Top 25 showdowns Indiana-Oregon, Alabama-Missouri overshadow Oklahoma-Texas in Week 7

It’s Red River Rivalry week, the annual battle between Oklahoma and Texas that most years is one of the nation’s most anticipated games. This isn’t one of those years.

The game has lost some of its luster with preseason No. 1 Texas falling all the way out of The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, the unclear health status of Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and the struggles of Texas QB Arch Manning.

OU-Texas isn’t even the best game in the Southeastern Conference this week. That would be No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri in one of the nation’s three Top 25 matchups. The other two are in the Big Ten, where No. 7 Indiana visits No. 3 Oregon and No. 1 Ohio State goes to No. 17 Illinois, which will face a team that has given up just two touchdowns in five games and hasn’t lost in Champaign since 1991.

Alabama has won four straight since its season-opening loss at Florida State and will be playing its third of four consecutive games against teams currently in the Top 25. Missouri hasn’t beaten a top-10 team at home since 2010.

Best game

No. 7 Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at No. 3 Oregon (5-0, 2-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

This is one of those something’s-got-to-give kind of games. Both teams are in the top 10 nationally in scoring, scoring defense, total offense and total defense, and Fernando Mendoza-Dante Moore is the best quarterback matchup of the season to date.

Oregon owns the nation’s longest win streaks at home (18 games) and in regular-season games (23). The Ducks also have played the stronger schedule. Indiana has started 5-0 two straight years for the first time in program history and will get back CB D’Angelo Ponds from injury.

This should not be a College Football Playoff deal-breaker for the loser. As of now, neither team will play another ranked opponent the rest of the regular season.

Under the radar

No. 24 South Florida (4-1, 1-0 American) at North Texas (5-0, 1-0), Friday, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Time to see if North Texas is fool’s gold. The Mean Green are out to their best start since 1959 with a schedule ESPN ranks 132nd in the Bowl Subdivision. The school hasn’t had a winning season since 2018 and just six since reviving the football program in 1995. QB Drew Mestemaker arrived as a walk-on last year and until this season had not started a game since he was a freshman in high school.

The Bulls are battle-tested, having knocked off ranked-at-the-time teams Boise State and Florida the first two weeks of the season, and dual-threat Byrum Brown is a handful.

Heisman watch

Twelve of the top 13 Heisman Trophy candidates on the BetMGM Sportsbook board are quarterbacks, so let’s talk about Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

Smith began the week as the third wagering choice, at 7-to-1 odds, behind co-favorites Dante Moore of Oregon and Carson Beck of Miami (both 5-to-1).

Smith will be spotlighted Saturday in the Top 25 matchup with Illinois and go against the Big Ten’s worst pass defense.

Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, who’s second in the nation in passer rating (197.77) and TD passes (16), has an opportunity to raise his Heisman stock with a strong performance against Oregon.

Numbers to know

0 — Turnovers by Temple, the only FBS team with none.

13 — Total points by which Kansas State’s four losses have been decided.

18 — Catches over last four games by Stanford’s Bryce Farrell, who changed his mind about giving up football after last season and returned to the Cardinal over the summer. Four of those catches went for at least 40 yards.

19 — Maryland’s Big Ten-best sack total. The Terrapins host a Nebraska team that has allowed a dozen over its past two games.

1,308 — Jacksonville State’s rushing yards, the highest five-game total by a Conference USA team since 2014.

Hot seat

These are tough times in the Oregon State program, the worst since 1991. Trent Bray was tasked with coaching the Beavers through the two years the Pac-12 is all but dormant. The new-look conference begins playing football again in 2026, and the question is whether Bray will be the Beavers’ coach.

They’re 0-6 and a loser in 11 of 12 games since Bray opened last season, his first, 4-1. The situation is so dire that special teams coordinator Jamie Christian was fired Sunday shortly after athletic director Scott Barnes told fans he and Bray are urgently looking for remedies.

An in-season firing would be difficult because Bray serves as his own defensive coordinator. If Oregon State lets him go after the season, it would owe him $3.6 million.

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