Week 7 Preview

Week seven is somehow already here. We are almost halfway through the regular season even though it feels like we just started last week. Speaking of last week, wow. Could you want anything more from college football! Eleven ranked teams lost. I don’t think 11 will go down again, but some will. And how about the state of Mississippi? Both Mississippi State and Ole Miss are ranked #3 in the AP poll. The SEC West might beat themselves out of the playoffs. I’m looking forward to another great week of college football.

Notable Games
2Auburn at 3Mississippi State I think the winner of this game will be the nation’s new number 1. Florida State doesn’t play anywhere near the caliber of an SEC schedule. I personally don’t feel the Seminoles deserve to be ranked number 1. While they are undefeated, they haven’t looked very good. I think the only reason they are number one is because they won it all last season. But back to this extremely important game. After beating Texas A&M, Mississippi State vaulted to 3 and also received 2 first place votes in the AP Poll. Auburn has almost quietly remained one of the top 6 teams in the country all season. They had a down game against Kansas State, but overall they have been a force to be reckoned with. I saw the Tigers play live the first week of the season, and if they have improved half as much as the Hogs have since then, I’m not really sure anyone can beat them. Miss State’s defense is not that great. Auburn is an all around good football team. I think the Tigers will win on offense and defense. Still expect Bulldog QB Dak Prescott to have a good game though. I think he will be the reason this game will be a close one. I am picking Auburn by a TD.

3Ole Miss at 14Texas A&M How is Ole Miss going to respond after a huge win against Alabama? And how is Texas A&M going to respond to a somewhat embarrassing loss to Mississippi State? This matchup will probably be as much of a mental game as a physical one. The Aggies get to come home after two tough games away from College Station. I think Kenny Hill and his offense are going to be too much for the Rebels. Ole Miss hasn’t been scoring a lot of points this season. I think the explosiveness of the A&M offense is going to wear out the Ole Miss defense. To win this game, A&M needs to score at least 30 points. Anything less will favor Ole Miss. Bo Wallace needs to take care of the ball if the Rebels want to walk out of Kyle Field with another impressive SEC West win, but I don’t think it’ll happen. I am picking Texas A&M by 3-7 points.

9TCU at 5Baylor It’s time to give credit where credit is due. I was smack talking TCU all of last week, saying they didn’t deserve to be ranked because they hadn’t really played anyone. Well, they definitely deserve to be ranked now. That being said, I still think Baylor will beat them. TCU gave up 33 points to Oklahoma and was able to get the win. I think giving that much room to Bryce Petty and the Bears is going to lead to more than 33 on the scoreboard. A win for either of these teams will put them in playoff contention, so it is a must win. The biggest concern I have about Baylor is their defense. They only gave up 7 to Texas, but allowed 28 to Iowa State. I expect this to be a great game. I think it will be a high scoring game and could very possibly come down to the team who has the ball last. I am picking Baylor by about a TD.

7Alabama at Arkansas This is going to be a big game for both teams. ‘Bama needs this win to stay in playoff contention and the Hogs need it to prove they are finally back. But the Hogs don’t necessarily need to win, but it would be nice if they did. DWRRS is sold out for this game. I think the Hogs are mentally in a better place than the Tide. The Hogs now know Alabama can be beat, that they are vastly improved from last season and that they have some of the best RBs in the country. Alabama knows the same things, giving the Razorbacks an advantage. Arkanasas has to minimize penalties to win this game. They also need to run the ball when it’s working. Passing the ball just to pass it doesn’t help anyone. If they can establish the run game, the passing will fall into place. And when it does, Brandon Allen needs to throw the ball to the great group of TEs at his disposal. The Arkansas defense also needs to have a great game. Alabama is a lot like Arkansas and rely on their great rushing attack. The Tide will have a redshirt freshman starting at center due to an injury to starter Ryan Kelly. Arkansas is itching to end their SEC loss streak. Can they do it against the Crimson Tide, a team they haven’t beaten since 2006 (24-23 in 2OT)? Of course, I think they will. And not just because I am an Arkansas fan. I have been to the last two Arkansas Alabama games and 3 of the last 4. In 2010 I saw Ryan Mallett come one INT from beating the top ranked Tide, in 2012 I saw one of the worst performances by the Hogs and the fans in a 0-52 home loss and in 2013 I travelled to Tuscaloosa to see a Razorback team on the rise lose 0-52 and had the time of my life. I know I speak for most Arkansas fans when I say it is time to take down the Tide, and it’s definitely time to find the end zone.

12Oregon at 18UCLA This game might not have the same implications as it would have if both teams had won last week, but it is still very important in the Pac-12. I think last week showed us that Oregon is finally starting to feel the impact of the coaching change. They aren’t scoring the points they have been known for in the past few years and games are getting a lot closer. Losing in front of their 100th consecutive sellout crowd was a shock to me. UCLA losing to Utah didn’t surprise me as much. I don’t think this game will be a battle of defenses. I expect to see a lot of TDs in this one. The QB matchup of Bret Hundley and Marcus Mariota will be one for the ages. I think a defensive of special teams TD will be the difference in this game. I am picking UCLA by 7-10 points.

13Georgia at 23Missouri I am still not sold on Missouri. I don’t think they are that great of a team and their win over SCAR says more about the Gamecocks than it does about the Tigers. Georgia’s loss to SCAR is starting to look more and more like a fluke. I think the Bulldogs are by far the better team in this game and Missouri doesn’t have much of a home field advantage seeing as how Indiana beat them there. I think Todd Gurley will have a great game against Mizzou and continue to show the country that he is a Heisman Trophy contender. 21 points won’t beat Georgia. Well, 21 points shouldn’t beat Georgia. But the SEC East hasn’t done much of what it should’ve so far. I am picking Georgia by 10-14 points.

LSU at Florida I don’t think either of these teams is very good. But that might make this a very competitive game. Both have struggled putting points on the board this year, so I’m not really expecting a high scoring game. Florida seems to have a pretty good defense, but LSU is hungry for their first SEC win of the season. After two dismal outings against Mississippi State and Auburn, LSU really needs this win to at least try to compete in the West. Both teams have had QB problems this season. Florida will most likely go back to Jeff Driskel after Treon Harris was suspended indefinitely from the team. This game has the potential to be very interesting and competitive. I am picking LSU by a TD.

Top 25
1Florida State at Syracuse
North Carolina at 6Notre Dame
8Michigan State at Purdue
USC at 10Arizona
Texas at 11Oklahoma
16Oklahoma State at Kansas
19East Carolina at USF
Duke at 22Georgia Tech
Washington State at 25Stanford (Fri)

Other Games
BYU at UCF (Thurs)
Fresno State at UNLV (Fri)
San Diego State at New Mexico (Fri)
Louisville at Clemson
Northwestern at Minnesota
Penn State at Michigan
Middle Tennessee at Marshall
Air Force at Utah State
ULM at Kentucky