The Big 12 and the SEC take center stage in week seven of this college football season. Could Oklahoma State get a huge road win to give them an inside track at competing for a Big 12 Championship? Or could Kentucky shock the world and make the number one team lose in back-to-back weeks? Will we see more top 25 upsets that have been a staple of the 2021 season? Now, let’s get into it as we look at the best matchups in college football with our 2021 week seven college football watch guide.
Note: All game times are in central standard time
2021 Week Seven College Football Watch Guide
Friday
6:00 PM
Clemson at Syracuse 
The first game is our week seven college football watch guide takes us to the dome. It’s so bizarre not seeing a ranking next to the Clemson name. But, here we are with a team that is championship-worthy on defense, but the offense is only averaging 21 points per game. For the Orange, they are 3-3 on the year but have lost those three games by a total of 16 points. After two straight losses by a field goal, is this the game that Syracuse can finish?
9:30 PM
(24) San Diego State at San Jose State 
In a little bit of a surprise, it is San Diego State and not San Jose State that sits atop the Mountain West western division standings. However, the Spartans are undefeated at home but the Aztecs are 5-0 so something has to give. San Diego State, as they normally are, is led by a strong running game and a stingy defense. But, starting tonight the schedule gets very tough for the Aztecs. However, for the Spartans who came into the year with high expectations a win over a top 25 team would get them back in the thick of the conference.
Saturday
11:00 AM
(12) Oklahoma State at (25) Texas
When the Cowboys travel to Austin to face the Longhorns this is just one of two ranked versus ranked matchups that we are looking at in the week seven 2021 college football watch guide. Be that as it may, this is a huge game in the Big 12 conference. Texas played well offensively but the defense struggled down the stretch in a heartbreaking loss against Oklahoma. Comparatively, it’s been a struggle for the Cowboys offensively only scoring 25 points per game, and have relied on a very stingy defense. Oklahoma State will need Spencer Sanders‘ best performance of the year to get the win.
(20) Florida at LSU 
Historically, this is a game that means so much nationally and to the conference. However, both of these teams come into this game having five combined losses. It’s been somewhat of a reversal of fortunes for the Gators as the running game has been strong but consistency through the air has been an issue. LSU seems to be something of a dumpster fire right with what many consider a lame-duck head coach in Ed Orgeron. However, could a win here against one of their fiercest rivals sway the decision-makers?
Auburn at (17) Arkansas 
This is a battle of two teams that desperately need to find wins. Both teams are staring at their third loss of the season. For the Razorbacks, after racing out to a 4-0 start and a top 10 ranking they have dropped two straight to two of the best teams in the SEC on the road. But, they return home for this matchup. For Auburn, they didn’t play terribly against Georgia but still found themselves on the low end of a 34-10 decision. One would expect this to be a fairly high-scoring affair.
2:30 PM
(11) Kentucky at (1) Georgia 
As we move to the mid-day slot in our 2021 week seven college football watch guide this is the second of our two ranked versus ranked matchups. Georgia is on top of the world after the Alabama loss and Kentucky finds itself flirting with a top 10 ranking. The Bulldogs bolster the best defense in college football giving up less than six points per contest. The Wildcats are much improved offensively with Will Levis at the helm but do they have enough firepower to stay competitive with Georgia.
Purdue at (2) Iowa 
Maybe the oddsmakers know more than we do, Iowa is the second-ranked team in the country and hosts Purdue which has lost two of its last three and is only favored by 12 points? After their win over Penn State, Iowa appears to be a clear favorite to win the Big Ten West as well as head into the title game undefeated. The Boilermakers are struggling on offense with only 22 points scored against Minnesota and Illinois. Do they have what it takes to put everything together and make this one closer than the experts think?
(19) BYU at Baylor 
Baylor comes into this game as the most improved team in the Big 12 and perhaps the country after a 5-1 start and will look to get bowl eligible against the Cougars on Saturday. They are doing it the way you would expect a Dave Aranda team to with solid defense, a good ground game and an efficient quarterback. BYU had a bit of head-scratching loss against Boise State where they committed four turnovers. Having Jarren Hall back last week was big and this has the makings of one of the best games of the weekend.
6:00 PM
(5) Alabama at Mississippi State 
It’s been since the end of the 2013 season that we saw Alabama lose back-to-back games. The Crimson Tide have perhaps not been quite as good defensively as Alabama fans would have liked in surrendering 22 points per game. However, the offense has not missed a beat behind Heisman Trophy frontrunner Bryce Young. The Bulldogs come into this game sitting at 3-2, but two of those losses are by a combined five points. Will Rogers has been solid in completing 76% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He’ll need every bit of that to shock the Tide twice in as many weeks.
6:30 PM
TCU at (4) Oklahoma
Oklahoma is sky-high after their huge comeback win over the Texas Longhorns in one of the best Red River Shootouts ever. But, that game has brought forward a quarterback controversy in Norman between Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams. All eyes will be on the quarterback position on Saturday night. TCU has been a little off course this season as they have really struggled on the defensive side of the ball. They haven’t held any FBS team on their schedule to under 30 points all season.
(13) Ole Miss at Tennessee
This game could be one of the biggest revenge games of the year. Tennessee fans are jumping at the opportunity to get back at Lane Kiffin. The Vols appear to be a little ahead of schedule sitting at 4-2 in Josh Heupel‘s first season. They have scored 107 points in the last two games and Hendon Hooker seems to be the guy at quarterback now. Comparatively, Ole Miss is also one of the best offensive teams in college football this season under Matt Corral. With the ability for both of these teams to run it as well as they throw it, don’t be surprised to see 100 points scored in this game.
Iowa State at Kansas State 
The Cyclones have not lived up to the lofty expectations early on in the season. However, with only one loss in the Big 12, the conference championship goals are right there for the taking. But, with home games against Oklahoma State and Texas on the horizon, this feels like a must-win. The Wildcats have had two weeks to prepare for this game and most importantly to get Skylar Thompson healthy. The running back matchup between Breece Hall and Deuce Vaughn might be one of the best in the country this weekend.
7:00 PM
Army at Wisconsin 
Army actually comes into this game with the better record sitting at 4-1 on the season. However, they were upset in their last game against Ball State after committing two turnovers that turned the game around. In this game, something has to give as Army runs the ball more than any team in the country and Wisconsin stops the run better than anyone. Can Army rekindle the magic that has competed admirably against some of the nation’s best?
9:00 PM
(18) Arizona State at Utah 
The final game in the 2021 week seven college football watch guide brings us to the PAC 12 after dark. After a slow start to the season, Utah has rebounded with back-to-back wins in the conference. The insertion of Cameron Rising as the quarterback has been a big impact on a struggling offense. For the Sun Devils, they have rebounded well since the loss to BYU with wins against UCLA and Stanford. This could be an instant classic to end your football weekend.
