If the college football world needed another reminder that preseason hype isn’t worth much, a look at this week’s AP poll would do the trick. The No. 1 and No. 2 teams from this year’s preseason — Texas and Penn State — dropped out of the Top 25 and are just among the Others receive votes.
Last week, they were still in the top 10 with real playoff ambitions. And now they just hope to stay competitive. College football season is coming quickly.
This week’s slate features three matchups of ranked teams: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 17 Illinois, No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri and No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon. All three should be dates, but there’s another game with possible playoff implications that’s worth highlighting: No. 24 USF at North Texas on Friday night.
USF is a 1.5-point favorite, but UNT is undefeated as both teams appear capable of defeating the American, which has positioned itself as the Group of 5 conference most likely to be represented in the postseason. — Kyle Bonagura
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Oklahoma’s defense | Alabama-Missouri
Big Ten title implications
Quotes of the week
Oklahoma’s Dog Pound Defense
Dog pound. Ninja Turtles. Power Rangers. The nicknames Oklahoma’s defensive line unit has adopted in 2025 are numerous. But the common denominator between them is simple.
“The whole thing behind that mindset is: We are those guys,” senior defensive tackle Gracen Halton told ESPN this week. “Whatever happens, we’re here to play. That’s our mindset.”
No. 6 Oklahoma (6-0) returns to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday to face Texas (3-2) in the 121st edition of the Red River Rivalry (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). It’s been pretty friendly lately for the Sooners, winners of seven of the last 10 games between the schools from 2016-2024.
However, each of those victories came with the support of an Oklahoma offense that finished in the top 10 in scoring nationally. This time, the Sooners return to face Texas with the nation’s No. 2 defense, anchored by a fierce and deep defensive line unit that enters Week 7 ranked first in sacks (21) and second in tackles for loss (50) among all Power 4 defenses in 2025.
“Everybody can’t wait to get on the field to play,” senior defensive end R Mason Thomas said of the position group last month. “We have dogs.”
There are shades of the vintage defensive lines that Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables oversaw as the program’s defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2011. Naturally, his fingerprints are all over a group that feasted on opposing backfields this fall. Halton and Thomas were late additions to Venables’ first signing class at Oklahoma during the 2022 cycle. Second-year interior playmakers Jayden Jackson and David Stone, who nearly left in the transfer portal this spring, joined the 2024 class, a year after 2023 five-star Adepoju Adebawore. Of the unit’s regular contributors, only two — Damonic Williams and Marvin Jones Jr. — arrived via the transfer portal.
“We all have the same personality because BV recruited us all,” Halton said. “We just have this light within us. We’ve built these bonds. We’re close. Like a real family.”
Stone is credited with devising the nickname “Dog Pound”, a nod to the depth and competitive edge of this Sooners defensive line.
“We have dog after dog,” Halton said. “When four dogs go out, there are four more that come in to eat and hunt.”
Thomas introduced the “Ninja Turtles”.
The group is sometimes called “Power Rangers” because, of course, they’re always there to save the day, Halton says.
Curious what their always intense head coach thinks about all this?
“I love engagements,” Venables said this week.
“To me, that means there’s a lot of ownership in this group,” he said. “If they gave them a name and they played like a pansy, that wouldn’t be good. We should stop that quickly. But they didn’t. They showed up. They like to work. They like to compete. They let you coach them hard.”
Whatever nickname the Sooners pass rush uses at any given time, it makes life difficult for opposing quarterbacks in 2025. Oklahoma faced Auburn’s Jackson Arnold nine times last month. On Saturday, that could cause serious problems for Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning and a Texas offensive line that allowed six sacks to Florida in Week 6.
If you wear burnt orange to the Cotton Bowl this weekend, beware the Dog Pound. — Elie Lederman
What should Missouri and Alabama capitalize on to win?
Missouri: Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz had nothing but praise for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson this week, saying his accuracy and ability to make off-schedule plays in Ryan Grubb’s offense is as good as advertised. Missouri’s defense has made its opponents one-dimensional by playing the best run defense in the country, limiting FBS foes to 39.5 rushing yards per game, and owning the best completion percentage defense (48.5%) in the country. He’s had a lot of success generating pressure through five games, but tackling Alabama’s offensive line is a tall order. The Tigers need to play sharp from behind after giving up a few too many explosive passes in zone coverage against South Carolina and Kansas, and they’ll likely need some turnover luck this week after getting just two takeaways in their last four games. — Max Olson
Alabama: Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said this week that his defense needs to start faster, not only to prevent Missouri from gaining early momentum, but also to set the tone early against the Tigers’ powerful running game. Ahmad Hardy leads the nation with 730 rushing yards, and Missouri ranks third overall, averaging nearly 300 yards per game. Alabama hasn’t been as consistent against the run this season as in the past – Florida State and Georgia have each rushed for over 200 yards already this season. During the first half last week against Vanderbilt, Alabama gave up a 65-yard touchdown run and a 36-yarder — two plays Wommack called “unacceptable” — before settling down. Hardy will challenge the Tide in many ways as the best running back they will play to date. Wommack praised him for his physicality and ability to break tackles, turning routine running plays into explosive plays. Tackle will undoubtedly be a big priority in this matchup. — Andrea Adelson
Big implications for Big Ten title race in Week 7
It’s still early October, but this week’s Big Ten slate is about as blockbuster as it gets. More importantly, with the six teams atop the conference standings so far (Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana are all tied for first, and Illinois and USC are tied for second) set to face off, it will be a crucial Saturday in the race to Indianapolis and the College Football Playoff.
The headliner is in Eugene, where undefeated No. 2 Oregon hosts undefeated No. 7 Indiana. The Ducks have been dominant on defense and impeccably balanced on offense so far this season, looking very capable of defending their Big Ten title. But as Indiana proved in a loss to Illinois a few weeks ago, this team isn’t just looking to get back to the playoffs; this may be a better team than last year and is very capable of winning the Big Ten title. The Ducks and Hoosiers both avoid Ohio State on their schedule this year, making this matchup likely the toughest either team has had yet and one that has a good chance of entering into potential tiebreakers that could end up mattering at the end of the regular season.
Speaking of the Buckeyes, since the opener against Texas, the No. 1 team in the country hasn’t had much trouble taking down inferior opponents. Saturday’s trip to Illinois will test that thanks to a Fighting Illini team that bounced back from an embarrassing loss to Indiana with two wins against Purdue and USC in recent weeks. Upsetting the defending champions is a tall order for Bret Bielema’s team, but if they want an outside shot at the Big Ten and a playoff berth, now would be the time to make a statement.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Michigan and No. 15 USC are scheduled to meet, and although the Wolverines are the ranked team in this matchup (and the undefeated ones in conference play), the Trojans are favored and could get their own Big Ten hopes back on track with a win after a close loss to Illinois. Both of these teams still have crucial games on their schedules (Ohio State for Michigan; Notre Dame and Oregon for USC), which gives them – especially the Trojans – no margin for error. — Paolo Uggetti
Quotes of the week
“It’s complete, but it’s complete because Michigan is coming,” – Michigan coach Sherrone Moore on leaving for Los Angeles to play USC. “We are not celebrating our visit to the Colosseum. There are no photos or selfies because we are in the beautiful Colosseum.”
“(He is) probably one of the most impressive young coaching phenoms of recent times.” — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on Oregon’s Dan Lanning
“They’re 5-0. They’re a ranked team.” – Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer asked about the Tide’s game against Missouri being a potential “trap game.”
