Plenty at stake for undefeated teams
Entering Week 7 of the college football season, there’s still a lot we don’t know. A season filled with upsets has opened the door for more contenders to emerge, many of them surprising. Here’s what to watch this weekend, starting with one of those upstarts facing the No. 1 team in the country:
Crunch time for Kentucky: Kentucky’s reward for its first 6-0 start since 1950? A matchup with No. 1 Georgia and one of the best defenses in recent memory. The Wildcats haven’t exactly been overpowering, beating Missouri, UT Chattanooga, South Carolina and Florida by seven points or less, but a 42-21 win over LSU last weekend showed what they’re capable of when they’re playing their best.
The Bulldogs might not be scaring anyone on offense with backup Stetson Bennett at quarterback, but the defense is on pace to be the best coach Kirby Smart has had since he took over in 2016.
Cincy can’t slip up: Things have broken perfectly for No. 3 Cincinnati so far. According to ESPN, 40 ranked teams have lost already, surpassing the wild 2007 season for the most through six weeks in the Associated Press poll era (since 1936). A preseason top four that included Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson and Ohio State has been whittled down to just the Sooners after the top-ranked Crimson Tide lost to unranked Texas A&M last week. But it would be foolish to count out those four heavyweights before the playoff committee has even revealed its first rankings.
That puts the pressure on the Bearcats to not only keep winning but show that they can punch above their weight in the Group of Five. They’ve already secured a pair of resume-boosting wins over Notre Dame and Indiana, but there are few opportunities remaining for a win over a Top 25 team in a down season for the American Athletic Conference. Saturday’s game against UCF in front of a national audience on ABC will go a long way toward determining Cincinnati’s viability as a legitimate playoff threat.
Michigan State momentum: Michigan State’s 31-13 win over Rutgers last Saturday might not seem like much, but it was the fifth time in Football Bowl Subdivision history that a team had a 300-yard passer, a 200-yard rusher and a 200-yard receiver in the same game. Quarterback Payton Thorne, running back Kenneth Walker III and wide receiver Jalen Nailor have given the Spartans a collection of offensive talent rarely seen in East Lansing.
A road matchup against Indiana this weekend will be an interesting litmus test before a huge game against No. 8 Michigan on Oct. 30.
Don’t overlook Oklahoma State: There might not be a more anonymous undefeated team in the Power Five this year than No. 12 Oklahoma State, which has quietly opened 6-0 and is coming off back-to-back wins over No. 25 Kansas State and No. 24 Baylor. It’s the defense that has been most impressive, holding opponents to 18.6 points per game and ranking eighth in defensive SP+, ESPN’s tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of efficiency. That defense will face its toughest test yet this weekend against No. 25 Texas, which is averaging 52 points per game since Casey Thompson took over as the starting quarterback.
Auburn and Arkansas look to regroup: Back-to-back losses have dropped No. 17 Arkansas back down to earth after a 4-0 start, but there’s no shame in losing to Georgia and falling just short in a wild 52-51 shootout against Ole Miss. The question remains the same for the Razorbacks: Is this success sustainable? Auburn can’t be too upset about losing to Penn State and Georgia under first-year coach Bryan Harsin, but a near-loss to Georgia State and a close victory over what has turned out to be a bad LSU team haven’t inspired much confidence in quarterback Bo Nix or the defense. Are the Tigers really capable of competing with the SEC’s best this season?