College Football Preview: Week 7
The month of September is far in the rear view mirror and conference play is starting to ramp up. There are major college football playoff implications this week, as there are four Top 25 match-ups.
To this point, the perennial powerhouse schools of Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State haven’t really been tested, however, that’ll rapidly change and we’ll soon find out who’s a contender and who’s a pretender.
This week’s slate of games is the best to date this season. Cancel your plans on Saturday, grab a few cold ones and don’t move from your TV because you don’t want to miss any of this action.
Without further adieu, let’s take a deep dive into this week’s games.
No. 7 Florida at No. 5 LSU
We’ll start in the SEC where Florida takes on its second straight top-10 opponent following the win over Auburn last weekend. The Gators dominated Bo Nix and the Auburn Tigers with a ferocious defensive onslaught and proved they’re legit.
Yet, the SEC is a gauntlet this year and that was just the first test. And the bad news for Florida is this game isn’t at home and it won’t be playing a freshman quarterback this time around.
Instead, they’ll face a Heisman candidate in Joe Burrows who’s lead the LSU Tigers to the highest scoring offense in the country. You read that right, LSU has a good offense; a really good offense.
It's going to be a special night in Tiger Stadium đ pic.twitter.com/3SLTEECIZU
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 9, 2019
My pick: LSU
I’m giving the edge to the home team in this one. Florida’s defense is good but it won’t be enough to over come its lack of production on the offensive side of the ball. LSU survives a tough test.
No. 6 Oklahoma vs No. 11 TexasÂ
It’s time for another installment of the Red River Rivalry. This is one of the most unique games in all of college football and it’s sure to be a dandy again this year.
"It's definitely unexplainable. It's something you have to be a part of to realize the emotional factor that goes into it." – Brandon Jones#ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/KkgkrFOags
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 10, 2019
These two teams are the Big 12’s last hopes for making the college football playoff so there’s a lot riding on this games.
I’ve heard a lot of talk this week from various analyst thinking this will be a relatively low scoring game. Let me tell you this for free, this is going to be a classic mid-western shootout.
Sam Ellinger and Jalen Hurts will be gun slinging all over the park and both teams will easily eclipse the 30 point mark. If you like touchdowns, if you like points, this is your game.
My pick: Oklahoma
This game could go either way as both defenses aren’t that stout. I’m not extremely confident in this pick, but I’m going with the Sooners give how Texas looked last weekend against West Virginia.
No. 10 Penn State at No. 17 Iowa
This is Penn State’s first real chance to make a statement. The Nittany Lions have been impressive thus far, however, they haven’t faced the stiffest of competition.
Sean Clifford has done a terrific job stepping in for Trace McSorely, Penn State’s all-time leader in wins. In addition, KJ Hamler is an explosive play-maker on the outside and has shown the ability to take the top off a defense at any moment.
We still don’t know if they’re for real or not but this game will speak volumes as the Nittany Lions are going on the road to face a top-25 opponent ina hostile environment.
Make no mistake about it, Kinnick Stadium is a tough place to play. The wave, the stripe out, everything about it. The last time Penn State played at Iowa, McSorely bailed them out with a last-second touchdown pass as time expired.
AT THE BUZZER!
Trace McSorley throws a TD to Juwan Johnson as time expires and the Nittany Lions avoid the upset against Iowa!! pic.twitter.com/UaxA9Ml9h1— DRK Sports (@drksportsnews) September 24, 2017
Iowa is coming off of a game in which they only put up three points on the rad against Michigan. If they had a tough time with that defense, the Hawkeyes are in for a long day against Penn State.
The Nittany Lions – led by Shaka Toney and Yetur Gross Matos – are among the nation’s best in scoring defense and are coming off of a 10-sack performance against Purdue.
My Pick: Penn StateÂ
Am I saying this because I’m a biased alum? Yes. However, Penn State is the better team and it’s defense will be able to shutdown an anemic Hawkeye offense. It’ll be close but the Nittany Lions will escape Iowa City with a win.
Other Games To Watch
No. 1 Alabama at No. 24 Texas A&M
USC at No. 9 Notre Dame
Hawaii at No. 14 Boise State
Michigan State at No. 8 Wisconsin
Florida State at No. 2 Clemson
Matt Castle – @Matt_Castle22