Week 7: College Football Games to Watch and Keys to Victory

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Week seven is here and without a doubt this is week has the best collective group of matchups that we have seen this season. This week packs every single thing you look in a top-5 list including a Big East showdown between two unbeatens, an SEC defensive matchup between two ranked opponents, the game that might decide the fate of the ACC (and an argument Hunter and I have had for awhile), an intriguing battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, and the 104th Red River Rivalry.

Week seven is going to be a good one, and the top-5 games feature a combined record of 50-7, four of the teams playing are still unbeaten (9 left in college),and all of the team are ranked! And the best part of all about the whole week is that all five of the games have very different starting times. Overall week seven might be the best week of college football in the regular season, and is one of the few weeks that receives and “honorable mention” list as well. And as we have done throughout the season thus far, we’re using the DraftZoo Experts’ Poll Rankings.

Honorable Mention

1. Boise State at Tulsa

Boise State’s second to last competition is this week against a Tulsa team that has only losses to Oklahoma thus far.

2. Iowa at Wisconsin

Iowa is one of two bowl eligible teams, and a tough game at 5-1 Wisconsin will be no easy win for the Hawkeyes. In fact Wisconsin is actually favored at home for Saturday.

3. Arkansas at No. 1 Florida

This game might seem like an easy win for the Gators at home, but with Ryan Mallett playing as strong as he has this year this game might be a mirror image of last year’s game when Jevan Snead pulled the upset.

Top Five College Football Games of the Week

5) No. 21 South Carolina at No. 2 Alabama

Time: 7:45 PM (EST) Saturday 10/17
Spread: Alabama by 17.5

Ok, this isn’t the best game in the world on paper, and there is a good chance that Alabama will destroy South Carolina at home this weekend, but almost nobody gave the Gamecocks a chance three weeks ago when they beat no. 4 ranked Mississippi.

The key to victory for the Gamecocks is to keep the game close like they have in every game this year, and to execute with perfection. South Carolina is averaging 27.3 points for the year while allowing only an average of 18.3. The Gamecocks have a margin of victory by 9 points, but that is an overstatement as they have won their three hardest games by a combined 12 points. That isn’t including their tough 4-point loss in the second game of the season, but when it comes down to it South Carolina has not played the best ball in college, but they have kept it close in every game. If the Gamecocks want to have a chance against what could be the best team in football they had better keep it close, but also play with a hard knocked aggression that Alabama hasn’t faced yet. They can destroy a finesse teams like Ole Miss and Arkansas, but they haven’t had to challenge a grind-it-out team that will stop you and score on you at the same time yet.

The key to victory for the Crimson Tide is to strike like they have all season, and to not let their success thus far get to them. Alabama’s first game of the season against Virginia Tech was sloppy and struck fear in some people’s eyes, but it turned out that Virginia Tech was actually that good. McElroy has become a more than adequate QB for the tide, and their core of running backs is one of the best in college. Julio Jones is going to be a first round pick WR sometime in the next few years, and the defense is one of the top two in the country. Overall the team is averaging 37 points per game while only allowing 12.5, and if they want to win this Saturday they had better forget all of this. South Carolina isn’t a team that runs a great offense, and they don’t have an elite defense, but there is a damn good reason why they have lost only one game and that is because they contain and strike. The Gamecocks won’t win a stats game anytime soon, but there is a good reason why they are the 4th best team in the SEC right now, and that’s because they play smart gritty football.

4) No. 8 Cincinnati at No. 24 Southern Florida

Time: 7:30 PM (EST) Thursday 10/15
Spread: Cincinnati by 3

Want to know why this week is one of the best of the year? It is because there is a week 6 battle between two of the nine remaining unbeaten teams, and the result of this game won’t mean just that another team is becoming bowl eligible, but this game might decide the fate of the Big East. Oh, and it’s ranked only third on this list!

The key to victory for the USF Bulls is to use B.J Daniels like he beat out Matt Grothe. If you didn’t know that USF QB Matt Grothe was out for the year, then you likely didn’t know that his replacement, freshman B.J. Daniels has played awesome football in his place. Grothe was having career numbers against the likes of Wofford, Western Kentucky and Charleston Southern, but Daniels has played awesome in his games thus far against Florida State and Syracuse. Daniel’s first start ever was against a tough FSU team, and even though he threw for only 38%, he threw for 215 yards, and two scores. He also ran 23 times for 126 yards in that win. Daniels showed a little bit more of his QB potential against Syracuse when he threw for 208 yards and 2 scores at 60%, and he even tacked on a few good runs. When you look at his numbers this season Daniels is a 57% passer that averages 10.75 YPA. Daniels also has six scores to only two picks, and he has 300 yards and three scores with his legs.

The key to victory for the Bearcats is to keep it cool on defense and to Spike the Bulls with the Pike (Tony). The best non-BCS team in the country isn’t Boise State or TCU; it is actually the Cincinnati Bearcats. Wait, Hunter just informed me that the Big East is a BCS conference… for now. Anyways, the Bearcats are turning into the team to beat in the country, and this game might be their conference championship when it is all said and done, especially against a tough USF. The Bearcats are allowing only 13.2 points per game, which is very stingy when you compare it to the fact that their offense is scoring 42 points a game. Tony Pike is averaging 300 yards and almost 3 TDs per game so far this season, and he has done so at a 66.7 completion rate. When it is all said and done the Bearcats technically have more talent than the USF Bulls, and if they can control the unpredictable B.J. Daniels they should be fine.

Either way this game might be the best game of the week because if combines two of the most underrated defenses AND offenses in college, but the Big East is such a joke of a conference these days that the game might not mean enough to warrant a “game of the week” vote.

3) No. 3 Virginia Tech at No. 22 Georgia Tech

Time: 6:00 (EST) Saturday 10/17
Spread: Virginia Tech by 3

This is yet another great game that could very easily have been the “game of the week,” but unfortunately there are two much bigger rivalries going on this weekend. This game has been on the Draft Zoo plate of arguments since May, and these were the two teams that Hunter and I thought would be competing for the ACC this year. Neither of us saw Miami being as good as they have been thus far, but the fact remains that this game could decide the ACC. If you want to know more about each team then you should check out our very first weekly debate from back in May:

Friday Debate:  Who Wins the ACC?

The key to victory for the Yellow Jackets is to stop Tyrod Taylor. I’m not sure what Beamer and Tyrod did during the 4th quarter of the Nebraska game, but it sure as hell is working. Going into the season (and even until that 4th quarter) everyone knew that Tyrod has no passing skill, and that he will always be running QB that would get you 6 YPA and 5 TD to 10 Int for the year. Well in the last two games Tyrod has thrown for 450 yards at a 75% completion rate and 12+ YPA with four touchdowns. Tyrod has all of a sudden become a major passing threat (8 TDs to 1 int this season), and until somebody finds a way to stop him nobody will beat VT. Think of it this way, if Tyrod had played Alabama with the passing presence that he has now, the team would be undefeated and possibly the best team in college. The task isn’t going to be an easy one for the Yellow Jackets, but if they can stop the dual threat potential that Tyrod has become they team has a chance to confuse and abuse the VT defense.

The key to victory for the Hokies is to abuse the GT defense for what it isn’t. It is a major surprise that Derrick Morgan is still a 1st round DE in a lot of people’s mock drafts this far into the season, because he registered five sacks in the first two games against Jacksonville State and a Clemson team that we now know isn’t very good. But since those two games he has registered only 12 total tackles and one sack (against 2-4 FSU). If you look at the GT defense you would realize that it might be the most overrated defense in college, especially since it has allowed 26.5 points per game, and it just looks like the defense is going to be the reason that GT doesn’t make it to a big bowl this year. VT has the talent to do nothing but destroy the Yellow Jackets, and they will do so by attempting to destroy the defense one piece at a time.

2) No. 6 USC at No. 20 Notre Dame

Time: 3:30 (EST) Saturday 10/17 (ON NBC)
Spread: USC by 10.5

Ok, so this might be the most overrated rivalry is college football these days, especially since USC has won the last seven meetings of the game. In fact the last time Notre Dame saw the Jeweled Shillelagh was when they won the matchup in Pete Carroll’s first year at USC. The Shillelagh is probably very dusty at this point in the rivalry, but hopefully this game will bring back the hype of the annual game.

The key to victory for the Irish is to hope for Christmas in October. Ok, maybe they don’t need Christmas, but they sure as heck will be hoping that Jimmy Claus comes to town and that he passes out all of the gifts that the good Irish have asked for. Those gifts would include yet another monster game through the air, a run game, and most importantly a defense that can slow the Trojan run game and stop their aerial attack. Jimmy Claus might be on his way to becoming the consensus best QB prospect for the 2010 NFL draft, but he has got to show up against the biggest game of the year for him. The rest of the team is going to need to step up, but if the team wants to win the game they are going to need a huge day from Jimmy Clausen.

The key to victory for the Trojans is to exploit the Irish pass defense. The Irish are allowing 264 passing yards per game against opponents that should not have passed for as much as they have. There is a very good reason why the Irish have had so many close games this season and it is that the team cannot rush the clock away, and the team cannot protect against the pass. The Trojans haven’t had a huge passing game this year, but don’t be surprised if you see the team try to win the game early through the air this weekend. Even though the Trojans are averaging only 225 yards a game with their QB’s it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them end with 350+ passing yards this weekend.

1. No. 20 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Texas

Time: 12:00 (EST) Saturday 10/17
Spread: Texas by 3

And if the plate of games wasn’t enough for everyone already we have the Red River Shootout happening early Saturday! The annual game played in Dallas has an interesting sector this year that it hasn’t had in a while, and that is a 2-loss team. Texas is still undefeated, but their stock has been falling after a couple close first-halves between Colorado and Wyoming. On the other side of the story Oklahoma has two losses against BYU and Miami, but the return of Sam Bradford looked very good last weekend, and this game could end up being nothing short of spectacular.

The key to victory for the Sooners is to not let their faults defeat their strengths. After two losses against tough ranked opponents, the college football nation now knows that the OL cannot protect their QB, and that their skills players are thin. The DL is still an elite group but they have been exposed and defeated multiple times this year. If the Sooners want to “shock” the nation with a huge upset this weekend then they are going to have to get past all of these weaknesses and to overcome. Sam Bradford has lost a lot of draft stock value, and he can regain a ton of it this weekend by becoming the unstoppable force that he has shown in the past. Texas is a good team, but they are nowhere close to unbeatable. Jordan Shipley and Colt McCoy will likely be looking to have monster games for the Longhorns and even if they do the two roommates could still lose. When it comes down to it the Sooners had better realize that the team with a better OL, a better group of skills players, and a better college QB will on that field this weekend. But that doesn’t mean they have a damn thing when the game starts at noon Saturday.

The key to victory for the Longhorns is to not get cocky about the two loss Sooners, and to expose their OL. Whether they say they are or not, the Longhorns will be going into this game thinking that the Sooners are a lesser team than themselves. The fact of the matter is that Oklahoma lost two tough games against ranked opponents, and most of those two games were without their best player. If the Longhorns get cocky then the Sooner DL will destroy their offensive flow, and Bradford Inc. will implode the Longhorn season. There is a reason that the Longhorns almost lost games against Wyoming and Colorado (the scores don’t tell the whole story), and they had better know that Bob Stoops will know how to beat them a lot better than the other two teams. On the field however, the Longhorns need to disrupt the OU front line that has struggled the entire year, and they must pressure the hell out of Sam Bradford.