, and that proved to be the difference.  Two of the three turnovers were converted to touchdowns by Ohio State.  

Final Score: Illinois 7 Ohio State 17

No.15 South Carolina vs Mississippi State

No. 15 South Carolina at Mississippi State

No. 15 South Carolina had to resort to a late touchdown pass to avoid the upset.  This game was a gutsy, hard nosed, ugly contest.  Neither team broke the 300 yard mark in total offense, and each gave up the ball twice on the day.  

South Carolina was only 3 of 15 on third down conversions, which is what made this game the close contest that it was. 

Key Injury:

The Gamecocks premier running back Marcus Lattimore came into this game averaging 130 yards rushing per game, but only managed 39 yards on the day.  The unfortunate thing is that Lattimore was also injured in the fourth quarter.  This may have been a very costly win for the Gamecocks.

Tied 7-7 at half-time, the game continued to be close until the end.  Mississippi State took the lead on a field goal with just over six minutes left in the game making the score 10-7.  South Carolina answered with a touchdown just three minutes later making the score South Carolina 14 and Mississippi State 10.  A late strategic safety completed this battle. 

South Carolina is now 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the SEC.  Miss. State falls to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the SEC.

Final Score: South Carolina 14 Mississippi State 12

No.12 Georgia Tech vs Virginia

No. 12 Georgia Tech at Virginia

Upset-

Another upset on Saturday came in Charlottesville, Virginia.    

The Cavaliers took a 14-0 lead in the first half and never trailed.  Georgia Tech did tie it up in the second quarter at 14 all, but Virginia didn't let it stop their upset bid. 

With four minutes left in the first half Virginia's Clifton Richardson ran 22 yards to the end zone.  With 14 seconds left in the half Virginia added another 3 points on a Robert Randolph 36 yard field goal.  The half-time score was Virginia 24 and Georgia Tech 14. 

The second half saw only one touchdown.  It was a back and forth display, with only Georgia Tech's third quarter touchdown changing things on the scoreboard.  With 5:29 left in the third, Tevin Washington ran in for a Yellow Jacket touchdown.

Virginia finished with 407 yards total offense while Georgia Tech had just 296.  Both teams did most their work on the ground with 272 yards rushing each. 

Georgia Tech falls to 6-1 and 3-1 in the ACC Virginia is now 4-2 and 1-1 in the ACC

Final Score: Georgia Tech 21 University of Virginia 24

No.11 Michigan vs No.23 Michigan State

No. 11 Michigan at No. 23 Michigan State

Spartan Stadium was the place to be in Michigan today.  Another epic battle in the history of interstate gridiron warfare.

After today you can count four straight victories for Michigan State in this series.  Keshawn Martin scored twice as the Spartans upset the Michigan Wolverines. 

Decked out in their retro uniforms, the Wolverines couldn't reach back into the past far enough to remember how to beat their so called "little brother" Michigan State.  I guess little brother isn't so little anymore. 

Michigan State had 333 yards total offense, two-thirds of that on the ground.  Their defense was able to keep Michigan's offense to just 250 total yards, and they effectively shut down quarterback Denard Robinson.  Michigan's fine quarterback finished the game only 9 of 24 passing, 123 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.

The game was tied at 7 each at the half, but in the second half the Spartans outscored the Wolverines 21-7.  That was the difference in the game.

Michigan falls to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten, while the Spartans are now 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. 

Final Score: Michigan State 28 Michigan 14

No.9 Oregon vs No.18 Arizona State

No. 9 Oregon hosting No.18 Arizona State

The Ducks soar to victory in Eugene.  Oregon chalked up 535 total yards of total offense, 326 on the ground and 209 in the air.  Kenjon Barner rushed for 164 yards and 1 touchdown in the absence of LaMichael James. 

De'Anthony Thomas, and Bryan Bennett also got involved with 73 and 71 yards respectively.  Thomas had 2 touchdowns for the Ducks as well. 

Key Injury:

Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas was solid, going 13/17 for 187 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.  However, he left the game with an apparent knee injury.  No word yet on his condition.    

Arizona State had 461 yards of its own on offense tonight.  Brock Osweiler went 29/46 for 292 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. 

The game was close until the fourth quarter.  At that point the Ducks made the plays, and Arizona State simply could not. 

Oregon improves to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-12.  ASU drops to 5-2 and 3-1 in the Pac-12. 

Final Score: Oregon 41 Arizona State 27

No.8 Clemson vs Maryland

No.8 Clemson at Maryland

Clemson Escapes...

Clemson had to come from behind to pull out the victory and avoid the upset.  Clemson had 576 yards offense, but Maryland wasn't far behind at 468 yards for the game. 

Quarterback Tajh Boyd passed for 270 yards and 4 touchdowns as he led his Tiger teammates to a fourth quarter comeback.  Clemson was trailing going into the fourth.  Boyd threw a touchdown pass with 11:26 to play to put his team ahead 42-38.  However, C.J. Brown threw a touchdown of his own to take the lead back at 45-42 Maryland.  

The very next play broke the Maryland heart.  Sammy Watkins took the following kickoff 89 yards to pay dirt, putting the Clemson Tigers up for good. 

Clemson is now a perfect 7-0 and 4-0 in the ACC.  Maryland is now 2-4 and 1-2 in the ACC. 

Final Score: Clemson 56 Maryland 45

No.7 Stanford vs Washington State

No.7 Stanford at Washington State

The big surprise in this game was that Stanford only led at the half 10-7.  On a day where a couple of upset happened it looked like there might be another one... there wasn't.  

The second half was the game we expected.  Stanford scored the next 28 points on the way to a 44 to 14 blow out. 

It certainly wasn't luck that helped Stanford wind today.  Oh wait, sorry, it was... Andrew Luck.  He hit six different receivers for 336 yards and 4 touchdowns with a single interception.  

Stanford ran up 475 total yards on offense and 21 first downs. 

The game started slow, but Andrew Luck and his teammates finished strong.

Stanford is now a perfect 6-0 and 4-0 in the Pac-12.  Washington State is 3-3 and 1-2 in the Pac-12.

Final Score: Stanford 44 Washington State 14

No.6 Oklahoma State vs No.22 Texas

No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 22 Texas

OSU Quarterback Brandon Weeden passed for 218 yards and 1 touchdown.  Jeremy Smith ran for 140 yards on 7 carries, yes 7 carries and two touchdowns.  He averaged 20 yards per touch, as Oklahoma State went into Texas territory and came out victorious.

The Cowboys ran up 420 yards total offense on their way to the win today.

Texas looked much better this week, but it still wasn't enough. 

Texas falls to 4-2 on the year with a 1-2 Big 12 record.  Oklahoma State stays unbeaten at 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12. 

Final Score: Oklahoma State 38 Texas 26

No.5 Boise State vs Colorado State

No. 5 Boise State at Colorado State

A truly dominating performance in the first game for Boise State in the Mountain West Conference.

Kellen Moore was fantastic.  He went 26 of 30 passing (that's 86% folks),  338 yards, and 4 touchdowns.  I think his Heisman stock went up today again.  What do you think? 

On the ground Boise was brilliant.  Doug Martin ran over the Rams with 20 carries for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns of his own.

393 yards total rushing, 349 yards total passing, a balanced and monster outing for the Blue and Orange. 

The game was never close.

Boise State moves to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West.  Colorado State falls to 3-3 and 0-1 respectively. 

Final Score: Boise State 63 Colorado State 13

No.4 Wisconsin vs Indiana

No.4 Wisconsin home against Indiana

He threw one, he caught one, Russell Wilson quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers showed he can catch as well as throw with one passing touchdown and one receiving touchdown.  Wilson finished with 166 yards in the air hitting 12 of 17 passes.   

This game was only close at kickoff, after that, it was a blow out.  Up 38 to 7 at the half, Wisconsin was never challenged by the Hoosiers. 

The Badgers finished the game with 524 yards total offense, and as you would expect more than half of that came on the ground with 332 yards rushing. 

Wisconsin stays perfect on the year at 6-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten.  Indiana falls to 1-6 and 0-3 in the Big Ten. 

Final Score: Wisconsin 59 Indiana 7

No. 3 Oklahoma vs Kansas

No. 3 Oklahoma at Kansas

I am not really sure what team showed up in the first half against Kansas today.  But, it certainly didn't look like the mighty Sooners of Oklahoma.

10-7 after the first quarter, and 27-17 at the half. 

However, in the second half the team we are used to showed up.  Oklahoma outscored Kansas 20-0, and went on to win easily 47-17.

The BCS projection I saw tonight on ESPN says that this same Oklahoma team may very well be ranked No.1 in that first BCS ranking.  I don't know if that is true, but I wouldn't doubt it. 

Heisman candidate Landry Jones completed 29 passes on 48 attempts.  He threw for 361 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  Dominique Whaley ran for 165 yards and 1 touchdown himself, as the Sooners rolled. 

Oklahoma had 608 yards of total offense, but they did turn the ball over 3 times on the day. 

Kansas had an anemic 252 yards total offense.  It was really Oklahoma who kept this game close with lackluster play in the first half, as opposed to Kansas playing up. 

Oklahoma moves to 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12.  Kansas is now 2-4 on the year, and 0-3 in the Big 12.

Final Score: Oklahoma 47 Kansas 17

No.2 Alabama vs Ole Miss

No. 2 Alabama at Ole Miss

Ole Miss got an old fashioned whoopin at home today.  Alabama took off early and didn't slow down.  By the time the dust settled in Mississippi Bama had ran up 615 yards total offense and 27 first downs.  

Trent Richardson carried the ball 17 times for 183 yards and 4 touchdowns.  He also had a run in that game that will blow your mind.  McCarron threw for 224 on 24 attempts and 19 completions for Alabama. 

Final Score: Alabama 52 Ole Miss 7

No.1 LSU vs Tennessee

No. 1 LSU at Tennessee

The number one team in the land stayed perfect.  The first touchdown of the game didn't come until the second quarter.  LSU scored 17 points in that quarter to lead at the half 17-7. 

In the second half it was all LSU.  They outscored Tennessee 21-0.  On the way to victory the Tigers racked up 24 first downs, 383 yards of total offense, and their defense forced 2 turnovers.  Quarterback Matt Simms only had 128 yards passing, but it was enough to handle this young Volunteers team. 

Final Score: LSU 38 Tennessee 7