Contenders Battle It Out To Stay In The CFB Playoff Hunt

Week 7 of the college football season is upon us and slowly but surely we're getting rid of the pretenders and getting an even better idea of who the contenders are. Vital Top-25 matchups last weekend saw the Florida Gators stay in the mix for the CFP (College Football Playoff), while the Auburn Tigers all but dropped out of the running. Ohio State avoided their happens-more-than-you-think upset to Michigan State, holding on to their #4 ranking and likely spot in the CFP if they win out; wins by #6 Oklahoma, #8 Wisconsin, and #3 Georgia kept them all on the road to the CFP as well.

Now we arrive at Week 7 with some huge matchups that will further shake things up even more as we head to mid-October. Let's take a look at a few of them, shall we?

#6 Oklahoma Sooners (-420) @ #11 Texas Longhorns (+290), o/u 75.5 (-114)
The annual Red River Showdown, pitting Oklahoma vs Texas, will have more than just bragging rights at stake for these two border states. Oklahoma, behind former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts, is off to one of their best starts in school history on the offensive side of the ball. Hurts has played phenomenally, throwing for 1,500 yards, 14 TDs, and just 2 INTs in five games, not to mention leading the Sooners in rushing yards with 499 and 7 TDs. He is, by most accounts, the Heisman Trophy front-runner. This game will be, however, his first true test. Texas would love nothing more than to be the fly in the ointment that is Oklahoma's CFP aspirations. The Longhorns themselves also bring in a prolific offense, led by their own Heisman hopeful quarterback in Sam Ehlinger. He's thrown for 1,448 yards, 17 TDs, and only 2 INTs--if not for Hurts, many would be calling him a Heisman front-runner. With these two quarterbacks and their respective receiving corps, expect the scoreboard to light up like a pinball machine in Saturday, as both defenses will be an afterthought; both defensive units will just want to survive. So with that, the recommended plays here are ​Total Points over 75.5 (-114) and also Away Team moneyline and over 75.5 Total Points (+145). ​This will be a shootout, folks.

#10 Penn State Nittany Lions (-200) @ #17 Iowa Hawkeyes (+150), o/u 41 (-114)
This is another matchup with CFP ramifications. Penn State has been their usual solid, no-frills selves to start the season. They’ve quietly gone from a team that wasn’t really registering on anyone’s radar, to a Top-10 ranking and 5-0 start in the Big Ten. They’ve improved every week, and their offense has been flying high over the last two weeks with blowout wins over Maryland and Purdue. At the same time, their defense is one of the elite units in the country, only giving up a total of 44 points over those same five games. That’s scary good. This game vs Iowa, however, will be their toughest test yet. Factor in not only finally playing a ranked opponent, but also playing one at night in one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten, Kinnick Stadium. Iowa is coming off of a 10-3 defeat at the hands of Michigan last week, but the game wasn’t as close as the scoreboard suggests as the Iowa offense was a complete no-show and shot themselves in the foot several times. Their offensive line was porous, giving up eight sacks to the Wolverines. Iowa brings their usual solid defense into this matchup, and it will take every ounce of that to keep this game close. Penn State is just better than Iowa in all facets of the game. Iowa will keep the game close for a half, but look for Penn State to pull away and win by more than a touchdown. The recommended play here is ​Away Team moneyline and Total Points over 42.5 (+200). ​We also like ​Penn State -3.5 (-114).

#7 Florida Gators (+390) @ #5 LSU Tigers (-625), o/u 55.5 (-114)
Now for the true treat of the weekend, and like last weekend, it involves two Top-10 SEC teams in what essentially is a knockout game for the College Football Playoff. Florida took care of Auburn at home last week, and now they go into Death Valley at night to face LSU in Baton Rouge. LSU’s offense is having one of its most prolific seasons in years lighting up the scoreboard, albeit vs the likes of Vanderbilt, Utah State, and Georgia Southern. This Florida defense is not any of that, not even close. They have an elite secondary that is finally healthy and a defensive line that can get to the quarterback, and they proved that last week as they harassed Auburn quarterback Bo Nix all day as he threw three interceptions and was sacked twice while being hurried on multiple occasions. LSU senior quarterback Joe Burrow is having a breakthrough season, throwing for over 1,800 yards with 22 TDs to only 3 INTs. He has seen it all, and it’s hard for one to think he will be phased by this huge moment. He has elite talent at the receiver position and look for them to find some open space in that Florida secondary. Also take into account that LSU themselves have a stout defense, especially in the secondary. Florida quarterback Kyle Trask was somewhat exposed last week in the Auburn game as he fumbled three times, mostly because he sat in the pocket way too long, several times getting absolutely flattened by the Auburn defense. LSU will look to stop the mediocre Florida run game and make Trask try to beat them with his arm; that’s just not going to happen. Florida’s defense will keep them in this game into the third quarter, but LSU will pull away with the victory. The value play here is ​Away Team +13.5 and Total Points under 55.5 (+215). ​If you just want to take the point spread, go with ​Florida +13.5 (-114).

So there you have it. This is easily the first truly great college football weekend of the season so far. All three of these matchups are must-see tv. Enjoy watching, and good luck!

*Credit to the main photo of this article belongs to Gerald Herbert/Associated Press