Michigan vs. Indiana, Red River Showdown, more we're watching in Week 6

By RJ Young and Laken Litman
FOX Sports College Football Writers

While No 4. Michigan is a heavy favorite (-22.5, per FOX Bet) in its Week 6 matchup against Indiana, there still could be some potholes for the Wolverines to navigate.

Chief among those? The danger of Michigan looking past the Hoosiers to a potential top-10 matchup next weekend against undefeated Penn State.

That's one of the questions we'll be considering as the Wolverines take on the Hoosiers on "Big Noon Kickoff" on FOX.

But that's not all that's going on this weekend. We've also got our eyes on a huge rivalry game between traditional Big 12  powers Oklahoma and Texas, plus a couple of high-stakes Pac-12 matchups.

Here's what we're looking forward to watching in some of the biggest matchups on Saturday. 

What storylines are you watching in Michigan at Indiana (noon ET; FOX and the FOX Sports app)?

Young: This should be a ho-hum game for the Wolverines. I’m looking for Michigan to treat Indiana — the first team to lose to Nebraska since Scott Frost was fired — like it did all the teams on its nonconference schedule. Leave no doubt, and get to work preparing for what should be a top-10 matchup against Penn State at the Big House, which I’m sure makes Michigan chum for the trap game enthusiasts, and I ain’t talking about Future.

Litman: Really what I’m looking for here is, as RJ mentions, can Michigan avoid this being a trap game? The Wolverines, who seem primed to make another Big Ten title run, have a huge top-10 date with Penn State (currently ranked No. 10) next weekend at home. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are idle and will be watching this game and taking notes. 

What are you watching in TCU at Kansas (noon ET; FS1 and the FOX Sports app)? 

Litman: First, who isn’t excited for this game? The Big 12 is wide open, and one of the most exciting matchups of Week 6 is a battle between these two unbeatens, both of whom are ranked for the first time in a long time. 

While Kansas and Lance Leipold deserve all the attention they’re getting, how about Sonny Dykes in his first year at TCU? Last week, the Horned Frogs absolutely crushed then-No. 18 Oklahoma, 55-24. Quarterback Max Duggan went 23-for-33 for 302 yards and three touchdowns, including a 73-yard pass to receiver Taye Barber in the first quarter. Duggan also rushed for 116 yards and two more scores and TCU didn’t turn the ball over once. 

We’ll see which of these teams might just be for real this week. 

Young: Kansas has a chance to begin the season 6-0 for the first time in 15 years. The last time the Jayhawks started the season with six-straight wins, they finished 12-1 and No. 7 in the final AP ranking. With Leipold at the helm, that’s on the table once more for KU as it plays the role of undefeated host to an undefeated opponent in Lawrence, Kansas, for the first time since 1960.

However, the Horned Frogs have to feel like they’re one of three teams — including Oklahoma State — with a great chance to play for the league title in a year in which OU and Texas look mid at best. 

How about Tennessee at LSU (Noon ET)?

Young: Tennessee consistently has played one of the toughest schedules in the sport alongside the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Tigers are the third ranked opponent the Volunteers have played in five games, with contests against No. 1 Alabama, No. 13 Kentucky and No. 2 Georgia still on the schedule.

I expect Josh Heupel’s team to continue to operate at warp speed and earn its first win against LSU since 2005. 

Litman: Check out LSU. After a close win over Auburn last week, Brian Kelly has the Tigers at 4-1 after a shaky start to the season. If LSU wins this game, do we dare call them SEC West contenders? Maybe, especially after the recent struggles of Texas A&M and Arkansas.

But the Tigers have a tough road after hosting Tennessee. The ensuing weeks include trips to Florida, Arkansas and Texas A&M, with home games against Ole Miss and Alabama.  

What interests you most in Texas at Oklahoma (Noon ET)?

Litman: Last year, Oklahoma made the biggest comeback in Red River Showdown history by overcoming a 38-20 halftime deficit to beat Texas 55-48 on a 33-yard touchdown with three seconds left. This year, neither team is ranked and both are 3-2.  

That doesn’t mean this game is any less important. It’s crucial for OU, which is coming off consecutive losses, and for Texas, which was able to shake off its overtime loss to Texas Tech two weeks ago with a solid win over West Virginia. 

We don’t know who will start at quarterback for either team. The Sooners’ Dillon Gabriel left last week’s game against TCU after a hard hit, while the Longhorns’ Quinn Ewers hasn’t played since suffering a sprained SC joint against Alabama in Week 2. Ewers has been eyeing a return for this game specifically — while he hasn’t played, he did dress and was available for the Horns the past two weeks. We will see if he gets the start and if he can pick up where he left off against the Crimson Tide. 

Young: Will the real Oklahoma please stand up? For crying out loud, this is a team that was recently considered one of the six best teams in the sport and has since given up an average of 48 PPG to two unranked opponents, including the national speed limit (55) to a Texas Christian squad with a head coach not named Gary Patterson.

If Gabriel can go, perhaps there’s some reason to be optimistic that Oklahoma can walk out of the Cotton Bowl with a win. But with the return of Ewers expected, the defense is going to have to do more than stand there and look mean to stop the Longhorns. 

How about Texas Tech at Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m. ET; FS1 and the FOX Sports app)?

Young: The Pokes feel like the class of the Big 12, and this is another great opportunity to show it. With Spencer Sanders seemingly transforming from an interception-throwing moth to a take-care-of-the-ball butterfly, the Pokes might be looking at their first league title since 2011 and perhaps their first bid to the CFP. 

I’m watching to see that Sanders doesn’t regress because Tech is good enough to make the Pokes do more than sweat. 

Litman: Oklahoma State showed some separation in the Big 12 by beating Baylor in Waco last week in a conference title game rematch. Can the Cowboys keep up the momentum and avoid a letdown against the Red Raiders before playing TCU on the road the following weekend? 

Regardless, this will be a fun quarterback duel between the Big 12’s best: Tech sophomore Donovan Smith has been an exciting player to watch and leads the conference with 295.2 passing yards per game, while OSU's Sanders is right behind him with 274.3 YPG. 

What’s worth watching in Utah at UCLA (3:30 p.m. ET; FOX and the FOX Sports app)?

Litman: Don’t forget about UCLA in the Pac-12 title race! This game is a huge test for Chip Kelly, who has the Bruins at 5-0 after pulling off an upset of Washington last week. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson dazzled, throwing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns while running back Zach Charbonnet ran for 124 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Can those two keep it up in another high-profile game against No. 11 Utah? The Utes are 4-1 after a Week 1 road loss to Florida and need wins these next two weeks against ranked conference opponents. After the Bruins, Utah hosts USC.  

Young: I didn’t expect UCLA to be here — perfect. I did not expect Utah to be here — imperfect. Now that the Bruins have well and truly entered the group chat called Pac-12 title race, let’s see if they will continue to contribute to the conversation with a win against the defending league champs, or quietly leave the conversation after finding out it’s a little rough in there.

To beat Utah, there’s no doubt that Thompson-Robinson and Charbonnet are gonna have to play as well as they did against Washington last Friday.

What are you looking for in Washington State at USC (7:30 p.m. ET; FOX and the FOX Sports app)?

Young: Washington State is capable of pulling the upset here, and that comes down to Cameron Ward’s ability to take care of the ball. If Ward plays clean, the Cougars will be there at the end with USC and a chance to hand Lincoln Riley his first loss as head coach at USC.

Litman: Washington State would be a top-25 team right now if it wasn’t for a three-point loss to Oregon a few weeks ago. The Cougars should provide the first big test for Trojans’ quarterback Caleb Williams, who has 12 touchdowns to one interception so far, and to USC’s offense, which has been rolling and scoring about 42 points per game.

And finally, what catches your eye in Texas A&M at Alabama (8 p.m. ET)? 

Litman: We’ve been looking forward to this one since the great Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher feud of Summer 2022. To quickly recap, Saban made headlines earlier this year when he said Fisher, who was his offensive coordinator at LSU from 2000-04, "bought every player" in the Aggies’ top-ranked recruiting class with NIL deals. Fisher responded by calling those comments "despicable."

Now, Alabama and Texas A&M play each other for the first time since that public spat. The Aggies upset the Crimson Tide last year, but Bama is the new No. 1 team in the county after Georgia struggled against Missouri last week. However, the Tide could be without star quarterback Bryce Young, who injured his shoulder in last week’s game against Arkansas. Saban said earlier this week that Young is "day-to-day," and he will certainly want his Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback to make a statement against the struggling 3-2 Aggies.

Young: We’re still talking about Ampersand U? Really?!

If A&M fails to pull off yet another unexpected win against Nick Saban, that won’t last for long. Sure, there was some head coach chirping in the offseason, and I certainly had my fun talking through it. But we’re playing ball now — or at least Alabama is.

A&M? They’re losing to state schools — just like them. Show me some heart, A&M. Show us all you’re still a program we should fear.

Read more:

- Red River Showdown: Storylines to watch in Oklahoma-Texas

- Inside Steve Sarkisian's magic touch developing QBs

- Michigan-Indiana, Oklahoma-Texas: CFB Week 6 by the numbers

- Big Noon Kickoff: Everything to know about Michigan-Indiana

- As elite teams reveal flaws, opportunity arises for Ohio State, USC, others

- College football rankings: Ohio State nabs our No. 1 spot

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously covered college football, college basketball, the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team and the Olympics at Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. Her first book, written in partnership with Rizzoli and Sports Illustrated and titled "Strong Like a Woman," was published in spring 2022 marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube.