Weekly College Football Games Menu - Week Six
While Week Five of college football is often a bore, the weekend surprised with some tight matchups and close calls. I am currently traveling in a part of the world that thinks football is played with a round ball, doesn’t involve the use of hands and arbitrarily adds time to the end of the game, so I didn’t get to see any of it in person. Nevertheless, even a gamecast of NC State going up 24-7 on the number one ranked Seminoles in the first quarter, Minnesota pounding Michigan 30-7 and UCLA silencing critics with a 62-27 thumping of Arizona State is exciting without seeing the actual action live. As I am still travelling, and on an eight hour time lag, a prix fixe menu will have to do for Week Six, British inspired.
Some Yorkshire Pudding to start
Louisville at Syracuse
Kicking off on Friday night, Louisville travels to Syracuse, who is fresh off a solid loss at the hands of Notre Dame. Watching the ground attack of the Orange go up against Louisville’s stingy defense should be an entertaining way to start the week.
San Diego State at Fresno State
The Aztecs and the Bulldogs keep the action going on Friday with a 7pm West Coast kickoff. San Diego State has had a rough start to the season, but no worse than Fresno’s. Both have been playing stiff competition however, collectively facing off against USC, Nebraska, Utah, North Carolina and Oregon State. It will be interesting to see who can grab a win against a more evenly matched opponent.
Fish and Chips for the main course
Alabama at Ole Miss
The Crimson Tide and the Rebels both enter this game undefeated, and with Texas A&M and Mississippi State also going head to head, Week Six will be crucial in shaping the SEC West. Ole Miss hasn’t beaten the Tide since 2003, so they will have to buck the trend to justify their number ten ranking.
LSU at Auburn
Auburn and LSU both essentially had a bye week coming into this showdown. Auburn handled Louisiana Tech without a problem, and LSU put the hammer down on New Mexico State. While LSU is the lowest of the ranked teams in the SEC West, they are also the only team to beat Auburn in the regular season last year.
Nebraska at Michigan State
The Cornhuskers are the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten after Penn State fell in Week Five, but face last season’s Big Ten Champion in Michigan State. The Spartans played well in their loss to Oregon in Week Two, but are currently unproven, as their best win is over Wyoming. Meanwhile Nebraska’s Abdullah has been running over everyone and onto Heisman watch lists, but the defense is far from the Blackshirts of years past.
Baylor at Texas
While Texas already has two losses on the season, neither were in Big 12 play, and both were against far tougher competition than Baylor has faced this season. The Bears are ranked 7th in the country, and are averaging more points than any other team, but this will be their first real test as they travel to Austin.
Arizona State at USC
The Sun Devils were demolished last week against UCLA without their starting quarterback Taylor Kelly. They look to rebound in Week Six against another South Division contender in USC. If they win, Arizona State is still very much in the hunt for the division title, but USC will not go down easy at home.
Some Shandy to wash it down
Texas A&M at Mississippi State
Texas A&M looked like a terror after their opening weekend beatdown of South Carolina 52-28, but had to go all the way to overtime to pull out the win over Arkansas in Week Five. The Aggies will have to bring their A-game to take out Mississippi State, who is fresh off a bye week following their road upset of LSU.
NC State at Clemson
The Wolfpack were up 24-7 on the number one ranked Florida State Seminoles in the first quarter, but stalled the remainder of the game and failed to pull out the win. Clemson’s loss to the Seminoles in Week Four after leading 10-3 at the half may not sound as bad, but watching it was far more painful. One of these teams will succeed in bouncing back in Week Six.
Michigan at Rutgers
Michigan seems to be having another one of those years, as high expectations were sequentially dashed after losses to Notre Dame, Utah and most recently, Minnesota. Rutgers, on the other hand, has four wins on the season, but none against Big Ten opponents, and gets the Wolverines at home.
Bread Pudding for dessert
California at Washington State
The Bears and Cougars will be the late night dessert of Week Six, as they kick off at 730pm on the West Coast. Whatever happens, this night game should have some high scoring fireworks, as Cal rallied late this week to put up 35 points in the second half and secure the win over Colorado in overtime, while Washington State ranks first in passing yards per game and is amped up after a road win over Utah.
Game of the Week
The Game of the Week is 16th ranked Stanford at 8th ranked Notre Dame. The Cardinal dropped a close contest to cross town rival USC in Week Two, but were able to pull it out against Washington in Week Five, thanks to the top ranked defense in the country. Notre Dame is also showcasing a top tier defense this season and took out their rival Michigan in Week Two. This rivalry has been back and forth the past few years, often with national title implications on the line, and has always resulted in intense and closely contested matchups.
Pillow Fight of the Week
The Pillow Fight of the Week pairs two winless teams from the MAC East division, as UMass travels to Miami of Ohio. The UMass Minutemen rank in the bottom 10 in the country in points allowed while Miami of Ohio ranks in the bottom 25 in points scored. Both teams fall in the bottom ten in rushing yards, so whoever can complete a few passes might grab their first win of the season.
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