Key conference matchups, why Oklahoma's defense is so dominant and more - ESPN

If the college football world needed another reminder that preseason hype isn't worth much, a peek at this week's AP poll would do the trick. This year's preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams — Texas and Penn State — have dropped out of the Top 25 and are merely among the Others receiving votes.

Just last week, they were both still top-10 teams with genuine playoff ambition. And now, they're just hoping to remain competitively relevant. The college football season comes at you fast.

This week's slate presents three matchups of ranked teams: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 17 Illinois, No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri and No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon. All three should be appointment viewings, but there's another game with possible playoff implications worth spotlighting: No. 24 USF at North Texas on Friday night.

USF is a 1.5-point favorite, but UNT comes in undefeated as both teams look capable of winning the American, which has positioned itself as the Group of 5 conference most likely to be represented in the playoff. — Kyle Bonagura

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Oklahoma's defense | Alabama-Missouri
Big Ten title implications
Quotes of the Week

Dog Pound. Ninja Turtles. Power Rangers. The nicknames Oklahoma's defensive line unit has adopted in 2025 are many. But the common denominator among them is simple.

«The whole thing behind that mindset is this: We're them guys,» senior defensive tackle Gracen Halton told ESPN this week. «No matter what, we're here to play. That's the mindset.»

No. 6 Oklahoma (6-0) rolls back to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday to face Texas (3-2) in the 121st edition of the Red River rivalry game (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The matchup has been fairly friendly of late to the Sooners, winners in seven of the past 10 games between the