College football Week 7 preview: The five best games to watch this weekend

When the conference schedules were announced ahead of the 2024 college football season, there was one specific date, October 12, that was circled by fans across the country.

This is the date when fall weddings go unattended, youth football games are better wrapped up by noon, and brunch simply doesn't happen unless there are four screens showing four different college football games.

This weekend, more than most, could be a college football Saturday to remember. But last weekend, when four of the top 11 programs in the sport lost to unranked opponents, we had one of those too.

This Saturday is for farewell. Who is real? Who doesn't? Who can take another crucial step towards winning the national title?

Here are the five best games to watch this weekend:

No. 9 Ole ma'am at number 13 LSU (7:30 PM ET)

This game features the two most productive passers in the SEC. Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart leads the alliance ahem, conference in passing yards and ranks second in the empire ahem, league in passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier ranks first in passing touchdowns and second in passing yards.

Although both programs still have to play Georgia later this year, Ole Miss could put itself on better footing with a win. Lane Kiffin's team will not play Alabama or Texas this season and will likely be favored in every game it plays aside from the Dawgs.

Ole Miss could use another big game from Tre Harris, who leads the nation in receiving yards per game with 147.5, and running back Henry Parrish Jr., who has averaged 106.6 yards from scrimmage per game and has scored in each of Ole Miss' pasts. five games.

LSU, still undefeated in SEC play, could take this opportunity to take full advantage of Georgia's loss to Alabama and Alabama's loss to Vanderbilt. With a win, LSU would join Texas A&M (inactive) and Texas (with a win against Oklahoma) as the only undefeated teams left in the league.

No. 4 Penn State bee USC (3:30 PM ET)

Normally the only time we see these two play is in the postseason at the Rose Bowl. But now that USC is joining the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions And Trojan horses meet for the first time since 2000 in the regular competition.

While USC has won each of its last three games against Penn State, the Trojans are reeling. Losses to Michigan and Minnesota, hardly the class of the Big Ten this year, have left USC with just one Big Ten win this season. However, USC is 3-0 at the Coliseum this year.

The location offers Penn State, just like its opponent, the opportunity to show that it is just as tough on the road as it is in Beaver Stadium. The game in Los Angeles will be the Nittany Lions' first away game since August 31. With a win, PSU joins Ohio State-Oregon winner and Indiana as the last undefeated Big Ten teams in the conference and moves one step closer to their first appearance. in the College Football Playoff.

The return of tailback Nick Singleton could be decisive in this game. He didn't play last week in PSU's 27-11 win against UCLA on Oct. 5, and it showed. Penn State rushed for just 85 yards without him, and Singleton has accounted for at least 100 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in every game he has played in 2024. The Trojan defenses were dragged like Hector around the walls of the city. Troy by Minnesota's rushing attack for 193 yards.

No. 18 State of Kansas bee Colorado (10:15 PM ET)

Colorado is looking to move to 5-1 for the first time since 2018, topple a top 25 opponent, move to the top of the Big 12 title race and perhaps find itself in the AP Top 25 for the first time this year. However, CU is just 1-5 against top-25 opponents in the Deion Sanders era.

Although quarterback Shedeur Sanders has thrown for 331 yards per game and 15 total touchdowns while completing 70.1 percent of his passes, he is getting hit a lot. He has been sacked the most times by a Big 12 signal caller this year by 17.0 times.

And then there's Travis Hunter who continues to show why he should hold on to the Heisman at the end of the year. He is the first player in the last 30 years to record 10 career touchdown catches and five interceptions, and those are just his FBS numbers. He leads the Big 12 in receptions with 46, has averaged 112 receiving yards per game, has caught six touchdowns, recorded two interceptions, has not allowed a single passing score and is averaging 132 snaps per game.

The Wild cats are looking to post their first 5-1 start since 2022, the year K-State defeated undefeated TCU to win the Big 12 championship, and they have another excellent quarterback to do it with. Avery Johnson accounted for 319 yards and five touchdowns in K-State's last outing. But K-State's only loss was a 38-9 loss on the road at BYU and this game is at Folsom Field.

No. 1 Texas vs. #18 Oklahoma (3:30 PM ET)

The 120th edition of the Red River Rivalry will feature the nation's No. 1 team, Texas, and the team it has lost to 17 times in the last 25 years: Oklahoma.

But this one Soon are a two-touchdown underdog with a true freshman at quarterback, a depleted receiving corps, a patchwork offensive line and a rushing attack as deadly as a crying Care Bear. OU's third-down conversion rate (5 of 26) is atrocious in SEC play. But since the switch at QB from Jackson Arnold to Michael Hawkins Jr. the offense has done a better job of not giving the ball away.

Hawkins hit 10 of 15 passes for 230 total yards in OU's win against Auburn, and Oklahoma's defense has allowed just 16 points per game this season. But it doesn't bode well that OU gave up 338 passing yards to an Auburn that hasn't had a credible passing attack against SEC opponents in the Hugh Freeze era. The only other team to allow Auburn 300 passing yards with Freeze as head coach is Alabama A&M in the Tigers' 2024 season opener.

Meanwhile, Texas boasts a top-10 offense, a top-five defense and is seeking its first 6-0 start since 2009, the last year it played for the national title. No one has scored more than 14 points on Texas' defense, and the Texas offense is averaging 45 points per game. The Longhorns also get starting QB Quinn Ewers back in the saddle. They are the favorite. This year they have to win. But it's OU-Texas. So hatred runs deep. And even if Texas is elite, the river turns red.

No. 2 State of Ohio at number 3 Oregon (7:30 PM ET)

From the moment Oregon joined the Big Ten, this was the game we wanted. Ohio State was embarrassed at home by the Ducks the last time they met. This year they have proven to be the class of the Big Ten, and Saturday's game at Autzen Stadium could be the first of three times they meet this year. I expect the winner of this game to tie the headband of the No. 1 team around his afro.

The Ducks have won 34 of their past 35 games in Autzen. However, they will face an Ohio State team that has defeated all of its opponents by 28 points or more. This is the first time in school history that the Buckeyes have accomplished this feat in their first five games of any season.

Buckeye freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith is averaging 97.2 yards per game and has recorded seven touchdowns this season, while the Buckeye defense is the nation's best in scoring, allowing just 6.8 points per game. No opponent has scored more than 15 against OSU this season.

The Ducks are winners of 20 of the past 22 and appear to be developing into the kind of team we expected from them in preseason. Even after his worst performance as a Duck last week, when he threw two interceptions in the same game for the first time since 2022, Dillon Gabriel has been surgically efficient. He leads the nation in completion percentage at 77.8, is averaging 304 yards per game and has thrown 14 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions this season.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of “The Number One College Football Show” podcast. Follow him up @RJ_Young.

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