College football Week 7 overreactions: Ohio State better than it was last year, Alabama will win the SEC

Ohio State is good at football. Like, really good. So good, in fact, that these top-ranked Buckeyes appear to be even better than the Buckeyes that won a national title last season. 

They're certainly further ahead now than they were around 365 days ago, as Ohio State remains unblemished following an easy 34-16 road win against No. 17 Illinois in Week 7. The defense didn't allow a touchdown until the third quarter. Illinois was the first team to score a rushing touchdown against Ohio State in 2025. 

Quarterback Julian Sayin didn't produce eye-popping numbers, with 166 yards and two touchdowns, but he didn't need to. The Buckeyes were in control for most of the game thanks to their defense. That offense is more than capable of lighting up the scoreboard if it needs to. 

Ohio State is just playing on a different level than most teams right now. No. 7 Indiana is the only Big Ten program that looks even remotely close. This column has already given the Hoosiers their flowers. Those two may not meet until December's Big Ten Championship Game. 

Looking at the rest of the schedule, it's almost guaranteed that Ohio State will go undefeated in the regular season for the first time since 2020 under coach Ryan Day. This year's Buckeyes have to beat this year's Michigan, right? 

Alabama will win the SEC title

Reports of Alabama's demise were greatly exaggerated. Not only is Alabama going to return to the SEC Championship Game this year, it's going to win its first title since coach Nick Saban was patrolling the sidelines in Tuscaloosa ... which really wasn't that long ago. 

Still, the Crimson Tide are the SEC's most complete team. That Florida State loss did nothing but wake a sleeping giant. 

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson logged another solid game against Missouri as he continues to build a compelling Heisman Trophy case. He was a smooth operator while completing 23 of his 31 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He also kept the chains moving with his legs. 

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Alabama's win was the fact that the offense didn't lose a step even though star wide receiver Ryan Williams went without a catch. Freshman Lotzeir Brooks emerged in his absence with four catches for 58 yards. The Tide are rolling deep on offense. 

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer cites injury for star WR Ryan Williams being held without a catch for first time

Brad Crawford

Defensively, Alabama still hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 24 points since the season opener. The Crimson Tide have played, and beat, three straight top-25 foes. 

This is the first time ever -- EVER -- that Alabama has started 3-0 in conference play with all three wins coming against AP-ranked teams.  

Mike Norvell's done 

Mike Norvell almost had everyone fooled. Inexplicably, his Florida State team opened its 2025 campaign with a stunning upset win against Alabama. There's no doubt that will go down as one of the most head-scratching results of the year. 

Because the Seminoles have been really bad since. So bad, in fact, that they look like a mirror image of the Florida State team that won just two games a year ago. 

With Saturday's loss to Pittsburgh, Norvell dropped to 1-10 in ACC games since the start of the 2024 season. He's suffered 13 of his 30 career losses with the 'Noles in that same span. 

It's fairly evident that this program is headed in the entirely wrong direction. The Alabama win provided a brief glimmer of hope, but it was just that -- a glimmer. Nothing more than a blip on the radar. 

The only argument against firing him at this point is a buyout that sits north of $50 million. That's hardly a sufficient enough reason for a school like Florida State to suffer through this any longer. As Brendan Sonnone of Noles247 wrote Saturday: "Big-picture, it feels like trust has eroded rapidly from large portions of the fan base over the last year. And for those who were willing to give Norvell a pass for the abysmal 2-10 season to be rewarded with a 3-0 start and a win over Top 10 Alabama? Any rekindled goodwill has been set ablaze."

Oklahoma is out of the College Football Playoff race 

Oklahoma beating Texas was an absolute necessity if it wanted to keep its head above water. That feels weird to say about a team that ranked sixth in the nation touting a 5-0 record entering Saturday's slate, but it's true. 

Oklahoma did not beat Texas. Oklahoma didn't even come close to beating Texas. The Sooners, with quarterback John Mateer running the offense once more, looked woefully overmatched in a 23-6 loss. 

This result may not drop them all the way out of the current top-15, which is the sweet spot for playoff contenders at this point, but it did drop their actual CFP chances to near-zero. Oklahoma's upcoming slate is absolutely brutal and it does not look like a team that will survive. 

The Sooners' last five games of the year go as follows: 

• Oct. 25: No. 4 Ole Miss 
• Nov. 1: at No. 12 Tennessee 
• Nov. 15: at No. 8 Alabama 
• Nov. 22: No. 14 Missouri 
• Nov. 29: No. 11 LSU 

That doesn't include a road trip in six days to play a salty South Carolina team. Oklahoma needs to be near-perfect -- read: it cannot lose more than one game -- down the stretch to skate along its razor-thin margin for error. 

It's quite difficult to see that happening. 

UCLA already has its coach 

UCLA's coaching search needs not leave campus. The Bruins already have their next full-time option on the payroll. 

It's high time they removed the interim tag from Tim Skipper. He's done miracles on that football program ever since he took over for the fired DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14. Sure, he lost his debut against Northwestern, but he also followed that up by knocking off then-No. 7 Penn State and dominating Michigan State to the tune of 38-13 in consecutive weeks. 

That's UCLA's largest win against a conference opponent since it joined the Big Ten. Skipper, in just three games, is also one win away from matching Foster's Big Ten win total. Foster got 15 games. 

This comes with the caveat that Skipper has to retain offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel. This new coaching wunderkind has UCLA's offense playing better than it has in a long time, and once heralded quarterback Nico Iamaleava is undergoing a career revival under Neuheisel's guidance. He's a big reason that Skipper's earned a shot.