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In a great week of college football, I had maybe my best week picking winners in Phil’s Friday Forecast that I’ve ever had! Perhaps the best I’ll ever have! If you ignore all the weeks where I barely had a winning record, it all of a sudden looks like I know ball. It’s all in good fun and for the love of the game. Here’s how I did.
#14 North Texas over South Florida – No, South Florida 63, North Texas 36
I thought North Texas freshman phenom Drew Mestemaker would make the difference for a Mean Green win. However, it was South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown who made the difference for the Bulls. Byrum was 22 of 28 for 245 yards and three passing touchdowns with 21 carries for 82 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
#23 Washington over Rutgers – Yes, Washington 38, Rutgers 19
Demond Williams had a night for the Huskies. He’s a big part of why I believe in this Washington team. Williams was 21 of 27 for 402 yards and two passing touchdowns with 13 carries for 126 yards and two rushing touchdowns in the victory.
Utah over #21 Arizona State – Yes, Utah 42, Arizona State 10
I wasn’t sure about this one because I thought Sam Leavitt and Devon Dampier could have a quarterback duel. With Leavitt out with an injury, it ended up being a layup for Dampier and Utah.
Utah State over Hawaii – No, Hawaii 44, Utah State 26
I thought Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes would lead USU to victory. Still, it was Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado, with 413 yards and four total touchdowns, who led Hawaii to a 44-26 win.
#18 Alabama over #12 Missouri – Yes, Alabama 27, Missouri 24
I said this would come down to a battle of these two teams’ Heisman candidates in Ty Simpson, the quarterback of Alabama, and Ahmad Hardy, the nation’s leading rusher for Mizzou. Simpson threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Hardy was held to 52 yards on 12 carries. The rest is history.
#2 Oregon over #5 Indiana – No, Indiana 30, Oregon 20
I underestimated Indiana’s defense. They shut Oregon down. They allowed only one offensive touchdown from the Ducks and held them to 247 total yards. The Hoosiers are the best their program has ever been.
#10 Oklahoma over Texas – No, Texas 23, Oklahoma 6
The reports of Texas’ season being over and Arch Manning being a bust were greatly exaggerated. This was just the victory Texas needed to rebound from their loss to Florida. Like I said, they’re a dangerous team. I wasn’t surprised that they won, but was surprised by how they won.
#24 Nebraska over Maryland – Yes, Nebraska 34, Maryland 31
The Huskers are one win closer to being where they want to be as a program. They have an offense that has shown an ability to consistently score. Winning close games over Cincinnati and Maryland are wins that, for a while now, had escaped Nebraska.
#9 Texas Tech over Kansas – Yes, Texas Tech 42, Kansas 17
Tech was once again dominant on both sides of the ball in the win over Kansas. This time they’re running behind a huge rushing attack from running back Cameron Dickey, who rushed for 263 yards and two touchdowns.
#7 Texas A&M over Florida – Yes, Texas A&M 34, Florida 17
A&M proved again that they are a complete team. It was a tie game after the first quarter, but Texas A&M would outscore Florida 20-3 the rest of the way. The Aggies out-rushed the Gators 183 yards to 74.
#19 Georgia over Auburn – Georgia 20, Auburn 10
You can’t help but wonder how this game might have been different had the SEC officials not incorrectly called the touchdown Auburn scored to go up 17-0 near the end of the first half. Georgia may have had a couple of calls go in their favor, but they still came back from being down 10-0 on the road and won. Can’t take anything away from the Dawgs in the win.
USC over michigan – Yes, USC 31, michigan 13
I was surprised that USC’s defense held michigan to 13 points. USC’s offense scoring a lot never surprises anyone, but if they can get consistent defense that is even just average, the rest of the Big Ten will have to watch out.
LSU over South Carolina – Yes, LSU 20, South Carolina 10
I’m still not sure what to make of LSU, but they got the win, and they’re 5-1. Any questions about the Tigers will be answered in the next two weeks against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.
Notre Dame over NC State – Yes, Notre Dame 36, NC State 7
Once again, CJ Carr led the Fighting Irish to victory. Notre Dame won big over NC State behind Carr’s 342 yards and two touchdowns. Now, he and Notre Dame will try to beat their rival, who just defeated the school Carr’s grandfather coached to a national championship. Notre Dame vs. USC looks to be another classic.
#8 Georgia Tech over Virginia Tech – Yes, Georgia Tech 35, Virginia Tech 20
Haynes King continues to grow his legend at Georgia Tech. He got it done in the air and on the ground again as Georgia Tech got payback on Virginia Tech. King had 213 yards and a touchdown passing, with 60 yards and two touchdowns rushing.
#6 Navy over Temple – Yes, Navy 32, Temple 31
Temple gave the Midshipmen all he could handle. It took late-game heroics from Navy’s star, who I thought would be the difference, Blake Horvath. Horvath scored a touchdown with seconds left, then converted the two-point conversion for Navy to take the lead and win the game.
#15 UNLV over Air Force – Yes, UNLV 51, Air Force 48
Air Force has duked it out with two great teams in UNLV and Navy, but came up short against both of them. The 1-5 Falcons are going to win some big games in the future, but UNLV is setting themselves up to win some big games now. They have a big one next against the only Mountain West team to beat them since the end of 2023, the Boise State Broncos.
#1 Ohio State over #16 Illinois – Yes, Ohio State 34, Illinois 16
Ohio State was ready to go from the very beginning and never let Illinois in the game. The Buckeyes’ defense continues to be ridiculously good, especially in the Red Zone. The Buckeye offense isn’t as potent as many expect, but they’re still great. College football better watch out if Ohio State gets that offense firing on all cylinders.
#25 Cincinnati over UCF – Yes, Cincinnati 20, UCF 11
This was a great win for the Bearcats. They had needed their offense to be explosive to get their wins this season. In this game, the offense was a little less effective than they had been, and the UC defense stepped up, shut down UCF, and led the way to a win.
#20 Tennessee over Arkansas – Yes, Tennessee 34, Arkansas 31
The Volunteers’ offense is still fantastic and able to shoot it out with anyone, just as expected. Tennessee’s defense continues to struggle. Tennessee will have a battle on their hands against Alabama this week.
#3 BYU over Arizona – Yes, BYU 33, Arizona 27 (2OT)
They didn’t crush Arizona. However, LJ Martin’s rushing attack, supplemented by Bear Bachmeier, led BYU to a come-from-behind, double-overtime victory over Arizona. Now, it’s on to the Holy War against Utah.
Week 7 Record: 17-4
2025 Record: 76-52 (Overall: 178-95)
All the Rankings are from Week 6 of the Power Rankings. See where these teams are after these games in the Week 7 Power Rankings!
