College Football Week 7 Storyline Watch: Oregon-Washington, USC-Notre Dame are rivalries with big stakes

With the top six unbeaten ranked teams facing walkover weekends, the back half of the top 10 will feature rivalry-fueled intrigue with heavy conference and playoff implications.

Seattle will be the flashpoint for the 115^th edition of the “Cascade Clash” between No. 7 Washington (5-0) and No. 8 Oregon (5-0). The matchup of Heisman Trophy-contending quarterbacks Michael Penix (Huskies) and Bo Nix (Ducks) will be the centerpiece of the potential Pacific-12 Championship preview between the conference’s only teams to have made the College Football Playoff (Oregon in 2014; Washington in ’16). It’s the first meeting between Oregon and Washington with both ranked in the top 10, and their last in the Pac-10 regular season (both schools will join the Big Ten next year).

Nix and Penix both transferred in before the 2022 season, and both have thrown for more than 10,000 career yards. They also were the stars of last year’s thriller. Penix passed for 408 yards and two touchdowns as Washington won 37-34 on the road with a last-second field goal that neutralized Nix’s three TDs (two passing, one rushing). The scoreboard could get even more of a workout with the high-powered offenses of the Ducks (whose 51.6 points per game is second in the country) and Huskies (ranked third at 46 ppg).

Husky Stadium will play host to this week’s only game featuring two of the 14 remaining unbeaten teams in the FBS after six schools (Texas, Washington State, Miami, Kentucky, Missouri, Fresno State) suffered their first defeats of the season last week.

No. 10 USC nearly joined that ignominious list after its lackluster performance in a 43-41 triple-overtime victory over Arizona. Behind four touchdowns (three rushing) from defending Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, the Trojans (6-0) hung on after their chip shot field goal attempt failed on a bad snap as the clock expired at 28-28 in regulation.

Questions about a seemingly porous defense will follow the Trojans to South Bend, Indiana, for their 94^th meeting with No. 21 Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock). Setting a school record by scoring at least 40 points in each of its first six games, USC has needed the nation’s top-scoring offense (50.1 points per game) to offset yielding at least 28 points four times (and 41 in both of the past two games).

But in a Tuesday rant, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley suggested that criticism of his defense after the Arizona victory was a media concoction.

“We kick that field goal and win it in regulation, we’re all talking about how our defense gave up only 11 points the rest of the day (after falling behind 17-0),” Riley said. “They started the entire run, but it’s one field goal we don’t make that the defense has no control over. … This is a much-improved unit. There’s no question about it. There’s a lot of good things happening on this defense. A lot of people in the media had their mind made up, and it’s not true. … There’s a lot of great things happening here. We’ll own the things that need to get better. But people need to make sure they’re seeing the other side of it as well. I like the job we’re doing there. We’re set up to play really well the second half of the season.”

How to watch USC at Notre Dame: Time, live stream, key storylines for Week 7 matchup

For the Fighting Irish (5-2), who have a 50-38-5 edge over USC in a series that started in 1926, the questions mostly were on offense after a crushing 33-20 loss to No. 20 Louisville that snapped a 30-game regular-season winning streak over ACC teams.

Though some defensive miscues also doomed the comeback, quarterback Sam Hartman was sacked five times and committed five turnovers (three INTs, two fumbles) in his worst outing since transferring to Notre Dame as a sixth-year senior.

Since averaging 46 points and 408.8 yards during a 4-0 start under new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, the Irish have lost two of their past three while averaging 18.3 points and 343.3 yards.

“We can't turn the ball (over) five times and expect to win,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “Everybody's going to point the finger at Sam. You've got to point the finger at us, at me. We've got to do a better job protecting our quarterback and put him in situations to have a higher percentage for success. A lot of self-reflection, we're going to have to do a deep dive into exactly where the shortcomings happened. We've got to get this thing figured out. We've got to turn around because we got USC coming in next weekend, so we don't have a lot of time to feel sorry for ourselves.”

There won’t be as much at stake for the first tier of the Top 25.

No. 1 Georgia (Vanderbilt), No. 2 Michigan (Indiana), No. 3 Ohio State (Purdue) and No. 6 Penn State (Massachusetts) all face teams with losing records. No. 4 Florida State is home against a reeling Syracuse, and No. 5 Oklahoma is off.

Buckeyes’ shift

After suffering a season-high six sacks against Iowa, Purdue quarterback Hudson Card now faces the unenviable task of taking on a resurgent Ohio State defense that sparked a 37-17 comeback victory over Maryland.

Under coach Ryan Day, the No. 3 Buckeyes (5-0) have built their reputation as perennial contenders around their high-powered offenses -- yet injuries have hampered production this year. Running back TreVeyon Henderson is expected back against Purdue after missing a week, but wide receiver Emeka Egbuka could be sidelined after suffering a lower-body injury in the fourth quarter of the Maryland game.

Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. also has played through some nagging injuries but broke through for a season-high 163 yards on eight passes thrown by Kyle McCord. The junior quarterback has been erratic but completed 19 of 29 for a career-high 320 yards against the Terrapins.

How to watch Ohio State at Purdue: Time, live stream, key storylines for Week 7 matchup

Expect OSU defense to shine vs. Purdue

Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge preview what to watch for in the Week 7 Big Ten matchup between Ohio State and Purdue, including the strength of the Buckeyes defense in eliminating big plays.

The Buckeyes have weathered the offensive blips with a rock-solid defense, which kicked off the scoring against Maryland with a 24-yard INT TD return by safety Josh Proctor. Relying on a veteran unit led by Proctor, fellow graduate student LB Tommy Eichenberg and junior defensive end J.T. Tuimolau, Ohio State frustrated Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa into two interceptions and season lows in completion percentage (51 percent) and passing yards (196).

That’s what awaits at home Saturday (noon ET on Peacock) for Purdue (2-4) and a dinged-up Card, who has been playing hurt since getting leading the Boilermakers to a 44-19 victory over Illinois. After scoring at least 35 points in four of their first five games, Purdue managed a season-low 14 against Iowa.

But there is some history for the Boilermakers, who have won three of the past four over the Buckeyes at Ross-Ade Stadium (including a 49-20 thrashing of No. 2 Ohio State most recently in 2018). Purdue also has 17 victories over top-five teams when unranked (though Day’s teams are 33-0 against unranked opponents).

“I've got some creative ways to give the history of this game and what it meant the last time they were here, and so they'll definitely be aware,” Purdue coach Ryan Walters said.

College Park pick-me-up

In only their third meeting all time, Illinois and Maryland will be staggering into SECU Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock) from morale-sapping losses.

The Terrapins (5-1) had their best start to a season in 22 years dulled by a 20-point loss to Ohio State after leading 17-10 early in the third quarter. Now Maryland will try to avoid the second-half fade, which has been a familiar narrative.

The Terps went 2-3 in their last five games after a 6-2 start last year. In 2021, they went 3-6 after a 4-0 start. With Penn State (Nov. 4) and Michigan (Nov. 18) looming next month, it’ll be important to close out winnable games against unranked opponents. Maryland has lost 21 consecutive games to top 10 teams and is 4-38 against ranked opponents since 2011.

How to watch Illinois at Maryland: Time, live stream, key storylines for Week 7 matchup

“For us to that next step, we’ve got to be able to make the plays that are there to be made,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said.

The Illini can appreciate that sentiment after an agonizing start to their 20-7 home defeat to Nebraska.

How can Maryland learn from OSU loss vs. Illinois?

Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge break down a "bounce-back" game for Maryland vs. Illinois in Week 7 and the opportunity coach Mike Locksley has to get the Terrapins back on track vs. the Fighting Illini.

After driving 74 yards on 12 plays, Illinois got stuffed on a goal-line stand by Nebraska – failing to advance on consecutive rushes from the half-yard line. Two more drives would end on downs for the Illini, whose scoring (19.2 points per game) ranks 119^th in the FBS.

“Extremely infuriating,” coach Brett Bielema said. “ To start off offensively taking it done the length of the field, to stall out on the half yard line with two consecutive plays. In 15 years of coaching, never been in this position where we can’t gain a half a yard.”

The Illinois defense also is headed in the wrong direction, yielding a Big Ten-worst 28.8 points per game (up 16 points over last season).

Bielema is hinting at major changes, but his team also is hampered by injuries with leading rusher Reggie Love III unlikely to play in College Park because of a lower-leg injury. Illinois already has lost two running backs for the season, leaving only three healthy scholarship players in the backfield.

Turnover blues

The theme for Week 6 upsets was mishandling the football.

Of the higher-ranked teams that fell, all six had negative turnover margins (led by Notre Dame’s minus-4).

The most infamous error was self-induced as Miami fumbled after inexplicably declining to take a knee and run out the clock against Georgia Tech, which completed a winning 44-yard touchdown pass with a second remaining to win 23-20.

“I should have stepped in and said, ‘Hey, let’s just take a knee,’ ” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said.

The No. 25 Hurricanes’ chance for redemption will come on the road against No. 12 North Carolina (5-0).

Basketball schools?

It’s been a good year on the gridiron for some perennial hardcourt title contenders.

For the first time since the advent of the Associated Press’ poll in 1936, North Carolina (12^th), Louisville (14^th), Duke (17^th), UCLA (18^th) Kansas (23^rd) and Kentucky (24^th) are all ranked in the same week.

Those schools have combined to win 36 NCAA Tournament men’s basketball championships.

More key matchups

--In a critical Big Ten West matchup, Wisconsin (4-1) will put its 2-0 conference record on the line at home against Iowa (5-1) in the battle for the Heartland Trophy. The Badgers also have dubbed this a “Stripe Out” game at Camp Randall Stadium.

--No. 18 UCLA and No. 15 Oregon State will meet for the 65^th time but only the third in which both teams are ranked.

--No. 11 Alabama will try to remain the only team unbeaten in SEC West play with a home game against Arkansas.

How to watch Big Ten football, Notre Dame on NBC and Peacock this weekend

This week’s featured Big Ten games are Ohio State at Purdue (noon ET, streamed exclusively on Peacock) and Illinois at Maryland (3:30 p.m., NBC and Peacock). The featured Saturday night game is USC at Notre Dame (7:30 p.m., NBC and Peacock).

Information for how to sign up for Peacock is available here. Peacock is available for streaming on several devices (view the full list of supported devices here). NBC Sports recently announced its schedules for Big Ten men’s basketball and women’s basketball on Peacock.

Below is the announced remaining schedule for Big Ten teams and Notre Dame on NBC Sports; more NBC Sports games will be announced during the season (all times are ET):

The remaining NBC Sports’ Big Ten Football games will be announced during the season.