College football winners, losers for Week 7: Oregon gets historic win, Oklahoma’s loss to Red River shows the trend

Week 7 has always been heralded as a battle of the heavyweights throughout college football. Against all odds, the team lived up to the hype, eliminating AP Top 25 teams and other Top 10 teams in four overtime games.

Most notably, No. 2 Ohio State lost to No. 3 Oregon, suffering its seventh loss in eight tries against top-five opponents under coach Ryan Day. Oregon, meanwhile, earned 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 destroying No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. LSU also got back into the conference title race by shocking Ole Miss. Utah could be eliminated for good after losing to Arizona State.

Here are college football’s biggest winners and losers from Week 7, including a clearer look at the conference championship races.

Loser: Ryan Day

Ohio State paid more than $20 million to assemble this roster in the offseason. The Buckeyes let go of incumbent starting quarterback Kyle McCord and replaced him with Will Howard. Safety Caleb Downs (Alabama) and running back Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss) were added to the program. The Buckeyes have all the advantages and more in one of the most championship-or-loss seasons in college football history.

It took a test for the house of cards to collapse. Worse, it was embarrassing. Day’s hand-picked quarterback failed to recognize the time situation and slipped as time expired on the loss. Despite being within field goal range, Ohio State completed dropback passes. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was called for offensive pass interference, forcing the Buckeyes out of field goal range.

Now it’s 1-7 against AP’s top-5 opponents on the day 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 some heartbreakers over the years, but Saturday in Eugene was his crowning moment. Oregon shocked Ohio State 32-31 on a game-winning field goal by Atticus Sappington with 1:47 left. Laning has been a rising star in the industry for years, but the win against Ohio State brings a new level of credibility. The victory was the first victory over an AP top-two team in program history and was expected to move the program to a No. 2 ranking for the first time since Marcus Mariota graduated in 2014.

Loser: Oklahoma

Prior to coach Brent Venables’ arrival in 2022, Oklahoma had scored a touchdown in every version of the Red River Rivalry since 1998. Before that, this series dated 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 under Venables.

The offense was once again a total disaster, drawing comparisons to the embarrassing 49-0 loss in 2022. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. did his best and became the first true freshman in history to start for OU in the rivalry game, but he finished under 100 passing yards until a late drive in garbage time. Part of its defense was that Oklahoma only got 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 a mulligan due to injuries. But two bad losses to the Longhorns in three years? This is a trend, and it’s anything but good.

Winner: Free Football

October 12th has long been considered one of the best days in college football. To make things even better, the sports gods have blessed us with lots of free football. Four different games with ranked opponents went into overtime for the first time since September 27, 2003. No. 13 LSU pulled off the upset by shocking No. 9 Ole Miss. USC gave No. 4 Penn State all it could handle before getting in overtime. Purdue came painfully 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 extremely vulnerable. This could mean a wild end to the season.

Loser: Alabama

I tend to give teams a mulligan, a strange game attributed to 18-22 year olds having a bad day. For Alabama it was the stunning road loss to Vanderbilt. After the Crimson Tide followed up that disastrous class with a narrow 27-25 home win against South Carolina, they are now officially on cheating watch.

The Tide once again struggled to pass the ball against South Carolina and delivered a disastrous defensive performance against an offensively inept team. The Gamecocks had touchdown drives of 16 and 10 plays and Alabama just couldn’t get them off the field. This is a flawed, inconsistent team that doesn’t play championship football.

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

A fun little subplot: 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 leading his father’s alma mater with 265 yards and a touchdown. The younger Becht did not receive a scholarship offer from WVU but has developed into one of the Big 12’s best passers.

Loser: college kicker

Rumors that the kickers are getting too good may have been a bit premature. Yes, Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis scored a career-high 57-yarder against LSU, but otherwise there were some abysmal performances on Saturday. The Texas and Oklahoma kickers missed easy field goals, while Longhorns kicker Bert Auburn actually got a second attempt… and missed it too. Oregon’s Sappington was lucky to get another field goal attempt after missing 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 given South Carolina the lead. The chaos of college football makes the sport increasingly unpredictable. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Penn State coach James Franklin openly loves Warren, and he turned in 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, the big road win took it to another level and gave Penn State a real playmaker.

Loser: Utah

Utah’s story comes to a brutal end after disabled quarterback Cameron Rising played 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 found the end zone just once in the loss as the program fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play.

Moving to Arizona and Arizona State in consecutive weeks makes the Utes’ path to the Big 12 Championship Game much more difficult. Games against BYU and Iowa State – both undefeated – still lie ahead. What was supposed to be a crowning achievement for Utah suddenly becomes a disaster for the second year in a row.

Winner: Vanderbilt

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