The 2025 college football season has nearly reached its midway point. That means every game has a tremendous impact on a team’s postseason hopes and all of the results will be under the microscope as the College Football Playoff selection committee starts to turn an eye towards its first set of rankings.
So it’s appropriate that Week 7 is loaded with big-time games. Six ranked teams will face off with one another as the action unfolds on Saturday.
Few are as important as No. 7 Indiana’s trip to No. 3 Oregon. Both the Hoosiers and the Ducks have already built impressive records, but the chance to beat a top-10 opponent in primetime is always hard to pass up.
Elsewhere, top-ranked Ohio State faces another tough road test as it travels to No. 17 Illinois and No. 8 Alabama will look to keep rolling against No. 14 Missouri.
Here’s a look at the Week 7 games that matter in the playoff race, and what it means for both teams involved.
College football rankings: Ohio State, Miami, Oregon locked in tight battle for No. 1 spot in CBS Sports 136
Chip Patterson
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 17 Illinois
Another year, another dominant Ohio State team. It’s business as usual for the Buckeyes, who are cruising against a majority of Big Ten opponents. Ryan Day is 48-0 against Big Ten opponents not named Michigan or Oregon. The Buckeyes have won their two conference games this year by an average scoring margin of 28.5 points. This will be their first road test against a ranked opponent and Week 6 proved that no program can take anyone lightly, no matter what history may suggest.
Illinois still has a lot to prove if it wants to work its way back into the playoff conversation. Beating USC with a thrilling last-second field goal a couple of weeks ago put it back on the path and surviving Week 6’s road scare against Purdue ensured it wasn’t eliminated from the conversation entirely. The Fighting Illini still lack a true marquee win, though, or any real evidence that they deserved a preseason top-10 ranking. That can obviously change Saturday.
No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri
Alabama’s season-opening loss to Florida State may go down as one of the most head-scratching results we’ll see this season. The Crimson Tide team we’ve seen in the weeks since looks completely different. They earned a second straight ranked victory, and avoided a potential repeat of 2024’s spiral, by downing Vanderbilt 30-14. Now they’re staring down a second road test against a top-25 SEC team this week. Alabama could survive a loss, but it would put the Tide in a difficult position as they navigate the rest of their schedule.
Missouri has certainly flown under the radar this season, though the Tigers have flirted with the College Football Playoff in the recent past. They’ve won at least 10 games in each of the last two years under coach Eli Drinkwitz and, in spite of that fact, this could be his best team yet. They’re fourth in the nation in total offense in 547.6 yards per game and their 292 yards rushing per game are second to only Florida State among Power Four conference programs. The defense has held each of Missouri’s opponents to 20 points or fewer. Missouri can prove its worth, and announce its presence to a larger audience, against Alabama this weekend.
No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon
Indiana has already logged one of the most impressive wins of the season. The Hoosiers proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they’re a legitimate playoff team once more by dominating Illinois 63-10. The Fighting Illini were ranked No. 9 at the time. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is playing like a Heisman Trophy contender, but he’ll face arguably the biggest test of his career on Saturday.
Oregon’s resume looks strong, as well, even if its win against Penn State lost some luster when the Nittany Lions subsequently handed UCLA its first win of the season. Still, it was impressive for the Ducks to go on the road to a raucous Beaver Stadium environment and beat Penn State in overtime. This is actually Oregon’s last currently ranked opponent on its schedule. Oregon can survive a loss, but it may not get another chance to make an impression like this all year.
Texas vs. No. 6 Oklahoma
Oklahoma is already behind the eight-ball as it prepares for Red River. The Sooners could be without quarterback John Mateer, who is recovering from hand surgery and listed as questionable on the injury report. Obviously, Oklahoma would like to have its starting quarterback against its biggest rival. But that would make a win against the Longhorns even more impressive, and it would also mean that the selection committee won’t dock Oklahoma as much for a loss when it’s making its final decision.
Speaking of behind the eight-ball, it’s been a fairly disastrous season for Texas thus far. It took the Longhorns just over a month to plummet from No. 1 in the country to unranked. A season-opening loss, on the road, against currently top-ranked Ohio State was understandable. A Week 6 loss to a previously one-win Florida team led by a coach on the thinnest of ice is unforgivable. Texas still has yet to beat a power conference team. Another loss and the Longhorns can kiss any scant remaining hopes of a repeat playoff appearance goodbye.
No. 10 Georgia at Auburn
Georgia’s an interesting case this year. The Bulldogs looked solid in a win against Tennessee, they weren’t able to reverse the Alabama curse and then they bounced back by dominating Kentucky. Notably, the defense finally looked like a Georgia defense. Nnamdi Ogboko gave Georgia its first sack from a defensive lineman all season. Georgia should be able to carry that momentum against an Auburn offense that has struggled to find its footing.
Auburn still has yet to prove it actually belongs anywhere near the national conversation under coach Hugh Freeze, even though it was briefly ranked after a 3-0 start to the season. The Tigers have lost two straight against ranked conference opponents since. The silver lining is that they were able to at least hang around, as those two losses came by a combined 13 points. It’s hard to envision Auburn really joining the playoff race at this point. This might be its last chance to keep its head above water.
Dark Horse Game of the Week
No. 15 Michigan at USC
Michigan has built a solid record thus far, but it does severely lack a signature win. The Wolverines dropped their lone contest against a ranked opponent. USC might not change that. The Trojans are a historically powerful team, but they’ve stumbled lately under coach Lincoln Riley. That makes a win for Michigan crucial, especially since Ohio State is the only currently ranked opponent left on the schedule.
USC had a cup of coffee in the AP Top 25 poll before it was subsequently bounced following a loss to Illinois. A road loss against a fellow ranked team is hardly enough to sink USC’s season. This is a fortunate spot for the Trojans, as they get Michigan at home. They’ve got a chance to reverse the vibes in a more positive direction in what seems to be a crucial year for Riley.