National title contenders stand out from the crowd

A packed Week 7 slate with a plethora of Rank-versus-Rank matchups lived up to the hype in every way.

Here are five takeaways from a chaotic Saturday.

Week 7 was an opportunity to take stock of the national championship race. The No. 1 Texas Longhorns dominated a comfortable 34-3 win in the Red River Rivalry game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Texas appears to be the best team in the game. The No. 3 Oregon Ducks survived a home thriller 32-31 against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the biggest game of the day, further solidifying both teams as serious title contenders.

But after these three teams there are questions.

The No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions overcame early offensive woes (and Lincoln Riley's late game management) to prevail on the road against the unranked USC Trojans, 33-30. The offense did just enough on Saturday thanks to an out-of-body performance from tight end Tyler Warren, but questions remain compared to better competition.

The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs' only blemish is their road game against the Alabama Crimson Tide – a game the Bulldogs almost won. But after another loss Saturday with a 10-point win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Georgia's re-entry as a serious contender depends on how it plays against Texas next Saturday.

The No. 6 Miami Hurricanes were absent this week, but they appear ripe for an upset after posting comeback wins over the Virginia Tech Hokies and Cal Golden Bears in their last two games.

The No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels suffered their second loss of the season in overtime against the No. 13 LSU Tigers, 29-26, and now look like a fringe playoff team heading into the second half of the season.

As for Alabama and the Tennessee Volunteers, let’s discuss them in a little more detail.

Just a week before its historic road loss at the Vanderbilt Commodores, No. 7 Alabama blew an early two-touchdown lead at home against the South Carolina Gamecocks and trailed 19-14 early in the fourth quarter. Two Alabama touchdown drives around a missed South Carolina field goal gave the Crimson Tide a 27-19 lead. South Carolina scored a late touchdown and recovered a subsequent onside kick, but Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers threw an interception as time expired to help the Crimson Tide escape.

Meanwhile in Knoxville, No. 8 Tennessee, fresh from a road loss to the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks, rallied from a 10-point deficit to survive overtime against Billy Napier's Florida Gators 23-17. Tennessee, which looked like a superior team on paper, didn't play like it until halftime and was fortunate to pull out a win.

The common thread between Alabama and Tennessee? Offensive consistency.

The two offensive units that appeared to be among the best in the country at the start of this season have now put in consecutive poor performances. Both the Crimson Tide and Volunteers need to find offensive versions similar to what we saw earlier this season to be taken seriously in the national championship race.

USC's Riley is 3-7 against top-25 teams since arriving in Los Angeles and 5-8 in his last 13 games. Not every win or loss is the same, but Riley has developed a certain penchant for late-game management. Saturday was no different.

With the game tied at 30:00 and 1:27 remaining in regulation, USC found itself at Penn State's 49-yard line for all three timeouts. After losing two yards on a short run and a six-yard pass from Miller Moss to Jay Fair, USC seemed content to run the clock all the way down and try to score a ball very long field goal. Penn State coach James Franklin recognized this and called a timeout with 14 seconds left. On third-and-6, Moss threw an interception and the game went into overtime. The Trojans lost by a field goal, effectively eliminating them from the hunt for the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State trailed Oregon 32-31 but had entered Oregon territory with less than 30 seconds to play. The Buckeyes only needed a field goal and found themselves on the edge of field goal range at the Ducks' 28-yard line. Quarterback Will Howard completed a pass to freshman star Jeremiah Smith, who was then called for pass interference. The penalty pushed Ohio State out of field goal range to the Oregon 43, but more importantly, there was no sense of urgency on Ohio State's part to line up offensively. The clock was supposed to start at the final whistle, and the Buckeyes wasted a lot of time because it seemed like neither the coaching staff nor Howard knew the clock would expire before the final whistle.

Howard threw an incomplete pass and then ran 12 yards up the middle with just six seconds left as time expired. A disastrous end for the Buckeyes.

Florida's Napier, who occupies one of the hottest spots in college football, had a decision to make in the fourth quarter against Tennessee. Gators quarterback DJ Lagway hit receiver Chimere Dike on a post route for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds left in the game. That score put the Gators within one point of the tie, but Florida took a timeout to discuss whether it would score two points and take the late lead.

After the timeout, Florida came out in a trick formation, which led to Tennessee using a timeout. In that timeout, Napier opted to kick the extra point and tie the game instead of going for two as planned.

The decision could end up costing him his job. The Vols escaped in overtime and Napier left Knoxville without the decisive win he desperately needed.

When the UAB Blazers hired Trent Dilfer to replace Bill Clark two years ago, it's safe to assume the administration was hoping for much better, especially since the Blazers had six straight winning seasons.

Dilfer's hiring was somewhat surprising given the internal support for Clark assistant Bryant Vincent within the program. UAB athletic director Mark Ingram chose Dilfer instead to make a splash with a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Vincent now coaches the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks and defeated Dilfer and the Blazers 32-6 earlier this season. And after Saturday's 44-10 non-competitive loss to the Army Black Knights, UAB is 5-13 overall under Dilfer and 1-5 this season. The Blazers have yet to win a game in AAC play, although the schedule gets a little easier with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Rice Owls and UConn Huskies still on the roster.

Regardless, UAB looks set to miss a bowl game for the second straight year with Dilfer leading the program.

Hail Pitt!

The No. 22 Panthers earned a 17-15 victory over visiting Cal on Saturday to move to 6-0 and 2-0 in league play. It's Pittsburgh's first 6-0 start in 42 years.

Pittsburgh leaned on its defense, which has improved week to week, and found an identity offensively for the first time since capturing the ACC title in 2021. Head coach Pat Narduzzi's offseason signing of former Western Carolina Catamounts offensive coordinator Kade Bell paid immediate dividends, and the Panthers have a talented freshman quarterback in Eli Holstein to steer the ship.

Pitt's remaining games include home games with the Syracuse Orange, Virginia Cavaliers and Clemson Tigers, as well as road trips with the SMU Mustangs, Louisville Cardinals and Boston College Eagles. If Pitt wins five of its remaining six contests, it will be 11-1 and 7-1 in the ACC, which should be enough to secure a trip back to Charlotte to play for a CFP spot.