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The Athletic has live coverage of Oregon vs. Washington in Week 7 college football action
As the 2023 college football season approaches its midpoint, Week 7 offers multiple marquee matchups that will set the course for the stretch run. While a top-10 matchup between Oregon and Washington could determine the new Pac-12 frontrunner, USC’s trip to Notre Dame will help dissipate fan angst on one side of the sport’s greatest intersectional rivalry — and ramp up the pressure on the other side.
Check back all day for updates from our writers around the country on Week 7’s biggest stories. Here’s 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, 7
No. 4 Florida State 41, Syracuse 3
No. 6 Penn State vs. UMass, 3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
No. 7 Washington vs. No. 8 Oregon, 3:30 p.m., ABC
No. 10 USC at No. 21 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Well 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 vs. Cal, 3 p.m., Pac-12 Network
No. 17 Duke vs. NC State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 19 Tennessee vs. Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m., CBS
No. 19 Washington State vs. Arizona, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Network
No. 22 LSU vs. Auburn, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 23 Kansas at Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m., FS1
No. 24 Kentucky vs. Missouri, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
What happened to Colorado?
Colorado’s rebuilt roster has plenty of flaws, but two of the three biggest made it possible to cough up a 29-point lead, the biggest collapse in school history, in a 46-43 loss to Stanford in double overtime on Friday night.
The Buffaloes have struggled to run the ball all season and have had to manufacture a running game with quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ legs and passes thrown to the perimeter. Despite the big lead, Colorado’s running backs had just 21 carries for 81 yards, and the offense had 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 the running game struggles, Colorado has struggled to cover opposing receivers with a thin group of cornerbacks all season. Colorado ranks 130th nationally in passing yards allowed per game, 119th in completion percentage allowed and 91st in yards per attempt allowed. Two-way star Travis Hunter’s return didn’t help; he gave up some of the biggest plays of the night against 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 the clock and not being able to cover opposing receivers to stymie a comeback attempt are a bad combination. But that’s what Colorado is right now. — David Ubben
Georgia’s Brock Bowers appears to avoid major injury
Georgia didn’t look as sharp on the road against Vanderbilt this week, winning 37-20, as it did in last week’s home beatdown of Kentucky, but the Bulldogs likely avoided a major blow.
Brock Bowers, who fueled Georgia’s rally against Auburn in September with a career high 157 yards, had three consecutive 100-yard receiving games before suffering an ankle injury in the second quarter Saturday. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he expected the tight end to be fine, but Bowers was having his foot X-rayed to make sure.
Initially, Bowers tried to get off the field but had to stop and go to his knees, where he punched the turf. But he was able to leave the field under his own power, though he didn’t return.
Georgia is still the most talented team in the country without Bowers and has weapons in the passing game, but when the chips are down, Bowers is the most reliable target for first-year starter Carson Beck at quarterback. The Bulldogs could win the SEC East without Bowers, but if he wasn’t going to be available in the SEC title game or the Playoff, the Bulldogs’ run for a the sport’s first three-peat in almost a century could have gone up in smoke. For now, it looks like that’s not the case. — Ubben
Alabama survives
If Alabama wants to legitimately contend for an SEC championship and a College Football Playoff berth, the Crimson Tide will have to play much cleaner than they did on Saturday. Nick Saban was the first to admit after Alabama squeaked by Arkansas 24-21 at home that his team must “learn how to play for 60 minutes and finish the game,” as he told the ESPN broadcast. But a win is a win, and at the midway point of the season, the Crimson Tide are still alive in the Playoff race. That’s all that matters for Saban’s squad.
Alabama seemed to be on pace for an easy day when the Crimson Tide took a 21-6 lead into halftime and extended the advantage to 24-6 midway through the third quarter. But Arkansas scored late in the third, in large part to two critical penalties from the Alabama defense, both on third down. A facemask call on defensive back Jaylen Key on third-and-8 kept the Razorbacks’ drive alive and gave them 15 yards and a first down on their own 42-yard line. A pass interference call minutes later on defensive back Caleb Downs took the Razorbacks from the Alabama 20-yard line to the 5. Arkansas scored one play later, then took that momentum into the fourth quarter and made it a three-point game with nearly 11 minutes to play.
Give credit to Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner for making a huge play in crunch time, sacking Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson for a loss of 11 yards on third-and-8 in what became Arkansas’ final drive of the afternoon. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe finished the game just 10-of-21 passing but managed to throw for 238 yards and two touchdowns. This Alabama team has plenty to clean up and much to learn. Coughing up a double-digit lead to an Arkansas team that is now 2-5 is concerning. But the Crimson Tide found a way to win in a season with no clear frontrunner. Don’t count them out yet. — Raynor
(Photo of Elic Ayomanor: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
2023-10-14 19:41:13
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