Week 7 in college football comes with a little bit of everything: marquee showdowns, ranked-on-ranked matchups, and a Saturday slate that barely gives you a breath between kickoffs.
The center of the weekend spotlight lands in Provo, Utah, where ESPN College GameDay will be set up at The Lawn at Heritage Halls for No. 2 Notre Dame against No.
8 BYU. Cougars legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young is the guest picker, adding another layer to a game already carrying plenty of attention.
And that’s just the headliner. Saturday also brings No.
4 Ohio State at No. 5 Indiana in a top-five clash, plus No.
6 Alabama at No. 14 Tennessee in a top-15 SEC battle.
There are also three other ranked-vs.-ranked games on the board, giving Week 7 a packed feel from midday into the late-night windows.
The action starts Friday night with three FBS games before the full Saturday rush takes over. Memphis visits Tulane at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, Washington plays at Purdue at 8 p.m. on FOX, and Appalachian State heads to Coastal Carolina at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Saturday begins with a deep noon window that’s loaded from coast to coast. Florida travels to No.
7 Texas on ABC, No. 4 Ohio State visits No.
5 Indiana on FOX, and No. 16 Mississippi State meets No.
22 LSU on ESPN. That same slot also includes Virginia at No.
24 SMU on CW, Pitt at Boston College on ESPN2, Cincinnati at West Virginia on TNT, Kansas at Kansas State on FS1, Charleston Southern at Clemson on ACC Network, No. 25 Northwestern at Michigan State on Peacock, Florida Atlantic at Army on CBSSN, Ball State at Bowling Green on ESPN+, and Georgia State at James Madison on ESPNU.
A little later, Rutgers goes to Maryland at 12:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network. At 1 p.m., The Citadel visits Texas A&M on SECN+, while Charlotte is at Temple and UMass is at Buffalo, both on ESPN+. Western Michigan and Central Michigan follow at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
The 3:30 p.m. window is the day’s biggest collection of heavyweights. Auburn visits No.
1 Georgia on ESPN, No. 6 Alabama plays at No.
14 Tennessee on ABC, No. 16 Missouri heads to No.
9 Ole Miss on SEC Network, and Arizona State visits No. 10 Texas Tech on FOX.
Georgia Tech is at Virginia Tech on ACC Network, North Carolina at Duke on ESPN2, Northern Illinois at Wyoming on CW, UNLV at Air Force on CBSSN, Toledo at Eastern Michigan on ESPN+, Akron at Miami (Ohio) on ESPN+, and Penn State at Michigan on CBS.
Later in the afternoon, Tulsa plays at Rice at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+, and Troy visits Louisiana at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.
The evening slate keeps rolling. Washington State is at Oregon State at 6 p.m. on USA Network.
At 7 p.m., Florida State visits No. 3 Miami (Fla.) on ESPN, Arkansas is at Vanderbilt on ESPN2, TCU is at Baylor on FS1, Kent State visits South Florida on ESPN+, Nevada plays at North Dakota State on CBSSN, and Arkansas State is at Southern Miss on ESPN+.
Then comes one of the night’s biggest matchups: No. 2 Notre Dame at No.
8 BYU at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. That same time slot also includes No.
18 Oklahoma State at No. 20 Houston on FOX, No.
15 Kentucky at Oklahoma on SEC Network, Elon at Stanford on ACCNX, Louisville at Syracuse on ACC Network, and Wisconsin at No. 12 UCLA on NBC.
The late games keep the schedule full all the way out west. Navy visits UTSA at 8 p.m. on ESPNU, Louisiana Tech plays at UL Monroe at 8 p.m. on ESPN+, and San Jose State is at UTEP at 9 p.m. on MW+.
After that, Ohio visits Sacramento State at 10 p.m. on ESPN+, No. 11 Utah plays at Colorado at 10:15 p.m. on ESPN, Fresno State is at San Diego State at 10:30 p.m. on CBSSN, New Mexico visits Hawai’i at 10:30 p.m. on FS1, Wake Forest is at Cal at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN2, and Nebraska closes the night at Oregon at 11 p.m. on FOX.
In Other News...
BYU Win Over Notre Dame Just Sparked A Brutal New Debate
The aftermath of BYUs win over Notre Dame has quickly shifted from celebration to scrutiny, with the Big 12 acknowledging that the game clock should have shown one second remaining after an incomplete pass by Irish quarterback CJ Carr. Instead, the replay officiating crew cleared the play and the contest ended, leaving Notre Dame without the chance to run one more snap from BYUs 8-yard line.
Now the conference is set to conduct a full review of the end-of-game officiating process, which only adds to the frustration around a finish that already had people debating what should have happened next. For BYU, the result still stands for the moment, but the closing sequence has become the kind of replay controversy that can linger long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Notre Dame Win Just Took A Controversial Turn
BYUs 28-24 win over Notre Dame now comes with an awkward asterisk after the Big 12 acknowledged that the final sequence was handled incorrectly. According to the conference, there was still time left when Notre Dames last pass hit the ground, but the replay officiating crew cleared the play anyway, ending the game before the Fighting Irish could get another snap.
The admission doesnt change the result, but it does put the finish under a brighter spotlight than anyone in Provo expected. The Big 12 said it will review its end-of-game officiating procedures after the mistake, leaving a major win for the Cougars attached to a conference-wide replay issue that is sure to linger a while. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Was Left Fuming After A Brutal Endgame Officiating Controversy
Notre Dames frustration from the Week 7 finish against BYU came from more than one call, or no-call, in the games closing moments. A missed defensive pass interference flag and a series of clock management mistakes by the officials shaped the final sequence, turning the ending into the kind of controversy that tends to linger long after the final whistle.
The Big 12 later acknowledged there was still one second left on the clock after the final play, meaning the replay officiating crew should not have ended it when it did. The result left Notre Dame fuming and added another layer to a night already marked by debate, with former NFL player Breiden Fehoko also stoking the conversation by publicly claiming officials rig games at both the NFL and college levels, a charge that remains unverified. [Read more 🡒]