CFB Wrap-Up: Takeaways from Week 7's biggest games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines the significance of them moving forward.

Tennessee back among SEC elite

Peyton Manning on College GameDay, a packed Neyland Stadium, and Tennessee beating Alabama. Saturday in Knoxville felt a lot like the late 1990s for the Volunteers' faithful.

Josh Heupel's rebuild of the once-proud Tennessee program is well ahead of schedule after the sixth-ranked Volunteers knocked off the third-ranked Crimson Tide for the first time in 15 meetings.

Heupel's favorite movie series might as well be the "Fast and Furious," as his high-powered attack was all gas and no brakes against Nick Saban in the game of the year thus far in college football. Alabama hadn't allowed a first-quarter touchdown in its last 13 games, but Tennessee hung 21 on the Tide in the opening 15 minutes. It was Hendon Hooker looking for Jalin Hyatt early and often, a combo that would play a pivotal role throughout.

Tennessee's offense entered play scoring 46.8 points per game - ranking second in the country - and did what it wanted against the Tide despite the absence of receiver Cedric Tillman. Hyatt broke a Volunteers' record with a whopping five touchdowns, repeatedly burning the Crimson Tide secondary.

Heupel's turnaround of the Tennessee offense has been nothing short of remarkable in his brief time on Rocky Top. The Volunteers ranked 108th in 2020 before he arrived on the scene and immediately shot up the rankings to finish seventh last season - one of the biggest single-season jumps in history.

The path to the College Football Playoff is now pretty clear for Tennessee. A win on Nov. 5 over Georgia will almost certainly do it, but a close loss to the Bulldogs will still keep the Volunteers in the hunt.

Alabama finally undone by errors

It's tough to identify Alabama as a loser on Saturday with a last-second defeat on the road to a top-six opponent, but there are a number of things that the Crimson Tide can improve on going forward.

Saban's teams are notoriously disciplined, but this year's outfit has broken from that mold in its biggest games. In the narrow Week 2 win over Texas, Alabama committed 15 penalties - tied for the most during Saban's time in Tuscaloosa. They surpassed that mark on Saturday with 17 penalties for 130 yards in the loss.

Once again, the kicking game caused some issues for Alabama, with Will Reichard's miss in the final minute setting up Tennessee in great field position for the eventual game-winning drive. Reichard has now hit just four of his last seven field goals, which almost undid the Tide versus Texas A&M last weekend as well.

There's also the overall struggles of a defensive unit that entered Saturday as one of the top six in the country. It's been 115 years since Alabama allowed as many points as it did versus Tennessee.

It doesn't get easy for the Tide going forward, either, as next week brings a home contest with Mississippi State before back-to-back trips to LSU and Ole Miss.

Michigan's run game dominates Penn State

The final score read 41-17 for No. 5 Michigan over No. 10 Penn State, but that 24-point victory for the Wolverines still didn't properly show just how dominant Jim Harbaugh's outfit was. The fifth-ranked Wolverines absolutely steamrolled James Franklin's Nittany Lions, piling up an outrageous 418 yards on the ground in the victory.

The stats say Penn State entered Saturday's contest at Michigan with the nation's fifth-ranked rush defense, but it didn't take the Wolverines long to expose that ranking as fraudulent. The tandem of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards combined for 339 yards and four touchdowns, with both ripping off a scoring run of 60-plus yards.

The main area of focus we highlighted in our preview for Penn State was to limit the run and make quarterback J.J. McCarthy beat you. While that was the case early, as McCarthy threw a pick-6, the rushing attack took over in the second half and fueled Michigan to outscore Penn State 25-3.

It's clear Penn State's defensive ranking was very hollow, having yet to face a solid rushing attack. In the Nittany Lions' five games prior to Saturday, only Auburn featured a top-90 rushing attack, and even the Tigers sit way back at 75th. The lack of a true test against a strong rushing attack was evident from the opening kickoff on Saturday against Michigan.

Michigan has now featured a 300-yard passer just twice in the last 21 games while holding a 19-2 record over that span. It's clear that Harbaugh has built the Wolverines into a program that will absolutely run over its opponent if nobody limits the rushing attack.

TCU's defense stands tall

The third of Saturday's unbeaten matchups between top-15 teams went down in Fort Worth, with Sonny Dykes and TCU pulling a rabbit out of the hat in a dramatic comeback win over Oklahoma State. Despite falling behind 24-7 early, the Horned Frogs outscored the Cowboys 14-0 in the final quarter to force overtime and eventually take the victory.

Dykes' calling card is his high-powered offense, and it certainly delivered down the stretch to put 43 points on the board. However, it was the defense that turned the tide and allowed the comeback to get some air over the final 15 minutes.

After getting torched by Spencer Sanders in the opening half, the Horned Frogs clamped down in the second, holding the Cowboys to just two field goals in the third quarter. They then shut out Oklahoma State in the final frame and held the Cowboys to just 33 total yards on 15 plays over four drives.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime before TCU stopped three separate passing attempts by Sanders, and an Oklahoma State holding penalty forced the Cowboys into a deep field goal. That would be plenty for Dykes' offense, as Kendre Miller punched in the winning score six plays later.

The Horned Frogs finish up their fourth straight game against a ranked opponent next week when they host No. 17 Kansas State before a respite in the schedule. Should they handle the 5-1 Wildcats, TCU will be in the driver's seat for the Big 12 regular-season title in Dykes' first season with the program.

DJ continues to shine for Clemson

Clemson was held back last year by the poor play of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, but the junior has completely turned things around in 2022. Uiagalelei averaged just 196 yards of total offense per game last season, falling to 11th in the ACC. The California native has added almost 100 yards to that average this time around, boosted by his latest performance in Saturday's win over Florida State.

Uiagalelei added 229 yards of total offense with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score in the win over the Seminoles. The talented passer has now averaged 305 yards of total offense in his last four ACC games as the Tigers improved to 7-0 on the season.

The rest of the schedule looks very favorable for Clemson, with only one ranked opponent left in the form of No. 18 Syracuse next week at home. The Tigers are in the driver's seat for a return to the College Football Playoff after missing out last season.

Rising takes down USC

USC's 2022 season so far has been defined by an explosive offense and an opportunistic defense that excels at forcing turnovers. However, we got a look Saturday night at what happens when USC's turnover luck runs out in Utah's dramatic 43-42 victory.

Cam Rising simply dominated the overmatched defense, throwing for a whopping 415 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 60 yards and three scores on the ground. He saved his best for last: a touchdown and two-point conversion in the final minute to secure the one-point victory.

USC entered leading the country in turnovers forced but had only one takeaway and allowed touchdowns on five of Utah's last six drives. Alex Grinch's defense certainly looked like a unit that ranks 65th nationally in yards allowed per play at a raucous Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Unfortunately, the result isn't great for the Pac-12 on the national stage, as USC's loss leaves UCLA as the conference's only undefeated team. Unless the Bruins run the table, the Pac-12 will likely be left out of the CFP for the sixth straight year.