College football Week 6 preview: Five best games to watch this weekend
There’s a new No. 1 team in the country after what happened last weekend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In what will go down as one of the all-time great showdowns between Alabama and Georgia, the Crimson Tide sprinted out to a 28-0 lead but had to hold on to beat the Bulldogs, 41-34. Bama entered halftime up 30-7, the Dawgs responded relentlessly in the second half, and they likely would have pulled off a win had it not been for a 17-year-old freshman named Ryan Williams.
Kalen DeBoer’s SEC debut went better than anyone could have imagined, and now he’s the coach of the No. 1 team in the country. It was a dramatic and thrilling way to end September.
Now it’s on to Week 6 and the month of October is here. At first glance, the slate might not look as compelling as what’s in store for all of us next week. But maybe that means there’s an upset waiting to happen.
Here are the top five games to watch this weekend (all games Saturday unless otherwise indicated):
Michigan State at No. 6 Oregon (Friday, 9 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)
After a turbulent start to the season, it looks like Oregon is finding its groove. In the past two weeks, the Ducks have looked more like the team we expected to see, crushing both Oregon State and UCLA in back-to-back road games. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel is proving why he was a Heisman Trophy candidate to start the year and currently leads the country in completion percentage (81.5%). He has thrown nine touchdowns to just one interception, and as his coach Dan Lanning said last week, Gabriel "continues to prove that he’s a savvy quarterback."
Defensively, Oregon has been solid. The unit didn’t allow a touchdown vs. the Bruins and has sacked opposing quarterbacks 11 times through four games. With its College Football Playoff hopes alive, Lanning hopes his team will keep growing and getting better each week.
On the flip side, Michigan State is off to an unfortunate start to the season and enters Autzen Stadium on a two-game losing streak. The Spartans are one of the most turnover-prone teams in the country – they already have 13 in five games, and in last week’s loss to Ohio State, they lost the ball three times. Quarterback Aidan Chiles has more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (five).
On paper, maybe this looks like a trap game for Oregon. But in reality, it’s not.
UCLA at No. 7 Penn State (Saturday, noon ET)
Penn State hopes to keep its winning momentum going this week. The Nittany Lions didn’t play their best against Illinois, which included too many penalties and missed field goal attempts. Highlights, however, included the running back tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, who combined for 196 rushing yards and two scores in the victory. They’ll be a handful for UCLA’s run defense, which is allowing 107.25 yards per game on the ground.
The Bruins, meanwhile, have been struggling. The offense hasn’t scored in six quarters, they’re 1-3, and have lost three straight, including the last two to ranked teams (then-No. 16 LSU and then-No. 8 Oregon). As was evident in last week’s loss to the Ducks, this defense isn’t well-equipped to see an explosive offense, which Penn State has.
This is the program’s first Big Ten road game, and Happy Valley won’t be so welcoming.
No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M (Saturday, noon ET)
Things have been looking up for Texas A&M since that season-opening loss to Notre Dame at home. The Aggies have won four straight since then and are led by a new quarterback in redshirt freshman Marcel Reed, who has taken over for an injured Conner Weigman. Ever since the QB switch, the offense has been rolling. Over the past three games, Reed has thrown for more than 500 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions.
Missouri, which has a top-three defense in the country, will certainly pose the biggest threat yet. The Tigers are limiting opponents to 219 yards and 12 points per game. They’re big, physical and athletic – adjectives Aggies coach and defensive savant Mike Elko used while talking about them. However, this is Missouri's first road game of the season, and it won’t be a favorable one as Kyle Field is one of the rowdiest stadiums in college football.
Auburn at No. 5 Georgia (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Georgia is looking to bounce back from last week’s crushing 41-34 loss to Alabama. The Bulldogs’ CFP goals are still intact, but with tough games against Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee still left on the schedule, Georgia needs a win at home this weekend. Getting back on track is especially important for quarterback Carson Beck, who wasn’t himself in the first half vs. the Crimson Tide. He rallied the Dawgs in the second half and ended up throwing for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns, but he also had three interceptions, including a late one in the end zone.
The good thing for UGA is that Auburn has a QB conundrum. Payton Thorne, who briefly lost his starting job, is back, but he has already thrown six interceptions in four games. That doesn’t bode well for any offense when it's facing Georgia’s defense. The Bulldogs’ D has not allowed a single touchdown … outside of the five it gave up to Alabama last week. But the Tigers’ offense is not as dynamic or explosive as the Tide.
No. 10 Michigan at Washington (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
It’s a rematch of last year’s national championship game, except these teams couldn’t be any more different than the ones that met in January. Both Michigan and Washington have new head coaches and new quarterbacks and their rosters look drastically different. They both lack the spunk and explosiveness they had last season and neither is a popular pick to make the CFP.
Having said that, this is a new Big Ten conference game. The Huskies have lost two of their last three and are looking for a massive win over a more talented opponent. Meanwhile, the Wolverines are playing their first game away from Ann Arbor. Look out for Michigan quarterback Alex Orji and if he can get the passing game going a bit, as well as running back Kalel Mullings, who has rushed for 423 yards with six touchdowns in the last three games. Washington has a top RB too in Jonah Coleman, who has been averaging 104.2 yards per game, and will be a challenge for the Wolverines’ defense.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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