I spoke earlier this year about each weekend being a microcosm of the college football season as a whole. Week Six is certainly living up to that billing. There are some terrific games within the top 25 this week that will shape the landscape for weekends to come. Questions that will be answered this weekend include: are the Fighting Irish really that good under Golson? Does Mississippi have the boys to go to war with Alabama and win? Is Arizona a legitimate 4-0, and will they survive Oregon’s barrage?
Ohio State is in a must-win situation at newcomer Maryland who’s sitting at 4-1 and coming off a dominating road win at Indiana. TCU and Oklahoma square off as undefeated Big XII teams. Nebraska is at 5-0 and looking for a signature victory at Michigan State and the list goes on. This will shift the polls and reshape the conferences should one team fall in upset fashion. Let’s have a quick peek and see what’s coming, starting Thursday night.
Arizona at Oregon: Thursday night at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR is going to be a rocking place. The Ducks have a signature win over Michigan State and Arizona has a 4-0 record compliments of a huge comeback against Cal where they won on a last second Hail Mary pass. Oregon is favored and should win, putting to sleep any notions that the Wildcats are ready for prime time. Marcus Mariota has proven to be the real deal and Arizona will not be a stumbling block this year for the Ducks.
Utah State at BYU: This in-state rivalry will take on epic proportions Friday night, as the Cougars are trying to stay perfect and become the Independent of choice, should one be considered for the College Football Playoff. Utah State was expected to be a contender for a major bowl as the best non-Power Five team with quarterback Chuckie Keeton guiding the ship, but they got derailed early and now must dig in to displace any and all Mountain West foes for consideration to a New Years Day bowl game. BYU has signature wins over a tough Virginia and Texas, while the rest of the schedule looks manageable. This makes the Aggies game so important to BYU’s future.
Ohio State at Maryland: Byrd Stadium is a tough place to play for just about anybody. Just ask the Terrapins former ACC foes. With a little bit of magic, the Terrapins have stormed out to an impressive 4-1 record and host the Buckeyes in what is arguably the biggest game since making the move to the Big Ten. Maryland does have a Big Ten win under their belt after going to Bloomington and beating Indiana, but the schedule is not friendly the rest of the way. Therefore this clash with the Buckeyes is a building block to acceptance within the Big Ten family. Meanwhile, Urban Meyer has gotten over the Virginia Tech disaster and has focused solely on his conference and his division. Road games at Maryland, Penn State, Michigan State and an improved Minnesota team will define the Buckeyes moving forward. This weekend is the biggest step for the Bucks.
Alabama at Ole Miss: Two 4-0 teams clash in Oxford for more than just bragging rights. Hugh Freeze has diligently built up his program to get exactly to this point. He wants to be competitive with the big boys in the SEC West. This is obviously the biggest test as Nick Saban will have the Crimson Tide ready for anything quarterback Bo Wallace can throw their way. The fact that the Rebels present such a challenge and with a bye week to get ready, you can be assured that the Tide will roll hard and often to subdue Mississippi. This may be the upset special of the week, with the Rebels on home turf. A Mississippi win would put the SEC West in turmoil.
Texas A&M at Mississippi State: Meanwhile, at the other end of the state in Starkville, there will be another clash of unbeaten SEC foes. Mississippi State has proven to also be a worthy opponent, and Texas A&M should not wait until overtime to beat this bunch of Bulldogs. Quarterback Kenny Hill continues to add to his already impressive resume, with a signature win over South Carolina and the thriller in overtime at AT&T Stadium in Arlington last weekend. Texas A&M has a tough three week schedule, playing Mississippi at home next and then having to travel to Tuscaloosa. No doubt, this stretch will define the Aggies’ season. The Bulldogs currently have the upper hand in the SEC West with that huge win over LSU. This game is really too close to call, so probably give the edge to Mississippi State as the home team.
LSU at Auburn: Staying in the SEC we see another very important clash amongst the Tigers. The Bayou Bengals travel to the plains of Alabama to take on the Auburn Tigers and their high octane potent offense. LSU will be starting a true freshman in Brandon Harris and with Leonard Fournette in the backfield have a lot of inexperienced firepower. How Auburn will exploit this advantage remains to be seen. Nick Marshall may have finally settled down from all the distractions and is now concentrating on football. This game is every bit as important as the other two SEC West clashes. LSU cannot go 0-2 in conference play because there are too many strong teams this year and these Tigers still have to play Mississippi, Alabama and finish with Texas A&M. Auburn could go 2-0 in the West with their early season win over Arkansas included. I predict this is the year that LSU takes a step back and Auburn wins this weekend.
Baylor at Texas: This was the biggest win of the year last season for the Bears. It clinched the Big 12 Title and established the Bears as contenders on the national scene. The Longhorns are far from ready for prime time, but last year they could have won the conference themselves with a win over Baylor. Charlie Strong has worked diligently to form his team and change it to his culture, but some injuries at the quarterback position have sabotaged those plans. Texas at 2-2 will compete and they have a stout defense. I just don’t think they can match Baylor in the scoring department. Bryce Petty is still throwing his aerial show at the masses and has proven himself adept at using every player in their schemes. The only question mark so far is that Baylor hasn’t played anybody of note other than a game Iowa State squad. This contest will be close for the first half because it’s in Texas. Baylor should put up a double digit victory.
Oklahoma at TCU: I just don’t know how we managed to get so many games with unbeaten records from within their conferences. Oklahoma travels to Fort Worth to play in the new and improved Amon G. Carter Stadium and take on the Horned Frogs. To say that Gary Patterson was unsatisfied with his first two years in the Big 12 would be an understatement. TCU in its many travelled conferences has always been a top notch contender, and I am sure that the Big 12 was thinking the same thing when they allowed TCU to become a member. Now the Frogs are 3-0 and playing an important match against Bob Stoops and his Sooners, who are also unbeaten. This game will really hinge on defense, and who gets the upper hand early. This is definitely not an easy home victory, although I like TCU to get its first big win in the Big 12.
Arizona State at USC: USC atoned for their debacle against Boston College with a great effort against Oregon State and sit at 2-0 in conference play. Arizona State now has to travel to Los Angeles and deal with the pasting they took at the hands of Brett Hundley and UCLA. To say this is a must win for both teams would be stating the obvious. Cody Kessler has been very efficient at quarterback and should do well on home turf. The Sun Devils have lost their leader at quarterback and will be searching for other ways to win in Memorial Coliseum. I like the Trojans to continue their mastery over Arizona State and work out the win at home.
Utah at UCLA: Brett Hundley is back in the Heisman conversation and that does not bode well for the Utes. Utah had a huge win at Michigan and then followed that up with a loss to Washington State. This is a classic chance for the Utes to make their first statement game within the Pac-12 this year. UCLA was not really flashy or efficient until that massive win over Arizona State, so the jury may still be out on the Bruins. I expect UCLA to win in double digits.
Stanford at Notre Dame: This will be the big test for Everett Golson and the Irish. Notre Dame hosts the Stanford Cardinal and its fast improving offense. Kevin Hogan is used to playing in hostile environments and this will be no exception. I see lots of momentum shifts in this game and the outcome is certainly not cut and dried. This game has more meaning on the national scene to Notre Dame because a loss puts them behind BYU as a potential Independent crashing the playoff party and drops them down the ladder so to speak in any tie breakers with the Pac-12. The Cardinal already have that ugly USC loss to deal with, so calling a winner here might be a coin flip. This should also give us an idea, how good or bad Notre Dame really is.
Nebraska at Michigan State: The Cornhuskers are good and the Cornhuskers are bad. The team that played McNeese State was awful, but escaped with the win. The team that literally ran roughshod over Miami is more indicative of what Nebraska is capable of. The only problem of course is that Nebraska has to deal with the Spartans and their top notch defense. Connor Cook and company should have more than enough offense to assimilate with a strong defensive core to subdue Nebraska. The ace in the hole for Nebraska is Ameer Abdullah at running back. Unfortunately, he is no longer a secret, so expect coach Dantonio to have some schemes to shut that option off quickly. Home field in this Nebraska-Michigan State showdown means home victory for the Spartans over the Huskers.
Enjoy the weekend!
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