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  • ESPN staff

What a Week 7. In the words of Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, “This is college football at its absolute best.”

Unless you’re on the losing side of things, how could anyone disagree?

From all the monumental upsets that dramatically shifted the College Football Playoff picture to the best plays that we will watch over and over, we catch you up on the best moments from the week.

Best troll (pregame)

Lane Kiffin is no stranger to being one of college football’s best trolls. After all, who could forget his “Get your popcorn ready” comment before last season’s Ole Miss–Alabama game? Of course, it backfired last October, when the Crimson Tide jumped to a 28-0 halftime lead en route to a 42-21 win.

He didn’t do any public trolling last season before he returned to Tennessee for the first time as a head coach since he infamously left for USC. After Ole Miss’ 31-26 win, a crowd of over 102,000 raucous fans pelted bottles and golf balls onto the field, to which Kiffin said, “It wasn’t about me, but I just want to say, ‘Take that, you 100,000 fans.'”

As focused as Kiffin was for his Rebels’ matchup against Auburn, even he couldn’t ignore the fact that two of his bigger rivals were facing each other in a battle of undefeated top-10 teams. Naturally, he took a side.

“Let’s both beat the state of Alabama today,” he said on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning. “Go Vols.”

His Ole Miss squad took care of business in the early afternoon, jumping to a 21-0 lead and putting up 448 yards on the ground en route to a 48-34 win.

He was watching when Alabama-Tennessee came down to the wire, tied at 49 with two seconds left, with Tennessee kicker Chase McGrath lining up for a 40-yard field goal.

So … how did that game end?

Best celebration (and postgame troll)

McGrath’s made kick led to a massive field storm at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. In Vols coach Josh Heupel’s words, “This is college football at its absolute best.”

The field storm:

The fireworks:

Playing “Dixieland Delight” after beating your rival for the first time since 2006.

Nothing short of epic.

See more of Week 7’s best trolls.

Best color

Sure, the Tulane Green Wave improved to 6-1 and are now ranked in the AP Top 25, but unfortunately the Dartmouth Big Green lost, so this honor couldn’t go to the color green (or the Crimson Tide, for that matter).

Between Tennessee and Syracuse, it was a big weekend for the color orange. (Texas won on Saturday, too.)

Syracuse, which two years ago went 1-10, is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2018 and is off to its first 6-0 start since 1987 after beating No. 15 NC State 24-9.

One thing that bodes well for the color orange: It is guaranteed a victory when Syracuse plays Clemson next week.

Best touchdown

Tennessee wideout Jalin Hyatt scored as many touchdowns on Saturday (five) as he had all season prior. But no touchdown was more spectacular than Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson ripping off an 81-yard touchdown run against LSU.

Richardson scrambled out of the pocket, picked up a block from Trevor Etienne inside the 25-yard line and gained steam as he crossed midfield. From there, he slipped out of Micah Baskerville‘s hands and dodged tackle attempts by safeties Jay Ward and Joe Foucha, maintaining his balance down the left sideline and Superman-leaping across the goal line.

Richardson’s run, which brought Florida within 42-28, was the longest play — passing or running — of his career. He scored an 80-yard touchdown run against South Florida last fall and has thrown two 75-yard touchdown passes in the past.

Best small-school moments

The biggest rivalry games of the regular season at both the FCS and Division II levels unfolded in similar fashions on Saturday afternoon. In both Fargo, North Dakota, and Big Rapids, Michigan, defending national champions enjoyed double-digit leads at home over their most hated rivals. And in both cases, the visitors struck back.

In the battle for the Dakota Marker, South Dakota State held North Dakota State scoreless over the Bison’s final six possessions and scored the game’s final 16 points, nine of which came from the foot of Hunter Dustman. His 18-yarder with 3 minutes, 49 seconds left gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the game, and NDSU’s last-ditch drive stalled out near midfield. It was SDSU’s third straight victory in this bitter series.

At the Division II level, in the Anchor-Bone Classic, it was Ferris State taking the early lead. The 2021 national champ was up by 11 with eight minutes left, but the visiting Grand Valley State Lakers scored, forced a three-and-out and scored again to take a 22-21 lead.

The teams traded fumbles — always good for ramping up anxiety levels even higher than they already were — but like NDSU, Ferris State stalled out near midfield on its final opportunity. GVSU won its first game in the series since 2016, taking both bragging rights and, likely, the No. 1 ranking in the country in the process.

— Bill Connelly

More Week 7 takeaways

Michigan runs all over Penn State

Penn State-Michigan marked one of the rare marquee games in which the running backs came in with more shine than the quarterbacks. Michigan’s Blake Corum had emerged as a Heisman Trophy contender, while Donovan Edwards provided a jolt after returning from injury. Penn State’s freshman tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen had sparked a struggling run game, combining for 788 yards and eight touchdowns.

By late Saturday afternoon, Corum and Edwards had left everyone in the dust. They combined for 339 rushing yards and four scores against Penn State, becoming the first teammates to eclipse 150 rush yards in the same game since Alabama’s Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon against Georgia in 2012. Touchdown runs of 67 yards (Edwards) and 61 yards (Corum) on consecutive third-quarter possessions put Michigan in the driver’s seat.

“We got the fourth-down stop, I’m walking off the field, taking my helmet up, ask for water and I look up at the scoreboard and see Blake breaking one loose,” defensive lineman Mike Morris said. “I’m happy for them, but I’m looking at 2 (Corum) and 7 (Edwards) and I’m like, ‘Bruh, y’all got to let us get a break a little bit.’ I’m like, ‘I love y’all, good job but …’

“Our backs are crazy.”

Thanks to Morris and his linemates, Penn State’s talented young backs never got going in a 41-17 loss, combining for only 35 yards on 12 carries with a long run of 9 yards.

“Obviously, we weren’t able to run the ball or convert on short-yardage situations and stay on the field,” coach James Franklin said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage and they controlled the game.”

— Adam Rittenberg

How does the Pac-12 being stronger impact its CFP chances?

When Utah punched in its 2-point conversation late Saturday night to beat USC 43-42, it was an incredible moment at Rice-Eccles Stadium. For the Utes, it preserved a clear path to the Pac-12 championship game and their chance to defend their title. Laughable officiating aside, it was a high-stakes college football game played at a very high level.

The result, however, with USC losing for the first time, was a big hit toward the conference’s College Football Playoff chances. It’s not a death blow, but the collective margin for error is thin.

Undefeated UCLA is obviously the best hope, and it has a chance to make a statement Saturday at Oregon. What shouldn’t be lost in all of this is that the Pac-12 might be the second-best conference in college football this season.

Only two conferences have four teams in the top 15 of the AP Poll: the SEC and the Pac-12 (No. 9 UCLA, No. 10 Oregon, No. 12 USC, No. 15 Utah). If it comes to comparing one-loss conference champions come selection time, that should matter. It also illustrates the problem with the four-team structure. With a 12-team field, there will be several more meaningful games over the second half of the season. More fan bases will be engaged with the sport in more areas of the country.

— Kyle Bonagura

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Bowling Green hires Eddie George as head coach

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March 10, 2025

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Bowling Green hires Eddie George as head coach

Former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George was named the next head coach at Bowling Green on Sunday.

George agreed to a five-year deal, sources told ESPN.

His hiring came two days after George, who spent the past four seasons as the head coach at Tennessee State, was one of three finalists to interview for the position.

“Today, we add another transformative leader to this campus in Eddie George,” Derek van der Merwe, Bowling Green’s vice president for athletics strategy, said in a news release. “Our students are getting someone who has chased success in sports, art, business, and leadership. As our head football coach, he will pursue excellence in all aspects of competition in the arena. More importantly, beyond the arena, he will exemplify what excellence looks like in the classroom, in life, in business, and in relationships with people.”

George emerged as a successful head coach in the FCS at Tennessee State. This past season, he led the program to the FCS playoffs and a share of the OVC-Big South title, the school’s first league title in football since 1999.

“I am truly excited to be the head coach at Bowling Green State University,” George said in the news release. “Bowling Green is a wonderful community that has embraced the school and the athletics department. We are eager to immerse ourselves in the community and help build this program to the greatness it deserves. I am overwhelmed with excitement and joy for the possibilities this opportunity holds.”

George returns to the state where he rushed for 3,768 yards over four seasons as a running back for Ohio State, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1995.

George went on to star in the NFL for nine seasons, rushing for more than 10,000 yards. He was a 1996 first-round pick of the Houston Oilers and made his name by playing seven seasons in Nashville for the Titans, becoming the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. The Titans retired his jersey in 2019.

Tennessee State hired George despite his lack of traditional coaching experience, with the school president at the time calling the move “the right choice and investment” for the future of TSU. George has worked as an actor and entrepreneur and earned an MBA from Northwestern.

George paid back the administration’s faith by building Tennessee State into a winner, including a 9-4 season in 2024 that culminated in its first FCS playoff appearance since 2013. Tennessee State lost to Montana in the first round.

George’s hire at TSU continued the trend of former star players being hired at historically Black colleges and universities. Jackson State made the biggest splash in hiring Deion Sanders, who went on to a successful stint at Colorado. Michael Vick’s hire at Norfolk State and DeSean Jackson’s hire at Delaware State continued that trend in the current hiring cycle.

George will replace Scot Loeffler, who left the school to become the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bowling Green has become one of the top coaching springboards of this generation, with Urban Meyer, Dave Clawson and Dino Babers all advancing from the school to power conference jobs. Loeffler went 27-41 over six seasons, a run that included bowl appearances in each of the past three seasons.

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Top 2027 DE recruit Wesley reclassifies to 2026

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March 10, 2025

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Top 2027 DE recruit Wesley reclassifies to 2026

  • Eli LedermanMar 7, 2025, 12:02 PM ET

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      Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.

Defensive end prospect Richard Wesley, one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2027 high school class, has reclassified into the 2026 cycle and will sign with a college program later this year, he told ESPN on Friday.

A 6-foot-5, 245-pound pass rusher from Chatsworth, California, Wesley completed his sophomore season at Sierra Canyon (California) High School this past fall. His move marks the latest high-profile reclassification in the current cycle, following wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster (No. 21 in the ESPN Junior 300), tight end Mark Bowman (No. 23), running back Ezavier Crowell (No. 29) and cornerback Havon Finney Jr. (not ranked) in the line of the elite former 2027 prospects to reclassify into the 2026 class since the start of the new year. 

ESPN has not yet released its prospect rankings for the 2027 class, but Wesley is expected to slot in among the nation’s top five defensive line recruits in 2026. He took unofficial visits to Oregon and Texas A&M in January and holds a long list of offers across the SEC, Big Ten and ACC. 

Following his reclassification, Wesley told ESPN he will take trips to Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Miami, Oregon, USC, Ole Miss and Texas A&M across March and April before finalizing a slate of official visits for later this spring.

“I really can’t say what the future holds for me,” Wesley said. “I’m excited for more opportunities to go talk with these coaches and see what they’re about. I’m really open to everyone that’s offered me and who really wants me in their program.”

Wesley emerged as one of the nation’s most coveted high school defenders after he totaled 55 tackles and 10 sacks in his freshman season at Sierra Canyon in 2023. He followed this past fall 44 tackles (16 for loss) with nine sacks and four forced fumbles as a sophomore.

The rash of reclassifications into the 2026 class comes after a series of top prospects opted to reclassify during the 2025 recruiting cycle, headlined by five-star recruits Julian Lewis (Colorado) and Jahkeem Stewart (USC) and Texas A&M quarterback signee Brady Hart. Wesley told ESPN that his decision to enter college early was motivated by conversations with college coaches and his belief that he will be physically ready to compete at the next level by the time his junior season ends later this year. 

“All the colleges I talk to have shown me their recruiting boards and told me I’m at the top of their list at the position regardless of class,” Wesley said. “They’ve told me good things and they’ve told me the things I need to work on. I need to work on my violence. I’ve been grinding at that every single day.”

Wesley now joins a talented 2026 defensive end class that features 11 prospects ranked inside the top 100 in the ESPN Junior 300. 

Five-star edge rusher Zion Elee, ESPN’s No. 1 defender in the class, has been committed to Maryland since this past December and closed his recruitment last month. JaReylan McCoy, a five-star prospect who decommitted from LSU in February, and four-stars Jake Kreul (No. 19 overall) and Nolan Wilson (No. 54 overall) stand among the cycle’s top uncommitted defensive ends.

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Big 12 moves 10 games to Friday night in 2025

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March 10, 2025

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Big 12 moves 10 games to Friday night in 2025

  • Associated Press

Mar 7, 2025, 02:29 PM ET

IRVING, Texas — The Big 12 has moved six of its conference football games to Friday nights next fall, along with another matchup of league teams that won’t count in the standings.

Those were among the 10 games involving Big 12 teams selected Friday by the league’s television partners, ESPN and Fox, for Friday night broadcasts. There will be two games on three of those nights.

On the opening weekend of the season, Baylor will host SEC team Auburn and Colorado will be home against ACC team Georgia Tech on Aug. 29. Arizona plays at Arizona State and Utah is at Kansas on Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving.

There will also be two games Sept. 12, with Colorado at Houston and Kansas State at Arizona. That matchup of Wildcats won’t count in the Big 12 standings since it was part of a preexisting schedule agreement between the two teams before the league expanded to 16 teams last year.

The other four Friday night games are Tulsa at Oklahoma State (Sept. 19), TCU at Arizona State (Sept. 26), West Virginia at BYU (Oct. 3) and Houston at UCF (Nov. 7).

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