Week 7 brings a slate that could redraw the College Football Playoff picture in a hurry, and the biggest swing game sits right at the top: Ohio State at Indiana. The Hoosiers are unbeaten, but this is the stiffest test they’ve seen, and it comes with the added weight of being the biggest game Memorial Stadium has ever hosted. Curt Cignetti’s team will have to answer a simple question: were the recent struggles a blip, or a warning sign?
For Ohio State, the stakes are just as clear. A win in Bloomington would put the Buckeyes back in position as the Big Ten favorite and leave them with a clean path to the Rose Bowl. A loss, though, would tighten the pressure immediately for Ryan Day’s team and shrink the margin for error in the playoff chase.
Elsewhere, Alabama gets Tennessee in a rivalry game that arrives at an important moment for the Crimson Tide. The week off gives the Broncos a break, but there’s no easing into October for Alabama, which wants to put the Georgia loss behind it with a sharp, decisive performance. The Vols may not be an easy out, but this is the kind of spot where Alabama will want to look fast and in control.
Notre Dame faces a different kind of challenge at BYU, where the Irish will walk into a loud Provo atmosphere for one of the season’s defining tests. The Cougars, meanwhile, are staring at the biggest game in school history and will have to find answers offensively without star tailback LJ Martin. The first-ever top-10 matchup at LaVell Edwards Stadium carries huge implications for the Big 12 favorites and for Notre Dame’s place in the national title conversation.
Texas also has a chance to steady itself at home against a banged-up Florida team after the disappointment of Red River last weekend. The Longhorns want to get back to winning ways, and this is the kind of game that can help wipe away some of those bad memories.
In SEC play, another matchup gets a spotlight as two league teams try to sort out who is for real and who is running out of runway against a rough stretch ahead. That meeting will offer a clearer read on who can still push toward the CFP and who is headed for trouble.
Miami returns from its bye week with Florida State coming to town, and Mario Cristobal will not be easing up. The Hurricanes have a big recruiting weekend in front of them, and a rivalry game always carries risk, but this one also gives Miami a chance to strengthen its playoff case while adding to the pressure on the Seminoles’ head coach.
The Big Ten has another notable test at the Rose Bowl, where UCLA hosts Wisconsin in its first real look without its starting quarterback. That game won’t carry the same national weight as Ohio State-Indiana, but it fits into a weekend loaded with CFP consequences.
And in the SEC, Georgia and Auburn renew The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry between the hedges. After the win over Alabama, Kirby Smart will surely lean into the animosity of the matchup to keep his team focused on the task at hand.
In Other News...
Texas May Be Getting A Very Different Florida Offense Than Expected
Floridas quarterback situation is suddenly a major subplot for the Longhorns, with Aaron Philo trending toward sitting out the upcoming game because of a shoulder injury. If he cannot go, Texas would be preparing for a different look entirely, with sophomore Tramell Jones lined up to make his first career start in a game that already carries plenty of weight for both teams.
Jones was a four-star recruit and has flashed efficiency in limited action this season, enough to draw praise from head coach Jon Sumrall as a potential starting quarterback. For Texas, that means the film and the plan may need a late adjustment, because the offense coming to Austin could be shaped as much by inexperience as by the usual Florida personnel. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Colin Simmons Problem Fans Will Fear
Colin Simmons gave Texas everything it could want from its star edge rusher before the game turned sideways against Florida. He had already piled up eight tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack when he went down with a lower-body injury early in the fourth quarter, a sequence that immediately changed the feel of the Longhorns defense.
Simmons was taken off the field for further examination, and Texas felt the effect almost right away as Florida moved ahead on a field goal while he was out. For a defense built around his disruption, the bigger concern now is how much time the Longhorns may have to manage without the player who had been driving their pass rush all game. [Read more 🡒]
Texas May Have A Colin Simmons Problem They Can't Afford
Texas got a scare in the fourth quarter against Florida when Colin Simmons, its star pass rusher and the nations sack leader, went down with an apparent leg injury. He was helped off the field and taken for further evaluation, leaving the Longhorns with an immediate concern about one of the most important players on their defense.
Simmons has been central to everything Texas wants to do up front, giving the Longhorns the kind of edge pressure that can change a game in a hurry. Any absence would put extra pressure on a defense that leans on him to disrupt opposing quarterbacks, and it adds another layer of urgency as Texas waits to learn more about the extent of the injury. [Read more 🡒]