Week 7 wrapup: Caleb Williams leads OU; Michigan State, Cincy, Oklahoma State stay perfect
Here’s a look at the key games in Week 7.
Caleb Williams again stars for OU
True freshman quarterback Caleb Williams made his first start Saturday and accounted for five touchdowns as No. 4 Oklahoma downed visiting TCU 52-31.
Williams, who came on and rallied OU past Texas last week, led the Sooners on a 75-yard scoring drive on their first possession. He threw for 295 yards and a TD, and also rushed for a 41-yard score. Williams, who is from Washington, D.C., didn’t play high school football as a senior because his season was canceled by COVID, and he saw his first real action of the season last week.
The Sooners (7-0, 4-0 in the Big 12) led 24-14 at halftime, then scored on their first three drives of the third quarter.
TCU quarterback Max Duggan threw for a career-high 336 yards and four TDs to keep the Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2) in it for most of the night. TCU played without star running back Zach Evans, who missed the game with a foot injury.
Defense saves Michigan State
No. 10 Michigan State (7-0, 4-0 in the Big Ten) forced three turnovers and held on to beat host Indiana 20-15.
The Spartans head into their off week off a desultory performance against IU (2-4, 0-3); Michigan State had just 241 total yards but did turn IU’s turnovers into 13 points, including a pick-six in the first quarter by linebacker Cal Haladay.
Michigan State plays host to Michigan on October 30 in a huge Big Ten East contest; both are unbeaten (Michigan is off this week and plays host to Northwestern next week) and thus still alive for the division crown, the league title and a potential College Football Playoff berth. Indeed, the last time Michigan State started 7-0 was 2015, when the Spartans won the league and made the Playoff.
Indiana led 9-7 at halftime, but the Spartans took the lead for good midway through the third period on a 51-yard field goal by Matt Coghlin. They increased the lead to 17-9 with a 39-yard TD drive after an interception thrown by Jack Tuttle.
Cincinnati keeps rolling along
No. 3 Cincinnati (6-0, 2-0 in AAC) scored TDs on five of its first seven drives and blew out visiting UCF 56-21. The Bearcats led 35-7 at halftime and coasted in the second half.
UCF (3-3, 1-2) is playing with its backup quarterback, and true freshman Mikey Keene struggled to get anything going against a tough Bearcats defense.
Cincinnati, which rushed for 336 yards, doesn’t play another team that currently has a winning record until SMU on November 20.
Ole Miss holds off Tennessee
Matt Corral accounted for 426 yards and two touchdowns as No. 13 Ole Miss (5-1, 2-1 in the SEC) overcame Tennessee (4-3, 2-2) and an unruly crowd to win 31-26.
The game was delayed for almost 20 minutes with just more than a minute left; after an officiating call went against Tennessee, the crowd pelted the field with water bottles and other objects, including a golf ball that grazed Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.
The Rebels led 24-12 at halftime, but the Vols clamped down in the second half and gave themselves a chance to win. They moved to Ole Miss’ 21 in the final 10 seconds but couldn’t get into the end zone on the final two plays.
Corral led an offense that rolled up 510 yards, including 279 yards on the ground. Ole Miss had 101 plays from scrimmage; the Vols had 79.
Alabama bounces back with rout
Bryce Young threw for 348 yards and four TDs as Alabama (6-1, 3-1 in the SEC) hammered host Mississippi State 49-9 a week after the Tide fell at Texas A&M.
The Tide led 21-6 at halftime, then removed any doubt about the outcome by scoring on a 75-yard pass from Young to Jameson Williams on the first play of the second half.
Alabama outgained Mississippi State 543-299. Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers was 35-of-55 for 400 yards, but Mississippi State (3-3, 1-2) rushed for minus-1 yard.
Tide running back Brian Robinson Jr. rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns, and also had five receptions for 68 yards and another score.
Alabama welcomes in Tennessee next week.
No. 12 Oklahoma State rallies past Texas
No. 12 Oklahoma State rallied in the fourth quarter to beat host Texas 32-24 and move to 6-0. No. 25 Texas led 24-16 entering the final period, and earlier had leads of 17-3 and 24-13.
Texas had just 12 yards on its final six possessions.
The Cowboys (3-0 in the Big 12), who now have won on six of their past seven trips to Austin, play at Iowa State next week in a contest that will shape the Big 12 title race. Texas (4-3, 2-2), meanwhile, has next week off before traveling to play a physical Baylor team on October 30.
Texas’ Bijan Robinson rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns; it was his fifth consecutive 100-yard game. Longhorns quarterback Casey Thompson threw two picks, including one returned 85 yards for a touchdown. Oklahoma State’s Jaylen Warren is the latest back to have a big day against Texas: He rushed for 193 yards.
No. 19 Arkansas loses 3rd game in row
Bo Nix passed for 292 yards and two TDs and also rushed for a score as visiting Auburn (5-2, 2-1) downed No. 19 Arkansas 38-23; it was the third loss in a row for the Hogs (4-3, 1-3), who had been ranked as high as No. 8 but came in off losses to Georgia and Ole Miss.
Auburn is off next week, then faces Ole Miss and Texas A&M in back-to-back weeks. While Arkansas still has Alabama left on its schedule, the first half of the Hogs’ schedule was much tougher than the second half and an eight-win season still is very much a possibility.
Auburn led 28-23 entering the fourth quarter, and Nix led two long scoring drives in the period — one field goal and one TD — to put the game away.
Arkansas ran 28 more plays than the Tigers, but Auburn still enjoyed the time-of-possession advantage.
Other action in Week 7
+ Baylor made a case for being ranked by cruising past No. 19 BYU 38-24. The host Bears (6-1) punished the Cougars (5-1) on the ground, rushing for 303 yards and four TDs. Abram Smith, who was a starting linebacker last season before returning to running back, had 188 and three scores on 27 carries. The Bears also shut down BYU’s rushing attack, holding the Cougars — who have lost two in a row — to 67 yards, and 56 of those came on a TD run by quarterback Jaren Hall. Hall was sacked five times. Baylor is off next week, then plays host to Texas on October 30.
+ Tyrion Davis-Price rushed for 287 yards and three TDs as host LSU (4-3, 2-2) upset No. 20 Florida 49-42. Davis-Price’s total was an LSU single-game school record and also the most rushing yards allowed by the Gators (4-3, 2-3) in a game. Florida quarterbacks threw four interceptions and LSU scored after the first three, including a pick-six on the Gators’ first possession of the second half.
+ No. 22 NC State (5-2, 2-0 in the ACC) routed host Boston College 33-7 behind three touchdown passes by Devin Leary. The Wolfpack and Wake Forest, which was idle Saturday, are the only unbeaten teams in league play in the Atlantic Division. NC State led 10-7 at halftime, then scored three third-quarter TDs, including one on a fumble return, to blow it open. BC (4-2, 0-2) has lost two in a row, and plays three of its next four on the road.