College Football Recap for Week 7

College Football Recap for Week 7

Let’s talk about the upsets and upstarts from Week 7. We have a classic Pac-12 game, USC struggles again and loses, Iowa and Houston find a way to win and Louisville has a classic letdown.

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*The craziest game of the week took place on Thursday when Houston (+2.5) shocked West Virginia 41-39 at home in the “Dana Bowl” (for former West Va. Coach Dana Holgersen, now coaching Houston). West Virginia scored on a 50-yard touchdown pass when Garrett Greene found Hudson Clement on 4th-and-10 with 12 seconds to play. Greene threw for a career-high 391 yards with two TDs. Greene celebrated by removing is helmet and received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. Houston ended up with the ball at their own 43 after an 18-yard kickoff return. After an 8-yard pass, Donovan Smith hit Stephon Johnson Jr. in the end zone for a 49-yard Hail Mary TD pass to get the improbable win.

*The Coach Prime shine is starting to wear off. On Friday night against, Stanford at home, Colorado blew a 29-0 first-half lead and lost 46-44 in double overtime. The defense let them down, but the offense can’t run the ball (81 yards), which doesn’t help when you are trying to protect leads. They rank 130th in the nation in yards per carry, 130th in passing yards allowed per game and 01st in yards per attempt allowed. CB/WR Travis Hunter returned from injury and struggled in coverage. Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor took advantage catching 13 balls for 294 yards and three TDs.

*Washington (-3) edged Oregon 36-33 in one of the best games of the season from Seattle. Michael Penix Jr. hit Rome Odunze with 1:38 left in the game to help put the Huskies ahead. Penix Jr. is now the Heisman Trophy favorite by far in all of the books. DraftKing has him at -140 and the closest competition are Dillon Gabriel from Oklahoma and J.J. McCarthy from Michigan (both +1000). Penis threw for 302 yards despite battling an injury in his midsection. Bob Nix was outstanding as well, completing 33 of 44 for 337 yards with two TDs. Oregon rushed for 204 yards and held the Huskies to 99 rushing yards, but couldn’t get the road win. Ducks’ coach Dan Lanning missed out on a fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter and a missed field goal at the buzzer cost them the game.

*It’s been a great season for the Pac-12, but the biggest disappointment has been Southern Cal, who lost at Notre Dame 48-20 as a 3-point underdog. The USC defense continues to be bad, but their offensive line continues to struggle as well. QB Caleb Williams threw for just 199 yards on 37 attempts and threw 3 picks against a tough defense. The Irish turned all three first-half interceptions into touchdowns. Scouts may start to wonder if Williams is the top pick in the 2024 draft after that performance. Sam Hartman threw just 20 times, but was efficient with two TDs and RB Audric Estime had two rushing scores.

*Is it basketball season yet? The ACC is not much of a football conference anymore. That’s not a shocker but when it comes to handicapping, one of the unofficial rules is to bet against a team coming off a huge upset win. On Oct. 7, then-No. 14 Louisville shocked Notre Dame at home as a 6-point dog winning 33-20. They were 6-0 coming into a 1-4 Pittsburgh team and got waxed 38-21 on the road as a 7-point favorite. The Cards started out up 21-14 at the half, but the Panthers scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to grab the upset. Louisville QB Jack Plummer completed 29 of 52 for 350 yards and a TD, but also threw two picks. C’Bo Flemister rushed for two TDs as the Panthers took advantage of a ton of Cardinals’ mistakes. Louisville outgained Pitt 430-288, but fumbled five times, losing one and Plummer was sacked four times.

*In another yawner of a Big 10 game, Iowa upset Wisconsin 15-6 as a 9.5-point underdog. But the story in this game was Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai breaking his hand late in the first half as redshirt freshman Braedyn Locke took over. Locke struggled against a very tough defense, completing 15 of 30 for 122 yards and a pick. The Badgers allowed eight points in the fourth quarter, including Locke getting tackled in the end zone for a safety. Iowa won this game despite generating nine first downs and 37 yards passing. They did have 200 yards rushing, led by 174 from Leshon Williams, who had an 82-yard TD run early in the game. But the Badgers could be in trouble without Mordecai leading the offense.