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When the college football season started, fans had their eyes on week seven because of the loaded slate. Almost every conference had big games featuring ranked teams, and we had a good amount of top-25 matchups all around college football. The biggest game of the weekend was the monumental clash in Eugene between the Ohio State football team and Oregon.
The Ducks outlasted the Buckeyes in a thriller, and it was one of the best games that we have seen this season.
ESPN's College GameDay was in Eugene for the big game between Oregon and Ohio State. They go to the biggest college football game each week, and they had an easy decision about where to go during week seven. The Oregon-Ohio State clash did not disappoint, but the Buckeyes once again lost a close game.
Oregon and Ohio State are both contenders
The Ohio State football team didn't win on Saturday night, but that game was essentially a toss up. These are two really good teams, and someone had to lose it. It ended up being the Buckeyes, but there is a good chance that these two teams end up meeting up again in the Big Ten title game. This was the hardest game on the schedule for both the Ducks and Buckeyes, and it's hard to imagine either of them losing down the stretch.
This game lived up to all the hype. It was close throughout, there were big plays, it was back and forth. It really doesn't get much better than that. Unfortunately for Ohio State, they couldn't close out another big game.
Ohio State got the ball back late needing a field goal to win, and they had plenty of time to get into field goal range. In fact, they did get into field goal range. However, poor clock management and a costly penalty cost them the game. At the end of the day, there is one person to blame, and it's the same person that a lot of Buckeyes fans blame for recent big game losses.
Ryan Day
Ryan Day has been great in most games since becoming the Ohio State football head coach, but he can't win the big ones. He is 1-3 against Michigan with three straight losses, and this year, the Oregon game was the biggest one on the schedule. It was a loss, and late-game blunders were a big reason why.
Ohio State got the ball down into field goal range with a little under 30 seconds left. Without major issues, they were looking at the worst-case scenario being a reasonable field goal attempt to win the game.
First, they had a bad offensive pass interference penalty that pushed them back 10 yards. It was a blatant push off, and it knocked the Buckeyes out of field goal range. Then, the players didn't realize the clock was running before the snap, and they lost about six seconds. That's on Ryan Day.
The game concluded with Will Howard also not realizing how much time was left on the clock, and he ran the clock out himself, ending the game. It was another big game that Ohio State lost, and self-inflicted mistakes on the final drive cost them. It falls on coaching, and Ryan Day clearly has some issues with these big games.
Good news for Ohio State fans: All goals are still ahead of the Buckeyes, and because of the 12-team playoff, this loss doesn't really hurt them at all. However, Day needs to be better when the lights are bright.
Rest of College Football Landscape
Starting in the ACC, there wasn't much going on. The ACC is arguably the weakest power four conference. It's either that or the Big 12. The conference currently has four ranked teams, but Pitt and Louisville aren't really looked at as a big threat. Clemson and Miami look legit though.
Not much happened in the ACC that is worth noting. The ranked teams that played took care of business.
The Big 12 doesn't have a ton happening either, but there were some notable results from this past weekend. First off, the chaos of the college football weekend got started early on Friday night as #16 Utah got quarterback Cam Rising back, and they still lost on the road against Arizona State.
On Saturday, all three ranked teams that played got victories. The best game of the weekend in the conference was Saturday night's showdown between Kansas State and Colorado. The Buffaloes almost pulled it off, but the Wildcats scored a late touchdown to get the win.
There were multiple great games this past weekend in the Big Ten. The Oregon-Ohio State matchup was the biggest and the best as the Ducks won that one 32-31, but there were a few other good ones as well.
#3 Penn State almost went down on Saturday as they needed overtime to take down USC. The Trojans led big early, but they couldn't hold on for the win.
Another good one in the Big Ten featured #22 Illinois, who almost suffered a home upset against Purdue. The game went to overtime after the Boilermakers erased a massive deficit, but the Fighting Illini won 50-49.
In the SEC, there were a lot of good contests. Alabama barely survived at home against South Carolina. The Crimson Tide haven't looked great since defeating Georgia. Speaking of the Bulldogs, they didn't look too good either as they beat Mississippi State 41-31. They play at Texas this week and they have a lot to clean up.
The Longhorns easily took care of rival Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry this past weekend, winning 34-3. Texas is ranked #1 in the country. Lastly, LSU continues to impress as they knocked off Ole Miss in overtime. The Tigers have won five games in a row.
