Clear your calendar and find the good couch. The college football Week 7 schedule is stacked, and two top-10 games lead it: Ohio State at Indiana at noon ET, and Notre Dame at BYU in Provo at night.
That is the best of the Week 7 college football slate, and it starts in just a few hours.
According to a Yahoo Sports viewer’s guide, the slate includes two top-10 matchups and six games between AP Top 25 teams. So here is how to plan your Saturday.
Ohio State at Indiana: The Top Matchup on the College Football Week 7 Schedule
First up, No. 4 Ohio State (5-1) travels to No. 5 Indiana (6-0) at noon ET on Fox. Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt have the call in the Big Noon slot, per Yahoo’s announcing schedule.
This is a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship Game. It is also Ohio State’s first trip to Bloomington since Curt Cignetti took over as the Hoosiers’ coach, CBS Sports reports. For a deeper look, our Week 7 picks for Ohio State and Indiana break down why this one is a coin flip with a grudge.
The oddsmakers see a tight one. ESPN’s betting lines list Ohio State as a 3.5-point favorite with an over/under of 51.5. ESPN’s FPI gives the Buckeyes a 52% chance to win, which is barely better than a coin flip (and a coin flip doesn’t even have a grudge).
Indiana is unbeaten, but it hasn’t been spotless. Bleacher Report notes the Hoosiers had close calls against Northwestern and Nebraska.
Against a team like Ohio State, though, close calls tend to decide things.
Notre Dame at BYU: A Rare Night in Provo
Next, No. 2 Notre Dame (6-0) visits No. 8 BYU (5-0) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. College GameDay will be on campus in Provo, according to Covers, which makes it the marquee spot among Saturday college football games.
History is part of the draw. This is only the eighth meeting between these programs and the first in Provo since 2004. In fact, both teams are ranked for the first time in series history, CBS says.
Still, the Fighting Irish are double-digit favorites. ESPN has them at 10.5 points, CBS opened at 11.5, and Covers shows 9.5. Lines vary by book and move all week, so check before you bet.
Why does this one matter so much? CBS argues both teams need it because their schedules are lighter than those of their Big Ten and SEC peers. It says Notre Dame needs to beat BYU or Miami to finish inside the top 12 of the final College Football Playoff rankings. Beating a top-10 team on the road is the kind of résumé line that committees remember.
More Week 7 Matchups Across the Top 25
Of course, the college football games this weekend do not stop at two. Here are the other ranked matchups, all Saturday and all times ET, per ESPN and Covers:
- Florida at No. 7 Texas, noon, ABC
- No. 6 Alabama at No. 14 Tennessee, 3:30 p.m., ABC
- No. 13 Missouri at No. 9 Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network
- Florida State at No. 3 Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
- Wisconsin at No. 12 UCLA, 7:30 p.m., NBC
One caution: some start times for the SEC games came from secondary listings, so confirm Alabama-Tennessee and Missouri-Ole Miss against your TV guide before you settle in.
Meanwhile, if you want a warm-up, Washington visits Purdue tonight at 8 p.m. ET, per Bleacher Report. Texas is ranked No. 7, so that noon game carries extra weight.
Here’s the Thing: Your Saturday Needs a Plan for This Week 7 Slate
Noon is crowded. Ohio State-Indiana on Fox and Florida-Texas on ABC kick off at the same time, so someone is getting the remote fight of the year. Then the afternoon SEC games overlap, and the night games stack up too.
Treat it like a tailgate schedule. Start with Big Noon, flip to the SEC at 3:30, and save the evening for BYU and Notre Dame. The updated AP Top 25 should follow on Sunday, and by then the picture at the top could look very different.
Also, make sure the snacks are ready before kickoff, because nobody wants to miss a fourth quarter in Provo. So who is winning the remote?
