College football winners, losers for Week 7: Oregon earns historic win, Oklahoma's Red River route reveals trend

Week 7 was always billed as a battle of heavyweights college football. Against all odds, the slate lived up to the hype with four overtime games involving AP Top 25 teams and even more top 10 teams in foul trouble.

Notably, No. 2 Ohio State fell to No. 3 Oregon for its seventh loss in eight tries against top-five opponents under coach Ryan Day. Oregon, on the other hand, picked up its first win against a top-two opponent in program history and took control of the Big Ten title race.

Elsewhere, No. 1 Texas established itself as a serious national title contender by eviscerating No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. LSU also got back into the conference title race by shocking Ole Miss. Utah may be out for good after losing to Arizona State.

Here are college football's biggest winners and losers from Week 7, including more clarity in the conference championship races.

Loser: Ryan Day

Ohio State paid more than $20 million to build this roster during the offseason. The Buckeyes ran away from incumbent starting quarterback Kyle McCord and replaced him with Will Howard. Safety Caleb Downs (Alabama) and running back Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss) transferred to the program. The Buckeyes have all the advantages and more in one of the most make-or-break seasons in college football history.

It took one test for the house of cards to collapse. Worse still, it was embarrassing. Day's handpicked quarterback failed to recognize a clock situation and slipped as time expired for the loss. Despite being within field goal range, Ohio State executed a dropback pass. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was called for offensive pass interference, pushing the Buckeyes out of field goal range.

Now Day is 1-7 against AP's top five opponents since the pandemic. The loss was the first against a non-Michigan Big Ten opponent since 2018. It was the program's second straight loss to Oregon.

Winner: Oregon coach Dan Lanning

Ducks coach Dan Lanning has lost a few heartbreakers over the years, but Saturday in Eugene was his crowning moment. Oregon shocked Ohio State 32-31 with a game-winning field goal by Atticus Sappington with 1:47 remaining. Laning has been a rising star in the industry for years, but the win over Ohio State brings a new level of credibility. The win was the first win over an AP top-two team in program history and should move the program to No. 2 for the first time since Marcus Mariota graduated in 2014.

Loser: Oklahoma

Before coach Brent Venables arrived in 2022, Oklahoma had scored a touchdown in every iteration of the Red River Rivalry dating back to 1998. Before that, that streak went all the way back to 1977. After a devastating 34-3 loss to No. 1 Texas, the Sooners have now failed to score a touchdown twice in the rivalry in three years under Venables.

The offense was once again a total disaster, drawing comparisons to Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.'s embarrassing 49-0 loss in 2022. did his best as the first true freshman to start for OU in the rivalry game in history, but he finished under 100. yards passing until a late drive in garbage time. On defense, Oklahoma also got just 64 yards rushing from its running backs, and only one wide receiver had more than 20 yards.

The Sooners rank last in the SEC in almost every offensive category. It's fair to give Venables at least one mulligan for injuries. But two bad losses for the Longhorns in three years? That's a trend, and it's definitely not good.

Winner: Free Football

October 12 was already considered one of the best days in college football in a long time. To make it even better, the sports gods blessed us with tons of free football. Four different games involving ranked opponents went to overtime for the first time since September 27, 2003. No. No. 13 LSU pulled off the upset by shocking No. 9 Ole Miss. USC gave No. 4 Penn State all it could handle before invading. overtime. Purdue came agonizingly close to upsetting No. 23 Illinois, but failed on a potential game-winning 2-point conversion. Florida failed to score in overtime as No. 8 Tennessee survived a putrid performance. Even if the top teams don't lose, they look very vulnerable. That could mean a wild end to the season.

Loser: Alabama

I tend to give teams one mulligan, a weird play you can come up with when 18-22 year olds are having a bad day. For Alabama, it was the astonishing road loss to Vanderbilt. After following that disaster series with a narrow 27-25 win over South Carolina at home, the Crimson Tide are officially on fraud watch.

The Tide once again struggled to run the ball against South Carolina and put together a disaster of defensive performance against an offensively inept team. The Gamecocks had touchdown drives of 16 and 10 plays, and Alabama simply couldn't get them off the field. This is a flawed, inconsistent team that is not playing championship football.

The 2024 Cyclones joined the 1938 Cyclones as the only teams in Iowa State history to start 6-0 after beating West Virginia 28-16 in a major road game. Running back Carson Hansen posted three touchdowns in the win as Iowa State racked up nearly 400 offensive yards in a big victory.

A fun little side plot: West Virginia honored former tight end Anthony Becht after inducting him into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. His son, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, celebrated by carving up his father's alma mater for 265 yards and a touchdown. The younger Becht did not receive a scholarship offer from WVU, but has become one of the Big 12's top passers.

Loser: College kickers

Rumors of kickers becoming too good may have been a bit premature. Yes, Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis hit a career-long 57-yarder vs. LSU, but there were some otherwise terrible showings on Saturday. Kickers for both Texas and Oklahoma missed easy field goals, while Longhorns kicker Bert Auburn actually got a second attempt and missed it as well. Oregon's Sappington was fortunate to get another field goal attempt after whiffing a 44-yarder early in the game. South Carolina's Alex Herrera was put in a brutal position by his staff, but missed a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter that would have put South Carolina ahead. The chaos of college kickers always keeps the sport unpredictable. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Penn State coach James Franklin openly likes Warren, and he put together one of the best tight end receiving performances in history in a 33-30 overtime win against USC. Warren caught an absurd 17 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown, while offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki exploited his mismatch early and often.

Warren has been a strong contributor all season, including a 146-yard performance against Bowling Green. However, he reached another level in the huge road victory and gave Penn State a bona fide playmaker.

Loser: Utah

The Utah saga reaches a brutal end after limping quarterback Cameron Rising had a miserable game in a shocking 27-19 loss to Arizona State. In his return from a hand injury, Rising threw three interceptions and the Utes got into the end zone just once in the loss as the program fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play.

Going to Arizona and Arizona State in back-to-back weeks makes the Utes' path to the Big 12 Championship Game that much more difficult. Games against BYU and Iowa State – both undefeated – are still on the horizon. What should have been a coronation for Utah suddenly turns into a disaster for the second straight season.

Winner: Vanderbilt

The Commodores have no interest in being a one-hit wonder. A week after shocking Alabama, Vanderbilt defeated Kentucky 20-13 on two touchdown throws from QB Diego Pavia. The win provides the program's best start since a 5-1 record in 2008 when Bobby Johnson coached the program. Vanderbilt has won two SEC wins in a season just once since 2018. The atmosphere couldn't be better in Nashville.