Week 7 of the college football season is teed up to be one of the best so far, with six games pitting teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.
The showdowns are also scheduled just the way a fan at home with the remote might ask for: Two noon Eastern games, two more at 3:30 p.m. and the final pairing kicking off at 7:30 p.m. A look at the wall-to-wall coverage:
The early window
— No. 4 Ohio State (5-1) visits No. 5 Indiana (6-0) in a meeting of the last two national champions. The winner gains the inside track for a spot in the Big Ten championship game and also will get a bump in College Football Playoff seeding consideration.
Lots of eyeballs will be on three of the best receivers in the country: Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith has put up prodigious numbers and is the Heisman Trophy frontrunner while Indiana has the nation’s top tandem in Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh.
Indiana enters the game with the Bowl Subdivision’s longest active winning streak (22 games) and the nation’s longest active home winning streak (19). But the Hoosiers haven't beaten Ohio State in Bloomington since 1987 and are 3 1/2-point underdogs at home.
— No. 16 Mississippi State (4-1) goes to No. 22 LSU (4-2), and a Bulldogs win would all but end LSU’s hopes of making the playoff in Lane Kiffin’s first season. The Tigers are favored by 15 1/2.
Mid-afternoon SEC showdowns
— No. 6 Alabama (5-1) and No. 14 Tennessee (5-1) resume their "Third Saturday in October" rivalry in Knoxville.
Tennessee gave up 10 sacks in a three-point loss to Texas and freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon has been restricted by a shoulder injury, which means sophomore George MacIntyre was prepping for the ferocious Alabama defense, which has nine interceptions already this season. The Crimson Tide will be missing star receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams but are favored by 7 1/2.
— No. 9 Mississippi (4-1) hosts No. 13 Missouri (5-1) in a homecoming of sorts for Tigers quarterback Austin Simmons. He began last season as Mississippi's starter and gave way to Trinidad Chambliss, who still holds the job in Oxford. Ole Miss is a 5 1/2-point favorite.
Saving the best for last?
— No. 2 Notre Dame (6-0) plays at No. 8 BYU (5-0) in the first top-10 game in LaVell Edwards Stadium history. It's something of a "prove it" game for two teams with underwhelming schedules and a win here helps burnish CFP seeding credentials.
Preseason Heisman favorite CJ Carr has 16 touchdown passes for the Fighting Irish against one interception and is averaging 229 yards passing per game on 70% accuracy. BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier has carried a heavier load since star RB LJ Martin got hurt but he passed for 329 yards and ran for 109 yards last week against Iowa State going into this one against a stout defense. Notre Dame is favored by 10 1/2.
— No. 18 Oklahoma St. (4-1) visits No. 20 Houston (5-1) in a game between two teams eager to crash the Big 12 party.
The Cowboys were awful the last two years and now, with 91 newcomers and first-year coach Eric Morris, have become one of the feel-good stories of the season after losing to Tulsa and starting their current four-game win streak with an upset of Oregon. Led by Drew Mestemaker, the Cowboys top the Big 12 and rank sixth in the nation by averaging 521.4 yards a game.
The Cougars’ only loss was a nailbiter to Texas Tech. Houston ranks third in the conference and 12th in the nation with 481.8 yards a game, with Conner Weigman's 15 touchdown passes second-most in the league. Houston is favored by 4 1/2.
Don't avert your eyes
Rutgers (1-4) visits Maryland (2-4) and may the best coach win.
The Scarlet Knights’ only win so far was against Howard while the Terrapins have beaten Hampton and UConn. This has left the job security for both Rutgers' Greg Schiano and Maryland's Mike Locksley as tenuous at best.
Locksley is the only coach on a hotter seat than Schiano, according to rankings by CoachesHotSeat.com. No athletic department wants to pay a buyout and do a coaching search in the middle of the season, but anything is possible. Locksley would be owed $9.7 million and Schiano about $18 million, according to media reports.
Maryland is favored by 5 1/2.
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