2024 College Football - Week 7: "...we're halfway there..."

We've reached Week 7, the midway point of the College Football Regular Season, and after a wild and chaotic Week 6 in which five teams in the Top 11 fell - including former #1 Alabama - many teams and their fans are probably thinking that times are tough, and they'll never be able to reach the 12-team Playoff if things keep going like they have been...

...but it's exactly in tough times like these that fans need to remember what Bon Jovi told us back in 1986: they gotta "hold on to what they got", and while it does "make a differnence if they make it or not", they've "got each other, and that's a lot"....so "LET'S GIVE IT A SHOT! Whoooooahhhhh, we're halfway there....WHOOAH OHHH, we're livin' on a prayerrrr!". (Yes, youre allowed to belt that out as you read that - just don't do it too loudly if you're working). 

How do we know "we're halfway there"? Well, just like a New Jersey roadmap, the College Football schedule shows us two landmarks:

#1: The annual "Red River Rivalry" game between Texas & Oklahoma always takes place at the midway point of the season in the Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fair, and that game takes place this weeked during Week 7, and...
#2: There are now games on every night of the week from Tuesday through Saturday evening until Rivalry Week in Week 14, and that traditionally starts at the midway point of the season. Yes, if you combine College Football and the NFL, there is literally live football action on every night of the week starting now until the end of Thanksgiving Weekend..."that's a lot"...

Times are certainly tough and there's chaos and upsets lurking around every corner...but don't worry, just..

"...take my hand, and we'll make it I swear..."



Tuesday, October 8th - Evening Game

FIU @ Liberty - 7PM US ET (CBS Sports Network); spread is Liberty -17.5
Typically I wouldn't highlight a midweek game between Conference USA teams that probably not many people care about unless they went to school there, but hey, it's my life and I highlighted this one for two reasons: 1) in case you didn't fully read the above, yes, beginning this week during Week 7 all the way through the end of the Regular Season (Week 14), there will be College Football action on every night of the week except for Sunday & Monday, and 2) Liberty is one of just 12 undefeated teams left in FBS, and while being undefeated in Conference USA isn't too impressive, one of the 12 Playoff spots will go to the highest-ranked Group of Five team and while Boise St is currently at the top now (they are ranked #17), Liberty could take the top spot if the Broncos fall and the Flames continue to go undefeated. So if you're flippin' through the channels in the evening during the weekdays for the next 8 weeks, just know College Football is just one more flip of the switch away, sort of like a close friend saying, "I'll be there for you". 

Saturday, October 12th - Early Afternoon Games

Washington @ Iowa - Noon ET (FOX); spread is Iowa -2.5
Honestly, the Friday night and early afternoon slate during Week 7 is not exactly a bed of roses to College Football fans, but one game that does have my interest is this Noon BIG10 matchup. Both of these teams have 2 losses, but only 1 loss in the Conference so they're both technically still alive for a spot in the BIG10 Championship game. While Washington has the tougher road (road games @ Iowa, @ Indiana, @ Penn St and @ Oregon), they did have a big win over Michigan last week and just might give some of those top BIG10 teams a run for their money. On the flipside, Iowa has a much easier 2nd half schedule as they avoid facing any of the top BIG10 teams the rest of the way, so if they can just win out and remain at one conference loss, they'll certainly get another crack at one of those Top teams after getting their hat handed to them by Ohio St last week. It's a BIG10 Conference Championship elimination game, and for Iowa, it could very well be the start of a 2nd half runaway train that leads to Lucas Oil Stadium in early December.

Saturday, October 12th - Mid-Afternoon Games

#1 Texas vs #18 Oklahoma - 3:30PM ET (ABC) - "Red River Rivalry Showdown Game" @ The Cotton Bowl - spread is Texas -14.5
As mentioned earlier, fans aren't missing too much w/ the early slate of games on Saturday, but you should get what you need to get done early because when the mid-afternoon games start, it's "Game On" for the rest of the day, starting with this classic rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl. Texas is back-in-the-saddle as the nation's top team after Alabama's shocking loss @ Vanderbilt last week, and QB Quinn Ewers is likely to be back as the starting QB for the Longhorns after missing the last two games with an oblique injury suffered in their Week 3 win over UTSA. While it remains to be seen if Ewers will be named the starter over Arch Manning, I do think Texas HC Steve Sarkisian will likely lean on Ewers due to his experience playing in bigtime games, including in this one a year ago where he hopes to avenge the Longhorns only Regular Season loss in 2023. Ewers played well in last year's game going 31-37 and 346 yds, but had two INT's in the first two Texas drives that gave the Sooners hope that ulimately led to them winning the game on a last-second Dillon Gabriel TD pass with 15 seconds remaining. Texas arguably has a more talented, all-around team than they had last season and should win this game easily, as the Vegas point spread indicates, but things don't "always" go the way you expect them to in rivalry games, especially when it comes to these rivals. Just 3 years ago in 2021 Texas jumped out to a 28-7 lead at the end of the first quarter before then Oklahoma HC Lincoln Riley turned to an unknown Freshman QB named Caleb Williams who led an unbelievable charge in the 2nd half to take the game for the Sooners, 55-48 - the highest scoring game in the rivalry; not to mention Oklahoma's last second TD in 2023. Unlike his predecessor, current Sooners HC Brent Venables didn't wait until this game to make the QB switch and turned to Freshman QB Michael Hawkins, Jr. in the 2nd half of the Tennessee game in Norman a few weeks back. Hawkins started for the first time last week @ Auburn and got Oklahoma the win and he's already starring in a Dr. Pepper commercial alongside Quinn Ewers to promote this game. While Texas certainly has the roster advantages heading into this one, you know that Venebles, Hawkins, Jr. and the Sooner faithful will give it everything they have and will go down in a blaze of glory to pull-off a victory against their Red River rivals. 

#4 Penn St @ USC - 3:30PM ET (CBS); spread is Penn St -5.5
If crossing the Red River isn't your thing the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, then there's plenty of other games worth tuning into, including this new BIG10 matchup between old Rose Bowl rivals. The Trojans are coming off a stinging defeate at the hands of the Golden Gophers in Week 6 and now have 2 losses in the Conference with a loss at Michigan a few weeks back, too. While it's still possible they could get into the BIG10 Championship if they win out, they would need nearly everyone else to have 2 losses, too, and we've already covered how favorable Iowa's 2nd half schedule looks like (Indiana has a very favorable schedule, too). Another team with a favorable 2nd half schedule? Penn St, who's only game vs a ranked opponent in the 2nd half comes in Happy Valley vs Ohio St on 11/2, which makes this matchup crucial for the Nittany Lions. Win in LA on Saturday, and Penn St fans can start making plans to attend the BIG10 Championship in early December, even if they lose to the Buckeyes. But lose, and suddenly 2 losses loom very, very large against teams like Iowa & Indiana with just one or possibly no Conference losses, and that 11/2 game in Happy Valley becomes a must-win. And "crucial" games is where I have a problem trusting Penn St QB Drew Allar, who always seems to fall apart in the bigtime games. Just how bad is Allar in bigtime games? Let's just say that even if his last name was Love, he'd give even that word a "bad name". Penn St has a Playoff-level team with another great defense, but until Allar can prove he can win a bigtime game - either at home or on the road - I can't trust Penn St in these situations, and even though USC stubbed their toe last week, I do think that was an exception for this USC team vs the norm and I'd sooner trust the Trojans in this spot until proven otherwise by Allar. 

Cal @ #22 Pitt - 3:30PM ET (ESPN); spread is Pitt -3
I didn't think this game would be one that I'd be highlighting at the beginning of the season, but both of these teams have been pleasant surprises so far in the 2024, with Pitt being one of the 12 undefeated teams left at the FBS level. Cal might be one of the best 3-2 teams in all of College Football after their heartbreaking loss vs Miami to closeout Week 6 after being up by 25 well into the 3rd quarter, but those 2 losses were both Conference losses and they are still searching for their first ever ACC win. The hallmark of Cal's team has been their defense which was one of the best in all of football prior to Miami QB Cam Ward coming back on them in the 2nd half last week. And while defense has been the calling card for Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi (Brian Flores even learned some things from Narduzzi during his time in the Pittsburgh area with the Steelers in 2022), the Panthers have a really good QB in Eli Holstein, who transferred from Alabama, and he's been playing really well so far with a 65.5% COMP % and a 15/3 TD/INT ratio. He'll be put to the test against a really tough Cal defense, who'll want to rinse that taste of bad medicine they received from Miami last Saturday, and rinse with their first ever ACC Conference win. 

Arizona @ #14 BYU - 4PM ET (FOX); spread is BYU -4.5
Each of the four Power Conferences have a spotlight game during the mid-afternoon slate and the BIG XII offers up this interesting matchup in Provo. The Cougars have been another surprising team this season, going 5-0 with wins @ SMU and Kansas St, and currently atop of the Conference with Texas Tech, Iowa St, Colorado and West Virginia. The BIG XII was one Conference that was expected to be chaotic, with the possibility of a 3-loss team getting into the Conference Championship and possibly into the 12-team Playoff, and in order for that to happen, someone is going to need to beat the BYU's of the Conference, and that someone could very well be Arizona. While Arizona has had a roller-coaster of a season so far - getting whomped by Kansas St only to then go on the road @ Utah and beat a Top 10 Utes team and then lose the week after at home to Texas Tech - they do have the capability to going on the road in a tough environment and pulling out a win. The Wildcats to have NFL prospects on both sides of the ball and it's just a matter of consistency, but if you're talking about consistency, BYU has been that steady model of being a consistently good team for a while, and it's going to take a solid effort to beat them. 

Saturday, October 12th - Evening Games

#2 Ohio St @ #3 Oregon - 7:30PM ET (NBC); spread is Ohio St -3
The big matchup in primetime during Week 7 is a Top 5 showdown in Eugene between the Buckeyes and Ducks. College Football got a great game (the 2nd half anyway) in their first Top 5 showdown game 2 weeks ago between Georgia and Alabama and hopefully fans gets a 2nd dose of that 4th quarter in this one. Coming into this Top 5 clash, the Buckeyes have certainly looked more dominant, with the closest margin of victory (28 pts) coming in Week 6 when they toppled Iowa 35-7, but 4 of their first 5 games were in Columbus and outside of Iowa, they haven't faced anyone - all of that changes on Saturday in Eugene. While the Ducks haven't been as dominant as Ohio St, they've faced better competition: a last-second FG win over Boise St and a commanding win @ Oregon St in the "Civil War" game, plus a Conference road win over UCLA. The Buckeyes no doubt have the better roster that's littered with 2025 NFL Draft prospects on both sides of the ball, but Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel does have a penchant for coming up big in key midseason games (refer to last season's "Red River Rivalry") and the Ducks go have a few 2025 prospects of their own on defense. To me, this comes down to Ohio St QB Will Howard and if he can lead enough scoring drives to put Ohio St over the top. This seems very similar to a big midseason Ohio St road game @ Notre Dame where then Ohio St QB Kyle McCord (now with Syracuse) did just enough to get the Buckeyes a bigtime road win, and if the Buckeye defense can slow down Gabriel and the Ducks offense a few times, all Howard has to do is "just enough" to probably get the win, but can he? We're talking about a QB who Kansas St benched last season and has consistency issues and if Ryan Day is expecting Howard to go out and win them this game late in the 4th, I don't know if Howard can deliver. The Buckeyes defense certainly has the ability to dominate because they are that talented (the entire DL are all early-Rd NFL Draft prospects), but I'll take Oregon HC Dan Lanning over Ohio St HC Ryan Day in a bigtime matchup like this, especially with the Ducks & Lanning having homefield advantage.

#9 Ole Miss @ #13 LSU - 7:30PM ET (ABC); spread is Ole Miss -3.5
If the Top 5 clash in the BIG10 isn't your thing, then the primetime other options are an SEC matchup between two teams ranked in the Top 13, or a battle at the top of the BIG XII Conference (next game). As far as this SEC game goes, it's all about how well Ole Miss Lane Kiffin has this team prepared to win a bigtime game because just like Penn St QB Drew Allar, he crumples when it matters most. This is supposed to be "the year" that Kiffin takes the Rebels to the Playoffs: there's no more Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa...they spent a ton of money in the Transfer Portal and have literally "bought" some really good players...and their other two matchups vs ranked opponents in the 2nd half of their schedule (Oklahoma & Georgia) come in Oxford. There's no more excuses for Kiffin and the early home loss to unranked Kentucky probably had the fanbase sharpening their pitchforks, so one more and you can expect to see "Wanted: Dead or Alive" posters for Kiffin on The Grove in Oxford. And that one loss might come on Saturday night in Death Valley, one of most intimidating atmospheres to play at in primetime, especially when your job might be on the line and even more when LSU is pretty good, which they are. The Bayou Bengals are led by a solid QB in Garrett Nussmeir, who's having a really good year and anytime LSU has a solid QB, they're usually trouble. LSU's 2nd half schedule isn't easy (@ Arkansas, @ Texas A&M, vs 'Bama, vs Oklahoma) so they need to get as many solid wins like this as they can to possibly get an at-large spot should they have 3 losses, and adding another notch on Kiffin's primetime fails should give them a boost of momentum. 

#11 Iowa St @ West Virginia - 8PM ET (FOX); spread is Iowa St -3
As previously mentioned, if you're already sick of the SEC and BIG10, no problem, the BIG XII provides a decent primetime matchup between two teams that are currently undefeated in the Conference. The Cyclones have been widing the waive of momentum ever since winning the Cy-Hawk Trophy in Week 2 over their in-state rivals and have climbed all the way into Playoff contention, but they did so on the heels of wins over Houston and Baylor, who are Power 4 teams, but not exactly Playoff contenders, either, so they need a win over a solid team to solidify their ranking. Enter West Virginia, who do have two losses, but against solid opponents (Penn St & Pitt) and their last two victories were against Kanas and Oklahoma St, which I would say are better wins than Houston & Baylor. Plus, the Mountaineer fanbase are promoting this game as a "Coal Rush" event, meaning that West Virginia will be donning the all-black uniforms in Morgantown on Saturday night. Ironically, West Virginia will also be honoring Mountaineer great and former NFL TE Anthony Becht into their school's Sports Hall of Fame, and guess which school his son starts for at QB? Not West Virginia. Anthony's son, Rocco, is the starting QB for Iowa St and you know he'll have a bone to pick with West Virginia for failing to give him a legacy scholarship to the school his father played at. On the other side of the ball, the Cyclones defense is statistically one of the best in the entire Conference, but the Mountaineer rushing attack is no joke as they average more than 220 rushing yards per-game. 

Saturday, October 12th - Late Game

#18 Kansas St @ Colorado - 10:15PM ET (ESPN); spread is Kansas St -3.5
Last week we had an "ACC After Dark" matchup between Miami and Cal that ended up closing the curtain on a great Week 6 of College Football action, and this week it's the BIG XII's turn to send us to sleep on a high note. Colorado is nearly "must-see TV" because of Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and their WR weapons on offense and they've managed to keep themselve relevent much longer in 2024 than in 2023, and if they win this one at home vs a very good Kansas St team, they'll continue to at least share the top of the Conference with the winner of the Iowa St/West Virginia game and possibly even BYU. I'll give Coach Prime a little bit of credit for improving the defense more than they were last season, but I still have bigtime doubts on their OL and rushing offense and if either are shaky, it'll be a long night in Boulder because the Wildcats defense is pretty good. Kansas St QB Avery Johnson hasn't had that "breakout" game quite yet, IMO (yes, the Friday the 13th win over Arizona was good, but I need to see more in the passing game before I'm a believer) and if he can outduel Shedeur in Boulder in front of Coach Prime and a sizeable TV audience with Travis Hunter in coverage, I might start to come around a bit more. It's a battle of 4-1 teams in a wide-open BIG XII conference that should be worth staying up for. 


As a special bonus this week, I've included a little game for anyone interested. With the theme this week being "halfway there" and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Bon Jovi being fans of sports (Jon Bon Jovi himself is a big supporter of Notre Dame), I've placed references to 10 iconic/famous Bon Jovi songs throughout this Week 7 article. All of these songs are well known, successful songs and not some random song from any Bon Jovi albumn and I've already provided one of them. See if you can spot/guess all 10 and post your answers.