College Football Cheat Sheet: Week 6
The college football sprint is off and running. After a fun opening five (or six if you count Week Zero) weekends, we have shifted to Week 6. Conference play is ramping up as games with legitimate College Football Playoff stakes are being played.
KSR’s College Football Cheat Sheet is back to set the table. Full schedule, top games, matchups to watch, and much more.
Let’s football.
The Slate
Jacksonville State at Kennesaw State7:00pm ET (Friday)CBS Sports NetworkHouston at TCU7:30pm ET (Friday)ESPNMichigan State at No. 6 Oregon9:00pm ET (Friday)FOXSyracuse at No. 25 UNLV9:00pm ET (Friday)FS1Wake Forest at NC StateNoon ETThe CWUMass at Northern IllinoisNoon ETCBS Sports NetworkUCLA at No. 7 Penn StateNoon ETFOXNavy at Air ForceNoon ET CBSPittsburgh at North CarolinaNoon ETESPN2Purdue at WisconsinNoon ETBig Ten NetworkBoston College at VirginiaNoon ETACC NetworkSMU at No. 22 LouisvilleNoon ETESPNArmy at TulsaNoon ETESPNUNo. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&MNoon ETABCTulane at UAB1:00pm ETESPN+Western Michigan at Ball State2:00pm ETESPN+No. 23 Indiana at Northwestern3:30pm ETBig Ten NetworkIowa at No. 3 Ohio State3:30pm ETCBSAppalachian State at Marshall3:30pm ETESPN+Virginia Tech at Stanford3:30pm ETACC NetworkMiami (Ohio) at Toledo3:30pm ETESPN+Bowling Green at Akron3:30pm ETESPN+East Carolina at Charlotte3:30pm ETESPNUTemple at UConn3:30pm ETCBS Sports NetworkAuburn at No. 5 Georgia3:30pm ETABCNo. 12 Ole Miss at South Carolina3:30pm ETESPNRutgers at Nebraska4:00pm ETFS1West Virginia at Oklahoma State4:00pm ETESPN2No. 1 Alabama at Vanderbilt4:15pm ETSEC NetworkColorado State at Oregon State6:30pm ETThe CWOld Dominion at Coastal Carolina7:00pm ETESPN+Utah State at No. 21 Boise State7:00pm ETFS2James Madison at ULM7:00pm ETESPNULouisiana at Southern Miss7:00pm ETESPN+No. 15 Clemson at Florida State7:00pm ETESPNSouth Alabama at Arkansas State7:00pm ETESPN+Baylor at No. 16 Iowa State7:30pm ETFOXNo. 11 USC at Minnesota7:30pm ETBig Ten NetworkNevada at San Jose State7:30pm ETTruTVNo. 10 Michigan at Washington7:30pm ETNBCNo. 4 Tennessee at Arkansas7:30pm ETABCUCF at Florida7:45pm ETSEC NetworkHawaii at San Diego State8:00pm ETCBS Sports NetworkDuke at Georgia Tech8:00pm ETACC NetworkKansas at Arizona State8:00pm ETESPN2No. 8 Miami at California10:30pm ETESPNTexas Tech at Arizona11:00pm ETFOX
Top Games
No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M
No. 8 Miami at California
No. 12 Ole Miss at South Carolina
No. 4 Tennessee at Arkansas
UCF at Florida
SMU at No. 22 Louisville
No. 10 Michigan at Washington
Syracuse at No. 25 UNLV
Iowa at No. 3 Ohio State
Rutgers at Nebraska
College Football Gambling Corner
Want spread plays? We got spread plays.
— Luckett’s Locks: Welcome to Locktober
Playoff stakes in College Station
Missouri entered the 2024 college football season with sky-high expectations after an 11-2 finish in 2023. Entering Week 6, Eliah Drinkwitz‘s team is exactly where everyone thought they would be heading into the first big game of the season.
There was optimism surrounding Texas A&M following the hiring of Duke head coach Mike Elko. Despite a disappointing Week 1 loss to Notre Dame, redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed has given the Aggies a spark as they are off to a 2-0 start in conference play.
The Tigers and Aggies will lock horns in a significant swing game in College Station. Both teams have very favorable SEC games remaining. The winner at Kyle Field will leave Saturday afternoon feeling very good about their at-large playoff bid chances.
We get a real game with stakes in the noon window on Saturday. A win in a 50/50 game by either side could be the start of a big season.
The U vs. The Calgorithm
California fans have become one of the top stories in college football thanks to their new social media activity. The Golden Bear supporters have become the biggest smack talkers in the sports thanks to their satirical memes, photoshop work, and AI imaging skills. They even gave us a music video. These folks are creating incredible internet content.
Due to their social media presence, that fan base is now rewarded with “College GameDay” coming to Berkeley for a matchup against top-10 Miami in the program’s ACC home opener. There could be quite a scene for a show that begins at 6:00 a.m. local time. On the field, Cal’s stingy defense will see what they can do against a top-five Miami offense with a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback.
College football is truly an incredible sport. The fans have a lot to do with that. Kudos to the Cal fans for being ridiculous. This sport is always better with more ridiculous shenanigans. Cal Twitter has fully embraced the weird, and that has created a legitimate spotlight for their football program.
This game will have high Banana Land potential on Saturday night.
Fascinating matchup at Williams-Brice Stadium
How good are Ole Miss and South Carolina? That is something we’re still trying to figure out in October. Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium should give us a better idea.
Kentucky’s defense had Lane Kiffin‘s offense all out of sorts, as Ole Miss could not run the football and got doubled up by the road team in scoring opportunities. South Carolina hammered that same Kentucky team but benefitted from a huge explosive play battle edge as the Gamecocks lost the success rate battle.
Both teams looked the total opposite against the same foe. However, South Carolina’s defense did look much more pedestrian against LSU in Week 3, allowing over six yards per play and a lot of explosives.
The Week 6 contest between SEC foes that have only played eight times as conference opponents will be a great barometer of who each team is. Ole Miss is in a must-win spot against a ferocious pass rush (No. 11 in sack rate), and South Carolina’s inefficient rushing attack (No. 105 in rushing success rate) should find itself behind the chains a ton against a stout Ole Miss front.
Expect plenty of havoc with explosive plays sprinkled in. This contest should be highly entertaining.
Is this the end for Billy Napier?
Unranked Florida is hosting unranked UCF, and the road team is laying points. This kind of feels like the end of the road for Billy Napier with a road game against Tennessee on the slate in Week 7.
The Gators cannot stop the run (No. 100 in rushing EPA/play), and the Knights might have the top rushing offense in college football (No. 1 in rushing success rate, No. 9 in rushing EPA/play). That makes this a dangerous matchup for Napier.
Florida will be able to throw the football against an awful UCF pass defense (No. 121 in passing success rate allowed), but that might not matter if the Gators cannot fit the run. A shootout could take place in The Swamp, and a loss by the home team might just end the Napier era.
Degenerate Under: Navy at Air Force Under 36.5
Service Academy football will get the CBS broadcast in the noon window when Navy travels to Air Force in the first game of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy series. Our first option football game will include a ton of runs and a fast-moving clock. This one will get some screen time at the Luckett house.
The under is 9-2-1 ATS in the last 12 meetings between these two programs. Points should be at a premium again.
The rest of the college football card
— UNLV is now ranked and could make another statement against a power conference opponent on Friday night. Syracuse has traveled to the desert and is bringing a strong passing attack led by Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord. The ACC vs. Mountain West contest has high shootout potential.
— Pittsburgh is off to a surprising 4-0 start and is scoring points in bunches. North Carolina just dropped consecutive games to in-state foes, and many are wondering if this is the end for Mack Brown. These appear to be two teams going in opposite directions, but Pitt has never won in Chapel Hill (1-6 ATS). Does that change on Saturday?
— SMU smoked TCU and Florida State in consecutive weeks at home. Louisville is fresh off a very disappointing loss to Notre Dame. The winner of this ACC matchup will leave Week 6 feeling like a true contender in the ACC. This is a low-key big game for both programs, and one each needs to win to make a run at the ACC’s automatic playoff bid.
— Indiana is undefeated and scoring a ton of points. Northwestern has one of the worst offenses in college football. This figure to be another double-digit win for the Hoosiers as this schedule keeps getting weaker by the week. However, this feels like it has weird written all over it for the mid-afternoon kickoff at the temporary stadium by the lake.
— Ohio State’s first big test has arrived against Iowa. Tailback Kaleb Johnson (685 rushing yards, 8.3 yards per rush, 9 touchdowns) is making an All-American push for a much-improved offense. However, Saturday is more about the Buckeyes, as we will see Chip Kelly‘s offense against a legitimate defense for the first time this season.
— Auburn is hitting the road after a disastrous five-game homestand that included losses to California, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Some turnover meltdowns prevented the Tigers from winning each. Now Hugh Freeze will bring his squad to Sanford Stadium to face a Georgia team off a loss. This one seems to have ugly potential, but this Auburn offense is legitimately good if they can just stop turning the ball over.
— A low-key big game in the Big Ten will take place in Lincoln with undefeated Rutgers facing one-loss Nebraska. Expect the Scarlet Knights to try and shorten the game with a run-heavy attack. The winner will sit in a good position heading into the stretch run.
— Both Oklahoma State and West Virginia could use a big win. The latter is coming off a double-digit comeback win over Kansas at home. The former was rocked by Kansas State on the road. The Big 12 is a close-game survival test, and we should get another four-quarter fight in Stillwater. This feels like a big swing game for both teams.
— USC needed a big second half to get by Wisconsin at home. Lincoln Riley‘s team is hitting the road again to face Minnesota at night. Both teams played Michigan to the wire at the Big House. This one could be closer than expected.
— Did you forget that Michigan and Washington played in the national title game last year? I certainly did. The Big Ten contest will feature the same jerseys as that January clash but will involve new individuals everywhere. Can Michigan keep winning with an awful passing attack?
— We will learn more about top-five Tennessee on Saturday night in another road test. Arkansas has the best offense the Vols have seen to this point. Nico Iamaleava and this Tennessee offense likely will need to keep their foot on the gas in Fayetteville. What does that lead to? Sam Pittman has been great as a dog in his career and will likely have the Hogs ready to go in a huge matchup.
The post College Football Cheat Sheet: Week 6 appeared first on On3.
