Week 7 was always billed as a battle of heavyweights across college football. Against all odds, the slate lived up to the hype with four overtime games involving AP Top 25 teams and more top-10 teams falling down the stretch.
Most notably, No. 2 Ohio State fell to No. 3 Oregon for its seventh loss in eight tries against top-five opponents under coach Ryan Day. Oregon, conversely, picked up its first win against a top-two opponent in program history and took control of the Big Ten title race.
Elsewhere, No. 1 Texas established itself as a serious national title contender by eviscerating No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. LSU also got back into the conference title race by shocking Ole Miss. Utah may have fallen out for good after losing to Arizona State.
Here are the biggest winners and losers of college football’s Week 7, including a more real clarity in conference championship races.
Loser: Ryan Day
Ohio State paid more than $20 million to put together this roster over the offseason. The Buckeyes ran off incumbent starting quarterback Kyle McCord and replaced him with Will Howard. Safety Caleb Downs (Alabama) and running back Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss) transferred into the program. The Buckeyes have every advantage and more in one of the most championship-or-bust seasons in college football history.
It took one test for the house of cards to crumble. Worse, it was embarrassing. Day’s handpicked quarterback failed to recognize a clock situation and slid as time expired for the loss. Despite being in field goal range, Ohio State ran dropback passing. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was called for offensive pass interference, which pushed the Buckeyes out of field goal range.
Now, Day is 1-7 against AP top-five opponents since the pandemic. The loss was the first against a non-Michigan Big Ten opponent since 2018. It was the program’s second consecutive loss to Oregon.
Winner: Oregon coach Dan Lanning
Ducks coach Dan Lanning has lost a few heartbreakers over the years, but Saturday in Eugene was his crowning moment. Oregon shocked Ohio State 32-31 with a game-winning field goal by Atticus Sappington with 1:47 remaining. Laning has been a rising star in the industry for years, but the win against Ohio State brings a new level of credibility. The win was the first over an AP top-two team in program history and should elevate the program to No. 2 for the first time since Marcus Mariota graduated in 2014.
Loser: Oklahoma
Prior to coach Brent Venables’ arrival in 2022, Oklahoma had scored a touchdown in every version of the Red River Rivalry dating back to 1998. Before that, that streak went all the way back to 1977. After a devastating 34-3 loss against No. 1 Texas, the Sooners have now failed to score a touchdown twice in the rivalry in three years under Venables.
The offense was a total disaster once again, eliciting comparisons to the embarrassing 49-0 loss in 2022. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. tried his best as the first true freshman to start for OU in the rivalry game in history, but he finished below 100 yards passing until a late drive in garbage time. In his defense, Oklahoma also got only 64 yards rushing from its running backs, and only one wide receiver had more than 20 yards.
The Sooners rank last in the SEC in almost every offensive category. It’s fair to give Venables at least one mulligan for injuries. But two bad losses to the Longhorns in three years? That’s a trend, and it’s very much not a good one.
Winner: Free football
Oct. 12 was already viewed as one of the best days of college football in a long time. To make matters ever better, the sports gods blessed us with tons of free football. Four different games involving ranked opponents went to overtime for the first time since Sept. 27, 2003. No. 13 LSU pulled off the upset by shocking No. 9 Ole Miss. USC gave No. 4 Penn State all it could handle before dropping in overtime. Purdue was painfully close to upsetting No. 23 Illinois but failed on a potential game-winning 2-point conversion. Florida failed to score in overtime as No. 8 Tennessee survived a putrid performance. Even when the top teams don’t lose, they’ve looked highly vulnerable. That could set up a wild finish to the season.
Loser: Alabama
I tend to give teams one mulligan, a weird game that you chalk up to 18-22 year olds having a bad day. For Alabama, it was the astonishing road loss against Vanderbilt. After following that disasterclass up with a narrow 27-25 win over South Carolina at home, the Crimson Tide are officially on fraud watch.
The Tide again struggled to run the ball against South Carolina and put together a disaster of a defensive performance against an offensively inept team. The Gamecocks had touchdown drives of 16 and 10 plays, and Alabama simply couldn’t get them off the field. This is a flawed, inconsistent team that’s not playing championship football.
The 2024 Cyclones joined the 1938 Cyclones as the only teams in Iowa State history to start 6-0 after beating West Virginia 28-16 in a big road game. Running back Carson Hansen posted three touchdowns in the win as Iowa State nearly reached 400 offensive yards in a big win.
A fun little side plot: West Virginia honored former tight end Anthony Becht after inducting him into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. His son, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, celebrated by dicing up his father’s alma mater to the tune of 265 yards and a touchdown. The younger Becht did not receive a scholarship offer from WVU but has become one of the Big 12’s top passers.
Loser: College kickers
Rumors that kickers are becoming too good may have been somewhat premature. Yes, Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis hit a career-long 57 yarder vs. LSU, but there were some otherwise abysmal showings on Saturday. Kickers for both Texas and Oklahoma missed easy field goals, while Longhorns kicker Bert Auburn actually got a second attempt… and missed it, too. Oregon’s Sappington was lucky to get another field goal attempt after whiffing on a 44 yarder early in the game. South Carolina’s Alex Herrera was put in a brutal position by his staff, but missed a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter that would have given South Carolina the lead. The chaos of college kickers always keeps the sport unpredictable. It’s not going anywhere soon.
Penn State coach James Franklin openly loves Warren, and he put together one of the best tight end receiving performances in history in a 33-30 overtime victory against USC. Warren caught an absurd 17 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown as offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki leveraged his mismatch early and often.
Warren has been a strong contributor all season, including a 146-yard performance against Bowling Green. However, he hit another level in the huge road victory to give Penn State a bonafide playmaker.
Loser: Utah
The Utah story is reaching a brutal conclusion after a hobbled quarterback Cameron Rising played a miserable game in a shocking 27-19 loss against Arizona State. In his return from a hand injury, Rising threw three interceptions and the Utes got into the end zone just once in the loss as the program fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play.
Dropping to Arizona and Arizona State in successive weeks makes the Utes’ path to the Big 12 Championship Game far more difficult. Games against BYU and Iowa State — both undefeated — still lie ahead. What was supposed to be a coronation for Utah is suddenly turning into a disaster for the second straight season.
Winner: Vanderbilt
The Commodores have no interest in being a one-hit wonder. A week after shocking Alabama, Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 20-13 behind two touchdown throws from QB Diego Pavia. The win makes for the program’s best start since a 5-1 record in 2008, when Bobby Johnson coached the program. Vanderbilt has reached two SEC wins in a season only once since 2018. The vibes could not be better in Nashville.
