College Football Week 7 Schedule: 3 Under-the-Radar Games

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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College Football’s Week 7 schedule has some high profile games on tap, but what games are flying under-the-radar this weekend?

As is the same every weekend in college football, we have some tantalizing games set up and just like any other week, we have some games that are going to sneak up on us.

Heavyweight showdowns like Alabama vs Tennessee, Ole Miss vs Arkansas, and Ohio State vs Wisconsin will highlight this weekend’s action and rightfully so. However, they shouldn’t draw all your attention.

It’s getting deeper and deeper into the college football season and now is the time for teams to make a stand and make something of their seasons before it becomes too late.

Last week, North Carolina lost in one of our underrated games to Virginia Tech and severely hurt their chances this season, while Virginia Tech emerged as a legitimate ACC contender. We also saw Arizona State beat UCLA and continue to surprise people as a Pac-12 South contender.

Who will emerge from our list this week?

Just missing the cut was: Western Michigan vs Akron, Stanford vs Notre Dame and Western Kentucky vs Middle Tennessee

Oct 1, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Florida Gators running back Jordan Scarlett (25) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

3. Missouri vs (18) Florida

Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Florida is of course coming off the indefinite postponement of their game against LSU thanks to Hurricane Mathew. Missouri is also coming off of a bye, so both teams should be well rested and ready to go.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Gators come out after the chaotic week that was. Luke Del Rio is expected to make his return at QB after missing games due to injury. The offense looks much better with him at the helm.

For Mizzou, even though they are 2-3, they have showed vast improvement from last season on offense. Drew Lock has thrown for over 1,600 yards and 14 scores. It’ll be fun to watch how that matches up against the vaunted Gator defense.

The game means a lot for the Gators as they need to try to stay within reach of first in the SEC East. This game could have season long implications in the SEC picture.

Oct 1, 2016; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Skyler Howard (3) throws a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

2. (20) West Virginia vs Texas Tech

Saturday 12:00 p.m. ET, FS1

The 4-0 Mountaineers travel to Lubbock to take on the Red Raiders in this important Big 12 game. WVU has emerged as a surprise early season contender in the conference and if they want to stay there they need to survive this tough road test.

Texas Tech is 3-2 and doing their usual thing: scoring a lot of points and giving up a lot of points. It’s amazing how they can never find anything that somewhat resembles a defense, but hey that makes for fun games to watch.

This should be no different. West Virginia’s defense has been surprisingly solid all season. Other than allowing 32 points to BYU that is. They held Missouri to 11 and Kansas State to 16. Texas Tech should still be able to get their points though.

The Red Raiders have a season low of 38 points scored, so they will surely get theirs and other than allowing 19 points to lowly Kansas and FCS Stephen F. Austin, they’ve allowed at least 40 points in every other game.

So buckle up for a high scoring Big 12 affair and get ready for some fireworks in this important test for the top 25 Mountaineers.

Oct 8, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils kicker Zane Gonzalez kicks a field goal in the fourth quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Sun Devil Stadium. Gonzalez set an NCAA Division one FBS record for career field goals with the kick. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

1. Arizona State vs Colorado

Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

The 5-1 Sun Devils travel to Boulder to take on the 4-2 Buffs in this important game in the Pac-12 South.

Last week was big for both these squads. Arizona State won 23-20 over UCLA to really emerge as a contender in the division. Colorado fought hard on the road against a underachieving but talented USC team, 21-17.

Both squads are 2-1 in conference play so implications are high if they want to continue their surprise seasons on top of the division. Both of these upstarts have a chance to really make something special of their seasons and this week will go a long way towards doing so. Stakes are high.

Colorado certainly is a great story as the usual bottom dweller of the conference is competing with or even beating teams like Oregon and USC. They look to be surely headed to a bowl game this season, but can they reach even further than that? Can Arizona State get off to a surprise 6-1 start? Time will tell Saturday night.