I had a feeling that Week 6 was going to be fun to watch, but no one could have predicted just how crazy it was going to be. Unhinged might be the only way to truly describe what went down. No. 1 Alabama lost to unranked Vanderbilt, an SEC team that has been an afterthought year after year. Tennessee lost to unranked Arkansas. Miami pulled off one of the best comebacks we’ve seen this season with their backs against the wall against Cal. We enter Week 7 with a new number 1 in the nation, who also faces a tough matchup in this week. Here’s our top 3 picks for 2024 College Football Week 7.
No. 1 Texas vs No. 18 Oklahoma
The Red River Rivalry. There are few better games each year than this game, and it has lived up to the hype in recently. This will be a chance for the Sooners to pull off an unreal upset and strip the Longhorns of their number 1 ranking for a second time this year. Don’t count out the Sooners just because they are ranked lower. The lower-ranked team has won five of the last 11 meetings between these two in this game. The biggest key is that Quinn Ewers returns for this game, returning Arch Manning to the bench. That’s a key because Oklahoma’s defense is legit and will hold off this UT offense for as long as they can. The issue is that the Sooners offense has been pretty lame and I’m not all that sure that they can keep up with Ewers and the Longhorns who will play at a slower tempo but will still score. No upset in this game, Texas will keep trucking on. Prediction: Texas 24 Oklahoma 17
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Oregon
Oh baby, this one should be good. Ohio State and Oregon are on the ready if Texas slips up in their game because the winner of this one would take over as the number one team in the nation. Let’s start with Ohio State. They are rolling teams. There hasn’t been a tough game they’ve played yet and Will Howard looks all the part of a legit QB who could enter the Heisman conversation here with a staple win. The Ducks have played some incredibly close games. They were close to losing to Idaho and Boise State. The last three weeks they have looked a whole lot better with the margin increasing and Dillon Gabriel settling into this offense. This game is being played in Eugene which is an incredibly tough place for any road team to win. Lots of points will be scored, this game will be tight, and feelings will be hurt. Prediction: Ohio State 35 Oregon 33
No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 13 LSU
An SEC showdown that should be a ton of fun to watch. That is the only way to bill this one in Death Valley. Ole Miss has stumbled on offense in the last two games. Through their first three games, they averaged 48 points per game. In their last two weeks, they scored 47 points combined. So, there is a bit of a headache going on there, but LSU might not pose that big of an issue. They’ve been gashed by offenses, they rank 97th in the country in yards allowed per game. The Tigers have the home field advantage in this game, which can’t be overstated how much that will help in what should be an emotional game. But at the end of the day, the Rebels have far more weapons than the Tigers and I think they’ll be hungry and ready to prove something in this game. Prediction: Ole Miss 40 LSU 30