College football Week 7 buzz: Looking at the Texas quarterback situation and a weekend of wild upsets

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables doesn't have to look far for proof that his team can win Saturday when the No. 18 Sooners face No. 1 Texas in one of the biggest games of a packed Week 7 slate.

In addition to last week, when five of the top 11 teams in the Associated Press poll lost, Venables can point to last year, when Oklahoma knocked off then-No. 3 Texas.

"People's opinions and expectations about how the game is going to go doesn't decide who wins," he said. "It's execution, it's physicality, it's taking care of the ball, it's playing great situationally. It's handling the chaos of game day. Poise under pressure. Those are the things that win for you; this game this year will be no different."

While the Sooners are trying to avoid a second SEC loss so early in their first season in the league, an undefeated team is going down in Eugene, Oregon, where Big Ten heavyweights Ohio State and Oregon will play in a game that could be a sneak preview of the Big Ten championship.

Unless, of course, Penn State has something to say about that. The Nittany Lions will travel to L.A. to face USC, which needs to avoid what would be a devastating third league loss. Another critical game is Ole Miss at LSU, which will reveal who to take more seriously in the CFP race, and Kansas State travels to Colorado, with both teams still having a chance to win the wide-open Big 12.

As always, college football insiders Heather Dinich and Adam Rittenberg have been talking to sources throughout the week to get their reactions to what unfolded last week, and the storylines to watch in Week 7.

Jump to a section:
Last week's upsets
Oregon-Ohio State
Texas quarterback battle
Who's the nation's best receiver?
Kansas State-Colorado
Emptying the notebook

What's your biggest takeaway from Saturday's wild upsets?

Rittenberg: No one is untouchable this season with the possible exception of Ohio State, which faces its first major test this week at Oregon. "A lot of parity," an SEC defensive assistant told me. "There's not a team that's superior to anybody right now. Maybe Ohio State is the one team, I guess, but Iowa did a hell of job against them in the first half [last week]." Texas is another team that can place itself in the top tier, especially with consecutive wins against Oklahoma and Georgia the next two weeks. Alabama's vulnerability on defense likely won't be solved right away, while Tennessee's offense has struggled in consecutive road games, despite clear talent at receiver and other positions.

Also, the SEC playoff picture still could change in so many ways, as Texas A&M is now very much in contention and so is Ole Miss, possibly one of the league's most complete teams, which must win this week against LSU, another potential contender. The second losses for both USC and Michigan -- and the Wolverines' obvious limitations on offense -- seemingly reduced the Big Ten's realistic pool of CFP candidates.

Dinich: The transfer portal has been a major contributor to the parity. For all of the talk about how the Ohio States and Georgias of the world are only going to grow stronger in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, the ability for players to move about the country freely in many ways has allowed for more of these wild weekends. Not everyone can go to Columbus. There are plenty of other talented players who have given rosters a quick injection of hope.

"I don't know if college football has ever been like this," one Power 4 head coach told me.

"The whole big picture of it's really interesting," said another.

Venables said he loved the Week 6 chaos because the "parity is better than it's ever been. Sometimes we're a victim of the parity, but I like it for the game," he said. "It's really exciting." And it further boosts the odds of having multiple teams in the 12-team CFP with two or three losses.

What are coaches saying about how Oregon can beat Ohio State?

Dinich: Oregon coach Dan Lanning knows how tough this game is going to be and told me everyone has to be able to win their one-on-ones. "You can't go out there and double everybody and put extra hats in the box," he said. The biggest key to the game, he said, will be physicality and the rushing attack. Lanning said the Ducks have been able to run the ball more effectively lately, but there's "still a lot of growth that can happen" on the offensive line.

The Ducks obviously want to put some pressure on Will Howard, and they've had some success in recent weeks getting after quarterbacks. "This team's a real team," Lanning said, "so we'll have to see if we can still get back there in the backfield."

Overall, Lanning said Oregon still isn't where it wants to be -- or can be.

"Close, but not there," he said. "We're not the best version of us. There's a lot of growth we can make. Hopefully that's happening closer toward the end of November."

Rittenberg: Ohio State likely has more overall talent and depth, but Oregon could have the edge along the offensive line. A defensive coordinator who faced the Ducks earlier this season said the interior issues that surfaced early against Idaho and Boise State have seemingly been sorted out. "They're better up front on the O-line," the coach said. "They had some interior issues, and they probably underestimated [Idaho and Boise State]. They were very vanilla."

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles agreed, saying of the Ducks' line, "Whatever struggles they were having early in the season, you can tell they've just gotten a lot better as the year has gone along." Knowles said the key for Ohio State's veteran defensive line, led by Jack Sawyer and others, will be limiting the Ducks' rushing attack, led by Jordan James (552 rushing yards, five touchdowns).

"The sacks and stuff, those will come, based on situation, but what you've really got to do is look at: How is our front controlling the running game?" Knowles said.

Dinich: Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Howard are nearly identical in most major statistical categories, but Gabriel has a slight edge in completion percentage (77.8%), which leads the nation. Two of his three interceptions came against Michigan State -- both in the red zone.

"He's got to operate on time," Lanning said. "If you wait to throw the ball late, those kinds of things happen. We'll get it corrected. He'll get it corrected. Outside of three mistakes in the red zone, I think he's been really good all year. That's all I want to see -- that growth and decision-making in those situations."

Rittenberg: Knowles noted Gabriel's experience and playmaking ability, describing the senior "in that Patrick Mahomes style. The guy is experienced and he makes plays. He knows what he's looking at when he sees the defense." Ohio State will counter with a very talented secondary, featuring veterans like Lathan Ransom and Denzel Burke, and dynamic young players like Caleb Downs, the Alabama transfer. Knowles is pleased with the uptick in takeaways, as Ohio State has four interceptions and five fumble recoveries (six forced) in five games. Although Ohio State has "premier corners," Knowles said, a key matchup likely will pair Oregon slot receiver Tez Johnson (395 receiving yards, five touchdowns) against Ohio State nickel Jordan Hancock.

"A lot of the game is going to come down to our nickel," Knowles said. "Their slot is dynamic, so the stress point is really going to be on nickel in that matchup. He's going to have to have a great game."

What are you hearing on how Texas will use its quarterbacks in Quinn Ewers' return?

Rittenberg: Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told me Ewers benefited from having the open week before the Oklahoma game and "not feel like he's getting rushed" back into action. Sarkisian said that since Ewers sustained a non-contact injury (abdominal), the need to get hit again to feel comfortable being back in games isn't really present. "It's more of, 'Am I healthy enough to go cut it loose and to go play?'" Sarkisian said. "And all indications are just that, I think he's ready to go." The lone benefit from Ewers' injury is that Sarkisian saw Arch Manning in extended game situations where he improved, especially in a Sept. 28 win against Mississippi State. "Super efficient but yet still explosive," Sarkisian said. "We're very comfortable that if Arch's number is called that we're going to keep doing our stuff and running our offense."

Dinich: I'm hearing that it doesn't matter which quarterback is in -- not to Sark, and not to Venables, who told me this week he's not going to defend one differently than the other. "They're more similar than they are different," he said. "Their accuracy, their quickness, they read and decipher defenses, their ability to push the ball down the field. Manning may be a little more mobile, but Ewers can get out of trouble and they do a lot of things where they're in seven-, eight-man protections where it's not like they're sitting back there exposed."

Venables said their ability to create explosive plays through the vertical passing game is "virtually identical."

Rittenberg: Texas has incorporated a new-look wide receiver group led by transfers Isaiah Bond (Alabama) and Matthew Golden (Houston), but Sarkisian thinks the team is legitimately six deep at the position with dynamic freshman Ryan Wingo and others in the mix. "Nobody's just out there being serviceable," he said. "They're making plays for us and creating explosive plays, and I think that's helped us, keeping guys fresh."

Sarkisian added that Oklahoma's defense will challenge the Longhorns, especially up the middle with defensive tackles Damonic Williams, a transfer from TCU, and freshman Jayden Jackson, as well as veterans Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman Jr. at linebacker and safety. "When you're good down the middle of your defense, then you can start being better on your edges," Sarkisian told me. "And then when you're good down the middle, you can be a little bit more creative. And no one's better than Brent at being creative and finding ways to try to create havoc and disrupt plays and create sacks and create turnovers than him."

Dinich: Oklahoma enters this game ranked in the top 10 in both defensive and special teams efficiency, with the ability to win the turnover battle and field position -- critical components that can help compensate for an offense that has yet to find its groove. Oklahoma hasn't played perfectly and Venables has stressed to his team it doesn't have to. But it has to find a way to run the ball against Texas, which it hasn't done well, and the Sooners have to force some turnovers and create a short field.

OU isn't good enough to overcome penalties and mistakes that negate scoring drives and missed opportunities in the red zone against a team like Texas -- and Venables knows that. But there have also been flashes of promise, with "dudes wide open," and one of the best kicking games in the country. "This is the game," he said. "Against our toughest opponent, in an amazing environment, this is the game I think we're going to take that next step."

Who's your Biletnikoff pick right now?

Rittenberg: The two wide receivers generating the most attention are freshmen Ryan Williams (Alabama) and Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), whom we wrote about in the Week 6 Buzz. Williams has a touchdown catch in each of his first five college games, while Smith added a one-handed touchdown gem against Iowa to his growing list of highlights.

I'm really excited to see Ole Miss star Tre Harris in person this week at LSU. Another wideout who should be getting more national love is San Jose State's Nick Nash, who has 55 (!) catches for 712 yards and nine touchdowns through five games. Nash had single-game catch totals of 17 (Washington State) and 15 (Kennesaw State), and the former Spartans quarterback threw his second touchdown pass of the season with 50 seconds left to beat Nevada last week. San Jose State coach Ken Niumatalolo said he thanks Nash every game for sticking with the program and playing in offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann's system.

"It fits him perfectly because the run 'n shoot principles are based off of pre-snap and post-snap coverages," Niumatalolo said. "There are not a lot of defined, set routes before the play starts. So you need a smart guy, and that's him. He's able to be on the same page with the quarterback because he can see what people are in before the snap and post-snap, if they rotate or try to disguise things. And Nick, his catch radius is a little bit different because he's a big slot, almost 6-4. The quarterback can just put the ball in his vicinity. He's been light's out."

Nash is definitely in the Biletnikoff conversation, but right now I'm leaning toward Williams, who made the defining play of the season so far.

Dinich: Nash and Harris have been overshadowed by the fab freshmen this year, but you're right. They are in the conversation. Both of them lead the country with 33 catches that have gone for first downs. Nobody has more yards after the catch than Harris (446). You know who has the fewest drops? Smith, with one. He's also got seven contested catches while Ryan Williams has two.

You can pick and choose eye-popping stats for any of them, but I'm going with Smith. Over 82% of his catches have either gone for a touchdown or a first down. Let that sink in. For the second straight week, he had another jaw-dropping, one-handed touchdown catch. Part of the reason Smith is so good, Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline told me, is because he's going against the Buckeyes' elite defense every day in practice.

"When the ball comes his way, he takes significant pride in making sure it's a completion for the quarterback, and leaves it at that," Hartline said. "His biggest focus in practice is not having mistakes, and getting signals and comprehending those signals as early as possible. Him learning the urgency you need at this level -- and the next level -- is critical. I'm not babying him that way. He knows that."

What's at stake this week as Kansas State visits surging Colorado in Boulder?

Dinich: This is a chance for K-State to reassert itself in the Big 12 race after a convincing loss at BYU threw its legitimacy into doubt. K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman told me that was "an eye-opening moment for us," and it helped them respond to adversity the following game against Oklahoma State. Saturday's game at Colorado is the first of back-to-back difficult road trips for Kansas State before heading to West Virginia and will be the most difficult stretch of the season until it closes at Iowa State on Nov. 30.

Klanderman said the teams that have had success against the Buffaloes have been able to get to Shedeur Sanders and keep him in the pocket. "Nebraska was doing it with a four-man rush, and they're probably the team that handled them the best," Klanderman said. "... There's some good timing throws, but they get a lot of yards off of scramble stuff, where he's extending plays and you throw that ball up to Travis Hunter and if it's anywhere near him, he's coming down with it." Expect the Wildcats to get after Hunter, but with the realization that if they pay too much attention to him, "Jimmy Horn's getting crazy."

"We're going to challenge him and treat him just like we would treat anybody else," Klanderman said, "and hope that the rush and the soundness of our coverages prevail."

Rittenberg: Kansas State coach Chris Klieman also has great respect for Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who "sees the field so well" despite facing pressure, and will force the Wildcats to mix up their coverages. "You're not going to fool him," Klieman told me. "I've seen a lot of people do a lot of different disguises, and he picks it up. You have to play really sound, good football, whether you're in zone and in man. We have to do a good job of playing both, because you can't be nothing but a zone team, and you can't be nothing but a man team, where he's going to pick you apart."

Senior defensive end Brendan Mott, who leads K-State with four sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss, should be a significant factor in trying to curtail Sanders and the CU passing game. Klieman told me Mott has long been one of the team's top pass rushers but is logging more snaps and being aligned at different spots "because he's earned that opportunity to stay on the field."

Kansas State also continues to see growth from its own quarterback, Avery Johnson, who responded from a rough performance at BYU to throw three touchdown passes and rush for two more in a blowout win over Oklahoma State. When Oklahoma State focused on taking away designed quarterback runs, Johnson pivoted to throw from the pocket, hand the ball off to DJ Giddens or make throws on the move.

"Those are things that are fun for us to see as coaches, it's not just the design run or a bootleg, but off-schedule things where it breaks down and he ends up making a play and feeling more and more comfortable," Klieman said. "The more snaps he gets, the more of those pre- and post-snap pictures he's seen."

The diversity of Kansas State's run game -- from Giddens to Johnson to Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards -- will loom large against a Buffs defense that "played a complete game" in its win at UCF, Klieman said.

Who is a more legitimate CFP contender, Ole Miss or LSU?

Rittenberg: I'm excited to find out Saturday in Baton Rouge, as Ole Miss-LSU projects as a CFP elimination game. The matchup should be quite different from last year's, where the teams combined for 104 points, 66 first downs and 1,343 yards in Oxford. Although both offenses rank in the top seven nationally in passing, Ole Miss is No. 3 nationally in fewest points allowed, and LSU has elevated its play under new defensive coordinator Blake Baker. "Ole Miss addressed that through the transfer portal," LSU coach Brian Kelly told me. "They have virtually 10 new players on that defense, so for them, that [2023] game doesn't exist, right? We have some players back, but we have a whole new defensive staff. So one replaced the staff, one replaced the players. Each head coach saw the need to make changes."

Ole Miss feels a bit closer to the CFP this year, even with the loss to Kentucky, as LSU is still building in its secondary. "If you look at our recruiting, that is obviously a major focus," Kelly said. "We're getting there, but we have some people on the horizon that make this even better."

The key for LSU will be limiting star wide receiver Tre Harris and the Ole Miss passing game as much as it can, and getting its best performance from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who has completed 69.7% of his passes this season. "Each week, he becomes a quarterback that's much more decisive," Kelly said. "There's no question about what I'm doing with the football. I'm putting it in that tight window because I'm sure that I can make that throw. Decisiveness comes from confidence, but it also comes from preparation. And his preparation is outstanding."

Dinich: Until proven otherwise (and that might be what happens Saturday), I'm sticking with the Rebels. Their win at South Carolina was more indicative of their identity than the home loss to Kentucky, which is a more respectable team than some might give it credit for. (Still an inexcusable loss for a team that wants to win a national title). This is the start of the season-defining stretch for Ole Miss, though, and they're already playing from behind. If the Rebels can knock off LSU on the road, the faith should be restored in their playoff potential. According to ESPN Analytics, Ole Miss still has the third-best chance to play in the SEC championship game (26.9%), behind Texas and Alabama -- and ahead of Georgia (13%).

Let's empty your notebooks. What else are you hearing this week/what's the best thing you've heard?

Dinich:

• As USC prepares to host Penn State, confidence remains high within the program in spite of the second Big Ten loss, this time at Minnesota. Coach Lincoln Riley said he still feels like USC is "very much in control of the results" of these games, but they have "to push ourselves over the hump in terms of finishing a few of these off."

  "The things that need improvement are very much within our control," he said. "And I think the team feels that and has confidence from that."

  After watching film of Penn State, Riley said it's clear the coaching staff is trying to be "a little more aggressive" with quarterback Drew Allar this year, but that he still "plays a very controlled game and doesn't turn the ball over much." "They've got some good weapons around him," Riley said. "Tights are a really versatile piece. They use those tight ends in some creative ways."

  Riley said at the halfway point through the season, his defense has made "massive progress," but there's a lot of improvements they can continue to make.

  "When we're down a guy or you get in a game where there's a lot of snaps, that kind of development of our younger part of our roster for the back half of the season will be really important," he said. "We've done a really good job with this being our first year in this defensive system, but there's still learning and growth there that's got to continue to happen.

• If Alabama hadn't lost to Vanderbilt, Tennessee's loss to Arkansas would have gotten a lot more attention. What happened to the Vols?

  "I thought they would be able to run the ball better," one SEC coach told me. "I didn't ever feel like they got into a rhythm throwing the ball in their RPO game, and some of that was Arkansas' scheme. They did a nice job of making it hard. But Tennessee's receivers didn't play great and were banged up."

• When Texas Tech began its season with a bizarre 52-51 overtime win against Abilene Christian, some eyebrows were raised about how this season might unfold for the Red Raiders. A loss the following week at Washington State didn't help quiet any critics. Now, four straight wins later, Texas Tech (5-1) is just as much in the hunt to win the Big 12 as anyone.

  "I've never had a stronger group of leaders in 30 years of coaching than what we have right now," coach Joey McGuire told me. "They have my back. They know I have their back. They are a voice in that locker room that just keeps pushing this team in the direction we're going."

  The Red Raiders have a bye week to prepare for a beleaguered Baylor team they're expected to beat, and face TCU before a tough trip to Iowa State. They are powered by running back Tahj Brooks, who is third in the nation with 135.8 yards per carry and 21 runs of at least 10 yards. The question is if they can sustain it against a loaded back half of the schedule. While McGuire preaches going 1-0 each week, he also said he wants his players to believe they can compete for the Big 12 title.

  "Why not us?" he said. "If we keep building and continue to get better -- we'll get healthier off this bye -- why not us? We have everything we need in this locker room to compete with anybody. I want that to be in the back of their mind and keep right now in the front of their mind ... true mental toughness is being where your feet are."

Rittenberg:

• Penn State's defense has been dominant since Bowling Green piled up 24 points in the first half of a Week 2 matchup against the Nittany Lions. In the past 14 quarters, PSU has allowed a total of 21 total points. The Lions have been especially good in the second half of games all season, allowing 17 total points (none in the third quarter), 2.9 yards per play and 1.6 yards per rush. Coach James Franklin attributed some of the improvement to first-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen moving from the sideline to the coaches' box before a Sept. 21 game with Kent State.

  "Not everybody does it that way, but I think if you're just talking about strictly calling a game, it's the best place to call the game," Franklin said. "He hadn't been up there in a long time, obviously, being a head coach [at Indiana], so he wasn't sure about it at first, but I think that's been really, really helpful, and we've got a really strong staff."

  Penn State's defense could get its biggest test this week against a USC team that has looked ordinary on offense in Big Ten play. Star defensive end Abdul Carter, a converted lineback, is starting to surge with eight tackles for loss and three sacks. "The thing that's good for us and scary for others is he's just going to get better each week, playing the run, playing the pass, making explosive type plays on defense, tackles for loss, sacks," Franklin said.

  "The other thing is, we're going to continue to grow the package, where we're moving him around, where you don't know where he's going to be. That's where he's going to become most effective, because it makes it difficult for offenses to game-plan for him."

• Virginia coach Tony Elliott attributes the program's first 4-1 start since 2019 to a combination of individual and unit improvement and overall resilience, as the Cavaliers scored 24 unanswered points to beat Boston College last week and are 2-0 in games where they have trailed at halftime. When BC held a fourth-quarter lead and Elliott tried to encourage players, wide receiver Malachi Fields stopped him and said, "Coach, we got this." Fields recorded his third touchdown catch in the past two games and also completed a 29-yard pass in the win.

  The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Fields leads Virginia with 28 receptions for 412 yards.

  "He's playing a lot more physical," Elliott said. "He's just playing his size. You see him with run after the catch and yards after contact, just playing big. And then the leadership piece, too. He's very quiet by nature, doesn't say a lot, but you're starting to see him use his voice."

  Elliott said when he first came to Virginia, players focused on the success he had at Clemson and "wanted me to duplicate what we did."

  "You've got to go build it yourself," he added. "I don't know if they truly understood or believed in the approach that I was taking, that inside-out mentality. It's just awesome for the individuals that have been here for the long haul with the staff to have success. We've had to sacrifice a lot now. We've been through a lot, there's been tragedy, but to see them having some success, that's why you do it. That's what it's all about."

  Despite the strong start, Elliott is aware that the meat of Virginia's schedule lies ahead, saying, "There's big-boy football from here on out, so we're going to find out if we made the step."

• Niumatalolo won more games than any coach at Navy and had the most wins (10) in the Army-Navy series, so his Year 1 success at San Jose State isn't a surprise. But how the Spartans are winning -- through an up-tempo offense that ranks No. 8 nationally in pass yards per game and No. 6 in pass attempts per game -- is jarring. Although Niumatalolo is forever linked to Navy's triple option, he observed the run 'n shoot used by former coach June Jones at Hawai'i, his alma mater, and hired Stutzmann, an expert in the system.

  "I wasn't looking for a guy that had just a ton of pass routes or whatever, I wanted a guy who had a system and you know how he's going to attack defenses," Niumatalolo told me. "Plus he's added on a lot of the RPO game, which keeps the run game strong. I've come to realize our mantra is more to maximize possessions, not so much time of possession."

  Niumatololo remained "heavily involved" with the offense with Navy, but has let Stutzmann direct the unit at San Jose State, while focusing on macro elements of the program. As UCLA's director of leadership in 2023 under Chip Kelly, Niumatalolo learned more about areas he needed to emphasize to effectively lead a program.

  "The year at UCLA made me realize, OK, the game's changed, here are the things you've got to think about, obviously the portal and NIL," he said. "So getting here, trying to get out in the community, trying to meet people, has been more of my focus. I've always thought my strength was people, bringing people together."