CFB: Week Seven Capsule — The Midpoint
I’ve been doing these for a year and a half?
Jake McCreven
15 October 2024
The consensus preseason opinion pinned Ohio State and Georgia in a class of their own with the two clear-cut best rosters in America. Midway through October, both the Buckeyes and Bulldogs have fallen while Indiana and Army sit undefeated at 6-0 as conference play reaches its apex.
Texas is the indisputable number one team in the country to this point but has not looked phenomenal for an entire four quarters yet – scary.
There is a real chance a College Football Playoff game will be hosted in Provo, Utah or Ames, Iowa. Army and Navy may play in back-to-back weeks to claim the final ticket to the College Football Playoff.
IN THIS ARTICLE:
The good, the bad and the ugly from week seven losses
Week 7 Magic Ball Sports Top 25
Interior Offensive Linemen Rankings reveal
CFB: The good, the bad and the ugly from Saturday’s losses
No. 16 Utah (4-2) – 27-19 L @ Arizona State (5-1)
The good: Despite a marginal day from its offense, the Ute defense held the lead against Arizona State late in the third and held the Sun Devil offense to its lowest total yardage of the season thus far.
The bad: Utah managed just one touchdown drive all game while having five minutes more of possession time than the Sun Devils and seven more first downs.
The ugly: Cameron Rising’s long-awaited return went belly-up as the seventh-year veteran turned the ball over three times and missed on 21 passes while evidently playing through injury.
USC (3-3) – 33-30 L vs. Penn State (6-0)
The good: The Trojans showed a hardy defensive effort against the run, holding feature back Nick Singleton to 26 yards and the explosive Kaytron Allen to 56 yards and a score.
The bad: Drew Allar completed 30 of 43 passes for 391 yards as the Trojan secondary failed to cover Tyler Warren who caught 17 passes (FBS record for tight ends).
The ugly: USC took a 14-point lead into halftime but answered consecutive second half Nittany Lion touchdowns with punts as the lead dissolved and the Trojans dropped to 3-3.
Rutgers (4-2) – 42-7 L vs. Wisconsin (4-2)
Arizona defended their name against Utah.There was no calm this week. Photo courtesy of @arionastatefootball/Instagram
The good: The Scarlet Knight pass defense wasn’t horrible – but even that’s reaching.
The bad: The offense sputtered – failing to score until early in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach for the Scarlet Knights.
The ugly: Two weeks removed from entering the conversation to become a ranked team after an upset win over Virginia Tech, Rutgers has face planted to a point differential of -42 across its two losses to Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Arizona (3-3) – 41-19 L @ No. 14 BYU (6-0)
The good: Arizona struck first against one of the conference’s top defenses and Noah Fifita out threw Jake Retzlaff by nearly 60 yards.
The bad: BYU answered with 24 straight points and went on a 41-12 run to end the game, forcing four turnovers and allowing just 3.7 yards per carry.
The ugly: After a 10-win, NY6 Bowl victory in 2023, Arizona drops to 3-3 and 1-2 in the Big-XII. AU is 1-3 against opponents with winning records with its only win coming against Utah and backup quarterback Isaac Wilson.
No. 18 Oklahoma (4-2) – 34-3 L vs. No. 1 Texas (6-0)
The good: The Sooner defense held Texas to zero first quarter points and even intercepted Quinn Ewers on the third play from scrimmage.
The bad: The Sooners had just three drives reach Texas territory and three points to show for it without its top five wide receivers.
The ugly: The flood gates opened in the second quarter as the defense broke down and allowed 34 unanswered points and 406 yards in OU’s second blowout Red River Rivalry loss in three years.
No. 2 Ohio State (5-1) – 32-31 L @ No. 3 Oregon (6-0)
The good: Seven receivers caught a pass, and the Buckeyes totaled 467 yards of offense while holding the lead at five different points in the game.
The bad: Despite three critical miscues on special teams, Oregon still had the opportunity to score and take the lead with under two minutes remaining.
The ugly: The nation’s number one defense surrendered 496 yards and were gashed at the line of scrimmage repeatedly as Ducks’ running back Jordan James ran for 115 yards and a score.
CFB: Post Week 7 Magic Ball Sports Poll
NOTES (1-5)
Texas reclaims the top spot in the poll after disposing of Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.
Oregon burrows itself in the top three after a gutsy performance against Ohio State.
Miami vaults inside the top three (!) and is one of just three ACC teams inside the top 25.
Ohio State drops just three after a last-second loss to Oregon in Eugene.
Penn State grabs onto No. 5 after Georgia’s lethargic outing against Miss. State.
NOTES (6-10)
Georgia continues to look unimpressive as a unit and slips again, this time to No. 6.
Notre Dame stays put on their bye week.
Tennessee remains at No. 8 after narrowly defeating Florida.
Clemson is one of the hottest teams in America right now and are at Miami’s doorstep.
Iowa State remains inside the top-10 for a second straight week — the highest ranking of any Big-XII team.
NOTES (11-25)
The Crimson Tide fall again after defeating South Carolina in a nail biter in Tuscaloosa.
LSU makes strides inside the top-12 as the Tigers open a backdoor SEC title push.
BYU continues on its tear through the college football world by stomping on Arizona.
Kansas State falls after winning — one of three teams to do so this week.
Syracuse continues to impress with a fifth win already.
Missouri rebounds in a classic game at UMass.
Pitt finally reaches the rankings after an undefeated first half of the season.
Ole Miss loses again and severely damages their case for the CFP.
Georgia Tech, Army and Indiana all join the ranks as some of the hottest teams in America.
CFB: Draft Rankings — IOL
NOTES:
I have not had the time to look at the game tape for many interior offensive linemen. I will begin draft profiles in early/mid November, so be on the lookout then for actual analysis of this position group.