College Football Week 7 Takeaways: National Championship Contenders Separate From the Pack

Elsewhere, Alabama and Tennessee bounced back but questions remain and updates on coaching hot seats.

Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner rushes against the Oklahoma Sooners. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A loaded Week 7 slate featuring a plethora of ranked-on-ranked matchups lived up to every bit of the hype.

Here are five takeaways from a chaotic Saturday.

1. National championship contenders are beginning to separate from the pretenders

Week 7 provided an opportunity to take stock in the national championship race. The No. 1 Texas Longhorns were dominant in an emphatic 34–3 victory in the Red River Rivalry game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Texas looks like the best team in the sport. The No. 3 Oregon Ducks survived a home thriller, 32–31, against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the biggest game of the day, with both teams further solidifying themselves as serious contenders in the title race.

But after these three teams, there are questions. 

The No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions overcame early offensive issues (and Lincoln Riley’s late game management) to edge the unranked USC Trojans, 33–30, on the road. The offense did just enough on Saturday, thanks to an out-of-body performance from tight end Tyler Warren, but questions are still present with that unit against better competition.

The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs’ only blemish is on the road against the Alabama Crimson Tide—a game the Bulldogs nearly came back to win. But after another slog Saturday in a 10-point win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Georgia’s reentrance as a serious contender hinges on how it plays against Texas next Saturday.

The No. 6 Miami Hurricanes were off this week, but they seem ripe for an upset after comeback wins against the Virginia Tech Hokies and Cal Golden Bears the last two games. 

The No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels fell in overtime at the No. 13 LSU Tigers, 29–26, for their second loss of the season, and now look like a fringe playoff team entering the second half of the season.

As for Alabama and the Tennessee Volunteers, well, let’s discuss them in a bit more detail.

2. Alabama and Tennessee bounced back after Week 6 losses, but did not look very good doing it

One week removed from falling in historic fashion on the road at the Vanderbilt Commodores, No. 7 Alabama blew an early two-touchdown lead at home against the South Carolina Gamecocks and trailed 19–14 entering the fourth quarter. Two Alabama touchdown drives sandwiched around a South Carolina missed field goal gave the Crimson Tide a 27–19 lead. South Carolina scored a late touchdown and recovered a subsequent onside kick, but Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers threw an interception as time expired to help the Crimson Tide escape.

Meanwhile in Knoxville, No. 8 Tennessee, fresh off a road defeat to the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks, came back from 10 points down and survived overtime against Billy Napier’s Florida Gators, 23–17. Tennessee, which looked like a superior team on paper, didn’t play that way until after halftime and was fortunate to come away with a victory.

The common thread between Alabama and Tennessee? Offensive consistency.

The two offensive units that appeared to be among the nation’s best earlier this season have now put together consecutive lackluster performances. Both the Crimson Tide and Volunteers need to find the versions of themselves offensively resembling what we saw earlier this season in order to be taken seriously in the national championship race.

3. It wasn’t a banner week for in-game management decisions in close contests

USC’s Riley is 3–7 against Top 25 teams since arriving in Los Angeles and 5–8 in his last 13 games. Not every win or loss is created equal, but Riley has developed a bit of a penchant for late-game management. Saturday was no different.

With the game tied at 30 with 1:27 remaining in regulation, USC was at the Penn State 49-yard line with all three of its timeouts. After a loss of two yards on a short run and a six-yard pass from Miller Moss to Jay Fair, USC looked content to run the clock all the way down and try to kick a very long field goal. Penn State coach James Franklin, realizing this, called a timeout with 14 seconds remaining. On third-and-6, Moss threw an interception and the game went to overtime. The Trojans lost by a field goal, effectively knocking them out of the College Football Playoff hunt.

Ohio State trailed Oregon, 32–31, but had crossed into Oregon territory with fewer than 30 seconds to play. Only needing a field goal, the Buckeyes were on the outskirts of field goal range at the Ducks’ 28-yard line. Quarterback Will Howard completed a pass to freshman star Jeremiah Smith, who was subsequently called for pass interference. The penalty pushed Ohio State out of field goal range to the Oregon 43, but more importantly, there was no sense of urgency from Ohio State to line up offensively. The clock was set to start on the whistle, and the Buckeyes wasted a bunch of time as it appeared that neither the coaching staff nor Howard realized the clock was going to run before the snap.

Howard threw an incomplete pass, and then with only six seconds remaining, ran up the middle for 12 yards as time expired. A catastrophic finish for the Buckeyes.

Florida’s Napier, who is on one of the hottest seats in college football, had a decision to make in the fourth quarter against Tennessee. Gators quarterback DJ Lagway hit receiver Chimere Dike on a post route for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds to play. The score pulled the Gators within an extra point of tying the game, but Florida took a timeout to discuss going for two and the late lead.

After the timeout, Florida came out in a trick formation, causing Tennessee to use a timeout. In that timeout, Napier elected to kick the extra point and tie the game instead of going for two as planned.

The decision could end up costing him his job. The Vols escaped in overtime, and Napier left Knoxville without a signature win he desperately needed.

4. Welcome to the hot seat, Trent Dilfer

When the UAB Blazers hired Trent Dilfer to replace Bill Clark two years ago, it’s safe to assume the administration was hoping for much better than this, especially since the Blazers had six straight winning seasons.

Dilfer’s hiring was a bit surprising, given the internal support within the program for Clark’s assistant, Bryant Vincent. UAB athletic director Mark Ingram chose Dilfer instead, looking to make a splash with a Super Bowl–winning quarterback.

Vincent coaches the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks now, and beat Dilfer and the Blazers, 32–6, earlier this season. And following Saturday’s non-competitive 44–10 loss to the Army Black Knights, UAB is 5–13 under Dilfer overall and 1–5 this season. The Blazers have yet to win a game in AAC play, although the schedule gets a bit easier with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Rice Owls and UConn Huskies still on the slate. 

Regardless, UAB looks set to miss a bowl game for the second consecutive season with Dilfer leading the program.

5. Pittsburgh has emerged as an ACC title contender

Hail to Pitt!

The No. 22 Panthers grabbed a 17–15 victory over visiting Cal on Saturday, moving to 6–0 and 2–0 in league play. It is Pittsburgh’s first 6–0 start in 42 years.

Pittsburgh has leaned on its defense, which has improved week over week, and found an identity offensively for the first time since capturing the ACC title in 2021. Head coach Pat Narduzzi’s offseason hire of former Western Carolina Catamounts offensive coordinator Kade Bell has paid immediate dividends, and the Panthers have a talented freshman quarterback in Eli Holstein steering the ship.

Pitt’s remaining games include home tilts with the Syracuse Orange, Virginia Cavaliers and Clemson Tigers, as well as road trips to the SMU Mustangs, Louisville Cardinals and Boston College Eagles. If Pitt wins five out of its remaining six contests, it will be 11–1 and 7–1 in the ACC, which should be enough to earn a return trip to Charlotte to play for a CFP spot.

Extra Points

• The No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish cruised to a 49–7 win over the Stanford Cardinal in South Bend and has continued to improve offensively since the Week 2 home debacle to the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Irish are rounding into form on both sides of the ball, and should be favored in the rest of their games. While strength of schedule could become a question, it’s hard to envision an 11–1 Notre Dame not making the CFP.
• The No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini led the unranked Purdue Boilermakers, 27–3, early in the third quarter and appeared poised to cruise to another victory in an already impressive season. However, Purdue scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to take a 43–40 lead, and Illinois needed a 38-yard field goal from David Olano to force overtime. In the extra frame, the Illini needed a stop on a two-point conversion to survive for a 50–49 win.