College Football Week 7 Bold Predictions

1. At least half of remaining undefeated teams fall

We're midway through the regular season and only sixteen FBS squads still have a perfect record.  Week 6 was a relatively good week for such teams, but I think week 7 has the potential for a lot of chaos.  Oklahoma State has a bye, but here are my predictions for the rest of the unbeatens, starting with the survivors: Houston beats up Tulane, 45 - 21; Toledo cruises past Eastern Michigan, 34 - 14; Florida State survives Louisville, 27 - 17; TCU downs Iowa State, 48 - 31; Temple handles UCF, 35 - 13.  Now, the teams I think will take that first loss: Iowa loses to Northwestern, 24 - 22; history repeats itself as Baylor falls to West Virginia, 45 - 42; Memphis gets blown away by Ole Miss, 38 - 20; Texas A&M gets exposed by Alabama, 34 - 23; Clemson implodes against Boston College, 14 - 10; Utah caves under pressure against Arizona State, 28 - 24.  A loss for either Florida or LSU is guaranteed, as these two SEC foes square off against one another.  I will cover score predictions for Ohio State vs Penn State and Michigan vs Michigan State in corresponding predictions below.

2. Trojans knock Irish out of playoff contention

There are certainly a lot of reasons for USC to not show up for this game.  Distractions could be a major issue, with their head coach getting the boot earlier this week.  But it might actually help, as having an alcoholic for a coach was probably a big distraction in itself, and now he's gone.  The Trojans have the talent to compete with Notre Dame, so it's just a question of whether interim coach Clay Helton can keep his players focused heading into this big match-up.  If that's the case, I expect USC to compete with the Irish from start to finish.  USC wins on the road, 37 - 31, essentially eliminating Notre Dame from the playoff race.

3. Elliott scores 3 or more touchdowns against Penn State

The Nittany Lions are among the best in the country at stopping the run, holding opponents to 117 rushing yards per game and allowing only 7 rushing touchdowns in total on the season.  But they haven't faced a runner like Zeke.  I think this game stays close for two, maybe two-and-a-half quarters.  But a few long touchdown runs courtesy of number 15 in the second half breaks this game wide open.  Buckeyes pull away to win, 35 - 17.

4. Michigan holds Michigan State to 14 points or less

The Wolverines boast the nation's top defense, allowing less than 7 points per game on average, after recording 3 straight shut-outs.  The Spartan's have not been playing up to expectations, but they will still be without a doubt the best team Michigan has faced since losing to Utah in week 1.  I'm not quite ready to jump on the "Michigan in the playoffs" bandwagon, but I do think their defense is legit.  The Spartans are averaging 31.3 points per game, but they will struggle to move the ball on Saturday.  Michigan wins a physical game against their in-state rival, 24 - 14.

5. Jim Harbaugh shows emotions during game against Spartans

The Michigan head coach is known for stoically managing games on the sideline, but he has shown an emotion or two since taking over in Ann Arbor.  This prediction might be a stretch, but I think this match-up might cause Harbaugh to finally come out of his shell a bit.