For most teams week seven means we’re halfway through the season. Our College Football Preview Week Seven edition will get you up to speed with what you need to know heading into some huge games for both FBS and FCS Schools.

College Football Preview Week Seven – ACC

With another small slate this week due to bye-pocalypse, there is only five games in the ACC. There are some intriguing games that on paper should be barn stormers. The first is a struggling Clemson who travel to Syracuse. The Orange have been playing better than expected this season and being nearly two touchdown underdogs ay be a slight harsh on Cuse. If DJ and co can get back to wining ways then a hard fought battle will be needed here. The next game is more of a given as Duke travels to Virginia, who would like to get this one done early. After two thrilling and tiring wins The Cavs will want a slightly easier day out. They just need to stop Matteo Durrant and the dub should be assured. 

Miami who are now without The King for the rest of the year faces a stiff trip to North Carolina this week. Both teams are having troubles of their own and this one could be an intriguing game of Offences. NC have looked suspect at times and Miami have shown zero willingness to tackle at times so will really need to be on form as Sam Howell fires up on Saturday. Pitt and the beast that is Kenny Pickett travel to Lane Stadium to face a gnarly Virginia Tech. The Hokies took Notre Dame close last week but ND doesn’t have to Offence that The Panthers do right now. There is no way VaTech can hang with Pitt in this one and I think the doors could get unhinged early a Pickett and Co go ham.

ACC Game of the Week – NC Sate @ Boston College

Two 4-1 teams face off in my game of the week in week seven. This is the first of four out of five games on the road for The Wolfpack. A stretch that many would baulk at. Dave Doeren is excited by the prospect though and thinks NC State has more to offer going forward. He said, “Let’s be the best that we can be this week. We’ll worry about next week next week.” BC is also coming off of a bye week and they will look to put the Clemson loss behind them. 

Where this one could be won is on the ground and unusually it could be the D that wins it. NC State’s D is the pack leader in the ACC in total defence and rushing defence. BC has tried to keep games ticking over on the ground to protect backup QB Dennis Grosel who has looked average at best. If NC State can control the ground game and force Grosel to throw it then they can take charge. The Wolfpack are only -3 point favourites and i think that is superb value right now. Pack by 7!

Written by Stocks @5yardcollege

 

College Football Preview Week Seven – BIG XII 

The Slate

Unbeaten Oklahoma State travel to Austin to take on Texas fresh off a heart-breaking loss in the Red River Rivalry. The Baylor Bears host BYU in a non-conference game that could go either way. Texas Tech will be looking to return to winning ways again Kansas in Lawrence. Finally, Iowa State make the trip to Manhattan to take on the Kansas State Wildcats.

Game of the Week – TCU @ Oklahoma

Lincoln Riley has already said he may not name a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against TCU in Norman. After Caleb Williams inspired the Sooners to a huge comeback last weekend, the whole college football world expects to see him start. However, if Riley goes back to Rattler, this game could play out very differently. On the basis that it will be Williams, we should see a much more explosive Oklahoma offence against the Horned Frogs.

TCU have no trouble scoring points and are pretty explosive themselves. Quarterback Max Duggan has rushing ability that needs to be accounted for. Then, there’s the two headed monster of Zach Evans and Kendre Miller that should cause huge problems for the Sooners defence. Bijan Robinson ran for 130+ on Grinch’s defence so we should expect a strong showing for the 15th ranked rushing attack in the country.

Back The Over

The over in Oklahoma games has hit four out of six times this season so points should be expected. Both teams have turned the ball over lots this season with six turnovers each, so there will likely be momentum swing opportunities. To win the game TCU will have to minimise their mistakes and take advantage of Oklahoma’s. However, if Caleb Williams starts the game, those mistakes may be few and far between.

Expect another typical explosive BIG XII game in Norman. TCU are the clear underdogs, but after seeing Oklahoma’s performances so far this season the will expect to take the game to the fourth quarter.

Prediction Oklahoma 48-41 TCU

Written by Jake @dyanstybrit

 

College Football Preview Week Seven – B1G 10 

There are plenty of teams testing up on a bye in week 7, but there is still great football to tune into. 5 games involving Big Ten sides, 4 of which are in-conference and Army are coming to town!

Let’s start with that game involving Army. The triple option offense arrives in Wisconsin and it’ll be a gritty battle against the Badgers defense. The triple option involves 3 potential ball carriers on a play, with the QB deciding who takes it during the play. Christian Anderson has to read the defense well, but they are often stretched trying to cover all 3 runners. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but the Black Knights live and die by it. Wisconsin’s defense rank in the top 10 of many metrics and despite the poor overall record, are a formidable opponent. I can’t wait to see how they handle the Army offense. The Badgers have the best rushing defense in college football, surrendering just 42.6 yards per game. The Black Knights average 318.2 ypg. Something’s gotta give.

Iowa have jumped to #2 in the AP poll after another impressive defensive showing. They host Purdue who are coming off a bye week. That extra week of preparation better have been put to good use – they’ll need it! Iowa are suffocating opponents into submission as their defense shut down any and all opponents in their way. But David Bell is in a different league to any receiver they’ve seen in 2021. The Boilermakers need their talisman to be at his terrific best to have any chance of causing an upset – even then it probably won’t be enough.

Rutgers Rebound?

Rutgers get the chance to put a tough run of games behind them when the play Northwestern. The Scarlet Knights were on a roll and playing well before clashing with Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State. That run would be enough to derail many teams’ season but Rutgers are made of stern stuff. Greg Schiano’s men are good enough to pick themselves up and get back to winning ways. Northwestern have had 2 weeks to stew on their demolition at the hands of Nebraska and will be keen to bounce back themselves. The Wildcats have been really disappointing after a brilliant 2020 and might already be planning for next season.

Nebraska and Minnesota will battle it out in Minneapolis without either teams projected RB1 from preseason. Mo Ibrahim and now Trey Potts have both gone down to season-ending injuries, leaving the Minnesota backfield depleted to say the least. Whereas Wisconsin surprised us all by releasing Jalen Berger this week. He has struggled to earn playing time in 2021 but the news still came as a shock. Fortunately for the Cornhuskers they have another weapon on the ground in quarterback Adrian Martinez. Martinez is playing lights-out football, the best of his career, and should lead Nebraska to a win on Saturday.

Game Of The Week – Michigan State @ Indiana

If Indiana can finally get things clicking on offense then this has all the makings of a sneaky-great game. The talent is there with Fryfogle, Penix Jr, Hendershot and co. but I’ve said this all before. To give them some credit, the Hoosiers have faced some formidable opponents. Their loses were at the hands of Iowa, Penn State and Cincinnati – 3 of the best teams in the nation. Is their record a result of an unfortunate schedule? We are running out of time for them to prove that’s the case, but beating Michigan State would be a great start.

The key for Indiana is stopping the turnovers. When they have played clean, mistake-free football they win. Simple! But 9 turnovers in their 3 losses is shocking and needs correcting to have a chance of taking down Sparty.

Keeping the Game level is a must for Indiana 

That’s because Indiana need to keep pace with this explosive Michigan State offense. I have raved about Kenneth Walker III all season – he’s made it impossible not to! But he isn’t the only emerging star in East Lansing. Jalen Nailor has put the college football world on notice with a breakout performance in week 6. He racked up 3 touchdowns and 221 receiving yards in the win over Rutgers to show that the Spartans aren’t a one man band.

Michigan State need to ensure they don’t get caught looking too far ahead. They have a bye next week before the rivalry game at home to Michigan. That could well be a top-10 matchup with Big Ten East title ramifications. If they aren’t fully focussed and allow their minds to wander, Indiana will wreck the Spartans perfect start to the season. They need to take this amazing season one step at a time.

Written by Jack @JackCDCTT

 

College Football Preview Week Seven – PAC-12 

We have a 5 game slate in the PAC-12 in week 7, while USC and Oregon State have their bye weeks. The first game comes on a Friday at 3:30am (BST) when California travel to Oregon, both teams coming off a bye week. Saturday we have a match-up between the bottom two teams in the PAC-12 South. Arizona travels to Colorado, where the Buffaloes will be looking for their second win of the season. Arizona still looking to break that losing streak, now standing at 17 games. Stanford are on the road, as they go up against Washington State. Both teams coming off very different results last week. Washington are back in action and hoping the bye week has given them a chance to fix the difficulties they have had so far this season. They welcome UCLA, who are still chasing a PAC-12 South title, with a loss being a big setback against the Huskies.

Game of the Week – Arizona State @ Utah

This weeks PAC-12 game of the week is between the top 2 teams in to South. Arizona State heads to Utah, with a two win jump on the Utes, who have played one less game than the Sun Devils. Both teams coming off wins in week 6, with Utah beating fellow South contenders USC, putting them right back in the race for the South. Since quarterback Charlie Brewer left the program, Sophomore Cameron Rising has stepped up.

The QB started slowly, but had his best game so far in the win against USC. Another top performance will be needed against a Sun Devils defence. Utah spread the ball around well, but look out for tight end combo Brant Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid, who lead the Utes receiving offence. Utah also have a solid defence led by top draft linebacker prospect Devin Lloyd. They will also have to be on top form, as Arizona State bring one of the in form running games in college football this season. Running backs Rachaad White, Daniyel Ngata and DeaMonte Trayanum have all contributed to this dominant run game.

Dual threat quarterback Jayden Daniels has added the second most rushing yards on the team, but can also use his arm when he needs to. On paper this is a close game, but maybe the Sun Devils run game will have too much for the Utah defence to handle. If the Utes defence is on top form, it may be able to handle it and sneak a valuable win. This has early Sunday morning classic written all over it.

Written by Jordan Merritt @Jordm87

 

College Football Preview Week Seven – SEC 

All 14 SEC teams are in action in week 7, all of them in conference match ups. There are 3 5pm (BST) Saturday games. Arkansas welcome Auburn to Frayettville, looking to bounce back after defeat in the thriller against Ole Miss last week. A big game in Baton Rouge as LSU play Florida, with the Tigers needing a win desperately after a bad first half to the season. The Aggies, coming off their big win over Alabama, travel to struggling Missouri. SEC whipping boys Vanderbilt plays South Carolina, another case of how many they will lose by. Alabama will be looking to bounce back from their week 6 disappointment as they play Mississippi State. Two in form teams play out the final game, as Ole Miss heads to Tennessee, where both offences are on top form.

Game of the Week – Kentucky @ Georgia

Two unbeaten 6-0 SEC East teams go head to head, as surprise package in the East Kentucky, head to to Athens to play Georgia. Although unbeaten, the Wildcats are heavy underdogs against the Bulldogs. Kentucky are coming off impressive back-to-back wins over Florida and last week over LSU. Quarterback Will Levis had his first game of the season without an interception and not turning over the ball is going to be a start in being competitive in this game. The Kentucky ground game is also going to be a big factor. Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. has 759 rushing yards through 6 games. Georgia have been dominant on the defensive line, especially stopping the run.

If the Bulldogs can stop the impressive Rodriguez and the running back room, it should be a big factor in them winning the game. Georgia’s offence has been playing at a high quality too, especially their ground game. Zamir White, James Cook and Kendall Milton have split carries, with great success from all 3 players. We are still unsure if starting QB JT Daniels will suit up on Saturday. Back-up Stetson Bennett has stepped up and done a good job so far. This looks like a match up too far for this Kentucky team, but as we have already seen in the 2021 college season, teams love an underdog win.

Written by Jordan Merritt @Jordm87