Moving the Chains: Takeaways from College Football 2026 – Week Seven

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In a weekend that saw more excitement than a 24-team college football player will ever see, five of the top seven teams in the country ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.  And five games involving teams in the Top Ten weren’t decided until the final play of the game.

But first let’s get the games that didn’t live up to the hype out of the way.  There will be no analysis because frankly none is needed: the outcome of these three games were never in doubt:

#14 Tennessee – 26, #6 Alabama – 10.  An observation, not an analysis.  The Crimson Tide offense needs a makeover: 12 first downs and 201 yards isn’t going to win many games in the SEC.  Case in point: the massacre in Knoxville in Week Seven.  Be better, Bama.

#9 Ole Miss – 31, #13 Missouri – 3.  Another observation: Kewan Lacy is back for Ole Miss and that spells trouble for the SEC: 16 carries for 122 yards.  For Missouri, after consecutive weeks of 200+ yards rushing, Jamal Roberts was limited to 39 yards on 20 carries and, it goes without saying, no touchdowns.

#10 Texas Tech – 53, Arizona State – 25.  No comment here because quite frankly I just don’t care.  Be honest: neither do you.  After all, it’s the Big-12.

Now for the good stuff.  #8 BYU took care of #2 Notre Dame in Provo, 28 – 24.  The Fighting Irish had a chance for a game-winning TD with 4 seconds left to play but their last pass fell incomplete in the end zone.  After the game officials stated there should have be one second left on the clock after the play, which I would argue had already been used by Michigan about a month ago when they got their second chance Bail Mary pass to beat Western Michigan.  P.S. Anything short of an undefeated season for Notre Dame should automatically disqualify them from playoff consideration since (a) they’re not in a conference, and therefore (b) schedule their own opponents.  It’s worth noting that Notre Dame lost their biggest game of the season (not that this is news to anyone).

#4 Ohio State dodged a HUGE bullet when they escaped with a narrow 19 – 15 win over #5 Indiana.  Jeremiah Smith had another Heisman moment with a 38-yard TD reception on 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter that gave the Buckeyes a 19 – 7 lead.  Hoosier QB Josh Hoover threw what COULDA SHOULDA been a game-winning TD  on fourth down with a minute left in the game had the receiver had the presence of mind/enough sense to keep one foot in bounds when he caught the ball in the end zone.  It was Smith’s 39th career TD reception, tying hime for the Big Ten career record.

#3 Miami survived Florida State 43 – 35 in double overtime in a finish that will be talked about longer than even Wide Right.  Despite passing up on two chip-shot field goals in the first half and turning the ball over on downs, the Seminoles hung tough and battled to a 14-all draw at halftime and 28-all at the end of regulation.  The teams traded TD’s in overtime, and in the second OT Miami scored first with a TD and followed it with a successful two-point conversion.  On its possession, FSU faced a 4th-and-21 and completed what APPEARED to be a successful 41-yard Hail Mary for a TD – only to see it called back for a holding penalty.  After a 10-yard penalty and now facing a 4th-and-31, FSU threw what appeared to be ANOTHER successful Hail Mary – this one for 51 yards – only for the officials to rule the ball was intercepted by Miami.  Replays were unclear, but most would agree that at worst it was a matter of ‘joint possession’ which would have meant the reception was made by the offense.  ’No can do,’ said the officials.  Game over; Miami wins.  It’s worth nothing that Miami will likely be the top-ranked team in the country now.  Worth considering: a #1 team that gave up not one but two Hail Mary’s.  On consecutive plays, no less. 

We end this edition with what will now be known as Orange and Blue Day.  Two unranked teams whose school colors are orange and blue beat two teams in the Top Ten ON THE ROAD in games that went down to the wire and ended in identical scores: 27 – 24.

Florida won its second game of the year against teams in the Top Ten (#4 Ole Miss being one of them) by beating #7 Texas in Austin.  After a slow start and a quick 14-point deficit, the Gators buckled down and played solid football for the entire second half, limitingTexas to just 13 first downs and continuing their mastery over Mannings not named Eli (Eli was 2 – 0 against the Gators; Peyton was 0 – 4 and Arch is now 0 -2.  Archie, the patriarch, never played against Florida while he was at Ole Miss).  Worth noting: the turning point of the game was an Arch Manning turnover.  Don’t beat all surprised if he enters the transfer portal at the end of the season.     

A friend of mine called this one “Kirby’s Karma.’  You may remember what happened last year: Kirby Smart’s ‘clap’ that looked suspiciously like a signal for a time-out and the controversy it created in a narrow win against Auburn.  Anyway, this year Georgia bolted out to a quick 14 – 0 lead and the hometown fans thought this one was in the bag.  (Cue Lee Corso: ’not so fast.’). Auburn fought back and actually led at halftime 17 – 14; then extended the lead to 10 points with a TD on their first possession of the second half.  The game boiled down to a last-second field goal by Auburn that was shortened by 15 yards thanks to an unnecessary roughing the passer penalty o the Bulldogs (and an earlier ‘butt fumble’ by their QB Gunner Stockton). 

Expect a huge shakeup in the polls this week. You might even see Florida or Auburn sneak into the Top 25 (but I doubt it).   But there’s still six weeks left in the season.  And, as this weekend proved, anything can happen. 

Finally, for any Texas fans:

Alright, alright, alright.  

Go Gators!