Rooting Guide: Which Week 7 games are most important for Penn State football?

Penn State football was off week 6 and will return to the field Saturday against UMass. It will be Homecoming this weekend in Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions have now had time to get healthy. This week is another large slate of college football games that will impact Penn State. We’ve got you covered with a complete rooting guide for the Week 7 slate of college football that could impact Penn State’s push for the College Football Playoff.

Penn State football fans’ rooting guide: College Football Week 7

Last week, Penn State football got some major help with 6 ranked upsets including 2 inside the AP Top 10. The day started with No. 3 Texas falling to No. 12 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. The Sooners would ultimately end up jumping the Nittany Lions keeping them at No. 6 in the AP poll. The other major upset was No. 10 Notre Dame’s loss on the road at No. 25 Louisville, eliminating the Irish from the College Football Playoff.

Other notable upsets included UCLA over No. 13 Washington State, No. 23 LSU over No. 21 Missouri, Georgia Tech over No. 17 Miami, and Wyoming over No. 24 Fresno State.

This week features another 4 ranked matchups and plenty of other games that could impact the Big Ten Title race. Here are the games we will be keeping an eye on throughout the day of the Week 7 slate.

No. 8 Oregon (5-0) @ No. 7 Washington (5-0) 3:30 pm ET ABC

We have finally reached one of the most anticipated matchups in the Pac-12. The conference has the most depth this season and we now get to see a Top 10 matchup. Both Oregon and Washington have looked the part and are both College Football Playoff contenders. That two future Big Ten members have two Heisman Trophy contenders in Michael Penix and Bo Nix. Neither team played last week as both were on bye. Washington enters as a 2.5-point home favorite.

The winner of this matchup will be in the driver’s seat of the Pac-12. No matter what happens in the game the winner will most likely jump Penn State in the AP Poll. Both teams play the same 4 ranked teams on the remaining schedule so there isn’t a large difference in schedules. Oregon only has one remaining ranked game at Utah, while Washington has one at Oregon State and USC. So, if Nittany Lion fans are picking a side the Huskies may be the best bet.

Texas A&M (4-2) @ No. 19 Tennessee (4-1) 3:30 pm ET CBS

This game isn’t one of the ranked matchups of the weekend but should be an exciting one. The Volunteers have just one loss to Florida and are still contenders for the College Football Playoff. The Aggies are coming off a heartbreaking loss to Alabama and look to get back on track and stay in contention for the SEC West. Tennessee enters as a 3.5-point home favorite.

Penn State fans should root for Texas A&M to pull off the upset over Tennessee. A loss for the Volunteers would give them their 2^nd of the season and eliminate them from playoff contention.

Iowa (5-1) @ Wisconsin (4-1) 4:00 pm ET FOX

This is one of the more underrated games of the Week 7 slate, but it will be a sort of de facto playoff game for who wins the Big Ten West. Both Iowa and Wisconsin have separated themselves from the rest of the division and the winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat to play in Indianapolis in December. The Hawkeyes already have a conference loss at Penn State, while Wisconsin’s lone loss was to Washington State on the road. The winner of this game has a high likelihood of being ranked in the next AP poll. The Badgers are 10-point home favorites.

Penn State fans should pull for Iowa to pull off the upset for two reasons. First, it helps the strength of schedule for the Nittany Lions as resumes begin to be compared in the coming weeks for the playoff. Second, in the event of that three-way tie we talk about every week, Penn State needs Iowa to continue to stack the wins.

No. 14 Louisville (6-0) @ Pittsburgh (1-4) 6:30 pm ET CW

The Cardinals are coming off their biggest win in recent memory with a 33-20 thrashing of then No. 10 Notre Dame to improve to 6-0. The win resulted in an 11 spot rise in the latest AP Poll. Pitt has been terrible all season. Yet somehow the Panthers are only 7.5-point underdogs at home. Penn State fans should never root for Pitt, but maybe keep an eye on this matchup to see if Louisville has a letdown off the big win.

No. 10 USC (6-0) @ No. 21 Notre Dame (5-2) 7:30 pm ET NBC

Notre Dame now plays its 4^th consecutive game against a ranked opponent when it welcomes USC to town. The offense has struggled at times this season for the Irish. Luckily for Notre Dame, the Trojans defense has been one of the worst in college football this season and has been dropping in the polls despite the undefeated start. USC needed triple overtime last week to beat a .500 Arizona team at home. Notre Dame enters as a 2.5-point home favorite.

Penn State fans should be pulling for Notre Dame and bounce back and hand USC their first loss of the season. While the Irish are out of the playoff race, the Trojans won’t be eliminated until they have two losses. USC losing their first Saturday knocks down another team that is right behind Penn State waiting to move up.

No. 25 Miami (4-1) @ No. 12 North Carolina (5-0) 7:30 pm ET ABC

Miami had one of the worst losses in recent memory last week. The Hurricanes were up with 40 seconds to play against Georgia Tech and instead of kneeling decided to run the ball in which they fumbled. The Yellow Jackets then went down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown to pull off the upset. North Carolina had a much easier experience, drubbing Syracuse for a 40-7 win. The Tarheels enter as a 3.5-point home favorite.

This one had a little more intrigue last week, but North Carolina has slowly been rising up the rankings with their undefeated start. Penn State should hope that Miami bounces back and pulls off the upset. While UNC isn’t in the top 10 just yet, they have established themselves as ACC Title and College Football Playoff contenders.

No. 18 UCLA (4-1) @ No. 15 Oregon State (5-1) 8:00 pm ET FOX

UCLA is coming off an impressive 25-17 win over No. 13 Washington State. While Oregon State outlasted California on the road 52-40. Both teams have quietly remained in contention for the Pac-12 despite taking losses. Whoever loses this game will most likely be eliminated from an opportunity to play in the conference title game and make the playoffs. Oregon State enters this game as a 4-point home favorite.

Both teams are close in the rankings and have only one loss. The difference is Oregon State still has to play both Washington and Oregon, while UCLA has just USC. That is why Penn State fans should be pulling for the Beavers to pull off the win.

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