College football preview: Red River Rivalry, Ohio State-Oregon and more ahead of Week 7
Week 7 is here as we look toward some exciting conference matchups this weekend that you won’t want to miss.
The Red River Rivalry game is Saturday as No. 1 Texas will face No. 18 Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. In just his second career start, Oklahoma’s true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. will be making history. Oklahoma has won four of the past five Red River Rivalry games, but will Hawkins’ poise be enough to take down its top-ranked opponent?
No. 3 Oregon and No. 2 Ohio State will face-off as conference opponents for the first time this weekend, but this isn’t their first time playing against each other. Ten years ago, Ohio State leaned on its third-string quarterback to rally the Buckeyes after injuries rocked the team at the position. Ohio State and Oregon met in the national championship game that year and the Buckeyes’ third-string quarterback did indeed step up.
Our college football experts preview big games and storylines to know about and share quotes of the week ahead of Week 7.
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Ohio State-Oregon | Red River Rivalry
New conference enemy | Quotes of the Week
How Cardale Jones stepped up when the Buckeyes needed him most
Safety Tyvis Powell remembered “all the oxygen” evaporating from Ohio Stadium when J.T. Barrett couldn’t get up with a fractured right ankle. Tailback Ezekiel Elliott called it a “shock” seeing Ohio State’s quarterback get carted off the field against Michigan a decade ago.
“J.T. was having a crazy season,” Elliott said. “He probably would’ve won the Heisman.”
The Buckeyes had already lost star quarterback Braxton Miller in the preseason to shoulder surgery. With the season on the line, Barrett was headed for surgery, too.
“It was like, ‘Oh man, here we go again,'” Powell said. “We overcame the Braxton [injury], which was hard enough. We finally got this train rolling and boom, we get hit by another quarterback injury.”
Powell, Elliott and the Buckeyes felt devastated. But they also knew their third-string quarterback, Cardale Jones, owned a rocket arm.
“I don’t know if I’ve played with a quarterback with a stronger arm,” Elliott said. “We knew he had all the tools. We just hadn’t seen it yet.”
Saturday in Eugene, Ohio State visits Oregon in their first showdown as Big Ten rivals — 10 years after facing off for the national title in Arlington, Texas, where Jones and fourth-seeded Ohio State completed an unlikely championship season.
“The closest person to do what Cardale did was a fictional character by the name of Steamin’ Willie Beamen,” said Powell, referring to the Miami Sharks backup quarterback played by Jamie Foxx in the 1999 film “Any Given Sunday.”
With Jones, the Buckeyes didn’t miss a beat. They finished off Michigan, then annihilated Wisconsin 59-0 for the Big Ten championship, to slip into the inaugural four-team playoff. They stunned Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal 42-35. Then, they took down Oregon 42-20 for the national championship. Over those three games, Jones passed for 742 yards, rushed for another 90 and totaled six touchdowns.
“I knew the expectations. I knew the culture we developed,” said Jones, who, until Barrett’s injury, had never played a meaningful snap. “Everybody was expected to do their job, and that’s how they treated me, from the coaching staff on down. No one babied me, no one tried to walk me into things. It was, ‘Hey, you know your f—ing job, let’s do it.”
Powell realized Jones meant business when he got home from class the Monday after the Michigan game. Powell usually found his roommate playing Call of Duty in the living room. That evening, Jones was at the football facility studying film with then offensive coordinator Tom Herman.
“That was a calming thing, like ‘Oh, you’re locked in,'” Powell said. “At that point, I knew we’re going to be fine.”
Later that week, Herman compiled a highlight tape of Jones’ best plays from Cleveland Glenville High School and showed it to him.
“He wanted to make sure I was reassured that hey, I belong here,” Jones said, “and that I have all the ability in the world to help us.”
Barrett kept telling him the same: “You’re here for a reason.”
After thumping Wisconsin, the Buckeyes didn’t gather to watch ESPN’s playoff selection show. In fact, Jones was driving home to Cleveland when he started getting texts and calls from teammates and coaches, telling him Ohio State had jumped TCU and Baylor, to secure the selection committee’s coveted No. 4 seed.
Ohio State fell behind No. 1 Alabama early in their semifinal matchup. But in the second half on third-and-long, Jones lofted a 47-yard touchdown strike to Devin Smith to give the Buckeyes the lead. They never handed it back.
Against Oregon in the title game, Jones kept on completing big passes, matching the play of Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. Along with a stingy defense — highlighted by Powell’s fourth-down, goal-line stuff — and Elliott’s relentless rushing, the underdog Buckeyes rolled past the Ducks.
Elliott, who ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns, earned offensive MVP title game honors. Powell, who also had the game-ending interception against Alabama, was named defensive MVP. And Jones, in just a little over three games, cemented an Ohio State legacy. — Jake Trotter
The presence of Oklahoma’s Michael Hawkins Jr.
Dontonio Jordan is the founder of 940 Elite, a Denton, Texas-based, 7-on-7 program. And before Michael Hawkins Jr. started eluding SEC defenders, Jordan chased the young quarterback for the better part of two years.
It took until the spring of 2023 for Jordan to finally get Hawkins to join his team for a training session. When Hawkins stepped onto the turf, Jordan needed all of two minutes to identify the young quarterback’s poise, the same aura Hawkins has oozed since taking over as No. 18 Oklahoma’s starter against Tennessee on Sept. 21.
“I saw it before he even tied his shoes,” Jordan, who played wide receiver at Stanford from 2012 to 2015, told ESPN. “I trained with Andrew Luck and I played with Christian McCaffrey. Guys like that have a certain energy. They don’t even try to do it. It’s just their presence. And Mike Hawkins has that kind of presence.”
Hawkins’ composure, as well as his propensity for hurling himself into and over opposing defenders, has defined a brief, yet bright start to life as Oklahoma’s quarterback. At the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, 38 miles from the high school field where Jordan first worked with Hawkins, the Sooners’ freshman will make Red River Rivalry history against No. 1 Texas.
Hawkins will become the first Oklahoma true freshman quarterback to start against the Longhorns in the 120-game lore of this bitter rivalry, in the same Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex where he once tormented opposing high school defenses and learned to throw under the tutelage of Kyler Murray‘s father.
“It means a lot just going to a big stage,” Hawkins said last week. “It’s my first time playing in this stadium and against this team, too. So this is a big moment for me.”
Murmurs of Hawkins’ immediate promise and maturity flowed out of the Sooners’ spring and fall camps earlier this year. But ESPN’s No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the 2024 class only took center stage after Brent Venables pulled Jackson Arnold before halftime against Tennessee last month, benching the former five-star passer just five games after handing him the reins. Hawkins’s composure showed when he steadied Oklahoma in an eventual 25-15 loss to the Volunteers. A week later, when Hawkins made his first career start at Auburn, his poise overflowed during an 11-point, fourth-quarter comeback, which Hawkins flourished by careening into the end zone on a pivotal, late-game 2-point conversion.
“He’s a guy to bet on just from a maturity, process-driven, consistency [standpoint],” Venables said of Hawkins this week. “How he handles tough moments … he’s got a lot of really good qualities that maybe sometimes a younger player doesn’t have.”
Those qualities quickly became clear to Jordan. From that initial training session, Hawkins joined 940 Elite, and soon, he was a commanding presence within the 7-on-7 program that has produced players such as Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech freshman All-American linebacker Ben Roberts, Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and a handful of Hawkins’ Oklahoma teammates, including defenders Peyton Bowen and Eli Bowen and tight end Davon Mitchell.
At Frisco Emerson High School, where Hawkins transferred for his senior season after three years at Allen High School, head coach Kendall Miller saw Hawkins’ traits, too. Beyond the physical tools that powered Hawkins’ 4,211 all-purpose yards and 55 touchdowns in 2023, Miller saw something special in the maturity of the quarterback who led Emerson to the 5A state semifinal in his lone season at the school.
“He had the same demeanor in the semifinal as he did in Game 1,” Miller said. “I think he’s just got something inside of him. If I could just find what he has, I’d go get some of it and give it to a lot of other guys.”
Before he became Oklahoma’s freshman quarterback, Hawkins’ poise was a driving force of his game. When he steps onto one of college football’s biggest stages Saturday, it may be his greatest asset. — Eli Lederman
Get to know your new conference enemy
These two programs are not totally unfamiliar with each other. In 2017, James Franklin and Penn State held a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl Game. USC then scored 17 points, including a game-winning field goal in the final seconds to win one of the most thrilling versions of the bowl game in recent years.
Now, seven years later, the No. 4 Nittany Lions are headed back to the West Coast to face the Trojans again, this time as a conference opponent.
The Trojans are 1-0 (beat Wisconsin) in home games against Big Ten opponents and 0-2 on the road (lost to Michigan and Minnesota).
The Nittany Lions have one of the best defenses and USC’s offense has looked overpowered in the trenches when facing tougher opponents, which has, in turn, asked a lot of its improved but not flawless defense. This is not exactly the kind of get right game that the Trojans needed after a brutal loss in Minnesota. But it also may be the kind of trap game that Franklin’s team needs to avoid on its quest for a playoff spot.
As Lincoln Riley explained recently, Big Ten games have had fewer possessions and are slower paced than what he and the Trojans are accustomed. Franklin and Penn State, perhaps more than most teams, thrive in such games.
Riley has argued that the Trojans are two plays away from being 5-0. On one hand, that’s not necessarily wrong. On the other, they have allowed themselves to lose two games because of two plays. Whether it’s the slower-paced games with fewer plays, the physicality or simply the travel, USC has struggled to perform. It dropped being ranked No. 11 to unranked after its most recent loss.
This week, the task won’t be any easier. The Trojans will need a win to keep any slim playoff or conference hopes alive. — Paolo Uggetti
Quotes of the week
“[They’re] not a measuring stick for myself or for this program. Their success doesn’t have anything to do with ours. And their lack of success doesn’t have anything to do with ours. So we’re focused on us — the things that we can control. We compete on the field once a season, and it’s a big game, always is.” — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, on whether his job is more difficult when Texas is riding high.
“I’m buddies with him. He’s a good guy. … Man, he’s a good player. He can sling it. Ball comes out of his hand well. … He’s a dude, for sure. I’m excited to go against him in this big matchup.” — Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, on facing former Big 12 rival and Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel. The two previously faced each other when Howard was at Kansas State and Gabriel at Oklahoma.
“One of the things I think we have to discuss is increasing the size of the runway here and the size of the airport for a lot of reasons, for the university, for the community, for businesses, and for the athletic department. You’re talking about adding another two hours on top of your flight. … That’s pretty much a whole day.” — James Franklin, on Penn State having to drive to Harrisburg to be able to fly across the country to Los Angeles and face new Big Ten member USC.
The 2025 Stanley Cup Final will last at least six games, as the Edmonton Oilers won another overtime thriller over the Florida Panthers in Game 4.
With the series tied 2-2 heading into Game 5, it’s now a best-of-three, making Saturday’s game all the more pivotal. Which team will move within one W of the greatest trophy in sports?
Here are notes on the matchup from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:
More from Game 4: Recap | Grades
Matchup notes
Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers
Game 5 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT/Max
What a difference a game makes! Heading into Game 4, the Panthers were -260 favorites to win the Cup, with the Oilers at +215. Now, the two teams are both -110. Sam Bennett (+150) and Connor McDavid (+240) remain atop the Conn Smythe leaderboard — but Connor’s teammate Leon Draisaitl has joined him at +240 after he tallied the OT game winner (his second of the series).
In history, when a Stanley Cup Final has been tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win 19 out of 26 times (.731 win percentage).
The Panthers have won their last three series that were tied 2-2: 2022 first round vs. the Washington Capitals, 2024 conference finals vs. the New York Rangers and 2025 second round vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers have won their last three series when they were trailing 2-1: 2024 second round vs. the Vancouver Canucks, 2024 conference finals vs. the Dallas Stars, 2025 first round vs. the Los Angeles Kings.
The Oilers became the seventh team to overcome a three-goal deficit to win a Stanley Cup Final game, and the first since the Carolina Hurricanes did it to them in Game 1 of the 2006 finals. They are only the second team to accomplish this feat on the road, joining the 1919 Montreal Canadiens at the Seattle Metropolitans.
The two teams have combined to score 32 goals thus far, which is the fourth most through the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final in NHL history.
The OT game winner Draisaitl scored in Game 4 was his fourth such goal this postseason, setting a single-year record. He now owns the record for a single regular season (six, set in 2024-25) and a single postseason.
After coming in to replace Stuart Skinner to begin the second period, Calvin Pickard ran his record this postseason to 7-0. He is the first goalie to win a game in relief since Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up the W after replacing Ben Bishop on 2015.
Draisaitl and McDavid make it five players in NHL history to score 30 points or more in consecutive postseasons (2024 and 2025), joining Nikita Kucherov (2020 and 2021), Mario Lemieux (1991 and 1992) and Wayne Gretzky (1983 through 1985, plus 1987 and 1988).
Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk became the ninth player in Stanley Cup Final history to score two power-play goals in a period and the first since Tampa Bay’s Brad Richards in Game 6 of the 2004 finals.
After three strong games to start the finals, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky faltered a bit in Game 4; his .857 save percentage was his lowest since Game 2 of the second-round series against the Maple Leafs (.800).
Brad Marchand scored four goals through the first three games of the series — including the game winner in double OT in Game 2 — but was held off of the scoresheet entirely in Game 4. Will the change of venue back to Edmonton result in his getting back on the board?
Scoring leaders
GP: 21 | G: 14 | A: 7
GP: 20 | G: 11 | A: 21
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Greg Wyshynski
SUNRISE, Fla. — Leon Draisaitl is at his best when describing the Edmonton Oilers‘ worst moments.
They were “waxed” and “spanked” in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final by the Florida Panthers, when they lost 6-1. They “put us on our heels early and we were lollygagging around” in the first period of Game 4, when Florida built a 3-0 lead and chased starting goaltender Stuart Skinner for the second straight game.
“It’s certainly not the time to lollygag around, right?” Draisaitl asked rhetorically.
Indeed, it is not, which might be why Draisaitl didn’t let the Oilers linger in overtime too long before ending Game 4 with his 11th goal of the playoffs — shoving the puck towards the Panthers’ net, having it deflect off defenseman Niko Mikkola and behind Sergei Bobrovsky at 11:18. Edmonton won 5-4, tied the series at 2-2 and completely flushed any lingering embarrassment over that Game 3 “spanking.”
In the process, Draisaitl continued to rewrite the NHL record books and loudly stated his case as the Stanley Cup playoffs’ most valuable player.
As of Friday morning, Draisaitl had the second-best odds at winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, according to ESPN BET (+225), trailing Florida center Sam Bennett (+140) and ahead of teammate Connor McDavid (+260), who won the award in a losing effort last season.
Oilers defenseman Jake Walman believes that it’s not just Draisaitl’s scoring but his all-around game that’s what makes him such a driving force for the Oilers.
“He’s a beast who can do it all for us,” Walman said. “There have been stretches in this postseason when he’s played great defensively too.”
Edmonton has a plus-4 in goal differential with Draisaitl on the ice in the postseason.
“It’s incredible. He’s a horse out there for us,” said forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has played with Draisaitl since the 29-year-old center was drafted third overall in 2014 by Edmonton. “We can always lean on him. He always finds a way to get those big [goals].”
The numbers make that statement undeniable. Draisaitl’s Game 4 winner was his fourth overtime goal of this postseason, setting a new single playoff year record in the NHL. Incredibly, Draisaitl also holds the single-season record for overtime goals in the regular season (six), which he also set this season.
Draisaitl is just the fifth player in NHL history to score multiple overtime goals in a Stanley Cup Final series. Maurice Richard holds the record with three OT goals.
“He’s one of the best players in the world for a reason. He not only says what he’s going to do, he backs it up with his play and his actions. That’s what makes him an amazing leader,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “We get into overtime. In those tense moments, he has an ability to relax and just make plays. He gets rewarded for working hard.”
1:11
Leon Draisaitl scores OT winner for Oilers in Game 4
Leon Draisaitl notches the game-winning goal with this one-handed effort in a pulsating Game 4 that levels the series for Oilers.
Draisaitl has been perhaps the NHL’s most dominant player when factoring in the regular season with the postseason. The Oilers star finished a close second to Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck in the voting for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, after a season in which Draisaitl led the NHL in goals (52) and was third overall in points (106). Draisaitl was the winner of the Hart in 2019-20, and this was the fourth season of 50 or more goals in Draisaitl’s 11-year NHL career.
Draisaitl is now second to Sam Bennett (14 goals) in postseason goals, after scoring his 11th in overtime of Game 4. He’s now tied with teammate Connor McDavid with 32 points in 20 playoff games to lead all scorers.
He has now reached 30 points in two straight postseasons, becoming only the fifth player in NHL history to accomplish that feat, along with McDavid (2024-2025), Nikita Kucherov (2020-2021), Mario Lemieux (1991-1992) and Wayne Gretzky (1987-1988 and 1983-1985). Draisaitl now has three 30-point playoff seasons in his career, tying him with McDavid and Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier for second all-time behind all-time leader Gretzky, who had six 30-point playoff campaigns.
It’s not just the amount of scoring for Draisaitl — it’s when he’s scoring. Consider that he has 16 points in the final two rounds of the playoffs, including a series-best seven points in the Stanley Cup Final. Draisaitl has points in 17 of 20 playoff games, and nine of his past 10 overall.
“He’s as clutch as it gets,” said goalie Calvin Pickard, also a Game 4 hero for Edmonton with 22 saves and a win in relief of Skinner. “He’s been playing great. Always scoring big goals at big times.”
In the case of his Game 4 performance, Draisaitl not only came through in the clutch but also did in a building that hasn’t been friendly to him. He hadn’t tallied a point in any of his previous five Stanley Cup Final games on the road against the Panthers. He didn’t even generate a shot on goal in Game 7 last season or in Game 3 this postseason. He also failed to generate a shot attempt in Game 3, marking just the second time in 93 career playoff games that this occurred for Draisaitl.
On Thursday, he made up for lost time with three points, assisting on goals by Nugent-Hopkins and Vasily Podkolzin before scoring one of his own in overtime.
Florida coach Paul Maurice believes his team has defended Draisaitl and McDavid “reasonably well” in the series at 5-on-5.
“I think they’re still going to generate some action,” the coach said. “I think the even-strength chances are pretty tight through four games.”
One of the differences for Edmonton this postseason, after losing to Florida in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2024, is their confidence and comfort in playing in tight games and grinding series. If they get down, they don’t get flustered. If things aren’t clicking offensively, they’re patient.
“You just get comfortable in those situations knowing that you play one good game, you find a way to get a win on the road, and you go home and the series is tied. That’s really all it is,” Draisaitl said before Game 4. “Sometimes those games where you just get waxed a little bit, they’re almost easier to get out of, right? We didn’t play our best. They played their best. We weren’t even close to bringing our best. You park that, you move on.”
1:00
Draisaitl comes up big with OT winner in Game 1
Leon Draisaitl nets the winning goal late in overtime to help the Oilers take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
For all the message-sending that the Panthers did in Game 3 — on the scoreboard, on the ice and with their mouths — the Oilers sent an important one about their resiliency with their Game 4 rally.
“It tells you that our group never quits. We believe that no matter how bad it is, if we get over that hump of adversity, we’re going to keep pushing, we’re going to keep coming, and eventually it’ll break,” Draisaitl said. “You don’t want to be in these situations too many times. But when they happen, I think we’re great at it.”
It helps to have someone like Leon Draisaitl scoring when it matters most.
“I don’t know what could convey what he means to our team,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “The leadership, the play. He has just elevated his game in the toughest moments.”
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Wade Miley said Friday that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, one day after reports stated a deposition from a lawsuit alleged he supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs when both players were with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The deposition is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Los Angeles Angels, requesting a lawsuit from the Skaggs family be dismissed.
The deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ agent, contains testimony that he was concerned in 2013 about Skaggs’ drug use. Hamill said he and Skaggs’ family confronted Skaggs about his drug use. Skaggs was then in his second season as a teammate of Miley with the Diamondbacks.
“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”
Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, at age 27 in a Dallas-area hotel. The autopsy found fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system.
Miley briefly addressed the issue before Friday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.
“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks. My thoughts are with his family and his friends,” Miley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”
Former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Texas after being found guilty on two charges of providing drugs related on Skaggs’ overdose.
The Athletic reported that the criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation in which Kay told his mother that Miley was a drug source to Skaggs.
Asked if Major League Baseball has contacted him regarding the allegations, Miley said, “I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward. I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”
Miley was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.
Skaggs was traded to the Angels after the 2013 season. He went 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career starts.
Miley, 38, is with his eighth big league team and attempting to revive his career after Tommy John surgery in 2024.
Miley has a career 109-99 mark with a 4.09 ERA in 319 games (311 starts) since making his major league debut in 2011. This is his second go-round with the Reds. He was with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, going 12-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 177⅓ innings over 34 starts (32 innings).
The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending that high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.
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