Week 7 preview: Key conference matchups, Oklahoma’s ‘Dog Pound’ defense and more

If the college football world needed another reminder that preseason hype isn’t worth much, a peek at this week’s AP poll would do the trick. This year’s preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams — Texas and Penn State — have dropped out of the Top 25 and are merely among the Others receiving votes.

Just last week, they were both still top-10 teams with genuine playoff ambition. And now, they’re just hoping to remain competitively relevant. The college football season comes at you fast.

This week’s slate presents three matchups of ranked teams: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 17 Illinois, No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri and No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon. All three should be appointment viewings, but there’s another game with possible playoff implications worth spotlighting: No. 24 USF at North Texas on Friday night.

USF is a 1.5-point favorite, but UNT comes in undefeated as both teams look capable of winning the American, which has positioned itself as the Group of 5 conference most likely to be represented in the playoff. — Kyle Bonagura

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Oklahoma’s defense | Alabama-Missouri
Big Ten title implications
Quotes of the Week

Oklahoma’s ‘Dog Pound’ defense

Dog Pound. Ninja Turtles. Power Rangers. The nicknames Oklahoma‘s defensive line unit has adopted in 2025 are many. But the common denominator among them is simple.

“The whole thing behind that mindset is this: We’re them guys,” senior defensive tackle Gracen Halton told ESPN this week. “No matter what, we’re here to play. That’s the mindset.”

No. 6 Oklahoma (6-0) rolls back to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday to face Texas (3-2) in the 121st edition of the Red River Rivalry (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The matchup has been fairly friendly of late to the Sooners, winners in seven of the past 10 games between the schools from 2016 to 2024.

However, each of those victories came with support from an Oklahoma offense that finished in the top 10 in scoring nationally. This time, the Sooners return to face Texas with the nation’s second-ranked defense, anchored by a ferocious and deep defensive line unit that enters Week 7 ranked first in sacks (21) and second in tackles for loss (50) among all Power 4 defenses in 2025.

“Everybody’s itching to get on the field to make a play,” senior defensive end R Mason Thomas said of the position group last month. “We have some dogs.”

There are shades of the vintage defensive lines Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables once oversaw as the program’s defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2011. Naturally, his fingerprints are all over a group that has feasted on opposing backfields this fall. Halton and Thomas were late additions to Venables’ first signing class at Oklahoma in the 2022 cycle. Sophomore interior playmakers Jayden Jackson and David Stone, who nearly left in the transfer portal this spring, joined in the 2024 class, a year after 2023 five-star Adepoju Adebawore. Among the unit’s regular contributors, just two — Damonic Williams and Marvin Jones Jr. — arrived via the transfer portal.

“We all have that same personality because BV recruited all of us,” Halton said. “We’ve just got that light in us. We’ve built those connections. We’re close. Like a real family.”

Stone is credited with the conception of the “Dog Pound” moniker, a nod to the depth and competitive edge of this Sooners defensive line.

“We have dog after dog,” Halton said. “When four dogs come out, there’s another four that’s going in to go eat and go hunt.”

Thomas introduced the “Ninja Turtles.”

The group sometimes goes by the “Power Rangers” because, of course, they are always there to save the day, Halton explains.

Curious for what their ever-intense head coach thinks of it all?

“I like the engagement,” Venables said this week.

“To me, that says there’s great ownership in that group,” he said. “If they named them something and they play like a bunch of pansies, it wouldn’t be good. We’d need to stop that quickly. But they haven’t. They’ve shown up. They like to work. They like to compete. They let you coach them hard.”

Whatever nickname the Sooners’ pass rush is rolling with in a particular moment, it is making life hard on opposing quarterbacks in 2025. Oklahoma got to Auburn’s Jackson Arnold nine times last month. On Saturday, it could spell serious trouble for Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning and a Texas offensive line that gave up six sacks at Florida in Week 6.

If you’re wearing burnt orange at the Cotton Bowl this weekend, beware of the Dog Pound. — Eli Lederman

What do Missouri and Alabama need to capitalize on to win?

Missouri: Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz had nothing but praise for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson this week, saying his accuracy and ability to make off-schedule plays in Ryan Grubb’s offense is as good as advertised. The Missouri defense has made opponents one-dimensional by playing the best run defense in the country, holding FBS foes to 39.5 rushing yards per game, and has the top completion percentage defense (48.5%) in the country. It has had a lot of success generating pressure through five games, but getting after Alabama’s offensive line is a tall task. The Tigers need to play with precision on the back end after giving up a few too many explosive passes in zone coverage against South Carolina and Kansas, and they’ll probably need a little turnover luck this week after getting just two takeaways over their past four games. — Max Olson

Alabama: Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said this week that his defense needs to start faster, not only to avoid Missouri getting early momentum but for setting an early tone against the Tigers’ powerful run game. Ahmad Hardy leads the nation in rushing with 730 yards, and Missouri ranks No. 3 overall, averaging nearly 300 yards per game. Alabama has not been as consistent against the run this season as it has been in the past — Florida State and Georgia each ran for more than 200 yards already this season. In the first half last week against Vanderbilt, Alabama gave up a 65-yard touchdown run and another 36-yard run — two plays Wommack called “unacceptable” — before settling in. Hardy will challenge the Tide in different ways as the best running back they will play to date. Wommack praised him for his physicality and ability to break tackles, turning routine running plays into explosive ones. Tackling will no doubt be a huge priority in this game. — Andrea Adelson

Big implications for the Big Ten title race in Week 7

It’s still early October, but the Big Ten slate this week is about as blockbuster as it can be. More importantly, as the six teams atop the conference standings so far (Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana are all tied for first, and Illinois and USC are tied for second) are set to face each other, it will be a pivotal Saturday in the race to Indianapolis and the College Football Playoff.

The headliner is in Eugene, where undefeated No. 2 Oregon welcomes undefeated No. 7 Indiana. The Ducks have been dominant on defense and impeccably balanced on offense so far this season, looking plenty capable of defending their Big Ten title. But as Indiana proved in a blowout of Illinois a few weeks ago, this team isn’t just looking to go back to the playoff; it might be a better team than last year and is plenty capable of claiming the Big Ten title. The Ducks and the Hoosiers both avoid Ohio State on their schedules this year, making this game likely the toughest either team has left and one that has a good chance of playing into any potential tiebreakers that could end up mattering come the end of the regular season.

Speaking of the Buckeyes, since the opener against Texas, the No. 1 team in the country hasn’t had much trouble dispatching inferior opponents. Saturday’s trip to Illinois will test that thanks to a Fighting Illini team that bounced back from an embarrassing loss to Indiana with two wins against Purdue and USC in recent weeks. Upsetting the defending champions is a tough task for Bret Bielema’s team, but if it wants any outside shot at the Big Ten and a playoff spot, this would be the time to make a statement.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, No. 15 Michigan and USC are set to meet, and though the Wolverines are the ranked team in this matchup (and the ones without a conference loss), the Trojans are favored and could get their own Big Ten hopes back on track with a win after a close loss at Illinois. Both of these teams still have pivotal games on their schedules (Ohio State for Michigan; Notre Dame and Oregon for USC), giving them — especially the Trojans — zero margin for error. — Paolo Uggetti

Quotes of the Week

“It’s sold out, but it’s sold out because Michigan’s coming,” — Michigan coach Sherrone Moore on heading to Los Angeles to play USC. “We’re not celebrating going to the Coliseum. There are no pictures and selfies because we’re at the nice Coliseum.”

“[He is] probably one of the most impressive young coaching phenoms to come around in a while.” — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on Oregon’s Dan Lanning

“They’re 5-0. They’re a ranked team.” — Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer when asked about the Tide’s matchup against Missouri being a potential “trap game.”