Week seven is set to answer a few questions as there are six all-ranked games. All of these have varying degrees of significance but two do stand out. In the SEC Tennessee has the chance to make it 16th time lucky against the Tide. Given they are in separate divisions a loss need not be fatal but the momentum will be with the winner.
In the Big Ten, it’s slightly different as Penn State and Michigan are both in the East and the loser will struggle to reach the Conference Final especially given Ohio State is also in the division.
The Two other top 10 teams facing ranked opposition are both on the road with USC travelling to Utah and Oklahoma State visiting TCU. These are the type of tough road games any team hoping to reach the CFP semis will need to overcome. Will they both prevail? Ask us again on Monday.
Only 19 of the top 25 play this week leaving us with the following thirteen games…
All Ranked Games
No. 3 Alabama @ No. 6 Tennessee
No.10 Penn State @ No.5 Michigan
No.7 USC @ No.20 Utah
No.8 Oklahoma State @ No.13 TCU
No.15 NC State @ No.18 Syracuse
No.16 Mississippi State @ No.22 Kentucky
SEC Games
Vanderbilt @ No.1 Georgia
Auburn @ No.9 Ole Miss
Big Ten Games
Minnesota @ No.24 Illinois
Big 12 Games
No.19 Kansas @ Oklahoma
Iowa State @ No.22 Texas
ACC
No.4 Clemson @ Florida State
Sun Belt
No.25 James Madison @ Georgia Southern
Yes, the Dukes are ranked in their first-ever FBS season! Sadly they can’t play in a bowl game this year due to the NCAA transition period protocols. If they are ranked at season end hopefully they will bend this rule.
Image: Ben Schumin via flickr CC BY-SA 2.0
Not Playing
The Six ranked teams that have the week off to prepare are:
Ohio State, UCLA, Oregon, Wake Forest, Kansas State & Cinncinati
The Buckeyes can sit back and watch while one of their only serious rivals gets knocked out of contention, while for the Bearcats it’s a case of hoping they stay in the Top 25.
Other Games Worth Watching Out For
There are a few interesting non-ranked encounters with these three being of particular interest to us anyway…
Stanford @ Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish were ranked top 10 pre-season but are currently out of the picture. That shock home loss to Marshall is weighing heavily on them and even last week’s win over No.16 BYU was not enough to get them back in. Still, they are on a four-game winning streak and if they make that five then they could be back on the radar. One has to wonder how they would have fared had Drew Pine been starting QB from day one.
North Carolina @ Duke
The Atlantic Division of the ACC has been getting all the attention recently, with all the conference’s ranked teams being in it. However, someone has to win the Coastal Division and the Tar Heels have quietly moved on to 5-1 and a win at Duke would put them clear at the top. Their only loss was to Notre Dame so Irish fans will be watching this one closely too.
Old Dominion @ Coastal Carolina
Finally, we will be watching to see if Coastal Carolina can stay unbeaten. They alongside James Maddison (JMU) are the only Group of Five teams still unbeaten. Both are in the Sun Belt which is a nice endorsement for the Conference. They face divisional rival Old Dominion and a win would just about sew up a place in the Conference Final even at this early stage, given that JMU is ineligible in their first year in the FBS.
That completes our quick look at what’s on offer in week five. Before you go why not check out our Week Six roundup and check back next week for week eight’s games.
