College football Week 7 predictions: Best bets, picks against the spread

This IS a reminder that Sunday can’t compete with Saturday come fall. This will be the best week of the college football season thus far, featuring six matchups of ranked teams, including four games between top 15 programs. The day begins with No.4 Ohio State facing No.

5 Indiana in a meeting of the past two national champions.Several high-stakes battles will come in the SEC, headlined by No.6 Alabama’s trip to No.

14 Tennessee. But no team has more to prove than No.2 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have won 16 straight games —setting a program record by winning each game by double digits — but they have faced only two ranked teams during their streak.

Their most recent game against a team ranked inside the top 20 ended with a home loss to Texas A&M last season.The week prior, Notre Dame lost its season opener at Miami in their most recent game against a top 20 team on the road. The Irish currently look the part of a national championship contender, but their first true test in more than 13 months comes in a uniquely challenging environment against No.

8 BYU at the high altitude of LaVell Edwards Stadium, where fans will see a top 10 matchup there for the first time, and the Cougars have covered six of their past seven games as an underdog. BYU (+10.5) — which is 5-0 against the spread this season, 7-3 in their past 10 games as an underdog and 40-4 in night games since 2019 — will have a tough time pulling an upset without star running back LJ Martin, but Kalani Sitake’s defense can drag the Irish into a slugfest, making the Irish sweat on a cool night in Provo. The Gators have been embarrassed in back-to-back weeks, allowing a combined 83 points to Missouri and South Carolina.But there is no reason to believe that Arch “I would be a third-round pick if my name wasn’t” Manning can exploit the SEC’s worst pass defense. The best player in the country (Jeremiah Smith) is built to quiet crazed crowds, having put up 370 receiving yar...