Week 7 of the college football season marks the midway point for many teams across the country who will be completing the first half of their slate with challenging conference games. Just 15 unbeaten teams remain, and that number is guaranteed to dwindle.
No. 3 Oregon and No. 7 Indiana are heading into their top-10 showdown on CBS as two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in the Big Ten. Something will have to give in a clash between programs led by Heisman contending quarterbacks and hard-charging head coaches.
No. 1 Ohio State, which is the Big Ten’s third unbeaten team, also faces a test, as the Buckeyes are traveling to face No. 17 Illinois in a ranked showdown. No one has reached 10 points on Ohio State this season, but the Illini have a strong offense led by veteran quarterback Luke Altmyer.
Coming off a relatively low-key Week 6 slate, the Week 7 docket is strong by comparison. The SEC schedule includes rivalry games like No. 10 Georgia at Auburn and No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Texas. No. 5 Texas A&M will also put its unbeaten mark to the test against Florida, and one-loss teams like No. 11 LSU and No. 12 Tennessee will be seeking to remain in the conference-title hunt with league games.
Here is an early look at the odds for those games and many of the other Week 7 contests involving ranked teams as the season continues ramping up.
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
The big games
No. 1 Ohio State (-15.5) at No. 17 Illinois: Ohio State passed its first road test in Week 5 with a 24-6 win at Washington. This one may be tougher. Illinois recovered nicely from a 63-10 drubbing at Indiana and has picked up consecutive Big Ten victories over USC and Purdue. The Buckeyes’ passing attack is finding its rhythm and will look to exploit the same vulnerabilities that Indiana found.
No. 8 Alabama (-3.5) at No. 14 Missouri: Missouri is an easy team to forget when rattling off the list of remaining unbeaten FBS programs. The Tigers are quietly off to a 5-0 start and have scored a boatload of points (45.2 per game to be exact). Taking on Alabama represents Mizzou’s toughest test — by far — and offers a statement opportunity for coach Eli Drinkwitz’s club. Missouri is also coming off a bye week as it hosts the Crimson Tide, who are in the midst of a challenging stretch.
No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon (-9.5): Outside of the normal blockbuster rivalries, it doesn’t get much better than this in college football’s regular season. You’ve got two top-10 teams coming off byes and led by hard-charging coaches in Dan Lanning (Oregon) and Curt Cignetti (Indiana). The quarterback battle between Oregon’s Dante Moore and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is also stocked with Heisman Trophy ramifications. It’s no surprise to see the Ducks are comfortable favorites, but they’ll need to bring their ‘A’ game.
No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Texas (-3.5): The outlook for the Red River Rivalry showdown will be impacted largely by whether Oklahoma star quarterback John Mateer is available amid his recovery from hand surgery. Whether Mateer plays or not, this feels like a must-win for Texas, which has already suffered two losses amid a stunningly ineffective beginning to Arch Manning’s time as the starting quarterback.
Florida at No. 5 Texas A&M (-8.5): Florida finally picked up a win against an FBS opponent last week, as the Gators showed glimpses of their potential in a 29-21 win over Texas. Now they are searching for their first road victory against an Aggies defense that has looked absolutely ruthless the past two weeks. With three consecutive road games coming up, it’s urgent that the Aggies defend Kyle Field.
Best of the rest
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