Saturday in Review: Week 7

Boston College was no match for Clemson, as the Eagles
could only score on short drives and after the game was
already decided. Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

The great season continues after an exciting seventh week of college football. The offenses ran wild, but Auburn outlasted Kentucky in their duel on Thursday. Stanford dominated UCLA and certainly look like the team-to-beat in the Pac-12 North. Friday was a night to forget for Boise State, as the Broncos gave away eight turnovers and lost to Utah State for the first time since 1997.

The two top teams in the ACC remained perfect with good second half performances, as Clemson downed Boston College and Florida State beat Louisville. Both winners were prolific passing the ball.

South Florida outscored UConn by utilizing the speed of their playmakers and opportunistic defense. Despite being outgained by over 220 total (offensive) yards, UCF had a two-point lead going into the fourth against Temple. Ultimately, however, the Owls overcame the Knights to remain perfect on the season and keep their opponents winless.

Memphis remains undefeated after upsetting Ole Miss. The Rebels' offensive line was dominated by Memphis's defensive counterparts on multiple short down situations, which ultimately doomed Ole Miss. To make matters worse for the Rebels, who will now face the heart of their SEC West schedule, their star defensive end suffered a concussion before halftime.

In rather miraculous fashion, Michigan State defeated Michigan for the seventh time in eight years. The Spartans fought valiantly against the favored home team, but with just 10 seconds left, Michigan had the ball and a two-point lead and, on fourth down, was prepared to punt the ball away (perhaps running out the clock in doing so). Against the odds, the snap was low, Michigan's punter couldn't catch it, didn't fall on it, and proceeded to fumble it directly into the hands of a Spartan player. The Spartan convoy barreled down the field and into the endzone, putting MSU up 27-23 as the clock hit triple-zeroes. To all who were watching, they probably realized the improbability of such a jaw-dropping finish. The last-second touchdown will undoubtedly live forever in the history of the sport and the memories of its fans.

Despite both having one notch in the loss column, Alabama
and Florida are in favorable position to compete for an SEC
championship. Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

The Fighting Irish rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat USC. Both defenses surrendered a combined 1,066 yards, but Notre Dame forced two critical interceptions.

Alabama ran over Texas A&M on their way towards a 41-23 victory. A&M threw four interceptions – three of them were returned for touchdowns (therefore, Texas A&M's offense actually outscored Alabama's 23-21). Georgia knocked down Missouri in an ugly, defensive brawl. The Tiger offense was utterly outmatched by Georgia's defense, but their defense kept them in the game. A late field goal ultimately lifted the Bulldogs past Mizzou.

LSU bested Florida in yet another classic game in the series. The game was higher scoring than most expected, as both teams' vaunted secondaries allowed a surprising number of big plays. The Gators scored first after an LSU special teams mishap granted them good field position. The Tigers proceeded to outscore Florida 28-7 in the second quarter while looking unstoppable offensively. However, the Gators rallied from the 14-point halftime deficit, and had tied the game before entering the fourth quarter. But the Tigers responded to Florida's last touchdown (which came off a spectacular punt return by Antonio Callaway) with their own long drive. It ended on fourth down, when LSU scored a touchdown on a fake field goal. Florida came close to scoring a game-tying touchdown afterwards (the ball was ripped out of Callaway's hands in the endzone), but ultimately couldn't equalize, ending their undefeated season. Florida has now lost nine of their last 14 games against LSU, with six of the Tiger victories being decided by seven points or less. With Florida and Texas A&M's losses, LSU remains the last undefeated SEC team.

State of Florida:

• South Florida (3-3) over Connecticut (3-4), 24-20 28-20
• Marshall (6-1) over Florida Atlantic (1-5), 34-17 33-17
• Middle Tennessee (3-4) over FIU (3-4), 30-23 42-34
• 11 Florida State (6-0) over Louisville (2-4), 26-17 41-21
• Virginia Tech (3-4) over Miami (4-2), 20-17 30-20
• 8 Florida (6-1) over 6 LSU (6-0), 17-14 35-28
• Temple (6-0) over UCF (0-7), 42-10 30-16

Southeastern Conference:

• Kentucky (4-2) over Auburn (4-2), 28-21 30-27
• 13 Mississippi (5-2) over Memphis (6-0), 35-28 37-24
• Mississippi State (5-2) over Louisiana Tech (4-3), 31-21 45-20
• 10 Alabama (6-1) over 9 Texas A&M (5-1), 35-30 41-23
• South Carolina (3-4) over Vanderbilt (2-4), 17-13 19-10
• Georgia (5-2) over Missouri (4-3), 17-10 9-6
• Arkansas (2-4), BYE
• Tennessee (3-3), BYE

Top 25:

• 1 Ohio State (7-0) over Penn State (5-2), 28-27 38-10
• 2 Baylor (6-0) over West Virginia (3-3), 45-27 62-38
• 3 TCU (7-0) over Iowa State (2-4), 49-20 45-21
• 4 Utah (6-0) over Arizona State (4-3), 27-20 34-18
• 5 Clemson (6-0) over Boston College (3-4), 20-0 34-17
• 12 Michigan (5-2) over 7 Michigan State (7-0), 30-17 27-23
• 14 Notre Dame (6-1) over USC (3-3), 21-17 41-31
• 15 Stanford (5-1) over 18 UCLA (4-2), 28-24 56-35
• 17 Iowa (7-0) over 20 Northwestern (5-2), 13-10 40-10
• Kansas State (3-3) over 19 Oklahoma (5-1), 35-31 55-0
• 21 Boise State (5-2) over Utah State (4-2), 31-24 52-26
• 22 Toledo (6-0) over Eastern Michigan (1-6), 45-21 63-20
• 24 Houston (6-0) over Tulane (2-4), 35-21 42-7
• 16 Oklahoma State (6-0), BYE
• 23 California (5-1), BYE
• 25 Duke (5-1), BYE

Week 7 Record: 19-7 (73%)

Season Record: 153-39 (80%)