We are rapidly approaching the meat of the college football season, and while Week 6 doesn’t feature a ton of marquee matchups in the same way Week 7 and 8 do, the conference slate always delivers some surprising results. Top teams can’t get caught looking ahead to bigger and badder opponents, or else they’ll find themselves in some deep trouble against a team that’s all the way up to face a ranked opponent.
Week 6 features some interesting opportunities for that kind of scenario, and also some games in the middle of the pack that could be very fun, even if they don’t have playoff implications. Here, we’ll take a spin around the slate to highlight games we’re watching, the top player performance from a week ago, and our best bet for Saturday.
The Game Of The Year (Of The Week): No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 24 Texas A+M (12:00 p.m. ET, ABC)
Mizzou has been a bit shaky to start the year, but still arrives at this game undefeated all the same. This will be the Tigers first road test and that might help wake them out of an early season slumber, as under Eli Drinkwitz they’ve been really good on the road. That said, College Station is as unique an atmosphere as there is in college football, and while it hasn’t always been pretty, the Aggies are 4-1 coming into this game, looking to get their first real statement win of the season. Both of these offenses have struggled to fully open it up, and whichever unit can figure out how to stretch their legs and create explosive plays will likely be the one to come out on top here.
Lock Into This One: SMU vs. Louisville (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)
A classic ACC rivalry game between SMU and Louisville should be a lot of fun. The Cardinals were competitive in South Bend but made some back-breaking mistakes to lose to Notre Dame, but still have their sights set on a big year in the ACC. On the other side, SMU has shaken off its early season issues to become the high-powered offense everyone expected, putting up 108 points in their last two games against TCU and Florida State. This has a chance to be quite the shootout, where the last team with the ball might just be the one to win.
Under-The-Radar Banger: Pitt vs. North Carolina (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
The Pitt offense is a monster (?!) this year, and they come into Chapel Hill where the Heels are on Quit Watch after blowing a 20-7 lead to Duke last week. UNC better be ready to score this week, because Pitt will be licking its chops after seeing this Carolina defense get lit up by James Madison to the tune of 70 a couple weeks ago. If the UNC offense shows up, this could be a barn burner. If the Heels have decided to shift attention to basketball season, it might just be their barn that gets burned.
Message Board Meltdown Game Of The Week: No. 10 Michigan vs. Washington (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Michigan is a short dog on the road as a top-10 team. Washington is coming off a hideous loss to Rutgers. Michigan has won back-to-back games that ended up closer than they probably needed to be against USC and Minnesota, and their inability to pass the ball is genuinely fascinating to watch. Washington got pushed around by Rutgers in their welcome to the Big Ten, and now they’ve got to deal with a much bigger test in the trenches in the form of the Wolverines. Someone is going to be MAD after this one, and I’m not sure who that ends up being.
Who Won The Heisman Last Week?: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
I really wanted to say Ryan Williams so I could post the catch and run against Georgia (he’s 17!) but come on, it’s Jeanty, who is a monster. He should 100 percent be the Heisman winner if it was given out today, and his performance against Washington State was a good example of what makes him such a special player: 26 carries, 259 yards, four touchdowns. When he was handed the football, he ran for a first down. There is nothing else you can say other than is insane.
Best Bet (2-3): Indiana (-13.5) at Northwestern (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN)
I love Northwestern’s stadium on the lake, but even the power of the tiny stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan won’t be enough for the Wildcats to keep it close with Indiana. The Hoosiers are on a mission to beat down any team worse than they are this year and they do not let up. Last week, it took a half to figure it out against Maryland but once they did they never let off the gas. I expect something similar against Northwestern, where once they find the weak spot they will just pour it on because Curt Cignetti smokes it through the filter.