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👀 No. 3 Oregon beats No. 2 Ohio State, more
🤘 Red River Rivalry dominance
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Week 7 of college football gave fans multiple ranked vs. ranked games and other top-25 teams playing nail-biters. Here’s what you need to know from the epic weekend of games.
Oregon defeats Ohio State in its first ranked Big Ten matchup of the season, 32-31.
The Ducks secure their first-ever win over a top-2 ranked opponent — Oregon was 0-19 against top-2 opponents heading into this matchup.
The Buckeyes had the ball with under two minutes to play as Will Howard and company marched down the field in Oregon territory. The Kansas State transfer scrambled up the middle with under five seconds remaining, but Howard did not slide down in time for the Buckeyes to call a timeout. Had he gone down earlier, Ohio State would’ve certainly had an opportunity at a game-winning field goal attempt.
WILL HOWARD DOESN’T GO DOWN AND OREGON WINS 😱 pic.twitter.com/hjUVwCzGPE
It was a shootout between veteran transfer quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel for Oregon and Howard. The two combined for over 650 passing yards and no interceptions in Eugene.
Each team is loaded with star power, and both quarterbacks took advantage of their elite wide receivers. Emeka Egbuka and true freshman Jeremiah Smith combined for 193 yards, 19 receptions and two touchdowns for Howard. On the other side, Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart displayed his connection with Gabriel, hauling seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.
The touted Buckeye defense had only allowed double-digit points once all season entering this showdown. Granted, they had not faced the caliber of offense Oregon holds, but the Ducks were certainly prepared for this matchup.
Each o-line delivered for their offenses, as there was only one sack and five tackles for loss between each team the entire night.
This thriller featured seven lead changes as neither defense had an answer for the explosive offenses.
Dan Lanning’s squad showed up in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, and Oregon is now the team to beat in the new-look Big Ten.
Ohio State (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) takes its first loss of the season, and the Buckeyes will receive a bye week to prepare for the second half of the season.
As for Oregon (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), it will travel to West Lafayette to take on a struggling Purdue team next week on the back of arguably the biggest win in Duck’s history.
Tennessee narrowly escapes its second straight loss, defeating Florida 23-17 in OT at home.
Coming off a loss to Arkansas in Week 6, No. 8 Tennessee was challenged once again by an unranked SEC opponent.
Florida’s defense smothered the Vols’ explosive offense in the first half, holding Tennessee to just 130 total yards at the break. The Gators swarmed Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, tallying three sacks and picking off the redshirt freshman in the first 30 minutes.
The Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC) put together a nine-play, 92-yard drive early in the third quarter, taking a 10-0 lead. But the Vols finally found their rhythm offensively, responding quickly with seven of their own.
Florida quarterback Graham Mertz exited the game midway through the third with a leg injury, leaving the Gator’s offense in the hands of true freshman DJ Lagway.
Lagway struggled in his first few drives, throwing a pick and turning the ball over on downs. However, Lagway, down 17-10 with under a minute to play in regulation, threw a 30-yard dart over the middle to force OT in Knoxville.
.@DerekLagway TO @chimdk11
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/fxCxi5XJar
The Volunteer’s defense came through in overtime, knocking the Gators back four yards, and forcing a 47-yard field goal to open the extra period. The kick narrowly missed outside the right post, and Iamaleava marched the Vols 25 yards in five plays for the win.
Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) avoids a collapse and remains in the hunt for the SEC. The Vols will host Alabama next week, as each team will look to build some momentum after close wins in Week 7.
Special teams. Special plays. A special game. In a game that was decided by the legs of two kickers in overtime, No. 4 Penn State went to the West Coast and won a thriller against USC.
Southern California got the ball first in overtime, but kicker Michael Lantz missed a 45-yard field goal after the offense lost three yards on its overtime possession. That set up the Nittany Lions for a chance at a game-winning field goal. Penn State centered the ball between the uprights and kicker Ryan Barker’s 36-yard field goal soared down the middle for the win.
With the win, coach James Franklin and crew move to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten. Tight end Tyler Warren was the star of the game. He set a PSU single-game record with 17 receptions, adding in 224 receiving yards (the second-most in school history) and a touchdown.
On the other sideline, USC head coach Lincoln Riley is only 5-8 in his last 13 games and has lost 9 of 13 games against ranked opponents since taking the job with the Trojans in 2022.
SCORES: See every score from Week 7 of college football
No. 1 Texas dominated No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry with 34-3 blowout win.
Capped off by coach Steve Sarkisian placing the Golden Hat trophy on quarterback Quinn Ewers head, the Longhorns improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2009.
Oklahoma made things interesting early, intercepting Ewers, who missed the last two games with an abdominal strain injury, on the game’s first possession. Although OU didn’t score, they kicked a field goal two drives later for the game’s first points — the first time Texas trailed all season.
However, that’s when the Longhorns took over.
Taking advantage of the Sooners’ offensive struggles all season, the defense forced back-to-back fumbles near the end of the second quarter that translated to two touchdowns. This included running back Quintrevion Wisner’s fumble inches away from the end zone that wide receiver Silas Bolden scooped up for a touchdown.
😱😱😱😱@silasbolden_ pic.twitter.com/DYPlDpzSqF
Texas went on to score 34 unanswered points. Ewers went 20-of-29 with 199 passing yards along with two touchdowns and an interception. Behind true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., OU’s offense finished with just 237 total yards, compared to Texas’ 406.
The 31-point loss was Oklahoma’s biggest since 2022 when they were shut out by Texas 49-0. The Longhorns return home next week for its biggest matchup of the season against No. 5 Georgia.
MORE: No. 1 Texas blows out No. 18 Oklahoma in Red River Rivalry, wins 34-3
Alabama outlasted South Carolina, 27-25, in a thrilling battle at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Crimson Tide (5-1 overall, 2-1 SEC) initially took control with a 14-0 lead thanks to a pair of touchdowns, including a short run by Jalen Milroe. However, South Carolina fought back, narrowing the gap with a 36-yard touchdown pass from LaNorris Sellers to help cut it to only 14-12 at the half.
The Gamecocks took a 19-14 lead in the third quarter, but Milroe responded with a 7-yard touchdown run to reclaim the lead for Alabama. A 34-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard extended the lead to 27-19. South Carolina scored again with less than a minute to play, though the Gamecocks failed on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game.
But South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) had one final chance, as the Gamecocks recovered an onside kick. But Alabama’s defense held strong in the final moments with an interception that sealed the win and prevented back-to-back losses.
The win marked a pivotal one for Alabama, as a loss would have been the program’s first in back-to-back regular season games since 2007.
STREAKING: College football’s longest active regular season win streaks
The first ranked team to fall this weekend came on Friday night as Arizona State took down No. 16 Utah, 27-19. How big of an upset was this game you ask? Utah opened as the preseason Big 12 favorite. Arizona State was picked to finish last.
None of that mattered on the field, though, especially not to running back Cam Skattebo. The Arizona State running back ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns, both coming in the second half as explosive plays. Skattebo’s 50-yard touchdown put the Sun Devils up 20-16 in the third quarter and his 47-yard touchdown secured the game with 2:41 to play in the game.
The win pushed Arizona State to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12, with Utah dropping to 4-2 (1-2).
CAM SKATTEBO CAN’T BE STOPPED 🔥
ARIZONA STATE LEADS NO. 16 UTAH BY 8 WITH LESS THAN 3 MINUTES LEFT! pic.twitter.com/lD3hqudvZb
