Good morning!
This Saturday treats us to another installment of Alabama’s win-or-die national championship ambitions. Today is against a team that it has tended to play poorly against of late, in a place where the Tide have struggled since the 2012 expansion: At Texas A&M, in College Station. For both teams, this is a natty elimination match, after Aggie dropped a game on the road to a rebuilt Miami team, and ‘Bama lost at home to superior Texas squad.
Overall, it’s a lighter week for big games after last Saturday’s bonanza. But there are still plenty of meaningful tilts, and some real under the radar bangers:
- Undefeated No. 13 Washington State travels to a very dangerous 1-loss UCLA, where the Bruins have one of the nation’s best defenses. Does the Cougar dream die in the Rose Bowl? Have we all been sleeping on UCLA?
- Battle of unbeatens in Athens, where a frankly unimpressive No. 1 Georgia team hosts the No. 20 5-0 Kentucky Wildcats under the lights. UK has barely left the state, and has honestly played no one of quality. UGA hasn’t either, for that matter. And they’ve looked worse getting to 5-0. One of these guys is a fraud. Let’s find out who.
- Keep an eye on No. 23 LSU in CoMo vs. the No. 19 Missouri Tigers. MU has been under the radar, but Luther Burden is rejuvenating the Tiger passing game, and the defense has been nasty as-advertised. LSU has no such luxury: Their defense has been smoked by FSU and Ole Miss. This wasn’t how the season was supposed to pan out. Another loss puts BK and crew at .500 in a year where they allegedly had national title aspirations. Will they survive? Is Missouri just another flash-in-the-pan Eastern team that’s feasted on bad competition?
- PEW PEW! The Red River Shootout at the Texas State Fairgrounds, in a battle of unbeatens for the first time in a decade. The No. 6 Longhorns are a known quantity, and have had their trial by fire. The No. 12 Sooners are a bit of an unknown, having faced far worse competition. Are the Dirt Burglars back? Are the ‘Horns actually just as good as they seem? Which program emerges from their crucible?
- No. 10 Notre Dame travels to No. 25 Louisville, where both of these ACC foes have been escaping teams by the skin of their teeth — but the Domers have done it against against two ranked teams, and barely dropped a decision to No. 3 Ohio State. UL is dicking around with teams like Georgia Tech. Does Brohm bring his alma mater full circle back to prominence?
- Keep an eye on Syracuse at No. 10 UNC — the Orange a very solid team, and if the Tarheels are looking ahead, they can drop this game very easily.
- USC can’t look ahead to their next two weeks vs. Utah and Notre Dame; the dangerous Arizona Wildcats passing attack comes to town. Not that ‘Zona is a good team, but the USC secondary is straight garbage.
- How will Arkansas respond after getting blasted by Aggie last week? How will the Ole Miss Rebels fare after their thrilling 4th Quarter rally vs. rival LSU? Some coach is leaving this game with a hot seat. Fortunately for Lane, he’s at home.
That and more: Here’s your complete schedule for Week 6. All times are in Heathen Eastern.
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Texas (at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas) | 12 p.m. | ABC
Maryland at No. 4 Ohio State | 12 p.m. | FOX
No. 23 LSU at No. 21 Missouri | 12 p.m. | ESPN
Boston College at Army | 12 p.m. | CBSSN
Western Michigan at Mississippi State | 12 p.m. | SEC Network
Rutgers at Wisconsin | 12 p.m. | Peacock
William & Mary at Virginia | 12 p.m. | ACC Network
Toledo at UMass | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Rhode Island at Brown | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Stony Brook at Morgan State | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Stonehill at Merrimack | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Holy Cross at Bucknell | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Georgetown at Penn | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Lafayette at Princeton | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Lehigh at Fordham | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Dayton at Morehead State | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Stetson at Presbyterian | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Yale at Dartmouth | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Samford at Wofford | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Marshall at NC State | 2 p.m. | CW Network
UTSA at Temple | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Central Michigan at Buffalo | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Virginia Lynchburg at South Carolina State | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Western Illinois at North Dakota | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Valparaiso at Drake | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
The Citadel at Furman | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 13 Washington State at UCLA | 3 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
Howard at Northwestern | 3 p.m. | Big Ten Network
North Dakota State at Missouri State | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Murray State at South Dakota | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
UT Martin at Eastern Illinois | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Tennessee State at Kennesaw State | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Virginia Tech at No. 5 Florida State | 3:30 p.m.
No. 11 Alabama at Texas A&M | 3:30 p.m. | CBS
Syracuse at No. 14 North Carolina | 3:30 p.m.
Purdue at Iowa | 3:30 p.m. | Peacock
Wake Forest at Clemson | 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network
North Texas at Navy | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN
Ball State at Eastern Michigan | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Bowling Green at Miami (Ohio) | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Kent State at Ohio | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Northern Illinois at Akron | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Grambling at Alcorn State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Mercer at East Tennessee State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Vanderbilt at Florida | 4 p.m. | SEC Network
Arkansas State at Troy | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Jackson State vs. Alabama A&M (in Mobile, Ala.) | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Houston Christian at Nicholls | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Northwestern State at Lamar | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Western Carolina at Chattanooga | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
UConn at Rice | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
SE Missouri State at Central Arkansas | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
SE Louisiana at UIW | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Tulsa at Florida Atlantic | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Southern Illinois at Youngstown State | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Robert Morris at Gardner-Webb | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Colorado at Arizona State | 6:30 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
No. 20 Kentucky at No. 1 Georgia | 7 p.m. | ESPN
South Alabama at UL Monroe | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Old Dominion at Southern Miss | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
South Dakota State at Illinois State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Florida A&M at Southern | 7 p.m. | ESPNU
Southern Utah at Tarleton State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Montana at UC Davis | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
UNI at Indiana State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 2 Michigan at Minnesota | 7:30 p.m. | NBC/Peacock
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 25 Louisville | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
Arkansas at No. 16 Ole Miss | 7:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Georgia Tech at No. 17 Miami (Fla.) | 8 p.m. | ACC Network
No. 24 Fresno State at Wyoming | 8 p.m.
Texas Tech at Baylor | 8 p.m. | ESPN2
San Jose State at Boise State | 8 p.m. | CBSSN
McNeese at Texas A&M-Commerce | 8 p.m. | ESPN+
Idaho at Cal Poly | 8:05 p.m. | ESPN+
Stephen F. Austin at Utah Tech | 9 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 15 Oregon State at Cal | 10 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
Arizona at No. 9 USC | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN
Have a great morning, and Roll Tide!