They rushed the field in Knoxville. And Fort Worth. And Salt Lake City. And Syracuse. They didn't rush the field in the Anchor-Bone Classic or Dakota Marker because the road teams won both games (by a combined three points). Florida State fans might have rushed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium, but Clemson was too stubborn to let them. They didn't need to rush the field at the Big House because Michigan fans are pretty used to seeing their team stomp Penn State.
I'm not going to definitively declare Week 7 of the 2022 season as one of the best weekends in college football history. Said history is too deep, too rich and too long to make a statement like that. But I will definitively say this: Saturday was why we watch. It was why we go to such lengths to plan our lives around a silly, ridiculous sport. It was why we put up with all of its frequent and maddening nonsense. We knew it was going to be a huge weekend because of the volume of big games -- three unbeaten-vs.-unbeaten matchups, plus three other battles of ranked teams -- and somehow it exceeded all expectations.
At the bottom of my weekend recap column this season, I have been listing my 10 (or so) favorite games of the week. To celebrate a weekend like what we just saw, I'm just going to make the entire column out of that list. From Tennessee's Neyland Stadium to Ferris State's Top Taggart Field and everywhere in between, here are my 20 favorite games of Week 7 and what their impacts might be moving forward.
1. No. 6 Tennessee 52, No. 3 Alabama 49
What happened: It took 60 full minutes, but the Vols beat Bama for the first time since 2006 and scored their first home win between top-10 teams since 1999 thanks to an early burst -- they led 21-7 after 11 minutes and 28-10 in the second quarter -- and a wobbly 40-yard field goal at the buzzer by Chase McGrath. The kick probably would have been good from about 42 yards and no more, but it fell between the uprights. Then the goalposts came down.