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As the 2023 college football season nears its halfway point, Week 7 featured several top matchups that will set the stage for the long run.
Check back throughout the day for updates on the biggest stories of Week 7 from our writers across the country. Here is the full Top 25 schedule (all times Eastern):
No. 1 Georgia 37, Vanderbilt 20
No. 2 Michigan 52, Indiana 7
No. 3 Ohio State 41, Purdue 7
No. 4 Florida State 41, Syracuse 3
No. 6 Penn State 63, UMass 0
No. 7 Washington 36, No. 8 Oregon 33
No. 10 USC at No. 21 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., NBC
No. 11 Alabama 24, Arkansas 21
No. 12 North Carolina vs. No. 25 Miami, 7:30 p.m., ABC
No. 14 Louisville at Pitt, 6:30 p.m., The CW
No. 15 Oregon State vs. No. 18 UCLA, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 16 Utah 34, Cal 14
No. 17 Duke vs. NC State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 19 Tennessee 20, Texas A&M 13
No. 19 Washington State vs. Arizona, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Network
No. 22 LSU vs. Auburn, 7 p.m., ESPN
Oklahoma State 39, No. 23 Kansas 32
No. 24 Kentucky vs. Missouri, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
An Oregon-Washington instant classic
The best quarterback in college football this season was found on the West Coast, and the best game of the year so far took place far from the Pacific Northwest, with Michael Penix Jr. and Washington making one more play than Bo Nix and Oregon making it 36: 33 victory for the Huskies. Penix’s 302 passing yards accounted for nearly three-quarters of the Huskies’ offense and all seven of their third and fourth down conversions. Battling an apparent midsection injury, Penix overcame a difficult stretch in the second half with two three-pointers and a missed goal line when it looked like he couldn’t find his touch or his playmakers under pressure. The two-game start he responded with should make him a solid Heisman Trophy favorite, both in Vegas and in the national conversation.
As for Oregon, the Ducks should leave the game encouraged rather than frustrated. The aim was to be a tougher, more physical and more precise team and the visitors achieved exactly that throughout the game. The offense averaged five yards per rush and over 200 total yards; Nix completed 75 percent of his passes; The Ducks owned the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer than UW, scored 10 of 16 on third down and finished with no giveaways. The failed fourth down conversion late in the fourth quarter and the missed field goal at the buzzer made the difference today, but head coach Dan Lanning should feel like his program is on par with Washington’s. This probably won’t be the last time these two teams see each other. – Diane Lee
Iowa takes control of Big Ten West
There is no aesthetic beauty in the way Iowa plays football, and that’s especially true when the Hawkeyes play Wisconsin. But results matter more than style points, and now Iowa (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) is in the driver’s seat of the Big Ten West Division.
Iowa leaned on its running game and really delivered in Saturday’s 15-6 win in Madison. The Hawkeyes rushed for 200 yards, by far the program’s most against Wisconsin since 2008. Leshon Williams broke loose for an 82-yard touchdown run in the first half, far from his only big carry. Tory Taylor returned a punt 10 times for an average of 50.6 yards, with five going over 50 yards and six coming inside 20 yards. And the Hawkeyes’ defense shut down Wisconsin, with senior defensive back Sebastian Castro playing a starring role. Iowa must now hold serve in four straight home games before the season finale at Nebraska. —Scott Dochterman
What happened to Colorado?
Colorado’s rebuilding roster has many flaws, but two of the three biggest ones made it possible to open a 29-point lead, the largest collapse in school history, in a 46-43 loss to Stanford in double overtime on Friday night.
The Buffaloes have had trouble passing the ball all season, having to implement a running game with quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ legs and passes to the perimeter. Despite the large lead, Colorado’s running backs had just 21 carries for 81 yards, and the offense scored two punts and two turnovers on downs on its first four possessions of the second half after scoring touchdowns on its first four possessions of the first half. Colorado ranks 130th nationally in yards per carry.
In addition to its struggles in the running game, Colorado has struggled all season to cover opposing receivers with a thin group of cornerbacks. Colorado ranks 130th nationally in passing yards allowed per game, 119th in completion percentage allowed and 91st in yards allowed per attempt. The return of two-way star Travis Hunter didn’t help; He gave up some of the biggest plays of the night to Stanford wideout Elic Ayomanor, who set his own school record with 294 yards, three touchdowns and 13 catches, all in the second half. But not being able to run the ball to bleed out the clock and not being able to cover opposing receivers to prevent a comeback attempt are a bad combination. But that’s exactly what Colorado is right now. —David Ubben
Georgia’s Brock Bowers appears to be avoiding serious injury
Georgia didn’t look as good on the road against Vanderbilt this week, winning 37-20 as it did in its home win against Kentucky last week, but the Bulldogs probably avoided a big blow.
Brock Bowers, who led Georgia’s comeback against Auburn in September with a career-high 157 yards receiving, had three consecutive 100-yard receiving games before suffering an ankle injury in the second quarter on Saturday. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he expected the tight end to be OK, but Bowers had his foot x-rayed to make sure.
At first, Bowers attempted to leave the field but was forced to stop and fall to his knees, where he hit the turf. However, he was able to leave the field under his own power but did not return.
Georgia is still the most talented team in the country without Bowers and has weapons in the passing game, but when push comes to shove, Bowers is the most reliable target for first-year quarterback Carson Beck. The Bulldogs could win the SEC East without Bowers, but if he hadn’t been available in the SEC title game or playoffs, the Bulldogs’ run to the sport’s first three-peat in nearly a century could have gone up in smoke. At the moment it looks like that is not the case. — Ubben
Alabama survives
If Alabama wants to legitimately compete for an SEC championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Crimson Tide will have to play a lot cleaner than they did Saturday. Nick Saban was the first to admit after Alabama’s 24-21 home win over Arkansas that his team “needs to learn to play 60 minutes and finish the game,” as he told the ESPN broadcast. But a win is a win, and at midseason the Crimson Tide are still alive in the playoff race. That’s all that matters for Saban’s squad.
Alabama appeared to be on its way to an easy day as the Crimson Tide took a 21-6 halftime lead and extended that lead to 24-6 midway through the third quarter. But Arkansas scored late in the third, thanks in large part to two crucial penalties by the Alabama defense, both on third down. A facemask call to defensive back Jaylen Key on third-and-8 kept the Razorbacks’ drive alive, giving them 15 yards and a first down on their own 42-yard line. A pass interference call a few minutes later from defensive back Caleb Downs moved the Razorbacks from the Alabama 20-yard line to the 5th. Arkansas scored one play later, then used that momentum heading into the fourth quarter, making it a three-point game with nearly 11 minutes to play.
Praise Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner for making a great play in crunch time, sacking Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, resulting in an 11-yard loss on third-and-8, which was Arkansas’ should be the last drive of the afternoon. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe finished the game completing just 10 of 21 passes but managed to throw for 238 yards and two touchdowns. This Alabama team has a lot to clean up and a lot to learn. Taking a double-digit lead over an Arkansas team that is now 2-5 is concerning. But the Crimson Tide found a way to win in a season without a clear leader. Don’t count them out yet. – Grace Raynor
(Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)