Six ranked matchups set to headline Week 7

A busy week for ranked teams

The NCAA FBS account said the six-game slate was an uncommon concentration of top-25 matchups. It noted that Week 4 of the same season also had six, while the previous comparable occasion before that was the 2023 conference championships.

Through the first six weeks, the preview counted 16 games between ranked teams. Higher-ranked teams won eight, and lower-ranked teams won the other eight.

Six matchups across the schedule

At noon, No. 4 Ohio State is scheduled to visit No. 5 Indiana on FOX. No. 16 Mississippi State is set to face No. 22 LSU at the same time on ESPN.

The 3:30 p.m. games are No. 6 Alabama at No. 14 Tennessee on ABC and No. 9 Ole Miss against No. 13 Missouri on SEC.

At 7:30 p.m., No. 2 Notre Dame is scheduled to play at No. 8 BYU on ABC, while No. 18 Oklahoma State visits No. 20 Houston on FOX.

Undefeated records in focus

The preview identified Notre Dame and BYU as two of the nine FBS teams still undefeated, adding that neither had yet faced a ranked opponent. Indiana, meanwhile, would seek to reach 7-0 against its first top-25 opponent.

Alabama and Tennessee were each listed at 5-1 ahead of their meeting. The preview said both had lost at home to top-two opponents: Alabama to Georgia and Tennessee to Texas.

Recent results set the context

The NCAA FBS preview said Week 6 featured four unranked teams beating ranked opponents, including Oklahoma’s win over No. 1 Texas. It also recalled that three lower-ranked teams won ranked matchups in Week 4: Florida over Ole Miss, Oregon over Southern California and Mississippi State over Missouri.

Ole Miss entered the listed matchup with Missouri having beaten LSU and Louisville and lost to Florida, according to the preview. Missouri had beaten Florida and lost to Mississippi State.