College Football Week 6 Predictions

Last Week: 5-1-1 (Overall 16-18-1) On Upset Alert: UCLA upsets Washington 40-32

Great week for the predictions, we were on this one. I would love to take the upset but the 4-0 but wildly unproven Bruins beating the 4-0 and slightly more proven Huskies isn't the biggest call out in the world (don't worry, I'll make up for it this week). Let's look back on the week that was.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson had a game against Washington and UCLA looks like a real threat in the surprisingly strong PAC-12 this season, it feels like there is definitely going to be a playoff team from the conference this season and UCLA going unbeaten and getting in would be a refreshing break from the normal teams that make it ... I love Kansas, they are a fun team and finally get the number beside their name they deserve. It was an ugly win but that Iowa State defense is no joke and Kansas State some real troubles this week but ultimately the Jayhawks proved they can win ugly too, this team just does the right things to win ball games ... TCU has been impressive to start this season, blowing out Oklahoma was just their way of announcing to the world that they are THE threat in the Big 12 leading to the game of the week this week (more on that later) ... What happened Georgia? Did you watch Mizzou's game last week against Auburn and just decide that you didn't need to show up for 3 quarters to win? Even if you were right, that was concerning ... Less concerning was Alabama with a backup QB blowing up Arkansas. Even with the backup in that wasn't a huge surprise for my liking, Bama is really good and Arkansas had been coasting on the Cincy week 1 win for a while, less than impressive against South Carolina and a loss to Texas A&M screams Bama whipping boy, the narrative is reinforced here ... Purdue showed a glimpse of what everyone saw in them in the preseason with their upset win over Minnesota but it is much too late for them now, if they can piece together a decent conference run we may see them in the Quick Lane bowl ... Man Pitt, people should never have faith in you huh? I mean I didn't expect you to do anything special in an ACC that looks like it may be a little more competitive than first thought but Georgia Tech? That is an ugly one ... Syracuse is 5-0 to go with Kansas' 5-0 and I'm all for Basketball schools upsetting the football apple cart this season.

With that out of the way let's pick some games shall we?

Texas (-9) vs Oklahoma: The Red River rivalry feels kind of flat this year. Don't get me wrong both teams are OK but this game feels like it's lost a lot of it's oomph with TCU blowing up Oklahoma last week. Quinn Ewers should be back for the Longhorns and that is a welcome addition to a middling offense so far this season. Interestingly for the Longhorns, their passing attack has been slightly better than their running attack so far. For Oklahoma, the question mark of QB Dillon Gabriel still looms large after being hit in the head against TCU. This game is the worst kind of game to call because it's hard to know how game ready Quinn Ewers will be and both teams are kind of Vanilla, and there's nothing wrong with Vanilla but the Red River rivalry deserves some Rocky Road. I think Texas will ultimately win this game thanks to the presence of Ewers but 9-points is too many for my taste, give me Oklahoma to keep this game relatively close PICK: Oklahoma (+9)

North Carolina vs Miami (-3.5): This game is one of the more interesting ones of the weekend and will have a big role to play in who wins the ACC Coastal division and earns the shot to lose to Clemson in the ACC championship game. North Carolina bounced back from their tough loss to Notre Dame to smoke Virginia Tech last week and keep themselves relevant in the top 25 conversation. Meanwhile Miami couldn't be further away from the top 25 as back to back losses to Texas A&M and Midd. Tenn State have them reeling at the moment at 2-2. Could the bye week help them recalibrate? Potentially but that will rely a lot on QB Tyler Van Dyke, who entered the season with legitimate Heisman hype but has only thrown for 4 TDs to go with 3 INTs to start the season and seems to be really struggling to adjust to new WRs in the fold. In order for Miami to get their season back on track they are going to need the combination of RBs Henry Parrish Jr, Thaddius Franklin Jr and Jaylan Knighton to run the ball effectively which they should be able to do against a UNC defense that is 112th in the nation against the run. The real question for Miami is pass defense, last time out they allowed Chase Cunningham to throw for 405 yards and 3 TDs and that is exactly what UNC is going to look to as their advantage. True freshman QB Drake Maye has been unreal for the Tar Heels, throwing for almost 1600 yards, 19 TDs and just 1 INT. If Miami's pass defense can't slow down Maye a little this game will be a challenge for them. Look for Miami to keep Van Dyke on a short leash, if he struggles early than backup Jake Garcia may be called upon in this one but I don't think the Miami run game will be able to keep up with UNC's passing attack and ultimately UNC will come away with this one in an absolute shootout. PICK: North Carolina (+3.5)

TCU (-6.5) vs Kansas: Rejoice for Kansas is finally ranked! To celebrate they get their toughest matchup of the season to date in a TCU team that is looking to push forward in their quest to upset the playoff apple cart. TCU is the class of the Big 12 this season and after obliterating Oklahoma they roll into Kansas in a game that in the preseason might have been seen as a bit of a cake walk for the Horned Frogs but now could be seen as one of their toughest remaining Big 12 tests. Kansas is relevant in football and as weird as that statement is to make, they have really done it in a whole host of different ways. QB Jalon Daniels has been one of the best dual threat QBs in the game this year. If teams focus on him, Devin Neal and Daniel Hinshaw can run the ball as effectively as any team in the nation (6th in the FBS in rushing yards per attempt) and last week the Jayhawks proved the defense can step up when needed and beat a tough Iowa State team that doesn't allow anything defensively. TCU however is a very different test. They have an OK defense (47th in the nation in points allowed) but they have the second best scoring offense in the nation and they do it in every which way possible. Max Duggan has only thrown for 997 yards but 11 TDs to 0 INTs and to be fair to Max he didn't really play in the Colorado game. Keandre Miller has been strong running the ball and really broke out against Oklahoma last week and they have at least 5 different receivers capable of going off for big plays. This game has all the ingredients for fireworks. TCU should win this, they on paper look like the better team and have looked better in a tougher schedule but I'm picking with my heart on this one. I love this Kansas team and I love the fact that they find ways to win. Go Jayhawks PICK: Kansas (+6.5)

Utah (-3.5) vs UCLA: The tough tests for UCLA continue. After starting out their schedule with some fairly easy competition they came up against some real talent last week in Washington and proved they belong with the Pac-12 big dogs. Now they need to get over multiple hurdles in both personal demons (losing 5 straight to Utah) and a Utah side that appears to have rebounded from their week 1 loss to Florida. That being said that Florida side has looked pretty pedestrian since beating Utah and the teams Utah have played since would not be considered tests by any means. The questions here are 2-fold, can Cameron Rising continue his strong play of late and how will the 12th ranked scoring defense hold up against a very strong UCLA offense? If Utah's defense can continue it's strong play this game should end up being a strong victory to add to their resume this season however if Utah's defense can not halt the momentum of Dorian Thompson-Robinson then you have to question if Utah's offense will be able to score at the pace to match. Florida was able to find some holes in the Utah front 7 in week 1 and if those holes show up against Zach Charbonnet and Dorian Thompson-Robinson will run right through them and if Utah over commits to that than DTR will look to exploit matchups over the top. Ultimately I think last week proved that UCLA is no joke and although Utah will be a tough matchup for them I feel this game devolves into a bit of a firefight, if that happens advantage swings heavily to the Bruins PICK: UCLA (+3.5)

Tennessee (-2.5) vs LSU: I'm not buying what LSU is selling. Sure they have won 4 straight but those wins haven't been what I would call impressive. Blowout wins against an FCS team (Southern U) and a very poor New Mexico squad, a win against Miss State where the Bulldogs game planned really poorly, slowing the game down and playing into the LSU defenses strength and a sloppy ugly win against an Auburn side that looked like they wanted to lose against Missouri and didn't play much better last week. Look for Tennessee to play fast, tire out the Tigers and really exploit LSU's ok at best offense. Tennessee puts up 30+ and wins relatively easily PICK: Tennessee (-2.5)

On Upset Alert: This feels like the kind of game that USC slips on the banana peel. They are undoubtedly a good team but they have to go to Utah next week. Hosting Washington State, who is solid but unspectacular feels like the kind of game that you sleep on a little, the Cougars stick around as USC looks a little off and before you know it we are in full on upset territory. The Trojans need to stay sharp for this one because Washington State is one of those does everything pretty well but nothing great teams that are made for catching teams like USC napping. USC will need to play a full 60 for this one and make sure they get to Utah still undefeated otherwise they will find themselves struggling to make the playoff. A 1 loss Pac 12 team has no chance.