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. One of the biggest games of the weekend was a rivalry game between the Oklahoma football team and Texas. The two teams get together in Dallas every year for the Red River Rivalry, and this was the first SEC edition.
This one wasn't expected to be super close, but it wasn't really expected to be a blowout as Texas was favored by a couple touchdowns. However, the Longhorns easily dominated for a huge 34-3 win. It was a tough day for the Sooners.
Oklahoma actually got out to a good start in this one as their defense was able to hold their own for awhile. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw an early interception, and the Sooners actually got on the board first. With 10 seconds to go in the first quarter, Oklahoma was able to get the scoring started with a field goal, and they had a 3-0 lead. Things quickly went downhill after that.
The second quarter was dominated by Texas. The Oklahoma football team did a good job of slowing the Longhorns down on offense in the first quarter, and we knew that the Sooners would need to completely shut down the Texas offense if they wanted a chance in this one. They did the opposite of that in the second quarter.
Texas got in the end zone three times in the second quarter, and that led to the game already being over at halftime because of how bad this Oklahoma offense is. It was 21-3 at the break, and the Sooners had no chance of climbing out of that hole.
The Sooners were not able to make any sort of come back in the second half as their offense just couldn't get going. Texas didn't do a lot on offense, but they didn't need to. They connected on two field goals and found the end zone once in the second half to cruise to a 34-3 win.
At the end of the day, this Oklahoma offense is very far from being something that can compete in the SEC. It has major issues, and there might need to be some difficult conversations about it. This loss is on offensive coordinator Seth Littrell and head coach Brent Venables.
Oklahoma football must fix this offense
The Oklahoma football team actually has a pretty solid defense, but their offense is miles away from being competent. The defense had a tough time in the second quarter, but they did play well other than that. Obviously it's a four quarter game, and they have to put it together at all times. Still, there is stuff to build on from that side of the football.
Unfortunately, the offense is a different story. Seth Littrell isn't doing a good job leading the unit, and Brent Venables had to do a better job of making sure that every position group is in good hands. This Oklahoma offense hasn't look like this in awhile, and it's concerning.
This season could end up being a rough one for the Sooners as they still have a lot of ranked matchups left. If the offense does improve greatly, they are in trouble.
The rest of the college football week
ESPN’s College GameDay was in Eugene for the biggest game of the week 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. Let's take a look at what happened all around college football.
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 obviously 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.
It was a great week of college football, and the back half of the season is going to provide a lot of excitement.