College Football Poll.com

News/Commentary

Week 7 Preview - Red River Rivalry Renewed; Battle Begins For Commander-In-Chief's Trophy

September 30, 2018 by Dave Congrove

Oklahoma and Texas meet in Dallas for the Red River Rivalry on Saturday. It will be the 113th edition of the series which Texas leads 61-46-5. Meanwhile, Navy visits Air Force to begin the 2018 battle for the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy that is currently possessed by Army for the first time since 1996. The Falcons lead the series 29-21, but the Midshipmen have taken 11 of the last 15.

Those are just two of the 56 games taking place this week involving 112 FBS teams.

Oklahoma is a 13.84-point favorite over the Longhorns, according to the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com, while the AFA gets 4.18-point nod versus Navy.

Notre Dame, which ascended to No. 4 in the computer rankings after last week's 38-17 home win over Stanford, hits the road to face Virginia Tech as a 9.10-point computer choice. This is just the second-ever meeting between the Irish and Hokies after the latter won 34-31 in South Bend two years ago.

Mississippi State, after opening 3-0, will try to bounce back from consecutive losses to Kentucky and Florida when the Bulldogs host Auburn on Saturday. Surprisingly, the computer gives Joe Moorehead's group a slight 0.69-point advantage.

Florida returns home to host LSU after picking up the big win at Mississippi State. The Gators are a 2.85-point underdog to the visitors.

Miami is a nearly 20-point favorite (-19.41) in the 63rd meeting with Florida State. The home-standing 'Canes snapped a 7-game losing streak to the 'Noles with a 24-20 win in Tallahassee last year. That game ended in dramatic fashion with a 23-yard TD pass with six seconds left in the game, just a minute and 18 seconds after Florida State had gone ahead on a 20-yard TD pass. Miami leads the series 32-30.

Nebraska is a 26.41-point road underdog to Wisconsin as it tries to avoid an 0-5 start and a 9th straight loss dating back to last season. The 'Huskers have won just 6 of their last 22 games.

At the other end of the spectrum, UCF will be gunning for an 18th straight win when the Golden Knights host SMU as a 16.01-point computer choice.

14 Teams Undefeated, 4 Teams Winless

Alabama, Clemson, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and West Virginia from the Power 5, are joined by UCF, USF and Cincinnati from the Group of Five American Conference as the 14 remaining unbeaten teams.

If the computer is correct, that number will shrink by 3 teams as Colorado is a 7.64-point home dog to Arizona State, Kentucky is a 3.82-point road dog at Texas A&M, and North Carolina State is a 1.11-point home underdog versus Boston College,

Nebraska, UCLA, San Jose State and UTEP are all winless, but the Spartans are favored by 4.23 at home over Colorado State. SJSU was also a 2.80-point computer pick last week at home vs. Hawaii but lost 44-41 in quintuple overtime.

FBS vs. FCS

There aren't any games in this category this week. FBS teams are 92-7 (.929) vs. the FCS this season, and 1,311-124 (.914) since 2003.

Here are all of the FCS victories over FBS teams, so far, in 2018:

August 30: UC Davis 44, San Jose State 31
September 1: Villanova 19, Temple 17
September 1: Northern Arizona 30, UTEP 10
September 1: Nicholls State 26, Kansas 23 (OT)
September 2: North Carolina A&T 28, East Carolina 23
September 8: Maine 31, Western Kentucky 28
September 22: Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19

Streaks

UCF - Won 17 straight overall (FBS longest), Won 10 straight conference games including AAC title last year (FBS longest). Hosts SMU on Saturday.

Alabama - Won 22 straight home games (FBS longest). Visits Arkansas on Saturday.

Oklahoma - Won 17 straight road games (FBS longest). Plays Texas in Dallas (Cotton Bowl Stadium) on Saturday.

UTEP - Lost 17 straight overall (FBS longest). Hosts North Texas on Saturday.

Kansas - Lost 12 straight conference games (FBS longest). Visits West Virginia on Saturday.