The theme for this week’s college football preview is the number seven. The number seven is often seen as a lucky for some, or a significant number if you are playing craps. We consulted online medium and numerologist “Maria” to get answers on the significance of the number seven. After mocking us for such a simplistic question, Maria reminded us that the number seven holds significance in religious texts such as the Bible and the Torah. There are also seven chakras of Hinduism. Originally there were seven wonders of the world. There is thought to be seven years of bad luck if you break a mirror. We brought up the significance of Snow White hanging out with seven dwarfs. Again, we were mocked. So we bailed out on “Maria,” and found our own significance to the number seven in the College Football Preview-Week 6.
College Football Preview-Week 6; Number Seven
Texas (4-1) vs. Oklahoma (5-0); Saturday 12noon ET Fox; Dallas
The Red River Showdown is always relevant for the historic nature of the game. Our Jason Rhea took a look at that earlier this week. But when both teams are ranked, there is a special spice to the game.
Oklahoma is a pretty heavy favorite in many people’s eyes because the offense is red hot right now. Quarterback Kyler Murray is throwing at a 75% completion rate the last three games. He lit up Baylor last week for 432 yards and six touchdowns in the air and ran for another. Texas has a good defense this season but the Longhorns have not faced an offense this potent.
The Longhorns defense kept USC, TCU and Kansas State each to two touchdowns or less. They are giving up 153 yards per game which is keeping Texas in games. They were down 14-3 to USC three weeks ago before rattling off 34 straight points. The next week they added another 31 against TCU. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger is efficient enough. He is completing 64% of his passes and has nine touchdowns to only two interceptions. The challenge is the Texas pass defense. They have given up plays of 30+ yards in each of the last three games. If Murray is doing that, the Sooners are controlling the game.
The number seven? This game has been decided by seven points or fewer in each of the last four years.
LSU (5-0) @ Florida (4-1); Saturday 3:30pm ET CBS
There is not a lot of chomp to the Florida offense, but the defense can hang with anyone in the SEC East. Quarterback Feleipe Franks is averaging only 203 yards per game in the air but he is not turning the ball over. He has three interceptions against 12 touchdowns. As a whole, the Gators offense is managing only 378 yards per game. Their points per game stats high but are skewed by having put up 53 against Charleston Southern and 48 against Colorado State.
But the defense is elite. They are giving up less than six yards per pass completion, meaning they are keeping everything in front of them. They also have 14 takeaways in just five games and are fourth in the country in defensive efficiency.
Getting the ball away from the Bayou Bengals will not be easy. LSU has the best offense in the SEC in turnovers, having given the ball up only three times this season. Quarterback Joe Burrow’s stats are not going to pop eyes out. He had 249 yards passing against Auburn, but it was on 15 of 35 passing. But what he does do is sustain drives. He led LSU drives of 81, 71, 83, ad 69 yards in the first half in the win over Ole Miss.
Just like the first game on the list, the last four games have been decided by seven points or less.
Florida State (3-2) @ Miami (4-1); Saturday 3:30pm ET ABC
This used to be appointment television. Just because Florida State is struggling in year one of the Willie Taggart era, don’t overlook it. It is still one of the great rivalries in college football. Last year Miami won in Tallahassee, snapping a seven-year FSU win streak in the series. And Miami has not beaten the Seminoles at home since 2004. This would be the seventh straight home loss for the Canes, (hey, we worked in a double seven).
The Canes are a different team with N’Kosi Perry at quarterback. Our Hebreu Maxis talked about it before the North Carolina game, when Perry actually came out as the starter. The down side to his ability to provide a needed spark to the offense is the freshman mistakes that come with the territory. He already has three interceptions in limited playing time. The game tapes will tell you he needs to do a better job going through his progressions. He should get plenty of opportunities because Miami’s defense is number one in the country in tackles for loss. They have been stifling much of the season.
Florida State is right in the middle of the country statistically speaking. They are 86th in the country in total defense and 74th in total offense. The Seminoles are giving up 385 yards and nearly 25 points per game. Meanwhile the offense is averaging 22 points per game and 373 yards per game. The Miami defensive secondary has been shown to be susceptible to big plays, but it is going to be asking a lot of Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois.
Notre Dame (5-0) @ Virginia Tech (3-1); Saturday 8pm ET ABC
The Irish are another team that made a change at quarterback weeks into the season and look like a different offense as a result. Ian Book replaced Brandon Wimbush two weeks ago and the Notre Dame offense has picked up dramatically. Book threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns last week in the blowout win over Stanford. He has, how many, yes, seven touchdown passes so far this season. The Irish offense piled up 550 yards last week and the defense is giving up less than 19 per game so far.
Virginia Tech made news for all the wrong reasons two weeks with a shocking loss to Old Dominion. The Hokies bounced back with a win at Duke last week. Ryan Willis had to replace the injured Josh Jackson at quarterback in the ODU game and he looked good in the win at Duke. He threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns and had no picks. The Hokies offense is more potent than what we are all used to with 38 points per game. Clearly this will be the best defense they have played all year, but if they can use the home field emotion to put up some early points, maybe they can hang with Notre Dame.
