College football's Week 7 winners and losers
Back-to-back wins against LSU and Texas A&M lifted Mississippi State to third in the Associated Press poll and sixth in the Amway Coaches Poll, the highest rankings (for each poll) in program history.
After beating second-ranked Auburn 38-23, moving to 6-0 at the halfway mark of the regular season, Mississippi State might be in line for an even loftier perch: No. 1.
Behind another Heisman Trophy-caliber performance from quarterback Dak Prescott, who was wobbled early by two interceptions but rebounded in the second half, the Bulldogs seemed to justify their rocketing rise up the national rankings behind a raucous, rowdy, bell-clanging home crowd.
Prescott gets the headlines, but let's take note of the Bulldogs lost in the shuffle. One is diminutive running back Josh Robinson, the other cog in Mississippi State's two-headed backfield. Another is linebacker Benardrick McKinney, the Prescott-like leader on the defensive side of the ball. A third, defensive lineman Preston Smith, might be the Southeastern Conference's best defender through the season's first half.
And after wins against three SEC frontrunners — or former frontrunners, rather — Mississippi State has moved itself into position to not just assume the top spot in the Coaches Poll but to control its own destiny in the race for the College Football Playoff. Not bad, right?
More winners from Week 7:
Minnesota. Jerry Kill continues to maximize the Golden Gophers' talent in and out of Big Ten Conference play. One year after winning eight games, Minnesota has asserted itself as a West Division contender amid a 5-1 start, with Saturday's win against Northwestern following a similar script: run the ball, protect the ball and find big plays on special teams.
Miami (Fla.). The Hurricanes have found themselves a keeper in true freshman quarterback Brad Kayaa, who has performed ably enough through his first seven games to end the program's revolving door of lackluster production at the position. He was dialed in against Cincinnati, throwing for 286 yards and three scores in the Hurricanes' 55-34 win. Kayaa led the charge, but it was a team effort: Three different running backs — led by Duke Johnson — eclipsed 85 yards on the ground.
Kentucky. The Wildcats had started 5-1 just seven times heading into this season. Let's make it eight. Kentucky's 48-14 victory against Louisiana-Monroe moved its record to 5-1 as the program's reaches the midway point under second-year coach Mark Stoops, who continues to push the right buttons for a young team still learning what it takes to win games in the Southeastern Conference.
Bob Stoops. It wasn't necessarily pretty, to be honest, but Oklahoma did successfully bounce back from last weekend's loss to TCU by holding off rival Texas in a 31-26 win. Here's why Stoops gets some love: There have been many terrific coaches in OU history, but he's the first to notch 10 wins against the Longhorns.
Georgia's defense. The Bulldogs blanked Missouri 34-0 despite starting a converted wide receiver, Brandon Langley, at cornerback. Kudos are in order for first-year defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, the defensive mind behind Florida State's national title a season ago. Georgia has now pitched two shutouts on the young season; in only one other season since 1982 have the Bulldogs shut out two opponents.
UAB. A 56-21 win against North Texas moved UAB to 4-2 at the midway point under first-year coach Bill Clark. The Blazers hadn't been 4-2 since 2004, while the four-win total itself is the program's most in a single year since that same 2004 season.
LOSERS
Texas Tech. Remember when Kliff Kingsbury was the trendiest coach in college football? Recent results suggest otherwise: Saturday's loss to West Virginia — which erased a 14-point fourth quarter deficit — dropped Texas Tech to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12. Let's not forget that the Red Raiders must still take on TCU, Oklahoma and Baylor. Let's also not forget that Kingsbury's program has just one win in its last 10 games against major-conference competition.
Georgia Tech. Say one thing about Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets: Despite various highs and lows — more of the latter in recent years — Georgia Tech always got the better of David Cutcliffe's Duke. Until Saturday, when Johnson lost to Duke for the first time as Tech's coach and saw his team drop from the ranks of the unbeaten. That leaves Florida State as the lone undefeated team in the Atlantic Coast Conference and further muddies an already unsettled Coastal Division race.
Brett Hundley's Heisman hopes. Well, so much for that. UCLA's second loss in a row — this time to Oregon, which bounced back nicely — ended Hundley's hopes of lifting the Heisman Trophy in December. His struggles were in direct contrast to Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota's continued excellence. Not that the Bruins' woeful offensive line has done Hundley any favors.
GALLERY: HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 7