The top 10 college football games of Week 6: Time to find out if Mizzou is a paper tiger?
Maybe the schedule makers thought we needed a breather after Georgia-Alabama last week? There is only one ranked matchup across the entire slate and nothing that stands out on paper. That said, there are some intriguing matchups that could potentially yield telling results. No judgment if you choose the pumpkin patch this weekend, but no sense in complaining about a full day of college football either.
Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 6, starting with honorable mentions and counting down.
Honorable mention: Syracuse at No. 25 UNLV (Friday), Pitt at North Carolina, Navy at Air Force, West Virginia at Oklahoma State, No. 15 Clemson at Florida State, James Madison at ULM, No. 11 USC at Minnesota
(All point spreads are from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)
10. SMU (4-1) at No. 22 Louisville (3-1), noon, ESPN
Two teams that the jury is still out on. Louisville has one of the best offenses in the country and beat Notre Dame by more than 100 yards last Saturday, but the Cards couldn’t overcome their first three goals of the season in a 31-24 loss. SMU has found ways to score points – except in the loss to BYU, where the Mustangs were held without a touchdown and made a switch at quarterback. Their best win is a 66-42 barnburner over TCU in the Iron Skillet. Louisville’s offensive firepower looks more promising and receiver Caullin Lacy returned against Notre Dame, but ideally this game will tell us something about the ACC.
Line: Louisville -6.5
9. Texas Tech (4-1) at Arizona (3-1), 11 p.m., Fox
Big 12 After Dark, featuring two teams that initially placed at the top of the leaderboard. Texas Tech has bounced back from a shaky start with three straight wins and the highest scoring offense in the Big 12, boosted by the return of a healthy Tahj Brooks at running back. Arizona similarly responded to a blowout loss to Kansas State with a road win at Cam Rising-less Utah. Both teams are streaky but have explosive offenses, which should make for a fun late night matchup. Take the upper hand.
Line: Arizona -6.5
8. UCF (3-1) at Florida (2-2), 7:45 p.m., SEC Network
Florida head coach Billy Napier survived a road win at Mississippi State and the ensuing bye week to now resume duty in Gainesville. Some kerosene has been dripped around this in-state matchup, the first leg of a long 2-on-1 series agreed upon when UCF was still a Group of 5 program. Florida fans have long looked down on the Knights, and in the past the program saw no reason to agree to a true home-and-home. It should provide some bulletin board material for a UCF team that is a road favorite and appears to be charting a more encouraging course than the Gators. Napier’s dismissal has seemingly become inevitable, but if Florida loses to UCF in The Swamp, it’s hard to imagine him holding out all weekend.
Line: UCF-2.5
7. No. 10 Michigan (4-1) at Washington (3-2), 7:30 p.m., NBC
It’s wild to think that just nine months ago these teams faced off in the national championship. Now they meet as new conference foes in a game that couldn’t crack the top half of this week’s slate. Both programs have achieved significant revenue after historic seasons. Michigan — despite being handled by Texas at home, getting some close wins and being unable to throw the ball — is still a top-10 team. Washington is coming off a pair of tough losses to Wazzu and Rutgers, but can claim a top-20 offense and top-10 defense in terms of yards per play. We’ll see how much a continuity edge matters to Michigan and whether it has enough winning DNA to pull off the road upset and hang in the Playoff discussion for another week.
Line: Washington -1.5
6. No. 8 Miami (5-0) at Cal (3-1), 10:30 p.m., ESPN
ACC in the dark! ESPN’s “College GameDay” heads to Berkeley for this, airing at 6 a.m. local time – a full 12 and a half hours before kickoff. Miami finally looked deadly in its controversial win over Virginia Tech on Friday night, including a pair of interceptions by quarterback Cam Ward and a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Cal’s defense has also been solid thus far, ranking in the top 20 in yards per play and points allowed. But the last time we saw the Golden Bears a few weeks ago, they earned the ignominious distinction of being the only team to face Florida State and lose this season. Perhaps West Coast travel will impact Miami, but to avoid a setback, Cal will likely need a big game from running back Jaydn Ott, who has yet to fully develop as he works his way back from injury.
Line: Miami -10.5
5. No. 12 Ole Miss (4-1) at South Carolina (3-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Was last week’s deflating home loss to Kentucky the real Ole Miss, or will the Rebels return to their potent form? Lane Kiffin’s side still has one of the top offenses in college football at over 600 yards per game, but scored just over half of that against Great Britain and managed to put just 17 points on the scoreboard. Now it faces a South Carolina team that smoked Kentucky on the road in Week 2, should have beaten LSU and has a top-10 defense. The narrative about Ole Miss quickly shifted from a Playoff team and a dark horse title contender to whether the Rebs are a Potemkin village ready to collapse under the weight of an SEC schedule. With LSU, Oklahoma and Georgia still looming, Saturday’s trip to Columbia is a test Ole Miss can’t afford to miss.
Line: Ole Miss -8.5
4. Rutgers (4-0) at Nebraska (4-1), 4 p.m., FS1
The Scarlet Knights continue to chop. It hasn’t been the most convincing undefeated start, but Rutgers is riding with running back Kyle Monangai, who ranks third in the FBS with 147.3 rushing yards per game. A home loss to Illinois and an ugly win over Purdue took some of the wind out of Nebraska’s resurgence, but the Cornhuskers are in position to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. This match could be a turning point for both teams. Nebraska has a bye next, followed by road trips in the span of a month to Indiana, Ohio State and USC, all of which are in the Top 25. However, Rutgers has an easy schedule by Big Ten standards, avoiding Ohio State. , Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and Indiana. A win on Saturday could potentially put Rutgers on a path to the Big Ten title game, thanks in part to opponents it won’t face along the way.
Line: Nebraska -7
3. Iowa (3-1) at No. 3 Ohio State (4-0), 3:30 p.m., CBS
I realize there’s a wide spread in this game, but Ohio State has yet to appear on any of these weekly top 10 lists because it hasn’t faced a team good enough to make a game interesting. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 195-27 (!!!) in four games. Iowa may join that list of unlucky challengers on Saturday, but the Hawkeyes are by far the toughest test Ohio State has faced this season and should give a better idea of how high the ceiling is in Columbus. It’s also a potential trap for Ohio State, with a road trip to Oregon next week and games against Nebraska and Penn State on the horizon. Iowa’s schedule will loosen up considerably after this, but losses to Iowa State and the Buckeyes would really dampen the Playoff’s resumption.
Line: Ohio State -19.5
2. No. 4 Tennessee (4-0) at Arkansas (3-2), 7:30 p.m., ABC
Tennessee recorded its lowest point total of the season during its 25-15 road win at Oklahoma on September 21, but the Vols have been one of the most impressive and balanced teams in college football, starting 4-0 and ranking in the top five for the first time since the program’s national championship season in 1998. Conference losses by Georgia and Ole Miss also leave Tennessee potentially reaching the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2007. There’s still a long way to go , with Alabama and Georgia on the schedule, but if the Vols can split those two and win otherwise, that could be good enough to get them there. Still, beating Arkansas is not a given. The Hogs are rushing for over 5 yards per carry and rank a respectable 34th in ESPN’s SP+.
Line: Tennessee -13.5
1. No. No. 9 Missouri (4-0) at No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1), noon, ABC
Does this game deserve first place? It’s more or less standard here. Missouri is hanging on in the top 10 despite some shaky wins over Boston College and Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M is barely hanging on in the Top 25, tied with UNLV for the last spot. Yet it is still an important match. Is Mizzou a legitimate top-10 team or just a paper tiger? Do the Aggies have enough to claw their way back into Playoff contention? I understand if the knee-jerk reaction is to wince because this is the best game of the weekend, and maybe I’m a college football populist for this view, but I like that an early October meeting between Mizzou and a rebuilding A&M has taken place and a number of significant major interests are involved.
Line: Texas A&M -2.5
(Photo of Luther Burden III: Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
