College Football Week 7 Direct Picks
Week 7 picks include Indiana-Oregon, Alabama-Missouri, Texas-Oklahoma, and more.
- USA TODAY sports experts are making bold predictions for Week 7 of the college football season.
- Several writers are predicting big upsets, including Florida vs. Texas A&M and Auburn vs. Georgia.
- Arch Manning is expected to lead Texas to victory in the rivalry against Oklahoma.
It’s hard to believe that once this weekend ends, the college football season will be halfway over for most teams in the country. The narrative is forming and the playoff picture is starting to take shape.
But that photo can look completely different every Saturday. We saw it last week in Penn State’s blowout loss to UCLA and Florida State’s come-from-behind victory over Texas. Week 7 offers plenty of potential for surprises and unexpected outcomes, with a schedule that includes a top-10 matchup in the Big Ten and a pair of ranked showdowns in the SEC. The challenge is to predict when these outcomes will occur.
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That’s why the USA TODAY Sports college football staff is here to provide some answers. Matt Hayes, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Meyerberg, Eric Smith, Eddie Timanas, and Blake Topmeyer share their bold predictions for Week 7 of the college football season.
Penn State will reveal itself against Northwestern
We all need to prepare for the reality that Pennsylvania may become this year’s Florida. If the Lions don’t dispatch a woeful Northwestern team soon, they’ll be in big trouble heading into the second half of a schedule where any game could be lost. — matt haze
Arch Manning leads Texas to iconic victory
Yes, Arch Manning hasn’t been great this season, and it’s not his fault that such high expectations were placed on him. Soon he will understand it and give a characteristic performance. Would you like to play against your rival? Oklahoma would be vulnerable, but the Texas quarterback proved he was the man for the job, leading the Longhorns to a victory and handing Oklahoma its first loss of the season. — jordan mendoza
Another upset for Florida as Texas A&M becomes the victim.
Florida defeated Texas A&M for its No. 2 win in recent weeks. The key will be to protect DJ Ragway. He responded with his best game of the year, going nearly scoreless in the upset over Texas. (The Gators weren’t able to do that against LSU, contributing to Lagway’s five-interception nightmare.) Another win for the underdog SEC would push UF’s record to 3-3 and increase the chances that Billy Napier will be able to keep his job against any adversity. — Paul Mayerberg
Indiana pushes Oregon to the brink.
We’ve seen Oregon State manhandle teams at home when they feel threatened. The threat is even bigger this week as Indiana comes to town. The Hoosiers were fired as a Pretender midway through last year’s loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff, but this year’s team is better suited to handle the challenge of winning on the road in elite competition. This won’t explode. This may actually be one of the games with the biggest impact on the playoffs come December, as Indiana will force the Ducks into the final minutes. — Eric Smith
Auburn puts Georgia on alert
When it comes to keeping the quarterback upright, no team in the bowl division does it better than Auburn. The Tigers of the Plains have allowed 21 sacks through five games. Those numbers are somewhat skewed by the fact that nine of them scored in one game against the University of Oklahoma, but it’s still not hard to see why the offense is stuck in neutral or even reversal.
But chasing the passer has never been Georgia’s strong suit, and the Bulldogs’ entire defense didn’t resemble the kind of shutdown unit we’re used to seeing in Kirby Smart’s program. Auburn’s defense wasn’t bad either, and they were able to keep the Tigers within one point despite their offensive struggles. So yeah, this is an old rivalry that has a lot of charm, regardless of record. This smells like agitation. — Eddie Timanas
John Mattia plays, but Oklahoma loses to Texas.
What about bold? John Mattia competes in the Red River Shootout, but Texas comes off the mat and wins. In the aftermath, The Athletic would declare Arch Manning the greatest quarterback of all time, one week after labeling Manning the first failure in college football history. Will Leach writes essays for The Athletic while watching baseball games and wondering about college football. — blake topmeyer
