Sign up for the Until Saturday newsletter | Jayna Bardahl and The Athletic’s college football staff deliver expert analysis on the biggest CFB stories five days per week. Get it sent to your inbox.
As the 2023 college football season approaches its midpoint, Week 7 offered multiple marquee matchups that will set the course for the stretch run.
Check back all day for updates from our writers around the country on Week 7’s biggest stories. Here’s the full Top 25 schedule (all times Eastern):
No. 1 Georgia 37, Vanderbilt 20
No. 2 Michigan 52, Indiana 7
No. 3 Ohio State 41, Purdue 7
No. 4 Florida State 41, Syracuse 3
No. 6 Penn State 63, UMass 0
No. 7 Washington 36, No. 8 Oregon 33
No. 10 USC at No. 21 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., NBC
No. 11 Alabama 24, Arkansas 21
No. 12 North Carolina vs. No. 25 Miami, 7:30 p.m., ABC
No. 14 Louisville at Pitt, 6:30 p.m., The CW
No. 15 Oregon State vs. No. 18 UCLA, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 16 Utah 34, Cal 14
No. 17 Duke vs. NC State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 19 Tennessee 20, Texas A&M 13
No. 19 Washington State vs. Arizona, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Network
No. 22 LSU vs. Auburn, 7 p.m., ESPN
Oklahoma State 39, No. 23 Kansas 32
No. 24 Kentucky vs. Missouri, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
An Oregon-Washington instant classic
The best quarterback play in college football this season has been found on the West Coast, and the best game of the year so far took place on the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest, with Michael Penix Jr. and Washington making one more play than Bo Nix and Oregon could muster in a 36-33 Huskies win. Penix’s 302 passing yards made up almost three quarters of the Huskies’ offense and all seven of their third and fourth down conversions. Battling through an apparent injury in his midsection, Penix overcame a rough stretch in the second half with two three-and-outs and a goal line opportunity missed, when it looked like he couldn’t find his touch or his playmakers while under pressure. The two-play, go-ahead drive he responded with should make him a solid Heisman Trophy favorite, in Vegas and in the national conversation.
As for Oregon, the Ducks should leave the game feeling more encouraged than frustrated. The goal was to be the tougher, more physical and precise team, and that was what the visitors accomplished throughout the game. The offense averaged five yards per rush and over 200 yards total; Nix completed 75 percent of his passes; the Ducks possessed the ball for nearly ten more minutes than UW, going 10 of 16 on third down and finishing with no giveaways. The failed fourth down conversion late in the fourth quarter and the missed field goal at the buzzer were the difference today, but head coach Dan Lanning should feel like his program is equal to Washington’s. This probably won’t be the last time these two teams see each other. — Diante Lee
Iowa takes control of Big Ten West
There’s no aesthetic beauty to the way Iowa plays football, and that’s especially true when the Hawkeyes play Wisconsin. But results matter more than style points, and now Iowa (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) is in the Big Ten West Division driver’s seat.
Iowa leaned on its running game, and it really delivered during Saturday’s 15-6 win in Madison. The Hawkeyes rushed for 200 yards, by far the program’s most against Wisconsin since 2008. Leshon Williams popped free for an 82-yard touchdown run in the first half, far from his only big carry. Tory Taylor punted 10 times for a 50.6-yard average, with five going 50-plus yards and six landing inside the 20. And the Hawkeyes’ defense shut down Wisconsin, with senior defensive back Sebastian Castro playing a starring role. Iowa now must hold serve in four consecutive home games before the season finale at Nebraska. — Scott Dochterman
What happened to Colorado?
Colorado’s rebuilt roster has plenty of flaws, but two of the three biggest made it possible to cough up a 29-point lead, the biggest collapse in school history, in a 46-43 loss to Stanford in double overtime on Friday night.
The Buffaloes have struggled to run the ball all season and have had to manufacture a running game with quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ legs and passes thrown to the perimeter. Despite the big lead, Colorado’s running backs had just 21 carries for 81 yards, and the offense had two punts and two turnovers on downs on its first four possessions of the second half after scoring touchdowns on its first four possessions of the first half. Colorado ranks 130th nationally in yards per carry.
In addition to the running game struggles, Colorado has struggled to cover opposing receivers with a thin group of cornerbacks all season. Colorado ranks 130th nationally in passing yards allowed per game, 119th in completion percentage allowed and 91st in yards per attempt allowed. Two-way star Travis Hunter’s return didn’t help; he gave up some of the biggest plays of the night against Stanford wideout Elic Ayomanor, who set his own school record with 294 yards, three touchdowns and 13 catches, all in the second half. But not being able to run the ball to bleed the clock and not being able to cover opposing receivers to stymie a comeback attempt are a bad combination. But that’s what Colorado is right now. — David Ubben
Georgia’s Brock Bowers appears to avoid major injury
Georgia didn’t look as sharp on the road against Vanderbilt this week, winning 37-20, as it did in last week’s home beatdown of Kentucky, but the Bulldogs likely avoided a major blow.
Brock Bowers, who fueled Georgia’s rally against Auburn in September with a career high 157 yards, had three consecutive 100-yard receiving games before suffering an ankle injury in the second quarter Saturday. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he expected the tight end to be fine, but Bowers was having his foot X-rayed to make sure.
Initially, Bowers tried to get off the field but had to stop and go to his knees, where he punched the turf. But he was able to leave the field under his own power, though he didn’t return.
Georgia is still the most talented team in the country without Bowers and has weapons in the passing game, but when the chips are down, Bowers is the most reliable target for first-year starter Carson Beck at quarterback. The Bulldogs could win the SEC East without Bowers, but if he wasn’t going to be available in the SEC title game or the Playoff, the Bulldogs’ run for a the sport’s first three-peat in almost a century could have gone up in smoke. For now, it looks like that’s not the case. — Ubben
Alabama survives
If Alabama wants to legitimately contend for an SEC championship and a College Football Playoff berth, the Crimson Tide will have to play much cleaner than they did on Saturday. Nick Saban was the first to admit after Alabama squeaked by Arkansas 24-21 at home that his team must “learn how to play for 60 minutes and finish the game,” as he told the ESPN broadcast. But a win is a win, and at the midway point of the season, the Crimson Tide are still alive in the Playoff race. That’s all that matters for Saban’s squad.
Alabama seemed to be on pace for an easy day when the Crimson Tide took a 21-6 lead into halftime and extended the advantage to 24-6 midway through the third quarter. But Arkansas scored late in the third, in large part to two critical penalties from the Alabama defense, both on third down. A facemask call on defensive back Jaylen Key on third-and-8 kept the Razorbacks’ drive alive and gave them 15 yards and a first down on their own 42-yard line. A pass interference call minutes later on defensive back Caleb Downs took the Razorbacks from the Alabama 20-yard line to the 5. Arkansas scored one play later, then took that momentum into the fourth quarter and made it a three-point game with nearly 11 minutes to play.
Give credit to Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner for making a huge play in crunch time, sacking Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson for a loss of 11 yards on third-and-8 in what became Arkansas’ final drive of the afternoon. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe finished the game just 10-of-21 passing but managed to throw for 238 yards and two touchdowns. This Alabama team has plenty to clean up and much to learn. Coughing up a double-digit lead to an Arkansas team that is now 2-5 is concerning. But the Crimson Tide found a way to win in a season with no clear front-runner. Don’t count them out yet. — Grace Raynor
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Source link
credite