One of the storylines to keep an eye on in Week 7 of the college football season is how the Oklahoma Sooners respond to their embarrassment at home.
Last weekend gave us one of the biggest upsets of the college football season as head coach Matt Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones walked into Norman and fought back from 24-13 down at halftime to take down the then-No. 3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
Now here in Week 7, a question on the minds of many is whether or not the Sooners can right the ship and that journey begins against a pretty familiar foe.
Oklahoma looks to get back on track against Texas
It truly was shocking when the clocked ticked down to all zeroes in Norman last Saturday and Iowa State had defeated Oklahoma, 38-31, without their starting quarterback and a linebacker — to be fair, one that used to be the team’s starting quarterback — taking snaps under center. As stunning as it was, it happened, as upsets do in college football on the regular, so now there’s nothing left for the Sooners to do but move on with the smallest margin of error present the rest of the way.
The road to redemption for quarterback Baker Mayfield and company begins this weekend and it begins with another edition of one of the most storied rivalries in college football history. Oklahoma heads to Dallas to take on the Texas Longhorns in the annual Red River Rivalry matchup.
A few weeks ago some could have pegged this as an easy triumph for the Sooners. But given recent events, we’re finding out that might not be the case. Texas has played fairly well since that opening-week embarrassment against Maryland at home in Austin, with their most recent win coming last week against Kansas State in overtime. Sam Ehlinger has emerged as the answer at quarterback for this team and the defensive side of the ball has shown efficiency at times. Through the first few weeks of the season it was simple to see the Sooners head to Dallas and get their first licks in on new Longhorns head coach Tom Herman, rudely welcoming him to the rivalry.
But that’s not easily the case anymore as we head into the game this weekend. Texas is coming in with a ton of momentum while Oklahoma may still be searching for answers still from the letdown last week. We’ve seen plenty of times — most recently with Texas’ win in 2015 under Charlie Strong — that anything can happen when these two collide on the field and if the Sooners have not recovered fully from the upset in Norman, they’ll have an even worse taste in their mouth if they witness rip what College Football Playoff hopes they have left from their grasp.
Navy vs. Memphis shouldn’t be flying under the radar
It’s fairly easy and sadly normal for fans to focus solely on the big games happening in the Power 5 conferences weekly, especially as the season grows older. But if you haven’t been paying attention, the Group of 5 battle this year has been outstanding to watch, which is why no one should be sleeping on the battle at Legion Field this Saturday when No. 25 Navy goes on the road to take on Memphis.
Surprise, surprise … head coach Ken Niumatalolo once again has very good Navy team. In another absolutely astonishing (sarcasm font) turn of events, as they’ve rumbled to a 5-0 record and No. 25 ranking in the AP Poll, the Midshipmen lead the nation in rushing at 414.2 yards per game. That effort is led by quarterback Zach Abey who has amassed 870 yards on the ground with nine touchdowns.
Despite the impressive record, ranking and rushing statistics, it hasn’t been a walk in the park for Navy this year. Aside from their Week 1 beatdown of FAU, their average margin of victory is just 6.25 points in their last four wins, which includes the Midshipmen needing a last-minute score to defeat rival Air Force. They’re undefeated, yes, but they’ve had their struggles, especially on the defensive side of the football.
That’s why their trip to Memphis on Saturday is so crucial and a must-watch for fans. Memphis comes into this huge AAC battle at 4-1 on the year and with the 14th-ranked scoring offense in the nation at 42.4 points per game, as well as the 11th-ranked total offense at 509.4 yards per game. The most recent example of Memphis’ efficiency on offense came just last week when they hung 70 points on UConn, with quarterback Riley Ferguson firing seven touchdown passes on 431 yards through the air.
With Navy looking to keep their New Year’s Six bowl hopes intact and the Memphis offense clicking on all cylinders, this has the potential to be one of the more fun matchups to watch Saturday afternoon, as well as one of the best shootouts we’ll see all year.
Can Coach O keep the LSU turnaround going … and help save his job?
The sky was falling two weeks ago in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when the LSU Tigers lost at home. Losing during your homecoming weekend is devastating enough as it is, but when you lose to a Sun Belt team that you paid nearly $1 million to so they’d travel to basically just concede the game and they emerge victorious anyway — well, that’s another level of embarrassment. Although, maybe the biggest talking point coming away from that game was the future of head coach Ed Orgeron.
Some were skeptical about the Orgeron hire to begin with last year when Les Miles was shown the door. That skepticism turned to regret when the Tigers destroyed by fellow SEC West member Mississippi State. And that regret turned to the flaming pitchforks making an appearance when Oregeron’s team was humiliated by Troy in Death Valley. Suffice to say, they were ousting him from Baton Rouge.
But then the Tigers went on the road last weekend where they pulled out a hard-fought win over the Florida Gators in The Swamp to move to 4-2 on the year and put Coach O in some much better standing for the time being. This weekend, Orgeron will have a very good chance to garner some more security for his job but it’ll be anything but easy.
This weekend he and his squad are hosting a 5-1 Auburn team that has been on an absolute tear since losing earlier in the year to a Clemson team that certainly looks like the second-best team in the country right now. Head coach Gus Malzahn and Auburn will be looking for the program’s first win in Death Valley since the 1999 season as well as to pronounce themselves as the clear-cut No. 2 team behind Alabama in the SEC West. However, probably the most prevalent storyline in this game is whether or not Orgeron can possibly make everyone do a 180 on him by pulling off the shocking win in Baton Rouge.
Boise State playing the role of spoiler?
For the better part of the last decade when you refer to the Boise State Broncos playing the role of spoiler, chances are you’re talking about them potentially taking down a Power 5 team. Very rarely are you discussing them in that regard when they’re on the field with another team from the Group of 5.
Yet, on Saturday night, that’s exactly where we are. At 3-2 on the year Boise State’s hopes of earning a trip to a New Year’s Six bowl are out the window, but the team they’re sharing the field with in Week 7 still very much has hope of ringing in the New Year facing off with a team from the Power 5 to finish their year in front of the nation. San Diego State comes into this one at home as the No. 19 team in the country in the most recent AP Poll, just one spot behind the highest-ranked team from the Group of 5, South Florida. They’re 6-0 on the year, have two Pac-12 wins on their resume and, oh yeah, can boast the second-leading rusher in the nation on their roster, Rashaad Penny. While they’re not the highest-ranked Group of 5 team right now in Week 7, they’re definitely in a prime position to be by season’s end.
But that could take a huge hit on Saturday night if Bryan Harsin and the Broncos can sneak up on them, which is rather ironic given how Boise State made a national signature for themselves in the first place. South Florida is still ahead of the Aztecs in the AP Poll and UCF is breathing down their neck, so the pressure to remain undefeated just gains more weight with each passing week. While Boise State — a sexy preseason pick to be in the position San Diego State is battling for at the moment – isn’t the powerhouse some thought it would be coming into the year, they can still be a dangerous team. So Penny and the rest of the Aztecs better be on high alert Saturday night out west.