College football winners, losers for Week 7: Oregon gets historic win, Oklahoma's Red River rout reveals trend

Week 7 is always billed as a battle of the heavyweights across college football. Against all odds, the slate lived up to the hype with four overtime games down the AP Top 25 team and more Top-10 teams down the stretch.

Most notably, Ohio State fell to No. 3 Oregon for its seventh loss in eight tries against a top-five opponent under coach Ryan Day. Oregon, by contrast, picked up its first win against a top-two opponent in program history and took control of the Big Ten title race.

Elsewhere, No. 1 Texas established itself as a serious national title contender by ousting No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River rivalry. LSU also returned to conference title contention by shocking Ole Miss. Utah may be in good shape after losing to Arizona State.

Here are college football's biggest Week 7 winners and losers, including more real-world clarity on the conference championship race.

Defeated: Ryan Day

Ohio State paid more than $20 million to assemble this roster in the offseason. The Buckeyes ran away from incumbent starting quarterback Kyle McCord and replaced him with Will Howard. Safety Caleb Downs (Alabama) and running back Quinshawn Judkins (Ole Miss) have transferred to the program. The Buckeyes have every advantage and more in one of the most championship-or-bust seasons in college football history.

It took a test to break the house of cards. Worse, it was embarrassing. The handpicked quarterback of the day failed to recognize a clock situation and slipped as time expired for a loss. Despite being in field goal range, Ohio State dropped back the passing rush. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was called for offensive pass interference, which pushed the Buckeyes out of field goal range.

Now, the day is 1-7 against AP top-five opponents since the pandemic. First loss to non-Michigan Big Ten opponent since 2018. It was the program's second straight loss to Oregon.

Winner: Oregon coach Dan Lanning

Ducks coach Dan Lanning has lost some heartbreakers over the years, but Saturday in Eugene was his crowning moment. Oregon edged Ohio State 32-31 on Atticus Sappington's game-winning field goal with 1:47 left. Lanning has been a rising star in the industry for years, but the win over Ohio State brings a new level of credibility. The win is the first over an AP top-two team in program history since Marcus Mariota graduated in 2014 and should elevate the program to No. 2.

Loser: Oklahoma

Before the arrival of coach Brent Venables in 2022, Oklahoma had scored a touchdown in each edition of the Red River rivalry since 1998. Before that, that streak went back to 1977. After a devastating 34-3 loss.

Compared to an embarrassing 49-0 loss in 2022, the offense was once again a complete disaster. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. did his best as the first true freshman in history to start for OU in a rivalry game, but he finished under 100 passing yards until a late drive in garbage time. In its defense, Oklahoma had just 64 yards rushing from its running backs and only one wide receiver had more than 20 yards.

The Sooners are last in the SEC in almost every offensive category. At least it's fair to give Venables a mulligan for the injury. But two bad losses to the Longhorns in three years? It's a trend, and it's not a very good one.

Winner: Free Football

October 12 was already seen as one of college football's best days in a long time. To make matters better, the sports gods have blessed us with lots of free football. Four different games involving ranked opponents went to overtime for the first time since September 27, 2003. No. 13 LSU pulled off a shocking upset of No. 9 Ole Miss. USC gave No. 4 Penn State all it could manage before dropping. Purdue came agonizingly close to upsetting No. 23 Illinois in overtime but fell short on a potential game-winning 2-point conversion. Florida failed to score in overtime as No. 8 Tennessee survived a poor performance. Even if the top teams don't lose, they look extremely vulnerable. This could set up a wild finish to the season.

Loser: Alabama

I tend to give teams a mulligan, a weird game where you're having a bad day until you're 18-22. For Alabama, it's a surprising road loss against Vanderbilt. After following up that upset with a 27-25 win at home against South Carolina, the Crimson Tide are officially under the fraud watch.

The Tide once again struggled to run the ball against South Carolina and had a disastrous defensive performance against an offensively incompetent team. The Gamecocks had touchdown drives of 16 and 10 plays, and Alabama just couldn't get them down the field. This is a flawed, disjointed team that is not playing championship football.

The 2024 Cyclones join the 1938 Cyclones as the only teams in Iowa State history to start 6-0 by defeating West Virginia 28-16 in a major road game. Running back Carson Hansen posted three touchdowns in the win as Iowa State reached nearly 400 offensive yards in a big win.

A fun little side plot: West Virginia honored former tight end Anthony Becht after being inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. His son, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, celebrated by dicing his father's alma mater to the tune of 265 yards and a touchdown. The younger Becht didn't receive a scholarship offer from WVU but became one of the Big 12's best passers.

Loser: College kicks

Rumors that kickers are getting too good may be somewhat premature. Yes, Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis hit a career-long 57 yarder vs. LSU, but there were some otherwise unusual performances on Saturday. Kickers missed easy field goals for both Texas and Oklahoma, while Longhorns kicker Bart Auburn actually got a second attempt… and missed it, too. Oregon's Sappington was lucky to try another field goal after whiffing 44 yards earlier in the game. South Carolina's Alex Herrera was put in a brutal position by his staff, but missed a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter that would have given South Carolina the lead. The chaos of college kickers always keeps sports unpredictable. Not going anywhere soon.

Penn State coach James Franklin openly loves Warren, and he put together one of the best tight end receiving performances in history in a 33-30 overtime win over USC. Warren caught an absurd 17 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown as offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki took advantage of his mismatches early and often.

Warren has been a strong contributor all season, including a 146-yard performance against Bowling Green. However, he hit another level in a huge road victory to give Penn State a bogey playmaker.

Loser: Utah

The Utah saga came to a brutal conclusion after a 27-19 blowout loss to Arizona State. Returning from a hand injury, Rising threw three interceptions and got into the end zone just once in the loss as the Utes fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play.

Dropping to Arizona and Arizona State in consecutive weeks makes the Utes' path to the Big 12 Championship Game even tougher. Games against BYU and Iowa State — both undefeated — still lie ahead What was supposed to be a coronation for Utah is suddenly turning into a disaster for the second straight season.

Winner: Vanderbilt

The Commodores have no interest in being a one-hit wonder. A week after shocking Alabama, Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 20-13 on two touchdown throws by QB Diego Pavia. The win marked the program's best start since a 5-1 record in 2008, when Bobby Johnson coached the program. Vanderbilt has reached two SEC wins in a season only once since 2018. The vibes in Nashville couldn't be better.