TEXAS, USA — Welcome back to The Pregame Pulse where I will be taking you through what I think are the top-five college football games to watch each and every week of the season!
We have arrived at week seven. I know, it's going by so fast, but not to worry. We still have so much in front of us to enjoy and that includes a handful of this week's matchups.
College Football Playoff hopes are on the line for some teams this week and others are still trying to prove that they are worth mentioning among the top dogs.
So, let's take a look at what we have ahead of us on another great college football Saturday!
Saturday, Oct. 14
#7 Washington Huskies vs. #8 Oregon Ducks - 2:30 p.m. CT
Starting off with a bang, this game has all the promise in the world to be great, and we have to watch to find out.
Two top-10 undefeated teams are entering this one and only one will leave victorious, the absolute best genre of matchups in college football.
Both Oregon and Washington have looked so dominate in pretty much every game and both are well-rested, coming off of a bye week.
In a way, I feel like these teams are identical in that they both have talented quarterbacks, great offensive output and a lot of confidence.
One thing I will give Oregon over Washington is defense. The Ducks are allowing just over 150 passing yards per game, while the Huskies are giving up around 240 yards through the air each week.
This is a crucial point in this game because Ducks quarterback Bo Nix could have the opportunity to really sling it and put a lot of pressure on that vulnerable defense.
It will be up to Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to light it up and keep pace with the Ducks. Which is something I have no doubt that he can do as he has nearly thrown for 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns already.
Be sure to be locked in for this one.
Texas A&M Aggies vs. #19 Tennessee Volunteers - 2:30 p.m. CT
Brutal week for the Aggies after they fell short to the Crimson Tide, but they got a chance to fight back this week against Tennessee, who has been looking real good since that bad loss to Florida a few weeks ago.
Honestly, this might be the only SEC game worth watching this week outside of the honorable mention Missouri vs. Kentucky game.
I think the Aggies are good, they've just been caught in some bad spots against other good teams. That being said, I do think they have the ability to come into Neyland Stadium and beat up on the Volunteers.
Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III hasn't looked amazing this year and this Aggie defense feels like one that could frustrate the veteran.
On offense, the Aggies will be led by backup quarterback Max Johnson again, but he has plenty of talent around him to push this Tennessee team back on its heels.
I think this could be a high-scoring game if the Aggie defense lets it get away from them, but I'm not by any means disregarding the ability of their offense.
Who's going to get better and challenge the top of the SEC? Probably neither team, but watch anyway!
#10 USC Trojans vs. #21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish - 6:30 p.m. CT
I'll say it, Notre Dame fooled me. I thought they were good, and while they still might be, the Fighting Irish are not a College Football Playoff caliber team in my opinion.
Coming off of a good ole fashioned butt kicking against Louisville, Notre Dame has to face the best player in college football, Caleb Williams.
USC is 6-0 and ready to add Notre Dame to their list of wins, but it won't be easy walking into South Bend and getting out of there victorious against a very physical team.
The Trojans have struggled bad on defense and that raises some real concerns when dealing with a team that has some absolute weapons on offense. I'm not too convinced that USC will be able to stop the run this week, but you can't lose if you just score more points and that seems to be what the Trojans have been doing through these first few weeks.
Anytime I set Notre Dame up to do something big, they fall short, so this week I will actually be in favor of USC going in and getting the job done despite maybe being out matched physically.
Either way, I'm excited to see how Caleb Williams plays in this type of environment and learn if he has a chance to win that back-to-back Heisman.
#25 Miami Hurricanes vs. #12 North Carolina Tar Heels - 6:30 p.m. CT
The Hurricanes suffered one of the worst losses ever in week six, simply because Head Coach Mario Cristobal decided it was a good idea to not kneel the ball despite the opposition having zero timeouts left.
Now, while I think that was wildly irresponsible and something you only do in a game of Madden, I still believe Miami is really good.
However, they have the monumental task of picking themselves up off the mat and trying to beat a really talented North Carolina team.
The Tar Heels have looked great all year and quarterback Drake Maye is doing all he can to put them in the best position to make a run at the playoff.
I think this game is poised to be a good one, with lots of scoring and plenty of highlight plays. I expect both teams to be ready to go and Miami has a great opportunity here to bounce back in a huge way and show the college football world that the debacle in week six was a fluke.
I look forward to watching this one as the ACC seems as wide open as it's ever been.
#18 UCLA Bruins vs. #15 Oregon State Beavers - 7 p.m. CT
Pac-12 after dark? or Pac-12 after sunset? I'm not really sure, but this is a primetime must-watch game.
Both teams are coming into this one with just one loss on their records and one of them has to leave with two.
So, who will it be?
UCLA is coming off of a good win against Washington State, the same team that beat Oregon State a few weeks ago, and the Bruins are looking to continue to improve after suffering that low-scoring loss against Utah.
We're already seeing early signs of this conference cannibalizing itself and I'm totally okay with it because I love drama (As long as one Pac-12 team stays undefeated).
Beavers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has been born again after transferring from Clemson, and he's still pushing hard to get his team back in the mix for the Pac-12 Championship game.
Oregon State really has everything in front of them with games against Washington and Oregon scheduled for the end of the regular season, it's just a matter of if they have enough talent to get the job done.
Of course, none of this matters if they don't first get passed the Bruins on Saturday night.
Enjoy the games, see you next week!
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