Oct 16, 2026 · 1h 20m
Week 7 tests college football’s playoff-era margins
CFP Expanding 24 Teams + Week 7 Upset Alerts & New Top 25
With a 24-team College Football Playoff approaching, Week 7’s vulnerable favorites offer an early test of rankings, spreads, and postseason positioning.
- 1Mississippi State–LSU, Oklahoma–Kentucky, and Nebraska–Oregon headline Pate’s upset-alert board, with injuries and matchup weaknesses driving concern.
- 2Florida–Texas carries pressure for Steve Sarkisian while Texas’s home streak and the point spread shape the broader stakes.
- 3Pate updates his top 25, builds a viewer’s guide, and makes late best bets involving Wisconsin, Rice, and Notre Dame–BYU.
Don't miss
Pate’s closing best-bets segment connects Wisconsin, Rice, and the Notre Dame–BYU total to line movement and matchup reasoning.
The brief
Josh Pate opens from Nashville with the 24-team College Football Playoff on the horizon, framing Week 7 as a test of contenders’ margins and the season’s emerging hierarchy.
The upset-alert board centers on Mississippi State–LSU, Oklahoma–Kentucky, and Nebraska–Oregon, where injuries, spreads, and matchup vulnerabilities make favored teams less secure.
Florida–Texas becomes the featured pressure point: Texas’s home streak, Steve Sarkisian’s position, and a consequential point spread give the matchup stakes beyond one Saturday.
Pate then revisits recent forecasting, updates his top 25, and works through a viewer’s guide to the week’s remaining storylines and games.
The closing picks turn to Wisconsin, Rice, and the Notre Dame–BYU total, with line movement shaping the reasoning behind his best bets.