College football picks: ESPN College GameDay hosts make Week 7 game predictions

Week 7 college football game picks and predictions from the ESPN College GameDay gang

Week 7 of the college football schedule is about to kick off and it's time get our final picks and predictions in for the top games around the country.

That slate includes some of this season's premier matchups, with six in total featuring head-to-head meetings between teams in the AP top 25 rankings.

Penn State and Michigan will face off in a major Big Ten East clash in the early slate, while Alabama and Tennessee meet in the biggest game of that series in more than a decade.

Oklahoma State and TCU will battle as undefeated Big 12 contenders, and USC gets on the road against defending Pac-12 champion Utah.

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What can you expect from the top games on the schedule today? Let's take a look at what the ESPN GameDay hosts have to say, along with our own final picks and predictions.

College football predictions: ESPN College GameDay hosts make Week 7 game picks

Week 7 college football picks / USA Today Images

Kansas at Oklahoma. Three of the four analysts went with Kansas to win, save Kirk Herbstreit, who picked the Sooners to take down the ranked Jayhawks. College Football HQ pick: Oklahoma by 5

Clemson at Florida State. All four went with Clemson to stay undefeated and knock off the Seminoles, who are on a 2-game losing skid in the ACC. College Football HQ pick: Clemson by 14

Minnesota at Illinois. Herbstreit and McAfee picked Illinois to defend its home field, while Howard and Corso chose the Gophers to take a big step in the open Big Ten West chase. College Football HQ pick: Minnesota by 7

Mississippi State at Kentucky. Guest picker Peyton Manning sided with the Wildcats to upset the Bulldogs, but the others all went with Mississippi State to chalk up another win in the SEC and hand UK what would be a third straight loss. College Football HQ pick: Mississippi State by 5

USC at Utah. Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit went with the Utes to take down the perfect Trojans, with the other two analysts predicting Southern Cal will stay undefeated on the road. College Football HQ pick: USC by 3

NC State at Syracuse. McAfee chose the Wolfpack to knock off the Orange, even without quarterback Devin Leary on the field, while the other hosts selected Syracuse to preserve its undefeated record. College Football HQ pick: Syracuse by 7

Oklahoma State at TCU. A nearly unanimous decision in favor of TCU, with the exception of Herbstreit, who picked the Cowboys to defeat the Horned Frogs and their 2nd-ranked total offense. College Football HQ pick: Oklahoma State by 4

Penn State at Michigan. McAfee was the only one to take the Nittany Lions over the No. 5 Wolverines, with the other hosts picking Michigan to move to 7-0 on the year. College Football HQ pick: Michigan by 12

Alabama at Tennessee. Howard and McAfee took the Vols over the Crimson Tide in a rivalry that's gone Alabama's way the last 15 years, as did Lee Corso, whose head gear pick sided with Tennessee. Herbstreit selected Alabama to maintain its dominance in this rivalry. College Football HQ pick: Alabama by 3

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College football rankings

According to AP top 25 poll

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Clemson
5. Michigan
6. Tennessee
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Ole Miss
10. Penn State
11. UCLA
12. Oregon
13. TCU
14. Wake Forest
15. NC State
16. Mississippi State
17. Kansas State
18. Syracuse
19. Kansas
20. Utah
21. Cincinnati
T-22. Kentucky
T-22. Texas
24. Illinois
25. James Madison

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