The Penn State Nittany Lions and Alabama Crimson Tide were in the headlines for the wrong reasons for most of their Week 7 contests.
However, both teams pulled out close victories to remain in the top half of the College Football Playoff discussion.
Penn State came back from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat the USC Trojans and pull into the No. 2 spot in the Big Ten hierarchy behind whichever team wins Saturday night's clash between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks.
Alabama's win over the South Carolina Gamecocks helped it avoid back-to-back weeks of humiliation in SEC play.