College Football Week Six – Three All Ranked Games To Savour

Week Five went pretty much as expected, with no real upsets, but a couple of teams did make statements in victory – led by Penn State who crushed Maryland on the road 59-0! Clemson also made a statement, but not the one they would have wanted as they came within a failed two-point conversion of losing to North Carolina. That was enough to knock them off the top of the AP poll, not that it really matters at this stage. Ohio State & Auburn both had nice wins, while Notre Dame kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a handy win over Virginia – who are still in the rankings.  Two less fashionable teams moved onto 5-0 and moved into the rankings with Wake Forest coming in at 22 and SMU at 24. Wake has the week off while SMU has a winnable home game this week, so their stay could last a little while.

The PAC 12 lost its last unbeaten team when Cal lost to conference rivals Arizona State. The PAC has a raft of 4-1 teams, but unless one wins out they will once again be on the outside looking in come the final CFP rankings.

With no major surprises, we went 17-1 with our predictions last week. Can we get close this week? Read on and let’s see.

FBS Week Six Fixtures

No 18 UCF @ Cincinnati +3.5

UCF bounced back from their first regular-season defeat in over two seasons last week by putting up 56 points on an admittedly poor UConn side. Still, they gave up a few themselves, and the Bearcats are no pushovers at the moment especially at home.

Prediction UCF by 3 points or less.

Kent St. @ No 8 Wisconsin -35.5

This is a mismatch at all levels and it would be a major if Kent State were to win this. So the main issue is the spread 5 TDs+ is a lot and we think that Kent can hold them within this.

Wisconsin by 35 points or less

No 14 Iowa @ No 19 Michigan -4

The weekends opening all ranked game is a nice Big 10 clash between unbeaten Iowa and Michigan who are still reeling from that beat down they took from Wisconsin. Although there is a path to the playoffs technically open to the winner of this one the more likely aim will be the Rose Bowl; so still plenty to play for. Michigan put a 52-0 shutout on Rutgers last time out and this eclipsed Iowa’s efforts, so although form lines don’t seem to work well in College Football we will go with the Wolverines.

Michigan by 4+ points

No 6 Oklahoma @ Kansas +32

Jalen Hurts has looked good so far and will be looking to pad his stats as he chases the Heisman this year. The Sooners defense has looked better this year too so we think they can cover the spread.

Oklahoma by 32+ Points

Purdue @ No 12 Penn St. -28.5

Penn State finally came to life last week wining 59-0 at divisional rivals Maryland after three rather lacklustre wins. New QB Sean Clifford took a bit of time to settle but now looks the real deal and they should have little trouble beating the Boilermakers at home.

Penn State by 29 points +

No 21 Oklahoma St. @ Texas Tech +10

Texas Tech started 2-0 but have had their limitations exposed when playing Power Five teams in their last two outings. OSU is 4-1 and they made a fist of it at Texas in their only defeat, despite never looking like winning it. Ten points on the road is a lot to give up though so we think they will win but fail to cover.

OSU by 9 points or less

Utah State. @ No 5 LSU -26.5

A Mountain West team heading for an SEC powerhouse would normally not figure on the radar, however, Utah State are not just any MW team and in Jordan Love, they have one of the better QBs in FBS this year. They are 3-1 but that narrow opening loss at ACC Wake Forest is looking better by the week as the Deacon Demons are now 5-0 and ranked 22. Utah was leading in that one with just over a minute left and have since won their opening two conference games to move to 3-1. However, LSU are 4-0 and their resume includes a win at Texas and 55 point plus scores in their other three games. The question here is not whether LSU will win, but can they cover a 26.5 point spread. The Aggies will put up a fight but ultimately we think LSU should be 4 TDs too good for them.

LSU by 27 points +

No 11 Texas @ West Virginia +10

WVU may be 3-1 but they don’t have much on that resume and although Texas is the same, their loss was to LSU and they are fresh off a nice win against a good OSU. Can they cover 10 points – probably.

Texas by 10 points +

Bowling Green @ No 9 Notre Dame -45.5

Not much to say here other than that the Irish will need to run the score up here to maintain their ranking. Bowling Green are bad this year and they have already lost at Kansas State by 52 points and even gave up 62 to Kent State last time out (honestly 62). Notre Dame knows what they have to do to get back into playoff contention and we expect them to keep their foot on the gas to the end.

Notre Dame by 46 points plus

No 7 Auburn @ No 10 Florida +2.5

The game of the night between two 5-0 sides and pretty much an SEC elimination one, as it’s hard to see the loser of this one making to the Conference Championship game. Auburn may be ranked seven, but in our opinion, they have a top-four win resume which includes victories at Oregon and Texas A&M. Florida’s wins may not be as impressive but they have been comfortable and their defense has looked stout. So this could be a low scoring game and probably as close as the spread indicates. We are just going to side with Auburn.

Auburn by 3 points+

No 3 Georgia @ Tennessee +24.5

The 4-0 Bulldogs have probably the best win in FBS so far over Notre Dame, and they should move on to 5-0 with the minimum of fuss even on the road against a traditional SEC rival. Whether they do it by more than the spread is another matter though and we think it will be a bit closer.

Georgia by 24 points or less

No 25 Michigan St. @ No 4 Ohio St. -20

The night’s final al ranked clash once again comes courtesy of the BIG 10. Although Michigan State comes into this as 20 points underdogs, its worth noting that they have been a bit of a bogey team for Ohio State in the past beating them in 2013 & 2015. Still, the Buckeyes thrashed Indiana 52-10 in their earlier meeting and the Spartans had to endure a shootout against the same team last week eventually prevailing 40-31 in the end. The Buckeyes should win this and move onto 6-0.

Ohio State By 21 points +

Tulsa @ No 24 SMU -13

Wow SMU are not only ranked, but also sit top of the AAC West with an impressive 5-0 record, which includes a win at Big 12 TCU (who were no 25 at the time). They have also been scoring for fun having put up 41 points plus in their last four outings. So why is the spread so narrow? well Tulsa are not a bad team. They are 2-2 but neither loss has been bad – both to currently ranked teams. This could be closer than the spread but we think SMU will go to 6-0 for the first time since 1982 when Hall of Famer Eric Dickenson led the charge.

SMU by 13 points or less

California @ No 13 Oregon -18

The wheels finally came off Cals season last week and this should put pay to their hopes of making the Rose Bowl this year. Oregon’s only loss was their opener against Auburn – which doesn’t look too bad now. Mind you 18 points is a lot to give up and they might not cover.

Oregon by 18 points or less.

No 15 Washington @ Stanford +15

The other bIg PAC 12 game gives Washington the chance to keep the pressure on Oregon for what will most likely be a tilt at the Rose Bowl (we can’t see a PAC 12 team in the Playoffs now). !5 pints is a lot but the Huskies are capable of doing it.

Washington by 15 points +

No 16 Boise St @ UNLV +22.5

Boise are 4-0 and control their destiny in the race for the Group of Fives’ at large bid to the Cotton Bowl this year. UNLV has been leaking points this year and Boise should cover the spread.

Boise by 23 points +