Week 7 of the college football season is in the record books. It was an awesome week too.

We had a Hail Mary game winning touchdown.

We had game winning field goals as time expired.

We had blowouts, and we had nail bitters.

So, let’s get down to it.

Here is….The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Week 7.

(Reminder….I use my OWN PERSONAL RANKINGS, not that bias crap that ESPN and the AP, put out there). https://welikesportzpc.com/2023/10/09/college-football-top-25-week-7-edition/

The Good.

#3 Washington Huskies defeated #5 Oregon Ducks. 36-33.

Coming into Saturday, this was one of the most hyped games of the season. Two of the best teams in the country, with two of the best offenses in the country. Both of them came into this heated rivalry game undefeated. Like the saying goes though, “somebody’s O, has got to go”.

Washington’s QB Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s QB Bo Nix, showed why they are both considered to be right in the middle of the Heisman Trophy race.

Penix Jr. went 22 of 37, for 302 yards, with 4 TDs and an INT. His star WRs, Rome Odunze had 8 catches for 128 yards and 2 TDs, and Ja’Lynn Polk had 6 catches for 118 yards with 1 TD. It was that Penix to Odunze connection that had the final score of the game. Linking up for an 18-yard touchdown with only 1:38 left on the clock.

Bo Nix finished the game going 33 of 44, for 337 yards, with 2 TDs and 0 INTs. His star WR, Troy Franklin had 8 catches for 154 yards and 1 TD. Oregon HB Bucky Irving had 22 carries, for 127 yards, and 1 TD.

Oregon kicker Camden Lewis had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed a 43-yard field goal as time expired.

This will definitely be in the running for Game of the Year, at the end of the season.

The Bad.

#19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated #10 USC Trojans. 48-20.

USC came into this rivalry game, undefeated, but not exactly playing their best football. The exact same thing was being said about Notre Dame.

The Trojans had held on to win their last game in triple overtime, at home against Arizona. The Fighting Irish got embarrassed on the road, at Louisville.

Most people were picking the Trojans because they have the defending Heisman Trophy Winner, QB Caleb Williams, who had been playing as well as he did last season.

That was until he played the Irish.

The USC QB had not one, not even two, but three interceptions, and he threw for less than 200 yards. When he had time to throw, quite a few of his passes were behind or sailed high.

For a team that was picked by many to make the College Football Playoff, USC went into a primetime, national TV, winnable game, and got bullied in all phases of the game. The schedule doesn’t get any easier, as they still have to play ranked Utah, Washington and Oregon in the five weeks.

The Ugly.

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Purdue Boilermakers. 41-7.

The Buckeyes came into this game with starting HB Tre’Veyon Henderson out and third string HB Miyam Williams out as well.

That meant that backup Chip Trayanum got the start. He had 6 carries for 28 yards in the first quarter, before leaving the game in the first quarter after a hard collision.

That meant that Ohio State was now had to use their fourth string running back.

Head Coach Ryan Day had already said that he was hoping to redshirt sophomore Dallan Hayden. Instead, he was pressed into emergency duty.

Hayden did well, finishing the game with 11 carries for 76 yards, and a touchdown.

It’s getting very ugly on the Ohio State depth chart. The injury bug just continues to take bites out of their roster.

The Good.

Stanford Cardinal defeated Colorado Buffaloes. 46-43(2 OT).

In an unbelievable game, the Stanford Cardinal erased a 29-0 halftime deficit to complete the biggest comeback in the school’s 132 years of football. Sophomore QB Asthon Daniels completed 27 of 45 passes, for career highs of, 396 yards and 4 TDs. Fellow sophomore WR Elic Ayomanor had also had career highs, catching 13 passes, for 294 yards, and 3 TDs.

Senior kicker nailed a 31-yard field goal in the 2nd overtime period to seal the victory.

It was their first win the conference and only the second win of the season.

The Bad.

This iconic picture is exactly how the fans of the Appalachian State Mountaineers, West Virgina Mountaineers, Colorado Buffaloes, Oregon Ducks, UL-Monroe Warhawks, and Boise State Broncos.

All six teams lost, in the last minute, the last ninety-seconds, in overtime, or on the last play of the game.

The game giveth, and the game taketh away. It’s the up and downs, on the emotional roller coaster of college football, that keeps us coming back for more.

The Ugly.

It was a scene that no player, coach or fan wants to see during a game. A grim reminder that underneath those helmets and uniforms, that us fans love with a fervor, is a human.

Kennedy McDowell is a 6’3″, 230 lb, freshman defensive lineman, from Frisco, Texas. The last thing he or anybody expected was that he would be needed to strapped to a board and taken to the hospital, after halftime.

McDowell was engaged with a blocker, on the kickoff coming back from the half, when he was unnecessarily hit from the side, by another Broncos player.

Boise State was flagged for the 15-yard penalty, but that quickly forgotten as the training staff from both teams tended to McDowell.

At the time of this article, he was awake. He had full use of his extremities and was aware of his surroundings.

Prayers for a speedy, and most importantly, a complete recovery, go out to Kennedy McDowell.

– by Sean McKenzie

Phots courtesy of ESPN, wallpapersafari, foxsports, cbssports, idahostatejournal

Stats courtesy of ESPN