If the college football world needs another reminder that preseason hype isn’t overpriced, a look at this week’s AP Poll will do the trick. This year’s preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams — texas And penn state – have fallen out of the top 25 and are the only ones others are getting votes,
Just last week, they were both still top-10 teams with real playoff ambitions. And now, they’re hoping to stay competitively relevant. College football season quickly approaches you.
This week’s slate presents three matchups of ranked teams: No. 1 Ohio State at number 17 Illinoisnumber 8 alabama at number 14 missouri and number 7 Indiana at number 3 oregonAll three should be watched on appointment, but there’s another game with potential playoff implications worth spotlighting: No. 24. USF But North Texas on Friday night.
USF is a 1.5-point favorite, but UNT is undefeated as both teams look capable of winning AmericanWhich has ranked itself as the Group of 5 conference most likely to be represented in the playoffs. , kyle bonagura
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defense of oklahoma , Alabama-Missouri
Big Ten title implications
quotes of the week
Oklahoma’s ‘Dog Pound’ defense
dog Pound. Ninja Turtles. power Rangers. Surname oklahomaThere are several defensive lines adopted in 2025. But the common denominator among them is simple.
“The whole thing behind that mentality is: We’re those guys,” the senior defensive tackle graysen holton told ESPN this week. “No matter what happens, we’re here to play. That’s the mentality.”
No. 6 Oklahoma (6-0) returns to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday to face Texas (3-2) in the 121st edition. red river rivalry (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The matchup has been quite favorable recently for the Sooners, winners of seven of the last 10 games between the schools from 2016 to 2024.
However, each of those wins came with the support of an Oklahoma offense that finished in the top 10 nationally in scoring. This time, the Sooners return to face Texas with the nation’s second-ranked defense, supported by a brutal and deep defensive line unit that, entering Week 7, ranks first in sacks (21) and second in tackles for loss (50) among all Power 4 defenses in 2025.
“Everyone is eager to get on the field to play the game,” the senior defensive end said. R Mason Thomas said the status group last month. “We have some dogs.”
There are shades of the old defensive lines Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables once oversaw as the program’s defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2011. Naturally, his fingerprints are all over the group that is feasting on opposing backfields this fall. Halton and Thomas were late additions to Venables’ first signing class at Oklahoma in the 2022 cycle. Second Year Internal Playwright jayden jackson And david stoneJoe almost walked out of the transfer portal this spring, joining the 2024 class, a year after the 2023 five-star adepoju adebaworOnly two of the unit’s regular contributors — Demonic Williams And marvin jones jr– Accessed through the transfer portal.
“We all have similar personalities because BV recruited us all,” Holton said. “We just have that light inside of us. We’ve built those relationships. We’re close. Like a real family.”
Stone is credited with conceiving the “Dog Pound” nickname, indicative of the depth and competitive edge of this Sooners defensive line.
“We have one dog after another,” Holton said. “When four dogs come out, four other dogs come in to eat and hunt.”
Thomas introduced the “Ninja Turtles”.
Holton explains that the group sometimes goes to the “Power Rangers” because, of course, they’re always there to save the day.
Do you want to know what their always-on head coach thinks about all this?
“I love engagement,” Venables said this week.
“To me, it says there is huge ownership in that group,” he said. “If they named them something and they played like a bunch of pansies, it wouldn’t be good. We had to stop it quickly. But they didn’t. They showed up. They love to work. They love to compete. They make you coach them hard.”
Whatever nickname the Sooners pass rush is going by at any particular moment, it’s going to make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks in 2025. got to oklahoma Auburn’S jackson arnold Nine times in the last month. On Saturday, this could cause serious trouble for the Longhorns quarterback arch manning And a Texas offensive line that gave up six sacks Florida In week 6.
If you’re wearing burnt orange to the Cotton Bowl this weekend, beware the dog pound. , eli lederman
What do Missouri and Alabama need to capitalize on to win?
Missouri: Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz had nothing but praise for the Alabama quarterback ty simpson This week, saying that his accuracy and ability to make off-schedule plays in Ryan Grubb’s offense is as good as advertised. The Missouri defense has made opponents one-dimensional by playing the best run defense in the country, holding FBS foes to 39.5 rushing yards per game, and has the top completion percentage defense in the country (48.5%). It has had a lot of success generating pressure through five games, but Alabama’s offensive line will be a tough task to overcome. The Tigers need to play with accuracy on the back end after throwing a few too many explosive passes in zone coverage. South Carolina And kansasAnd they’ll probably need a little turnover luck this week after getting just two takeaways in their last four games. , max olson
Alabama: Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Ken Womack said this week that his defense needed to start fast, not only to keep Missouri from gaining early momentum but also to set the early tone against the Tigers’ powerful run game. Ahmed Hardy Leads the nation in rushing with 730 yards, and ranks No. 3 overall at Missouri with an average of nearly 300 yards per game. Alabama has not been as consistent in performance this season as it has been in the past — Florida State And Georgia Each has already rushed for over 200 yards this season. against in the first half of last week VanderbiltAlabama gave up a 65-yard touchdown run and another 36-yard run – two plays Womack called “unacceptable” – before settling. Hardy will challenge the Tide in different ways as he plays as one of the best running backs to date. Womack praised his physicality and ability to break tackles, turning routine running plays into explosive ones. No doubt tackling will be a big priority in this game. , andrea adelson
Big implications for the Big Ten title race in Week 7
It’s still early October, but the Big Ten slate this week is as blockbuster as can be. Even more importantly, six teams are still at the top of the conference standings (Oregon, Ohio State, michiganIndiana all rank first, and Illinois and USC 2nd place) are set to face each other, it will be an important Saturday in Indianapolis and the race for the College Football Playoff.
The headliner is in Eugene, where undefeated No. 2 Oregon welcomes undefeated No. 7 Indiana. The Ducks have been dominant on defense and balanced offensively so far this season, looking quite capable of defending their Big Ten title. But as Indiana proved in its loss against Illinois a few weeks ago, this team isn’t just thinking about getting back to the playoff; This could be a better team than last year and is quite capable of claiming the Big Ten title. Both the Ducks and Hoosiers avoid Ohio State on their schedule this year, making this game the toughest game either team has left and a good chance to play into any potential tiebreakers that could matter at the end of the regular season.
Speaking of the Buckeyes, since the opener against Texas, the No. 1 team in the country hasn’t had much trouble defeating inferior opponents. Saturday’s trip to Illinois will test that thanks to a Fighting Illini team that bounced back from an embarrassing loss against Indiana with two wins. Purdue and USC in recent weeks. Bret Bielema’s team has a tough task upsetting the defending champions, but if it wants any outside shot at the Big Ten and a playoff berth, this will be the time to make a statement.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, No. 15 Michigan and USC are set to meet, and although the Wolverines are the ranked team in this matchup (and the ones without a conference loss), the Trojans are the favorites and can get their Big Ten hopes back on track with a win after a close loss at Illinois. Both of these teams still have important games on their schedules (Ohio State for Michigan; Notre Dame and Oregon for USC), giving them – especially the Trojans – zero margin for error. , Paolo Ughetti
quotes of the week
“It’s sold out, but it’s sold out because of Michigan coming,” – Michigan coach Sharon Moore on her way to Los Angeles to play USC. “We’re not celebrating going to the Coliseum. There’s no pictures or selfies because we’re in the nice Coliseum.”
,[He is] Probably one of the most impressive young coaching phenomena to come out in some time.” – Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on Oregon’s Dan Lanning
“They’re 5-0. They’re a ranked team.” — Alabama coach Kellen DeBoer when asked about a potential “trap game” in the Tide’s matchup against Missouri.
