We have reached the halfway point of the 2021 college football season, and the urgency for everyone is rising. Whether you’re a team battling for one of the four playoff spots or just trying to get to bowl eligibility, the back half of the season will be critical for many teams’ future. While the playoff picture is still very murky, the best team in the country is not, as Georgia lived up to their new ranking by rolling an undefeated Kentucky to likely wrap up their fourth division title in the last five years. While the top-ranked team in the nation did not disappoint, the same could not be said for my second-ranked team from last week. 

Coming off of a thrilling win against Penn State, Iowa had a huge letdown the following week losing by 17 points to Purdue. I discussed the idea of the Big Ten getting two teams into the playoff last week, but now with Iowa losing, that appears to be a lost cause. The Hawkeyes could still make it if they run the table, but they would likely knock out whomever they beat in the Big Ten title in the process. In order for the Big Ten to get two squads in they needed a 12-0 Iowa to lose in the conference championship to an 11-1 or 12-0 Big Ten East champ. The Big Ten East still has four serious playoff contenders, but they all still have to play each other. Odds are only one Big Ten East team is still standing for the playoff entering conference title weekend. If you had to make me choose a team to make it out of that division, I would choose Ohio State, who has overcome their slow start to play some of the most dominant football in the country in recent weeks. 

It was a great weekend for the state of Oklahoma, as the Sooners and Cowboys remain undefeated and are the Big 12’s best bet at the playoff. The Sooners beat an FBS team by more than one possession for the first time all year, beating TCU by three touchdowns behind a dominant performance from quarterback Caleb Williams in his debut. Sooner fans have been clamoring for Williams for weeks now, and Lincoln Riley made the switch after Williams led Oklahoma to a thrilling come from behind victory against Texas. Speaking of come from behind victories against Texas, Oklahoma State picked up right where the Sooners left off and overcame a double digit deficit in the second half to upend the Longhorns. This is the Cowboys third straight win over a ranked opponent, and the Cowboys are quietly a dangerous threat for the playoff. The hard part of their schedule is over, and the Cowboys will likely enter Bedlam at 11-0 as long as they can avoid getting upset(which is easier said than done this season). The Big 12 appears to have a spot in the playoff locked up as long as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State don’t cancel each other out by splitting the regular season matchup and the conference championship game. 

While the race to get into the playoff or a conference championship is a big focus late in the season, so is the coaching carousel. This week, one of the most coveted jobs in America opened up, as LSU announced Ed Orgeron would not return to LSU in 2022. Off the field issues at LSU paired with a 9-8 record since winning the 2019 national title made this move imminent. Even a win over rival Florida wasn’t able to save Orgeron. The Tigers now face a critical coaching search as the SEC West is as deep as ever, and the Tigers need to hit on their next coach if they want to be a perennial contender in college football’s most daunting division. 

With all that being said, here are my rankings after Week 7. 

College Football Top 25 Rankings:

1. Georgia Bulldogs (7-0) W vs Kentucky 30-13, last week – 1 
2. Cincinnati Bearcats (6-0) W vs UCF 56-21, last week – 3 
3. Oklahoma Sooners (7-0) W vs TCU 52-31, last week – 4 
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1) Bye Week, last week – 5 
5. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1) W vs Mississippi State 49-9, last week – 6
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1) Bye Week, last week – 7 
7. Michigan Wolverines (6-0) Bye Week, last week – 8 
8. Michigan State Spartans (7-0) W vs Indiana 20-15, last week – 9
9. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-0) W vs Texas 32-24, last week – 11
10. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1) L vs Purdue 24-7, last week – 2 
11. Oregon Ducks (5-1) W vs California 24-17, last week – 10 
12. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-0) Bye Week, last week – 12
13. Ole Miss Rebels (5-1) W vs Tennessee 31-26, last week – 13
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1) Bye Week, last week – 15 
15. Kentucky Wildcats (6-1) L vs Georgia 30-13, last week – 14 
16. NC State Wolfpack (5-1) W vs Boston College 33-7, last week – 19
17. SMU Mustangs (6-0) Bye Week, last week – 18 
18. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-0) Bye Week, last week – 20
19. Texas A&M Aggies (5-2) W vs Missouri 35-14, last week – 21
20. Auburn Tigers (5-2) W vs Arkansas 38-23, last week – unranked
21. Baylor Bears (6-1) W vs BYU 38-24, last week – unranked 
22. San Diego State Aztecs (6-0) W vs San Jose State 19-13, last week – unranked
23. UTSA Roadrunners (7-0) W vs Rice 45-0, last week – unranked
24. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-1) W vs Virginia Tech 28-7, last week – unranked
25. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-3) L vs Auburn 38-23, last week – 16

Dropped out of rankings – Arizona State, Florida, BYU, Texas, Clemson