College Football Week 7 Predictions & Best Bets

Eight games, seven plays, and a Saturday that opens with a top-five rematch before most of us have finished breakfast.

Let's get into it.

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SATURDAY MORNING

#4 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES @ #5 INDIANA HOOSIERS

Saturday, October 17 | 9:00 AM PT | Fox

Line: Ohio State -3 | O/U: 50.5

Weather: 49°F, sunny

HERE. WE. GO.

Will Ohio State get revenge for last year's loss to the Hoosiers in the B1G championship game? I think so.

Who is going to stop Jeremiah Smith?

The Buckeyes have been looking phenomenal ever since that Week 2 loss to Texas and they seem to be playing pissed off. I expect them to roll against an Indiana team that needed a fourth-quarter comeback to win last week in Lincoln.

PREDICTION: OHIO STATE 33, INDIANA 16

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#16 MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS @ #22 LSU TIGERS

Saturday, October 17 | 9:00 AM PT | ESPN / Disney+

Line: LSU -15.5 | O/U: 57.5

Weather: 63°F, mostly sunny

I smell a trap game.

Mississippi State comes in off a bye week while LSU lost a heartbreaker in Kentucky. I expect a lot of points in this one.

Gimme LSU to win, State to cover, and the total to go over.

Check the Saturday report before you fire, though: Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor (1,450 yards, 17 touchdowns) and leading rusher Fluff Bothwell are both questionable. Without the two of them the cover and the over both get harder.

PREDICTION: LSU 38, MISSISSIPPI STATE 31

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SATURDAY AFTERNOON

#6 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE @ #14 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

Saturday, October 17 | 12:30 PM PT | ABC

Line: Alabama -7.5 | O/U: 50.5

Weather: 57°F, mostly sunny

It will be interesting to see how Bama responds after losing a tough one at home to Georgia. The SEC is brutal.

Tennessee escaped at Arkansas in a defensive struggle. If the Vols can get pressure on Keelon Russell, this could be a toss-up.

I think Bama might try a little too hard to wash the taste of last week out of their mouths, and that leads to some turnovers. I like Bama to win, but it will not be pretty.

Know what you are taking here, though. Tennessee's starter Faizon Brandon is questionable with a shoulder and George MacIntyre is set to go for a second straight week — he has 333 passing yards with a touchdown and two picks across those two games, against an Alabama defense with nine interceptions and four pick-sixes in six. The offset is that Alabama are without Ryan Coleman-Williams, their leading receiver at 415 yards and four scores.

PREDICTION: ALABAMA 24, TENNESSEE 23

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#13 MISSOURI TIGERS @ #9 OLE MISS REBELS

Saturday, October 17 | 12:30 PM PT | SEC Network

Line: Ole Miss -5.5 | O/U: 58.5

Weather: 63°F, sunny

Mizzou has been climbing the rankings and rightfully so. A road win at Ole Miss would do wonders for their playoff case.

Austin Simmons has been the difference maker, and it is great to see a lefty quarterback shredding defenses.

Ole Miss destroyed Vanderbilt after getting wrecked by Florida. This should be a great game — and a potential trap, considering the Rebels play at Texas next week.

Oh, and Austin Simmons transferred from Ole Miss, by the way.

PREDICTION: MISSOURI 31, OLE MISS 28

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SATURDAY EVENING

#2 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH @ #8 BYU COUGARS

Saturday, October 17 | 4:30 PM PT | ABC

Line: Notre Dame -10.5 | O/U: 46.5

Weather: 67°F, mostly sunny

Finally. We get to see how good Notre Dame really is.

The Irish have not played a ranked opponent all year, but that early-season win over Wisconsin has aged better every week, and they dropped 37 at North Carolina — no small thing given how good Belichick's defense has been.

Now comes the true test. Or is it? It is hard to know how good BYU is either, since they have not played a ranked team all season. Their best win came at home against Arizona.

The Irish are off next week, so Catholics versus Convicts is still three weeks out — a bye, then Navy, then Miami on November 7. This week it is Catholics versus Mormons, and I like the Mormons to keep it close.

One thing that matters for the number: BYU are without LJ Martin, their leading rusher, until November, and Notre Dame bring the third-best run defense in the country at 58.3 yards a game. That puts this on Bear Bachmeier's arm.

PREDICTION: NOTRE DAME 27, BYU 23

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WISCONSIN BADGERS @ #12 UCLA BRUINS

Saturday, October 17 | 4:30 PM PT | NBC

Line: UCLA -2.5 | O/U: 43.5

Weather: 90°F, mostly sunny

Bob Chesney is quickly becoming the hottest coach in America. If you have not seen his pregame speech in the tunnel at Autzen last week, do yourself a favor and look it up.

After upsetting the Ducks, UCLA looks to stay undefeated at home against a tough Wisconsin team that has rolled off four in a row.

Unfortunately the Bruins will most likely have to finish the year without Nico Iamaleava. Backup Ty Dieffenbach did look good, but I expect UCLA to lean on that nasty ground game even more now.

Whoever decided to hire Bob Chesney deserves a raise. UCLA and USC are the two former Pac-12 teams who have really adapted to the physicality of the B1G — Oregon are 3-2 and Washington are 0-3 in conference — and the way the Bruins prioritize their offensive and defensive lines is awesome to watch.

This game comes down to guts, and I expect UCLA to keep proving how tough they are.

PREDICTION: UCLA 23, WISCONSIN 16

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#15 KENTUCKY WILDCATS @ OKLAHOMA SOONERS

Saturday, October 17 | 4:30 PM PT | SEC Network

Line: Oklahoma -6.5 | O/U: 43.5

Weather: 57°F, mostly sunny

Give Kentucky some respect.

Did Oklahoma beat Texas? Sure. But it took a herculean effort and Arch Manning's worst performance of the year.

Kentucky run it well enough — 181.8 yards a game at 5.1 a carry — to control the clock and keep this close. I think they eventually pull it out in Norman.

PREDICTION: KENTUCKY 24, OKLAHOMA 20

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#18 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS @ #20 HOUSTON COUGARS

Saturday, October 17 | 4:30 PM PT | Fox

Line: Houston -4.5 | O/U: 62.5

Weather: 70°F, mostly sunny

Oklahoma State have been rolling ever since their Week 1 loss to Tulsa, while Houston's only defeat came by two points on the road at Texas Tech.

Both of these teams can put up points, and I expect a Big 12 classic shootout.

PREDICTION: OKLAHOMA STATE 38, HOUSTON 35

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— Justin Tapp | The Sizzlin CEO