Week 7 Recap: The Top 25

#1 Michigan @ Penn State
My Pick: Michigan
Final Score: Michigan 17, Penn State 10
OPERATION SHUTDOWN. Penn State could only run for 53 yards, and I'll give Anthony Morelli credit for throwing no interceptions before being knocked out of the game. Michigan basically dominated, between the defense, Mike Hart rushing for 112 and a TD, and Henne throwing for 196 and a score. Though again, I'll give PSU credit, as I thought it could've been a lot worse.

#2 Florida @ #9 Auburn
My Pick: Florida
Final Score: Auburn 27, Florida 17
Seeing as Auburn's 2 TDs came on a punt block and the fumbled lateral to end the game, my initial instinct was that Florida deserved to win the game. But, nope, Brandon Cox (18/27, 182) outperformed Chris Leak (9/17, 113, 1/1 TD/INT), and only receivers or Tim Tebow could run on the Auburn defense. Auburn takes a step up in my eyes, even if I still probably like Florida better. It's close now, though.

Arizona State @ #3 USC
My Pick: USC
Final Score: USC 28, Arizona State 21
Wow, nobody really impressed at all except USC RB Chauncey Washington's 108 and a score. Probably more an overall mediocre offensive effort than any result of the defenses. So...yeah. USC doesn't look all that great. But they won. As usual.

#4 Ohio State @ Michigan State
My Pick: Ohio State
Final Score: Ohio State 38, Michigan State 7
Troy Smith had another very-good-but-shouldn't-be-Heismanworthy game, going 15/22 for 234 and 2 TD. Probably an impressive win, but...wow, Michigan State sucks. And it's 95% coaching.

Baylor @ #5 Texas
My Pick: Texas
Final Score: Texas 63, Baylor 31
Wow, this was actually kind of a game. Two big factors, well, outside of the talent gap: 5 Baylor turnovers, 2 of which were returned for TDs, and Baylor's continual lack of a running game (69 yards). Still, 447-389 is probably a lot closer than most figured the yardage gap would be. Texas remains the Big 12 elite, and while it will probably seem stupid in about a month, right now I have some optimism for the Bears. BAYLOR.

Syracuse @ #6 West Virginia
My Pick: West Virginia
Final Score: West Virginia 41, Syracuse 17
Cuse hung in there for a while, then WVU just decided to turn it into a video game. Again. As they always seem to do. Pat White: 99 yards and an INT passing, but 247 and 4 TD on the ground. Oh, and Slaton ran for 163 and a score. Next week (WVU @ UConn) frightens me horribly.

#7 Cal @ Washington State
My Pick: Cal
Final Score: Cal 21, Washington State 3
The box score for this game is all sorts of screwy, so I'm not sure why the yardage gap was so small. Seems like most of Wazzou's yards came unsuccessfully trying to play catch-up. Cal didn't really impress that much outside of Marshawn Lynch being a one-man team and running for 152 and 2 TD.

Temple @ #8 Clemson
My Pick: Clemson
Final Score: Clemson 63, Temple 9
I'm shocked it was this close.

Kentucky @ #10 LSU
My Pick: LSU
Final Score: LSU 49, Kentucky 0
Even more of a one-sided whoopin' than I expected. Now why can't the Tigers do that against, you know, good teams?

Cincinnati @ #11 Louisville
My Pick: Louisville
Final Score: Louisville 27, Cincinnati 17
Pretty close all in all. Cincy QB Dustin Grutza was productive if not accurate, going only 10/27 but throwing 2 TDs. The big story was the comeback of Brian Brohm, however, and he looked pretty good, throwing for 324, a TD, and a pick on 20/37 passing. The UL running game struggled here, so Louisville actually seems more vulnerable than they did while Brohm was injured. They should improve, though, but WVU's the definite Big East favorite now.

UCLA @ #13 Oregon
My Pick: Oregon
Final Score: Oregon 30, UCLA 20
UCLA couldn't accomplish much, only gaining 249 yards. Oregon outdid that solely on the ground with 276. The injury to UCLA QB Ben Olson really hurt their outlook, while Oregon has cemented their status as one of the Pac 10 elite.

#14 Iowa @ Indiana
My Pick: Iowa
Final Score: Indiana 31, Iowa 28
Kellen Lewis had a TROY SMITH HEISMANESQUE PERFORMANCE, going 19/25 for 255 and 3 TD. And that was pretty much the different. Drew Tate had more yards (292), but wasn't as accurate (23/40) and wasn't as productive (1/1 TD/INT). Yep. This is kind of the equivalent of the dot-com stock crash. You wait for growth, you wait for growth, and then you lose to Indiana.

Iowa State @ #16 Oklahoma
My Pick: Oklahoma
Final Score: Oklahoma 34, Iowa State 9
Well, Adrian Peterson's broken collarbone is obviously the big thing here. So, with the one-man team being done for the year...now what? Well, Paul Thompson (16/27, 195, 2 TD) had a good day, and, in the real key, the Sooner defense only allowed 277 yards. I think OU should be at least as good as, say, Missouri if the defense can keep it up, since that's their bread and butter. Well, as long as the backup running backs aren't horrible or anything. I wouldn't know.

#17 Boise State @ New Mexico State
My Pick: Boise State
Final Score: Boise State 40, New Mexico State 28
Boise held the non-existent NMSU rushing attack to 0 yards. Which I guess is appropriate. BSU RB Ian Johnson ran for 191 and 4 TDs, so he is a scary man. Best mid-major in the nation, heaping praise etc. etc.

Southeastern Missouri State @ #18 Arkansas
My Pick: Arkansas
Final Score: Arkansas 63, Southeastern Missouri State 7
Shock.

#19 Nebraska @ Kansas State
My Pick: Nebraska
Final Score: Nebraska 21, Kansas State 3
KSU QB Josh Freeman threw for 272 of the Wildcats' 342 overall yards, but that was mostly playing catch-up. Plus Freeman threw 2 picks. Nebraska shut down the run, and basically just had an efficient but not outstanding victory. Still the best team the Big 12 North, and with the Peterson injury, maybe even the #2 team in the conference overall.

Vanderbilt @ #20 Georgia
My Pick: Georgia
Final Score: Vanderbilt 24, Georgia 22
UGA QB Joe Tereshinski actually didn't have a bad line (11/17, 151, TD), but he got replaced by Matthew Stafford late. The UGA defense tried to keep them in this, holding Vandy to 299 yards and getting 2 picks (one for a TD), but, well, lost cause. Vandy QB Chris Nickson threw for 190 and ran for 59, accounting for 5/6 of the Commodore offense, so, yeah, he's gonna be a good one.

#22 Missouri @ Texas A&M
My Pick: Texas A&M
Final Score: Texas A&M 25, Missouri 19
A bit of a shootout, with both teams gaining over 400 yards. Missouri's running game let them down here (98 yards), so that was probably the difference. A&M's usually a rushing team, and they ran for 211, but they exhibited more of a balanced attack, with QB Stephen McGee throwing for 183 and a TD on 19/23 passing. Missouri's still a solid above-average team, and this was a pretty impressive win for the Aggies.

#23 Virginia Tech @ Boston College
My Pick: Virginia Tech
Final Score: Boston College 22, Virginia Tech 3
Oof. BC only had 277 yards, but QB Matt Ryan's 174 and 2 TD was probably enough to win here. VT QB Sean Glennon had 23/34 passing, but only had 148 yards and 2 picks. The Hokies obviously looked worse, but both teams pretty much disappointed.

#24 Pittsburgh @ Central Florida
My Pick: Pittsburgh
Final Score: Pittsburgh 52, Central Florida 7
Wow, the Panthers just busted out the whoopin' stick. They won the yardage game 475-342, and forced 4 turnovers in the process. Tyler Palko had 2 TDs and 172 yards on only 11 completions, while Pitt RB LaRod Stephens-Dowling had another big game, running for 135 and 3 TD. Whoopin' whoopin' whoopin'.

Rutgers @ #25 Navy
My Pick: Navy
Final Score: Rutgers 34, Navy 0
Navy's chances went down along with QB Brian Hampton holding his knee. Even so, Rutgers improved their stock with me, actually showing a passing game behind Mike Teel's 215 yards and 3/1 TD/INT ratio. I still have questions about the defense, and I think with Hampton Navy could've won this one, but I think 6-0 might be where I stop arguing. For the moment.