Where will the upsets come from? Bold predictions for Week 7 of college football
The college football season has reached the halfway point, and there are already major surprises and disappointments.
The hard part is sorting out when and where they're going to come from. The Week 7 schedule is heavily tilted toward the Pac-12 with three different games involving league teams, including a matchup with Southern California visiting Notre Dame.
The USA TODAY Sports college football staff – Scooby Axson, Jace Evans, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken – weigh in with their bold predictions for this weekend.
Michael Penix boosts Heisman candidacy as Washington beats Oregon
Not only is the Oregon-Washington battle going to have some College Football Playoff implications, but the Heisman Trophy front-runner might be established with whichever quarterback has the better game.
Washington’s Michael Penix, Jr. leads the nation in yards per attempt, and yards per game, with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions and Oregon’s Bo Nix is completing a ridiculous 80% of his passes. The Huskies have by far the best receiving corps, but the game might come down to the Oregon rushing attack, which is averaging nearly seven yards a carry. Advantage goes to Washington and Penix will have his name ahead of the pack in the Heisman race and the nation will see the Huskies as a legitimate championship contender. -- Scooby Axson
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Miami bounces back with big win at North Carolina
Miami and North Carolina meet this week in what should be a battle of two 5-0 teams. The Hurricanes are 4-1, of course, because Mario Cristobal is a real man who will never call a kneel-down. But Cristobal’s stubbornness and Miami’s collapse has obscured this fact: the Hurricanes have been pretty good! Admittedly, the competition hasn’t been the toughest, but Miami enters Week 7 in the top 10 in Division I in total offense and total defense. With most people overlooking them after Saturday’s debacle, I think the Hurricanes go into Chapel Hill and surprise with a bounce-back win against No. 12 North Carolina. -- Jace Evans
Southern California shows its mettle in Notre Dame victory
Southern California unearths the physical play needed to combat Notre Dame and pulls off a soft upset of the Fighting Irish to right the ship after a few close calls against Colorado and Arizona. While scoring 30 or more points wouldn’t come as a surprise given the play of Caleb Williams and this offense, getting stops on defense and not wilting against Notre Dame’s approach would bode very well for the Trojans’ chances against Oregon, Washington and the rest of the elite upper tier of the Pac-12. -- Paul Myerberg
Texas A&M pulls off surprise at Tennessee
Due to the scheduling imperfections of the SEC, this will be just the third meeting between Texas A&M and Tennessee since the Aggies joined the league more than 10 years ago. Both enter the contest in need avoiding a second loss in the league that would likely end the conference title hopes, and the Volunteers still harbor a chance at making the playoff if they can run the table. Unfortunately for them, A&M will play spoiler with its defense good enough to contain quarterback Joe Milton and Brad Johnson making enough plays to secure a close win that will take some of the heat off Jimbo Fisher ... for now. -- Erick Smith
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Wisconsin wins ugly but gets best of Iowa
The Big Ten’s Week 7 schedule appears to offer little in the way of drama, with the trio of heavyweights from the East yet to begin their round robin. Yes, we know strange things occasionally happen when Ohio State visits Purdue, but Drew Brees is not taking the field at Ross-Ade Stadium. There is, however, one somewhat under-the-radar contest in the West as Wisconsin hosts Iowa. with neither team is ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll. We further stipulate that this might not be the prettiest game to watch, which, let’s be honest, can be said about most games involving the Hawkeyes. It should rate high in the tension department, however, as the winner seizes control of the division.
It's a tough assignment for Iowa, whose underperforming offense was already under a microscope and will now be with out quarterback Cade McNamara for the rest of the season. Wisconsin can’t be mistaken for an offensive juggernaut either, but the Badgers do have a more-than-respectable 47.22% success rate on third down and, with the exception of their forgivable loss at Washington State, take care of the ball. It won’t be easy – it never is against the Hawkeyes’ defense –, but look for the Badgers to prevail in front of their jumping-around fans at Camp Randall Stadium. -- Eddie Timanus
Oklahoma State keeps upset momentum going against Kansas
We mostly forgot about Oklahoma State after they got blasted at home by South Alabama. But that game was almost a month ago, and the Cowboys have gotten better since then after settling on Alan Bowman as their QB. After losing by seven to Iowa State, then coming home and beating Kansas State, it seems like they're firmly in the middle of the Big 12 where pretty much anyone can beat anyone. Kansas is better than a mid-pack Big 12 team, but it's not a huge gap. And if the trend continues for Oklahoma State, they are very competitive when Bowman is solid and not turning the ball over. At home, they will pull an upset against Kansas. -- Dan Wolken
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football Week 7 bold predictions: Is UNC, USC ripe for upset?
