Week Six Guide: Games to Watch

Welcome to Week Six of the College Football Season. Hard to believe we are already here.

The Hawkeyes go into their first of two bye weeks with a 3-2 overall record, with losses against #14 Iowa State and #8 Indiana. Up next, in week seven, Iowa will travel to Madison to face Wisconsin. However, there’s still a full slate of college football to be played across the country. If you are someone who sets up 2-3 TVs, like me, that means watching several games at a time. We’ve got you covered with what to watch. Once again, let’s skip an extended intro and just get into the games. HawkeyeReport breaks down the top games to watch during week six of the college football season.

***All betting odds/lines are provided by Bet MGM***

Must Watch Game of the Week: #3 Miami FL (4-0) at #18 Florida State (3-1)

Game Info: Saturday, October 4th – 6:30pm CT – ABC Line: Miami FL -4.5

A week ago, it appeared as though this matchup was going to be a battle between two top ten teams, with College Gameday likely on hand. While this rivalry is still easily the game of the week, this game has lost just a little bit of luster, and you can thank Virginia for that. The ‘Noles upset loss in Charlottesville last week adds some importance to this one, as they’ll be looking to avoid an 0-2 start in ACC play for the fourth time in six seasons. Meanwhile, Miami FL has taken care of every test so far, led by Carson Beck at quarterback and a defense that has tallied 30 tackles for loss and ten sacks through four games. A notable stat? The underdog in this matchup is 14-6 against the spread with nine outright upsets dating back to 2005.

Best 11:00am Game: #14 Iowa State (5-0) at Cincinnati (3-1)

Game Info: Saturday, October 4th – 11:00am CT – ESPN2 Line: Cincinnati -1.5

There’s still a healthy amount of unbeatens (20) in college football, but Iowa State is one of just three teams (Vanderbilt, Memphis) that can clinch bowl eligibility this week with a 6-0 start. The Cyclones opened Big 12 play with a 39-14 win over Arizona, but this will be their first real road test, traveling to Nippert Stadium. They’ll enter as underdogs against a Cincinnati team that took down Kansas on the road last week to start conference play with a 1-0 record. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been really impressive, totaling nearly 1,300 yards passing and rushing, including 14 touchdowns and just one turnover. Under Scott Satterfield, the Bearcats are just 4-7 against the spread as home favorites and 2-4 straight up as home favorites against P5 opponents.

Best 2:30pm Game: #16 Vanderbilt (5-0) at #10 Alabama (3-1)

Game Info: Saturday, October 4th – 2:30pm CT – ABC Line: Alabama -10.5

Could you ever imagine that Alabama-Vanderbilt would be a matchup between two top 20 ranked teams, with the Commodores entering as the unbeaten one? Last season, one of the upsets of the year was Vandy’s 40-35 win over the Tide in Nashville as 23-point underdogs. This season, the ‘Dores enter with a 5-0 record, averaging 49.0 points per game, led by quarterback Diego Pavia who has thrown for 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns. Alabama has gotten back on track after their loss in the opener, including taking down Georgia in Athens last week. Over his last three games, quarterback Ty Simpson has completed 77.4% of his 84 attempts for 884 yards and nine touchdowns. This Vanderbilt team is different from years past, but they haven’t won a road game against a ranked team since 2007, while Alabama is 11-1 at home against ranked teams over the last five years.

Best After Dark Game: Duke (3-2) at California (4-1)

Game Info: Saturday, October 4th – 9:30pm CT – ESPN Line: Duke -3.5

It’s incredible that this is a conference matchup, as they two schools are separated by over 2,800 miles and five states. The Blue Devils started 1-2 but have defeated NC State and Syracuse in back-to-back weeks, totaling 83 points and 921 yards of offense. Meanwhile, outside of a shocking loss to San Diego State, the Golden Bears have been good, with wins over Minnesota and Boston College. They haven’t been afraid to sling the ball around the field with freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapoulutele. He’s averaging 35.6 attempts per game, but has thrown four interceptions. California is 14-5 against the spread as a home underdog under 9th year head coach Justin Wilcox, but Duke is 3-0 against the spread as a road favorite under Manny Diaz.

Underrated Game of the Week: #24 Virginia (4-1) at Louisville (4-0)

Game Info: Saturday, October 4th – 2:30pm CT – ESPN2 Line: Louisville -7.5

Don’t just forget about Virginia after their upset win over Florida State last week. The Cavaliers have entered the AP Top 25 with a 4-1 record, but they’ll be looking to make it consecutive weeks with an “upset”, as they travel to Louisville where they are 7.5-point underdogs. UVA quarterback Chandler Morris turned it over three times against FSU, but has tallied over 1,400 pass/rush yards and 14 touchdowns. The Cardinals are the undefeated team in the matchup and are the favorite, but enter unranked. They’re averaging 38.3 points per game, while their defense has forced nine turnovers. If Louisville wants to have any chance at making the ACC Championship Game, this is a must-win game.

Other Games to Watch

Washington (3-1) at Maryland (4-0) (+6.5) (Saturday – 2:30pm CT – BTN)

This is the week where we find out if Maryland’s got something going or not. Typically, early season success for the Terps doesn’t mean much. They are now 18-2 in their first four games over the past five seasons, but just 13-22 the rest of the way. The Terps have outscored opponents 130-43, but this will be by far their toughest test. As for Washington, they’ll be looking to bounce back from a 24-6 loss to #1 Ohio State last week. Quarterback Demond Williams has been efficient, completing 75.2% of his passes, while running back Jonah Coleman has nine rushing touchdowns. Big Ten teams are 12-25 when traveling at least two time zones since the beginning of last season, but they’re 4-4 this season. Maryland is 10-23 against the spread over the past five years in post-week four regular season games.

Michigan State (3-1) at Nebraska (3-1) (-10.5) (Saturday – 3:00pm CT – FS1)

Another Big Ten game with some intrigue, both teams are coming off of a bye week and a loss in their previous game. The Spartans offense has been good, averaging 34.3 points per game in their second year with quarterback Aidan Chiles, but the defense gave up 40 to Boston College and 45 against USC. As for Nebraska, they opened 3-0, with a win over Cincinnati, but they couldn’t snap their 28-game losing streak against ranked foes, falling to Michigan in week three. The Huskers offensive line is allowing 10.5 quarterback pressures per game, but Dylan Raiola has still completed 75.6% of passes for 1,137 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception. Nebraska is 8-0 as a 10+ point favorite under Matt Rhule.

Kansas (3-2) at UCF (3-1) (+4.5) (Saturday – 6:30pm CT – ESPN2)

I could have slotted an SEC game in the last spot, but I went with what should be a pretty evenly matched game in the Big 12. The Jayhawks offense has been great, with veteran quarterback Jalon Daniels totaling nearly 1,500 yards rush/pass, including 17 total touchdowns. However, offense hasn’t been the issue. They’re averaging 36.6 points per game, but the defense has given up 39.5 per game in their two losses. With Scott Frost back as head coach, UCF is off to a 3-1 start, but they lost 34-20 at Kansas State last weekend. They’re averaging 6.2 yards per rush and have 11 rushing touchdowns, which is where Kansas has struggled, giving up 476 yards (5.7 ypc) in their two losses.

Rest of the Week Six Big Ten Schedule

• Wisconsin (2-2) at #20 Michigan (3-1) (-16.5) (Saturday – 11:00am – FOX)
• #22 Illinois (4-1) at Purdue (2-2) (+9.5) (Saturday – 11:00am – BTN)
• #7 Penn State (3-1) at UCLA (0-4) (+26.5) (Saturday – 2:30pm – CBS)
• UL Monroe (3-1) at Northwestern (2-2) (-10.5) (Saturday – 2:30pm – BTN)
• Minnesota (3-1) at #1 Ohio State (4-0) (-23.5) (Saturday – 6:30pm – NBC)