SID Sports Week 7 Top 25
Breaking down my Week 7 Rankings and Player of the Slate
Week 6 had some great games and some shocking results. Whether you tuned into a Red River Shootout for the ages or stayed up to watch USC down Arizona in triple overtime in a PAC-12 After Dark spectacle, the week was a ton of fun. But how does that affect the Top 25, especially with last week’s No. 1 team going down? Let’s find out!
Ohio State 5-0 LW: 2
A new top dog! The Buckeyes, for the first time this year, sit at the top of the SID Sports Top 25. Despite a tough first half, Ohio State rallied back against a very good Maryland school that I had ranked last week to win by 20. Kyle McCord is not C.J. Stroud or Justin Fields, but he’s getting more and more comfortable each week, and the Jim Knowles-led defense has been lights out all year.Georgia 6-0 LW: 3
I had Maryland ranked higher than Kentucky, which is why Ohio State gets the nod for No. 1, but the Dawgs looked impressive under the lights in Athens. The offense finally clicked in a big way, and the run defense bottled up Kentucky’s Ray Davis. That’s the kind of win you’d expect from Georgia and makes them the 1b to Ohio State’s 1a.Oklahoma 6-0 LW: 10
Oklahoma jumps up after dethroning the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in the SID Sports Game of the Week Red River Shootout. The Sooners put everything together at the Texas State Fair and eked out a last minute 34-30 win over rival Texas behind a Dillon Gabriel strike to Nic Anderson to go ahead with 23 seconds on the clock. Brent Venables’ Oklahoma team dominated the trenches throughout the game and their dynamic quarterback took over. Not to mention the defense snagging two timely picks off Quinn Ewers. This is a very good team and may be contending for their first post-Lincoln Riley playoff bid.
Michigan 6-0 LW: 4
They still haven’t played anybody! When your best resume win is against Rutgers, you’re not going to compete with the three ahead of you. Granted, Michigan has done nothing but demolish everyone that comes across them, allowing 40 points total on the season. Still, I’m waiting to see them play an actually talented Big 10 team before making true judgement. A look at their schedule shows that’ll happen the last three weeks of the season. Until then, yawn.Washington 5-0 LW: 5
Washington took the week off last week and don’t move any spots. They’ve got Oregon on the docket this weekend in what should be one of the season’s best regular-season matchups.Florida State 5-0 LW: 4
Florida State rebounded from some close losses to blow out a struggling Virginia Tech, 39-17. That’s the result you’re looking for if you’re a Seminole fan, and you hope that they can keep the ball rolling this weekend against Syracuse.Oregon 5-0 LW: 7
Oregon also took a week off to make this two straight week of hate between the Huskies and Ducks. This should be a very tight rivalry matchup in Seattle between the top tier of the PAC-12. I’d wager the winner of this game is on the fast track to the playoff, barring some PAC-12 After Dark bad juju.Penn State 5-0 LW: 8
Speaking of off weeks, Penn State enjoyed one last week as well. They basically have another one next week as UMass comes into Happy Valley. The week after is Ohio State, though, so James Franklin has to make sure this isn’t a trap game for the Nittany Lions.Texas 5-1 LW: 1
Texas lands in the Top 10 still despite the loss to Oklahoma. They were in it until the last second, but ultimately fell to a very good Sooner team. What’s keeping Texas in the top 10, though is their resume. They’ve got convincing wins over two of my Top 25 teams and one over a Next Five Out team that are only looking better each week.North Carolina 5-0 LW: 12
North Carolina seems to finally be pulling it together. Their defense has done surprisingly well this season, only allowing 19 points per game. The question marks have been revolving around star quarterback Drake Maye, who was throwing an interception a game heading into the Syracuse matchup. He put together a masterclass with 442 yards passing and three touchdowns on the Orange. Hopefully that’s a sign of what’s to come from their sophomore quarterback.
USC 6-0 LW: 9
USC can’t keep getting away with this. We know Lincoln Riley, and by extension Alex Grinch, are offended by defense. So offended, in fact, that it took until triple overtime to put away an Arizona team missing their star quarterback in Jayden de Laura, who sat out with an ankle injury. They have to wake up, and soon, since the schedule coming up includes a trip to South Bend and a home matchup against Utah.Alabama 5-1 LW: 16
Alabama entered a potentially tough situation last week on the road in College Station, but escaped with a 26-20 victory over Texas A&M. What was most surprising to me was the fact that Alabama was able to win without their running game, and that quarterback Jalen Milroe looked like a legit passer. Where did this come from? If the Tide can keep that going, they’re going to be dangerous, and that loss to Texas is still looking like a patented SEC Quality Loss.
Ole Miss 5-1 LW: 17
Ole Miss’s one loss comes by virtue of the team ranked above them, Alabama. This is probably the ranking I’m least confident in, as I don’t see Ole Miss doing too much damage in the SEC, but I could be wrong. I did rank Texas No. 1 last week, after all. The Rebels have one of the nation’s top offenses headlined by Jaxson Dart, but need their defense to step up and get stops in SEC play. That’s a tall ask, but they’re through the meat of their schedule, with the only potentially tough matchups looming against Texas A&M in Oxford and at Georgia.Louisville 6-0 LW: 22
Louisville has Sam Hartman’s number, as they’ve knocked off a top-10 Hartman-led team each of the last two years. While they struggled to put teams away earlier this season, their resounding win over Notre Dame speaks volumes. New Head Coach Jeff Brohm has this team rolling, and they avoid a lot of the ACC’s best teams, with their only tough conference opponents left to play being Duke and Miami. Those wins, coupled with Kentucky, could make this a dark horse run to the ACC title game and just maybe, a playoff bid.Duke 4-1 LW: 18
The Blue Devils got a week off at the best time, and it appears that quarterback Riley Leonard’s ankle injury isn’t as serious as we’d thought. He’s day-to-day for this weekend’s matchup against NC State, but Duke can afford to let him sit against the floundering Wolfpack. If he’s healthy down the stretch, this Duke team can rack up wins against Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina. It’s a tall ask, but within the realm of possibility as long as Leonard’s ankle is up for it.Washington State 4-1 LW: 11
These next four teams are interchangeable in a PAC-12 circle of pain, but I decided to rank them as such. Wazzu doesn’t fall too much by virtue of their win over Oregon State, while the UCLA team they just lost to is also good. We’ve talked all season about how the PAC-12 is good, now it’s time for the conference to do what it does: cannibalize the good teams so nobody is left standing at playoff time.Oregon State 5-1 LW: 17
Speaking of Oregon State, the Beavs are in a similar situation as Wazzu with a quality win (Utah), and a quality loss (Washington State). They’ve given up more points than you’d expect from an Oregon State defense, but quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei had possibly the best game of his career against Utah. If coach Jonathan Smith and DJU can build off of that heading into their matchup with UCLA this weekend, Oregon State can vault right back into the PAC-12 title conversation.UCLA 4-1 LW: UR
UCLA, shockingly, sits at the same place as the two above them: a quality win (Washington State) and a quality loss (Utah). PAC-12 is going to PAC-12, am I right? Plenty of the talk this season has been about Chip Kelly’s new shiny tool: five-star quarterback Dante Moore. I want to focus on the suddenly elite Bruins defense. That’s right, Chip Kelly could put together a quality defense before Lincoln Riley. In the past two weeks, they’ve allowed 14 points to Utah in a loss and 17 in a win over Wazzu. The Cougars were only able to amount for 216 yards and 12(!) rushing yards against UCLA. That’s one way to take the pressure off your freshman quarterback.Utah 5-0 LW: 19
The Utes are our final member of the PAC-12 circle of pain, with a quality win over UCLA and quality loss to Oregon State. Cam Rising is still out with an injury that’s a lot worse than we originally anticipated. Recovery from the surgery he had generally last 10-12 months, so it’s safe to assume that it’s some combination of Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes for the foreseeable future for the Utes. They’ve shown they can beat good teams, and neither one is turning the ball over a ton, so that’s a plus. Neither one is lighting up the scoreboard, though, so that’s a minus. Hopefully their bye week provides some clarity and growth for the Utah offense.James Madison 5-0 LW: 23
The Dukes are still undefeated, and I’m still petitioning to let them compete in a bowl game or the Sun Belt Championship I’m sure they’ll make. They’ve already knocked off quality SBC foes in Troy and South Alabama, and their trip to Marshall in two weeks has a ton of potential to be a great game. The Dukes aren’t outstanding in any one stat, but are playing a brand of complimentary football that bodes well in the G5 ranks. Seriously, NCAA, let them play in the postseason.Notre Dame 5-2 LW: 13
The Irish are in a free fall, with losses in two of their last three games. Those losses are against Ohio State and Louisville by a combined 14 points, so they don’t fall out of the top 25 yet. They play USC at home this week, though, so it’s time for Hartman and the offense to rebound in a big way. They haven’t scored more than 21 since their rout of Central Michigan on September 16, and will need to do much more than that to keep up with Caleb Williams and the Trojan offense. Marcus Freeman and Sam Hartman, let’s see what you’re made of.Kansas 5-1 LW: UR
Kansas may have gotten blown out by Texas, but so have a lot of teams. Aside from that, though, the Jayhawks haven’t been challenged. Their closest game was a 31-24 win on the road at Nevada, but they’ve since rebounded with wins over conference newcomers BYU and UCF by a combined total of 41 points. Quarterback Jalon Daniels is healthy and tailback Devin Neal is punishing opposing defenses. As long as their defense can keep up, the Jayhawks are very clearly the third best team in the Big 12.Tennessee 4-1 LW: Next Five Out
Tennessee rejoins the rankings for the first time since Week 2, now clocking in at 4-1. It hasn’t always been pretty with Joe Milton at the helm, and the Vols are nowhere near as explosive on offense as last year. But by golly, that boy can throw a football. All of their wins have come by comfortable margins, but their loss in The Swamp to Florida is still not ideal. Their upcoming three game stretch at home against Texas A&M, at Alabama and at Kentucky should let us know if Tennessee is going to surprise or fade away in 2023. They have a chance to do either if Milton can find consistency in Josh Heupel’s wide-open scheme.Tulane 4-1 LW: Next Five Out
Tulane has been sitting on the edge of the rankings since Week 2 following their loss to Ole Miss, and it’s time that changed. Ole Miss did beat them 37-20 at Yulman Stadium, but they pulled away with 10 points in the last two minutes, including a strip sack of backup quarterback Kai Horton. Tulane was without quarterback Michael Pratt, one of the Group of Five’s best, and they’ve done nothing but win with Pratt under center. They’re heading into AAC play now, and with the conference not showing much of any teeth this season, the Green Wave are my pick to take the top spot.LSU 4-2 LW: UR
Hey, LSU is back! Well, not back back, but they’re back in the rankings, I suppose. Their two losses (Florida State and Ole Miss) are in quality loss territory. The Tigers have perhaps the nation’s top offensive unit, with top 10 rankings in passing yards (337.7 yards per game - seventh) and points scores (44.8 ppg - 10th), alongside the 15th ranked rushing offense with 210.7 yards per game. The only downside to that? The Bayou Bengals aren’t stopping opposing defenses, allowing 32.3 points per game and ranking 112th in the nation. If Brian Kelly and his staff can figure out how to stop the other team, LSU is right back in dangerous territory.
Next five out: Maryland, Colorado, Wyoming, Missouri, Kentucky
Dropped out: Missouri (No. 20), Fresno State (No. 21), Maryland (No. 23), Kentucky (No. 25)
And, just like always, here’s my Player of the Week ballot. Now, this isn’t a running Player of the Year ballot for me, per se. Instead, I’m voting on who had the best days that particular week. At the end of the season, we’ll evaluate who my Player of the Year was based on these ballots, with point values assigned similarly to the AP Top 25 (i.e. three points for a first place vote, two points for second place, and one point for third).
Dillon Gabriel, QB Oklahoma
Gabriel had an all-time performance in the Red River Shootout, completing 60 percent of his passes for 285 yards and a game-winning touchdown to Nic Anderson with only 15 seconds on the clock to win the game. Not to mention Gabriel also tore up the Longhorns on the ground with 14 carries for 113 yards and another touchdown. That was a certified Heisman moment in one of the season’s biggest games. Let’s see how far he can take this campaign.Jermaine Burton, WR Alabama
Burton had an Alabama wide receiver game against Texas A&M and emerged as Jaden Milroe’s top target. The Aggies had no plans to stop him as he racked up 9 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the Tide’s 26-20 win.Marvin Harrison Jr., WR Ohio State
Harrison hasn’t appeared much in the Player of the Week polling, but he’s been right on the edge. He was about the only Buckeye that played well against Maryland, posting a crucial line of 8 catches for 163 yards and one touchdown. He’s clearly McCord’s number one option, especially with Emeka Egbuka getting banged up in the second half last week.
There you have it, my ballot explainer for Week 7. How did I do? Do I hate your team? Love them? Let me know on social media or in the comments!