Part 2 Of The Week 7 CFB Preview 🏈 Kentucky vs Oklahoma (7:30PM ET) Will Stein has exceeded expectations in his first season at Kentucky, but the Wildcats’ offense is going to have its toughest task yet against this Sooners defense. Brent Venables’s defense has been outstanding this season, ranking 1st in adjusted net EPA/play, 1st in defensive success rate, and 2nd in 3rd/4th-down success rate. With Kentucky’s offense ranking 81st in EPA/pass and 126th in 3rd/4th-down success rate, I don’t see the Wildcats’ offense having much success in this matchup. Additionally, Kenny Minchey’s numbers fall off a cliff when he’s under pressure. Minchey owns a 45.9% completion rate this season under pressure with an NFL passer rating of 77. Oklahoma is pressuring quarterbacks on 44% of dropbacks this season, which ranks 1st among all Power 4 schools. I don’t see how Kentucky scores more than 17 points in this game, especially with OU potentially getting Eli Bowen back in the secondary. Give me the Sooners to win this game. I don’t know if they cover, though. (It’s hard to trust this OU offense right now to cover a full touchdown.) Oklahoma State vs Houston (7:30PM ET) If you don’t pressure Drew Mestemaker, he’s going to tear apart your defense. Mestemaker owns an 80.7% adjusted completion rate this year when kept clean, with 8 big-time throws and only 3 turnover-worthy plays. The two areas where the Cougars’ defense has struggled this season are defending the pass and pressuring opposing quarterbacks. Houston’s defense is pressuring opposing quarterbacks on just 25% of dropbacks this season, which ranks 123rd in the country. With a defense that ranks 108th in EPA/pass, this Oklahoma State passing attack should find a ton of success in this matchup. Flip to the other side of the football: this Houston offense has been super underrated this season. Through six games, the Cougars’ offense ranks 7th in adjusted net EPA/play and 7th in success rate. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma State defense has been a bit shaky this season. The Cowboys’ defense through five games ranks in the 26th percentile in rush explosives allowed and the 35th percentile in stuff rate. Connor Weigman, Makhi Hughes, and Rashun Sanford should have no problem running the zone read in this matchup. Additionally, Oklahoma State’s defense ranks 71st in early-down EPA/play, so expect Connor Weigman to operate in standard downs. Overall, I expect this game to be a classic Big 12 shootout that comes down to the wire. I’m going to pick Oklahoma State to cover, but that’s mainly due to Houston’s struggles defensively to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Drew Mestemaker is my QB1 in the 2027 NFL Draft. Nebraska vs Oregon (11:00PM) Dan Lanning earlier this week mentioned: “It’s not enough. Not remotely close. You can see that. Jamari’s a guy that needs to be touching the ball.” He continued, “We’ve got some explosive players that need to be able to touch the ball. Dakorien Moore is a guy that needs to be touching the ball. Dierre Hill. I could name a lot of guys that need to be touching the ball. When you have three-and-outs, obviously that limits your opportunities. The amount of time on the field when you have turnovers limits your plays. We had a lot fewer plays on offense than we had on defense because we turned the ball over. I think some of it starts there, but we can certainly find better ways to make sure that we get targets to players.” With Dan Lanning taking a more hands-on role in the Oregon offense, you can expect a significant change in the Ducks’ passing game. I expect both Dakorien Moore and Jamari Johnson to be featured more heavily in the offense. Now let’s take a look at the coverage matchup.Rob Aurich, the Nebraska defensive coordinator, typically likes to play a ton of zone coverage—specifically Cover 3 and Cover 4. Against those coverages this season, Dakorien Moore is averaging a 0.25 TPRR while averaging 2 YPRR. Nebraska’s secondary has been solid this season, but they rank in the 58th percentile in Yds/DB allowed.I like Dakorien Moore to have himself a big game in this matchup with these changes. 🫡🫡 I know my full preview was long, but hopefully it was informative