I feel like I’ve said this almost every week, but week 7 could be one of the best weekends of college football this season. Take away the ranked on ranked matchups, and there’s still plenty of games that could be great. I’m going to preview a handful of games, but I’m not even gonna scratch the surface of how great this weekend could be.
Biggest Game: Ohio State at Indiana +3.5
We’ve got a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Title game where Indiana beat Ohio State 13-10. I fully expect this meeting to be just as tightly contested as the last. Both teams are ranked in the top 5, and have Big Ten/National Title expectations. All the ingredients needed for a great game.
In years past when you look at Ohio State, they’ve looked impossible to beat. This year, however, they look beatable. Offensively the run game has been fine, nothing that scares you. Outside of Jeremiah Smith, they don’t have any options to throw to. Now that could also be because Jeremiah Smith is so good that why would you throw it to anyone else. On defense they are still very good, but we’ve seen teams have success running the ball against them. If you can eliminate Jeremiah Smith and have success in the run game, you can beat Ohio State. That is way easier said than done though.
For Indiana, this is a team that loves to run the ball, and they’re very good at it. They’ve got a two-headed rushing attack with Lee Beebe and Turbo Richard that will give a team fits. The biggest concern for QB Josh Hoover heading into the year was his turnover problems. That hasn’t reared its ugly head yet. Defensively this is one of the best front 7s in all of college football. The defensive line is deep and they return a handful of guy from last year’s team. The same guys who made the Ohio State’s life hell the last time they met. The secondary however is not nearly as good as last year which is concerning when you’re taking on a player like Jeremiah Smith.
This game will be played in Bloomington and yet Indiana is an underdog. I personally think the wrong team is favored. A lot of the things you need to beat Ohio State, are things that Indiana has. They have a d-line that can get pressure. They did it last year against most of these same o-lineman, and they’ll need to do it this year. If they can’t get pressure, then Jeremiah Smith is going to destroy them. They have an offense that can move the ball against Ohio State’s defense. Give me Indiana to win.
Ugly Game: Notre Dame at BYU +10.5
I almost gave the ugly game of the week to Maryland and Rutgers, but there is much more high profile game that I think meets the criteria. BYU vs Notre Dame. On paper this should be a great game. In reality, I’m not so convinced. I consider myself a BYU/Bear Bachmeier Believer, but I’m having a hard time believing this weekend. On top of that I could be slightly biased as Notre Dame was/is my pick to win it all.
BYU is without their top rusher in LJ Martin. Without him, Bear Bachmeier is the entire BYU offense. He’s been their leading rusher with Martin out. This BYU offense is not explosive, they are a ground and pound offense that doesn’t throw the ball if they don’t have to. When they are forced to throw it though, they don’t really have a passing attack that scares you. Freshman Legend Glasker has had his moments, but outside of him, no one scares you. They are also going up against a Notre Dame secondary that is elite.
If BYU is going to win this game, it will have to be similar to what we saw from Oklahoma last weekend. Defense and special teams will have to win this game for the Cougars. The offense alone will not get the job done. They will need the defense to force some turnovers to give the offense short fields, or even special teams to step up and do the same. I have a feeling that this game could get out of hand real fast for BYU. Give Notre Dame with an easy-ish win.
Underrated Game: Oklahoma State at Houston -4.5
It feels like everyone is talking about Ohio State/Indiana, Notre Dame/BYU, and Alabama/Tennessee. No one seems to be talking about this game even though it could be one of the better games this weekend. You’ve got 2 one loss teams going at it that some have on their short list to compete for the Big 12 Title. This is probably the game that I am most excited for this weekend.
Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa to start the season 24-10. Since then they’ve looked like a completely different team. The offense looked anemic against Tulsa, but since then they are averaging 45 points and over 550 yards a game. Drew Mestemaker has been lighting teams up through the air, and no one outside of Tulsa has been able to slow him down. Defensively Oklahoma State could use some work. While the offense has been scoring 45 a game over the last 4, the defense is allowing nearly 28 points a game in conference play.
Houston has weapons all over their offense. They’ve got a 3 headed rushing attack with Weigman, Hughes, and Sanford. They’ve also got 3 pass catchers in Overmyer, Thomas, and Young that could all go off in any given game. This is an offense that should scare Oklahoma State’s defense. However, Houston’s defense might also be scared of Oklahoma State. While they’ve been good at shutting down the run, they’ve been leaky when it comes to opposing teams’ passing attacks. I think this is a game where we see a ton of offense, and maybe not a lot of defense played. Give me Houston to win. I think they have more firepower on offense that could make life difficult for Oklahoma State.
Exciting Game: Mizzou at Ole Miss -5.5
I just got done outlining how there may not be a lot of defense played between Houston and Oklahoma State. Well the same could be said for Mizzou at Ole Miss. I expect a lot of offense, not a lot of defense, and one fanbase will be very upset with the result.
Ole Miss has a chance to win every single game they play as long as Trinidad Chambliss is playing. They will go as far as he takes them. Outside of him, not a whole lot to be excited about with Ole Miss. the run game has been eh, the offensive line has been alright, and the defense has been abysmal. He is the one bright spot on that team. They are taking on a Mizzou defense that has been great against the run and leaky against the pass which bodes extremely well for Ole Miss. I fully expect Trinidad to light them up.
Mizzou has a run game and a passing game that can both be explosive. Jamal Roberts has been lighting it up with back to back games rushing for over 200 yards. I don’t expect him to slow down going up against an Ole Miss defense that can’t stop anyone. Austin Simmons has been a little more up and down, but is still very effective throwing the ball and has only thrown 1 interception.
With how both of these offenses stack up against each other’s defenses, I fully expect a high scoring game. It really feels like this one will come down to whoever has the ball last. I feel like every time I’ve picked against Trinidad it hasn’t gone well, so give me Ole Miss to win this one at home.
I only scratched the surface on what could be a great weekend of college football, and I do not have enough screens to watch all the games I’m interested in. What are some the games you think are underrated, or that you’re most excited for?
