College Football: Top 25

We are now at that point in the college football season when big games start to come at us in waves. It started a few weeks ago with Ohio State/Notre Dame. Last week was the Red River Rivalry and it was a classic. Yes, there will be games that will still surprise us in terms of the outcome, but now we can point to multiple games every weekend that matter whether that be due to rivalries and/or rankings.

The Border War highlights this weekend’s slate. Bo Nix and the Oregon Ducks (+125) travel to Seattle to face Michael Penix, Jr. and the Washington Huskies (-150). The result will have massive ramifications in the Pac 12, college football playoff picture, and the Heisman. The loser may well be eliminated from all three. Bet MGM lists the Huskies as 3-point favorites over the Ducks with the Over/Under set at 67.5.

In South Bend, Notre Dame (-135) welcomes Caleb WIlliams and USC (+110) to town. This will be the eighth consecutive week the Fighting Irish will take to the gridiron. They look as tired as you’d expect. The Trojans should not be fatigued, and probably are not, but that defense is bad. Last Saturday they gave up 41 points to a backup quarterback on at best, a mediocre Arizona Wildcats team. Notre Dame is favored by 2.5 with the O/U set at 63.5.

Elsewhere, Miami (+165) looks to bounce back from their amazing gaffe against Georgia Tech with a game at undefeated North Carolina (-200). As an aside, this was not the first time Mario Cristobal has failed to close out a game when a knee to the carpet was all that was required. As noted, amazing! In Corvalis, the Beavers of Oregon State (-200) host Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins (+165) in what is a definite Pac-12 elimination game.

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Here is NBC Sports’ College Football Top 25 for Week 7 with analysis from NBC Sports’ Vaughn Dalzell, Brad Thomas, and Eric Froton:

1 Georgia | Record: 6-0 | ATS: 1-4-1 | Last Week: 1
Next up: Saturday @ Vanderbilt (2-5)

2 Michigan | Record: 6-0 | ATS: 2-3-1 | Last Week: 2
Next up: Saturday vs. Indiana (2-3)

3 Ohio State | Record: 5-0 | ATS: 2-2-1 | Last Week: 4
Next up: Saturday @ Purdue (2-4)

4 Florida State | Record: 5-0 | ATS: 3-2 | Last Week: 5
Next up: Saturday vs. Syracuse (4-2)

5 Oklahoma | Record: 6-0 | ATS: 6-0 | Last Week: 11
Next up: October 21st vs. UCF (3-3)

Dalzell (@VmoneySports): Oklahoma surged into the Top 5 of all our polls after beating Texas, which is no surprise. The Sooners would have an interesting argument in making the College Football Playoff if the season ended today with the victory over Texas and three games of 50 or more points scored, plus five wins by 14 or more points.

Thomas (@MrBradThomas): This feels right to me. Big wins for every team or dominance across the board. Georgia finally looked like the two-time defending champs covering the 14 against Kentucky and straight-up embarrassing them. OU with a big win, but I’m not so sure they can repeat in the Championship game if they play Texas again.

Froton (@CFFroton): I love what I have seen from Oklahoma in Year 2 of HC Brent Venables’ regime, with the Sooners taking out #3 Texas this weekend and vaulting up to the #5 spot in the NBC Top 25 Poll. I personally had them #4 ahead of FSU, as OU’s second half schedule is noticeably more favorable than either Florida State or Ohio State. I think OU has the best chance of those three programs to run the table and make the College Football Playoff.

6 Penn State | Record: 5-0 | ATS: 5-0 | Last Week: 6
Next up: Saturday vs. UMass (1-6)

7 Washington | Record: 5-0 | ATS: 3-2 | Last Week: 8
Next up: Saturday vs. #8 Oregon (5-0)

8 Oregon | Record: 5-0 | ATS: 5-0 | Last Week: 9
Next up: Saturday @ #7 Washington (5-0)

9 USC | Record: 6-0 | ATS: 2-4 | Last Week: 7
Next up: Saturday @ #22 Notre Dame (5-2)

10 Texas | Record: 5-1 | ATS: 3-3 | Last Week: 3
Next up: October 21st @ Houston (2-3)

11 Alabama | Record: 5-1 | ATS: 4-2 | Last Week: 12
Next up: Saturday vs. Arkansas (2-4)

12 North Carolina | Record: 5-0 | ATS: 4-1 | Last Week: 14
Next up: Saturday vs. Miami (4-1)

13 Mississippi | Record: 5-1 | ATS: 4-2 | Last Week: 16
Next up: October 21st @ Auburn (3-2)

14 Oregon State | Record: 5-1 | ATS: 4-2 | Last Week: 17
Next up: Saturday vs. #18 UCLA (4-1)

15 Louisville | Record: 6-0 | ATS: 3-3 | Last Week: 24
Next up: Saturday @ Pittsburgh (1-4)

Dalzell: USC continues to drop after a near loss to Arizona that was avoided in Triple Overtime, and with a road game at Notre Dame on deck, the Trojans are in a make-or-break spot with five ranked opponents in their last six games. Pac-12 teams like USC, Oregon, Washington, Oregon State, Washington State, and Utah will continue to beat each other up and likely force all six ranked Pac-12 teams to miss the four-team College Football Playoff.

Thomas: USC still feels high to me. I started the season with them ranked lower, and I don’t like them over Texas or Alabama. They have a tough test this week, and I’m sure we will find out what they are made of. Welcome to the party, Louisville. I had them ranked pretty high last week, and they took advantage of a beat-down Notre Dame team.

Froton: The game of the weekend between Washington and Oregon will leave one of these Top 10 schools with a loss, while the other will join USC at the top of the Pac-12. For their part, Alex Grinch’s USC defense is flirting with disaster on a weekly basis, necessitating QB Caleb Williams to use every last drop of his immense talent to will the Trojans to victory. There was no way to avoid dropping them in this week’s poll behind several teams with a more balanced roster.

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16 Utah | Record: 4-1 | ATS: 2-2-1 | Last Week: T22
Next up: Saturday vs. California (3-3)

17 Duke | Record: 4-1 | ATS: 3-2 | Last Week: 21
Next up: Saturday vs. North Carolina State (4-2)

18 UCLA | Record: 4-1 | ATS: 3-2 | Last Week: NR
Next up: Saturday @ #14 Oregon State (5-1)

T19 Tennessee | Record: 4-1 | ATS: 3-2 | Last Week: T18
Next up: Saturday vs. Texas A&M (4-2)

T19 Washington State | Record: 4-1 | ATS: 3-2 | Last Week: 13
Next up: Saturday @ Arizona (3-3)

21 Kentucky | Record: 5-1 | ATS: 4-2 | Last Week: 20
Next up: Saturday vs. Missouri (5-1)

22 Notre Dame | Record: 5-2 | ATS: 4-2-1 | Last Week: 10
Next up: Saturday vs. #9 USC (6-0)

23 LSU | Record: 4-2 | ATS: 3-3 | Last Week: NR
Next up: Saturday vs. Auburn (3-2)

24 Kansas | Record: 5-1 | ATS: 3-3 | Last Week: NR
Next up: Saturday @ Oklahoma State (3-2)

25 Wisconsin | Record: 4-1 | ATS: 2-3 | Last Week: NR
Next up: Saturday vs. Iowa (5-1)

Fell out of the Top 25: Miami (15), Missouri (T18), Maryland (T22), Fresno State (25)

Dalzell: There are a bunch of teams that will be in and out of this Top 25 poll such as UCLA, Washington State, Kansas, and Wisconsin, but none of them have a ceiling like Notre Dame, LSU, or Tennessee had entering this season. Notre Dame, LSU, and Tennessee will continue to win games, and if this were next year, they would be intriguing as long shots in the playoff.

Thomas: Poor Miami. The clock mismanagement keeps them out. I think my teammates are nuts, though. Miami is more deserving than LSU. I get it if LSU had great defensive performances and lost, but no, they are getting scored all over. GET THEM OUT!

Froton: UCLA gained their first signature win over Wazzu by bludgeoning the Cougars with RB Carson Steele and suppressing OC Ben Arbuckle’s potent passing attack. Utah desperately needs QB Cameron Rising back, as they currently rank a ghastly 130th in EPA/Play with inexperienced dual-threat QB Nate Johnson at the helm. Kentucky sticks around despite getting eviscerated by Georgia, while Tennessee has a real test against Texas A&M this weekend that will reveal whether or not the Vols belong in the poll.

As the boys noted, the upcoming weekend will offer a number of answers pertaining to conference standing and national championship possibilities, but undoubtedly additional questions will be raised.

College football never disappoints.

Enjoy the games and enjoy the sweat.