A pair of major upsets helped to change the complexion of the Top 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll heading into Week 7 of the 2025 college football season.
Penn State sunk from No. 7 to unranked altogether after losing to previously winless UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Texas, previously No. 9, met the same fate thanks to a road defeat to unranked Florida.
That allowed Texas Tech and Georgia to move up a few spots into the Top 10.
At the risk of being a prisoner of the moment, Saturday might be the beginning of the end for James Franklin.
Coming up short to Oregon was bad enough because it continued the Nittany Lions’ struggles against upper-tier opponents under Franklin’s watch. Falling behind by 20 points in the first half to an 0-4 UCLA squad is an order of magnitude worse.
Penn State allowed the Bruins to churn up 280 yards on the ground, including 128 from quarterback Nico Iamaleava. UCLA had the ball for nearly 40 minutes.
Franklin’s handling of a 4th-and-2 late in the fourth quarter was puzzling as well to say the least. The Nittany Lions let nearly 30 seconds run off the clock despite having all of their timeouts.
The Bruins finally used a timeout, which allowed Franklin and his staff to draw up something to get at least three yards. Instead, quarterback Drew Allar was stuffed for a loss of three on a jet pass option that had no chance of success.
The conundrum for Penn State is that the football team has been incredibly consistent under the current regime. As bad as things are now, the Joe Paterno era tailed off toward the end, and Bill O’Brien won 15 combined games over two years while helping the program navigate through all of the sanctions resulting from the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Franklin’s 104 wins are tied for second in school history behind Paterno.
And yet, you can’t blame fans for believing they’ve seen Penn State’s ceiling with the 53-year-old on the sideline. There’s the risk his replacement would be worse, but seeing the same general campaign unfold over and over again can be tiring.
Speaking of notable figures under increasing pressure, it seems increasingly clear why Arch Manning failed to beat out Quinn Ewers for the starting job in 2024.
The redshirt sophomore went 16-of-29 for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 29-21 loss for Texas. Perhaps some of the reactions are still over the top, but there’s no question the star signal-caller is not reaching the heights everyone expected.
If Manning isn’t as good as advertised, that puts a serious dent in the Longhorns’ national championship hopes.
At the other end of the spectrum, a 28-22 road win over Florida State was a strong statement from Miami. The Hurricanes led by 25 points heading into the fourth quarter before taking their foot off the gas.
This was a particularly encouraging showing from starting quarterback Carson Beck, who had 241 passing yards and four touchdowns. Beck and freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney, who had seven catches for 107 yards and two scores, were particularly devastating through the air.
Miami fans have seen their fair share of false dawns, including just last year as a 9-0 start became a 10-3 finish. This might be when everything finally clicks into place for the Canes.
Looking forward, Week 7’s schedule is an example of when the quad box gets put to good use.
Illinois hosts Ohio State at 12 p.m. ET, the same time Alabama hits the road to play Missouri. At 3:30 p.m., fans are treated to Indiana vs. Oregon and Oklahoma and Texas in the newest installment in the Red River Rivalry. In the prime-time slots, Florida vs. Texas A&M, Kansas vs. Texas Tech and Georgia vs. Auburn could all be ripe for upsets.
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