Nine unbeaten teams head into Week 7 of the college football season and three are led by current or former head coaches at James Madison. Two of them lead the only undefeated teams remaining in the Big Ten.
Bob Chesney's UCLA team outlasted Oregon on the road, and Curt Cignetti's Indiana rallied with a 14-point, fourth-quarter outburst to defeat Nebraska. What does that say about the sport? I dunno. Something special is happening in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where former Florida coach Billy Napier also has JMU (6-0) undefeated after surviving a scare in a 27-24 win at Georgia Southern.
Elsewhere, the Red River Rivalry had the country's attention during an afternoon window that delivered several exciting finishes. Oklahoma kickerTate Sandell, last season's Lou Groza Award winner, drilled a 47-yard field goal to knock off No. 1 Texas as time expired. We all knew Texas would likely fall at some point this season because of its inconsistency offensively, but falling in that fashion via a blocked punt, a pick-six and another interception setting up a walk-off field goal was downright demented.
It was that kind of week. The SEC kept eating itself, with ranked teams going 3-3 against unranked opponents Saturday, its worst performance since 2000. Kentucky won 35-34 in overtime for the second straight Saturday, this time against Lane Kiffin's LSU. South Carolina, which lost to Kentucky a week prior, routed Florida in the Swamp.
Then we had the classic, if not controversial, Georgia win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Tide fans are pointing at the officiating. The Bulldogs are pointing to a 200-yard rushing attack led by the third- and fourth-team tailbacks.
At least two more undefeated teams will fall in Week 7. Ohio State visits Indiana and Notre Dame goes to BYU in the week's only matchup of unbeatens. Six ranked-on-ranked showdowns make for one of the biggest Saturdays of the season.
We shook things up quite a bit in the CBS Sports Power Rankings as the model further removed preseason data. I moved a few teams around after reading that data. You'll notice four unbeaten teams sitting behind two one-loss teams (Missouri and Kentucky), and two-loss LSU in front of three unbeaten teams.
These are power rankings, not win-loss rankings. Feel free to disagree.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Georgia beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2007, 20-17, giving Kirby Smart his first regular-season win over the Tide. Gunner Stockton completed 18-of-22 passes and ran for a TD. Auburn is next. | 2 | 6-0 |
| 2 |  | Alabama led 14-10 at halftime and then lost to Georgia, marking its third straight loss to a top-five team for the first time since 2005-07. Keelon Russell was held to 185 passing yards. | 4 | 5-1 |
| 3 |  | Notre Dame crushed Stanford 58-7 for its 16th straight double-digit win. The last two teams to do that won national titles: Miami (2001) and Texas (1969). Next is a trip to BYU, the team the Irish skipped on playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. | 2 | 6-0 |
| 4 |  | Miami was idle after winning its first five by 10-plus, matched only by the 2001 and 2002 Hurricanes, both of which played for national titles. Next up is Florida State, which has lost 11 straight road games. | -- | 5-0 |
| 5 |  | Heisman frontrunner Jeremiah Smith caught two more touchdowns in a 45-16 win over Maryland and sits one behind Braylon Edwards' Big Ten career record of 39. Here's hoping for an epic showdown this week between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers. | 3 | 5-1 |
| 6 |  | Texas led Oklahoma 17-7 at halftime and then imploded, largely because of Arch Manning's two fourth-quarter interceptions, including a pick-six and another with 19 seconds remaining that set up the walk-off FG. | 5 | 4-1 |
| 7 |  | Indiana trailed Nebraska most of the game, then won 20-17 with a 14-point fourth-quarter outburst for its 22nd straight victory. Nick Marsh caught both TDs. Ohio State visits Saturday for the Big Ten's game of the year. | -- | 6-0 |
| 8 |  | Jamal Roberts ran for 222 yards in a 27-6 win over Texas A&M. He's the first SEC tailback since Derrick Henry to rush for 200 yards and two TDs in consecutive conference games. QB Austin Simmons returns to his former school to face Ole Miss this week. | 3 | 5-1 |
| 9 |  | As a fan, Will Stein rushed the field when Kentucky beat No. 1 LSU in 2007. Fans stormed the field again Saturday night after the Wildcats beat LSU 35-34 in overtime, their second straight one-point OT win, a feat never before done in the FBS. | NR | 5-1 |
| 10 |  | Morgan Scalley became the first Utah coach to start his tenure 6-0, all by double digits, with a 41-24 win over Kansas. Devon Dampier has thrown two or more TDs in 11 straight games, which tops the FBS. | 1 | 5-0 |
| 11 |  | Ole Miss snapped Vanderbilt's 10-game home win streak with a dominant 52-17 rout. Kewan Lacy returned from injury and scored. Missouri and Jamal Roberts visit next. | 5 | 4-1 |
| 12 |  | LSU lost 35-34 in overtime at Kentucky, its eighth straight road loss in the SEC. Lane Kiffin dropped to 14-16 in SEC road games. His QB, Sam Leavitt, leads the country with eight interceptions and has thrown one in all six games. Mississippi State visits LSU this week. | 4 | 4-2 |
| 13 |  | Texas Tech was idle. Tech, BYU and Utah give the Big 12 three unbeatens, most of any league, a first through six weeks since 2010. Arizona State visits Saturday. | 2 | 5-0 |
| 14 |  | Bob Chesney is the first UCLA coach to start 5-0. The 17-15 win against Georgia is the Bruins' first in Eugene since 2004. UCLA forced seven turnovers. Fans are monitoring QB Nico Iamaleava, who injured his leg. | 4 | 5-0 |
| 15 |  | Bear Bachmeier threw for 329 yards and ran for 109 in a 24-10 win over Iowa State, a combination no BYU quarterback had managed since Taysom Hill in 2013. Unbeaten Notre Dame visits next. | 1 | 5-0 |
| 16 |  | Jeremy Hecklinski started his first game and became Iowa's first QB since 2021 with 200 passing yards and three TDs against an FBS team. Kamari Moulton ran for 208 yards in the 41-24 road win at Washington. | 7 | 5-1 |
| 17 |  | Tennessee's offense is still a mess. DeSean Bishop ran for 138 yards to lead the Volunteers to a 24-17 road win at Arkansas, the SEC's worst team. Alabama visits Saturday and both will wear their home uniforms in a color-on-color rivalry showdown. | 5 | 5-1 |
| 18 |  | Nebraska led Indiana by 11 in the fourth quarter and lost 20-17, its 31st straight loss to a ranked team. Matt Rhule is 2-26 against ranked teams as a head coach. Next, the Huskers travel to Oregon, where former Huskers QB Dylan Raiola may start for the Ducks. | -- | 5-1 |
| 19 |  | David Braun's Wildcats followed their Ryan Field opener, a 34-13 rout of Penn State, with a 45-14 win over Ball State. Their only loss came by six at Indiana. Up next is Michigan State and former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald. | NR | 4-1 |
| 20 |  | Oregon committed seven turnovers, QB Dylan Raiola was benched and the Ducks turned to third-stringer Brock Thomas in a 17-15 home loss to UCLA. Next up is one-loss Nebraska. | 7 | 3-2 |
| 21 |  | Patrick Overmyer caught four touchdowns in a 35-16 road win at Kansas State. Houston is 5-1 for the second straight season after going 4-8 in each of its first two Big 12 seasons. Oklahoma State, which beat Oregon earlier, visits next. | 1 | 5-1 |
| 22 |  | USC won in State College for the first time, defeating Penn State 31-23 in front of a record White Out crowd. Jayden Maiava threw for 301 yards and three TDs. | 3 | 6-1 |
| 23 |  | Wake Forest trailed NC State at halftime, then outscored the Wolfpack 28-0 to win 38-14. Gio Lopez threw three TDs and ran for another. The Deacons' only loss is against Miami. | NR | 5-1 |
| 24 |  | Mississippi State sat at home and Kamario Taylor got some much-needed rest. He's thrown three TDs in every game, one of four SEC quarterbacks in 30 years to open a season that way. Next up is a trip to LSU's Death Valley. | -- | 4-1 |
| 25 |  | Missing its top three receivers, Arizona beat West Virginia 52-31 for its best start since 2014. Noah Fifita threw for 341 yards and leads active FBS quarterbacks with 89 career TD passes. | 5 | 5-1 |
