Week six may have lacked last week’s drama, however, in many ways, it was even more enlightening as it showed how dependent certain teams are on their star players. Overall six of the 23 ranked teams playing lost and for many, any path to the playoffs is now gone. Not that they had much of a chance to start with.
All the top ten teams won (or didn’t play in Penn States’ case) so there shouldn’t be a whole lot of change here other than Georgia regaining the top spot. Outside of the top ten things are a bit more mixed and we might see some 4-2 teams included given there is not many unbeaten Group of Five teams. Utah & Kentucky are the most likely candidates for this dubious honour.
Making A Statement
UCLA joined the top 25 last week with a solid win over Washington and promptly doubled down beating then No. 11 Utah. Chip Kelly (remember him) has finally got a win over Utah and they could end up with their highest ranking since he arrived next week. The Utes struggled to turn their drives into points without star TE Brant Kuithe and with him out for the season the prospects of them now reaching a New Year’s Bowl aren’t good.
Clemson looked good against Boston College. Their run defense was mighty impressive, holding Boston to a total of 34 yards on 30 attempts! They are 5-0 with two ranked wins which might just about be enough to edge them into the top four.
It may also be time to start taking Tennessee seriously. They blew LSU out in Death Valley to secure their third win over ranked opposition. They are averaging just under 47 points a game and QB Hendon Hooker still hasn’t thrown a pick. Tennessee has Alabama at home this weekend. Win that one and they will be genuine CFP contenders.
It was also a good night for Mississippi with both teams recording solid wins. The Egg Bowl could be worth watching this year if they continue like this.
A Bit Disappointing
Kentucky had a poor night dropping their second consecutive game, this time to unranked South Carolina. They could even slide out of the rankings given Georgia demolished the Gamecocks 48-7 earlier in the season.
Similarly, Washington’s bad loss to the previously 1-4 Arizona State should see them take a tumble. To be fair the Sun Devils are not as bad as their record suggests, however, this was still disappointing.
Anyway, the 23 Top 25 teams’ results are below. Penn State & Syracuse have the week off.
All Ranked Match Ups
No. 8 Tennessee 40 @ 25 LSU 13
No. 11 Utah 32 @ No. 18 UCLA 42
No. 17 TCU 38 @ No. 19 Kansas 31
The Kansas fairytale came to an end against the Horned Frogs, however, it was close enough to bode well going forward. TCU are 5-0 for the first time since 2017 and they have two consecutive wins over ranked teams. They face Oklahoma State next week who are also unbeaten. The Big 12’s CFP chances will be a lot clearer after that one.
SEC Games
Texas A&M 20 @ No. 1 Alabama 24
Auburn 10 @ No. 2 Georgia 42
No. 9 Ole Miss 52 @ Vanderbilt 28
South Carolina 24 @ No. 13 Kentucky 14
Arkansas 17 @ No. 23 Mississippi State 40
Alabama looked mighty unimpressive, however, we may possibly be being a little harsh on A&M. The Tide are not elite without QB Bryce Young and if they turn the ball over 4 times against Tennessee next week they could lose.
Big Ten Games
No. 3 Ohio State 49 @ Michigan State 20
No. 4 Michigan 31 @ Indiana 10
Nothing to see here two routine wins, although Michigan did look a little sloppy.
Big 12 Games
Texas Tech 31 @ No. 7 Oklahoma State 41
No. 20 Kansas State 10 @ Iowa State 9
Kansas State moved to 5-1 and sits atop the Big 12 thanks to this narrow win. It is not one that will live long in the memory unless you like watching punting of course. Then you are in for a treat as there were 11 for you to enjoy.
The win should have been a little easier but the Wildcats missed a 33-yard field goal and a fumble also cost them the chance of a big play. Adrian Martinez had another solid game though and he is moving up our draft board.
PAC-12 Games
Washington State 14 @ No. 6 USC 30
No. 12 Oregon 49 @ Arizona 22
No.21 Washington 38 @ Arizona State 45
Routine wins for USC & Oregon keep the PAC-12’s CFP hopes alive. These two are on course to meet in the PAC championship game and if USC remains undefeated who knows?
ACC
No. 5 Clemson 31 @ Boston College 3
Florida State 17 @ No. 14 NC State 19
Army 10 @ No. 15 Wake Forest 45
NC State & Wake both won to boost Clemson’s resume.
FBS Independent
No. 16 BYU 20 @ Notre Dame 28
American
South Florida 24 @ 24 Cincinnati 28
The sole Group of Five conference representative hardly gave a glowing endorsement of the AAC struggling to get past USF who are now 1-5. At this stage, it is arguable if they are actually the best G5 team.
Entertaining Game of the Week
Normally this needs a lot of thought, however this week the game we would happily rewatch was pretty clear-cut…
Houston 33 @ Memphis 32
This one is best enjoyed from the second half onwards, however, the ending was so crazy it deserves its accolade. With one minute 37 seconds left it was 99.6% certain that Memphis would win according to Espn Analytics!
Performance of the Week
The Red River Showdown was more of a Red River Stroll this year as Texas racked up its highest-ever score in this rivalry game. The Sooners were without starting QB Dillon Gabriel and his replacement had a night to forget. Davis Beville who to be fair has not had a lot of game time went 6-12 for 38 yards and an interception!
Final score…
Texas 49 @ Oklahoma 0
Not So Entertaining
Iowa 6 @ Illinois 9
We have seen a fair bit of Iowa in this slot and this is the third low-scoring slugfest they have had so far this year. The second half was particularly dire with the first nine plays consisting of eight punts and an interception. The fact that Illinois turned the ball over 3 times and still won is a testament to just how bad the Hawkeye’s offense is this year.
On The Up
Notre Dame started the season ranked No 5 in the AP poll, however, a couple of losses including a humiliating one to Marshall soon sent them packing. However, a change of QB seems to have turned things around and they are now 4-2. QB Drew Pyne threw for 262 yards and 3TDs as the Irish beat No. 16 BYU 28-20.
The game was never as close as the score suggests and if they keep this up then they should be top 25 again soon. With games against Clemson Syracuse & USC still on the slate, they could still end up in a New Year Bowl game by winning out.
Not Ranked But Still Unbeaten
Coastal Carolina 28 @ UL Monroe 21
The Chanticleers left it late, however, that last-minute TD maintained their impressive run. That’s eight consecutive wins stretching back into last season and only 2 losses in their last 18 games. There are too many 4-1 Power Five teams for them to get ranked this week but, they will be knocking on the door if they win a couple more.
James Madison 42 @ Arkansas State 20
JMU is 5-0 and continues to make fairly light work of their step up into the FBS. They similarly will be on the fringes of being ranked even if they are not bowl or Sun Belt Championship eligible.
So here ends our brief overview of week six. You can check out our other 2022 Weekly Round Ups here
