Who can pull off the college football upsets this week? Plus our weekly viewer guide

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Three Top 25 matchups will make this Saturday a busy one. Let’s get into it.

Week 7 Viewer Guide

Friday night lights

We’ve already seen overtime in Week 7 (shoutout to FIU for coming back from a 24-10 fourth-quarter deficit against Liberty before falling in OT on Tuesday). Here’s what to expect from the rest of the weekend, starting with the Friday night matchups (all times in ET).

Northwestern (2-3) at Maryland (3-2) (8 p.m., Fox). Both programs are looking for their first Big Ten win. And this game will kick off a big weekend for the conference as a whole (more on those games later).
UNLV (4-1) at Utah State (1-4) (9 p.m., CBSSN). The Rebels should be able to hold their own and remain in a tight race at the top of the Mountain West.
No. 16 Utah (4-1) at Arizona State (4-1) (10:30 p.m., ESPN). The Utes are still favored to win the Big 12, per The Athletic’s model, but maybe a second conference loss to a school from Arizona would hinder those chances.

Saturday’s schedule

The weekly heat map lists the matchups for every ranked team. As always, the darker the highlight = the higher the intrigue. You’ll notice this week has A LOT of color on it.

Early

Most important game: South Carolina (3-2) at No. 7 Alabama (4-1). The Gamecocks’ offense fell flat in a 27-3 loss to Ole Miss last week, but the Crimson Tide shouldn’t overlook this game (hopefully they learned a lesson at Vanderbilt last week). South Carolina played within a field goal of LSU in Week 3, and the Gamecocks have one of the best pass defenses in the SEC. Still, on paper, Alabama should be able to use this game as a rebound to get back on track.
Most underrated game: Washington (4-2) at Iowa (3-2) (Noon, Fox). These teams haven’t played each other since the 1995 Sun Bowl — before any player on either roster was born. Now matched up as conference opponents, this feels like a game between two middling Big Ten foes, with Washington holding the momentum after topping Michigan 27-17. The Huskies have three ranked opponents (Indiana, Penn State and Oregon) left on their schedule along with fellow West Coasters USC and UCLA. A win here would make the path to bowl eligibility much less intimidating.

Afternoon

Most important game: No. 1 Texas (5-0) vs. No. 18 Oklahoma (4-1), in Dallas. Will the Red River Rivalry, SEC version, just mean more? Longhorns starting QB Quinn Ewers is back after suffering an oblique injury against UTSA on Sept. 14. Yes, backup Arch Manning did well in two games, but there was never a question whether the Longhorns would stray from the incumbent Ewers once he was healthy. Oklahoma’s QB situation is much messier. The Sooners replaced sophomore starter Jackson Arnold with true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. two weeks ago. The swap worked in a 27-21 win over Auburn, but Texas offers a completely different challenge (it has surrendered one passing TD and has seven INTs). The Sooners will need to channel some of the energy they used to muster up last year’s 34-30 upset of then-No. 3 Texas.
Most underrated game: No. 4 Penn State (5-0) at USC (3-2). What could’ve been a top-10 Big Ten matchup lost some fire with USC losing to Minnesota last week. But don’t overlook this one! As Nittany Lions writer Audrey Snyder wrote today, this game could begin the most critical stretch of 11-year coach James Franklin’s tenure. In the past three road games Penn State played as a top-five team, it went 0-3 and lost by nine total points. Penn State seems to have fixed its offense this year, but will Nittany Lions alum and new USC DC D’Anton Lynn help spoil the progress?

Night

Most important game: No. 2 Ohio State (5-0) at No. 3 Oregon (5-0). THE game of the weekend. Thus far, the Buckeyes have lived up to the billing of their all-or-nothing season. They lead the country in total defense (202.4 yards per game) and are second in the Big Ten in total offense (510.2). Sure, the Ducks looked vulnerable early on — especially in a 37-34 escape against Boise State — but I’m not faulting them for the growing pains given how they’ve shown up since. Ohio State’s Will Howard and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel both rank within the top 15 nationally in passing efficiency and are test cases for how experienced transfers can bolster a College Football Playoff-caliber roster. Honorable mention to No. 9 Ole Miss (5-1) at No. 13 LSU (4-1). The Rebels still have a 59 percent chance to make the CFP, per The Athletic’s model, while the Tigers are at 38.7 percent.
Most underrated game: No. 18 Kansas State (4-1) at Colorado (4-1). Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes are 2-0 in Big 12 play and could emerge as real conference contenders if they pull off an upset. The Wildcats slipped up against BYU but rebounded in a 42-20 win over Oklahoma State. There’s added emotion here, too. Kansas State RB Dylan Edwards flipped his 2023 commitment from K-State to Colorado and played for the Buffs as a freshman. He transferred in the offseason back to the Wildcats and has 201 rushing yards and two TDs this season. Honorable mention to No. 11 Iowa State (5-0) at West Virginia (3-2) (8 p.m., Fox), which The Athletic’s Manny Navarro has his eye on for an upset.

Check out the complete Week 7 schedule.

Need tickets? Go here. Stream the games on Fubo for free.

Best Bets

Can BYU survive the day?

Here are Austin Mock’s best bets for the week.

South Florida +7 (-105) vs. Memphis (3 p.m., ESPN-plus): The matchup that I like here is South Florida’s run defense against the Memphis rushing attack. South Florida grades out as an average rush defense so far this year, and they’ve played a pretty tough schedule. Memphis laying a touchdown on the road will be tough if it’s not able to run the ball efficiently against USF’s front seven. I would not play this at +6.5.
Oregon +3.5 (-120) vs. Ohio State: Oregon is getting too many points in this matchup. Yes, Ohio State is a machine, and I do have concerns about Oregon against top competition — it doesn’t have the greatest track record the last few years — but I’m not in love with laying the points with the Buckeyes’ offense on the road either. Ohio State should be favored in this matchup, but I’m not confident it should be by more than a field goal.

Until Saturday Upset Special (2-3): Arizona 27 (+3.5), BYU 24

I was wrong about Duke holding off Georgia Tech last week. But this week, I’m predicting another undefeated team, 5-0 BYU, will get its first tally in the loss column. Arizona (3-2) will upset the No. 14 Cougs behind an electric performance from receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who is the only player to record a 300-yard receiving game this season. Adding fuel to this upset pick: The game kicks off at 2 p.m. local, and BYU isn’t known for its daytime delights. The #VampireCougs are 10-14 in daytime games compared to 28-3 in night games (although they defied the odds in the sunlight against Baylor on Sept. 28 at noon … their first daytime win against an FBS opponent in their last 11 tries).

Read more Week 7 picks here. And listen to the Until Saturday podcast.

Quick Snaps

Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith is playing like one of the best athletes in college football. It’s hard to believe that 11 years ago, Smith (18) was cut from his youth football team. Bruce Feldman has a great story today on what fuels the freshman sensation.

Also a must-read today, Chris Kamrani tells the inside story of a former Colorado staffer’s rogue NIL trip to Saudi Arabia. A wild tale or a sign of desperate times?

There are five Big 12 games this week, and most of them factor into the crowded race to the league’s title game. Chaos meter = potentially super high.

(Photo of Kyle Whittingham: Jamie Sabau / Imagn Images)