Winners
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys under Mike Gundy are 6-0 and are finally getting some well-deserved recognition after their big win against Texas in Austin. The Poke’s defense was able to force a key pick-six turnover to swing the entire momentum of the game. Spencer Saunders started a little sluggish but came through to put the final nail in Texas’s coffin. Oklahoma State has shown they are a true contender to win the Big 12.
Purdue
When Kirk Ferentz sleeps at night he has nightmares of David Bell. Bell accounted for 11 catches for 240 yards and a touchdown. This man is a straight-up Hawkeye killer. Purdue always seems to be the team to catch a team off guard. Quarterback Aiden O’Connell was magnificent, and the Boilermaker defense held strong when it mattered. Jeff Brohm and company are 4-2 with only 1 Big Ten loss and are looking like they will definitely be going bowling this season.
Auburn
Every week it’s looking like the close loss to Georgia State is the outlier on Auburn’s schedule. The Tigers now have road wins against LSU and ranked Arkansas. They had a chance to tie late in the game at Penn State’s “Whiteout”, and put up a bit of a fight against Georgia. Auburn is currently 5-2, Bo Nix is making smarter decisions, and Tiger fans have to be feeling good about the start of this season.
NC State
The Wolfpack might be the best team in the ACC. Reciever Thayer Thomas had a great game against Boston College, and the NC State defense is looking like one of the conference’s best. Most people expected the Wolfpack to win, but to win in dominating fashion is something else. The ACC is wide open, and it’s time to start noticing NC State.
Losers
Tennessee fans
As a program, Tennessee has actually taken some steps forward with Josh Heupel. The offense looks better, and the defense has shown glimpses that they can be solid. In week 7 of College Football, the biggest losers are Tennessee fans. I have met some great people from Vol Nation, and like most fanbases, you have your fair share of terrible fans. However, that does not excuse the horrendous behavior of Volunteer fans on Saturday night. Actually throwing trash onto the field was despicable, not to mention someone throwing a golfball and bottle at Lane Kiffin. The call in question was close, it could have gone either way, but you ruined an absolutely electric night in Neyland. The crowd was amazing, and instead of everyone talking about Tennesse’s progress of a program they are talking about your fanbase being trash (no pun intended).
Iowa
The Hawkeyes had it handed to them on a silver platter. Starting quarterback of Penn State gets injured, and they survive in an emotional win in Kinnick. After the win against the Nittany Lions, it was safe to say that Iowa could very well go undefeated until the Big Ten Championship game. On Saturday Iowa looked slow and was outplayed physically by the Boilermakers. Call it a letdown game, but the offense was stagnant, and Purdue was able to matriculate up and down the field. They are on the bye this upcoming week, and they better straighten things out because they go to Wisconsin on the 30th.
Arkansas
Sam Pittman has some winnable games left on his schedule, but the Razorbacks haven’t “arrived” as we thought after their win over Texas A&M. Treylon Burks and KJ Jefferson are a fantastic duo offensively, but they need a better running game that doesn’t involve Jefferson. Their defense also looks to be banged up. They get an easy win against Arkansas Pine-Bluff next week, and hopefully, they can fix some problems to finish the year strong.
Liberty
In the most shocking outcome of Saturday, the Liberty Flames lose to UL-Monroe. Malik Willis had to do a lot by himself and was able to run all over the Warhawks. Unfortunately, the air attack wasn’t working throwing 3 interceptions, one coming at the end of the game. The Flames defense was the biggest disappointment, giving 31 points to an awful UL-Monroe offense. This Flames team can be dangerous, but this is a terrible blemish on their record.