The revolving doors at the top of two Power Five conferences have created even more intrigue when it comes to projecting the potential College Football Playoff contenders this season. Alabama, Ole Miss and Georgia have all dropped a game in the SEC while Stanford, USC and UCLA have all lost in the Pac-12.
Ohio State, TCU, Baylor and Michigan State are the current top four teams in the country but three of those teams have experienced at least one close call while the other (Baylor) has yet to face a tough enough test to truly gauge their current rankings. The intrigue and excitement continues with a full slate again this weekend.
Here is a look at the four can’t miss games for Week 6 of the college football season along with the best bets to win each game.
No. 19 Georgia Bulldogs @ Tennessee Volunteers
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Georgia had the opportunity to make a major statement at home against Alabama last week but just like back in 2008. They were completely outclassed by the Tide and the end result was a lopsided 38-10 loss in which they were dominated in nearly every area of the game.
The blowout loss is probably enough to completely push the Bulldogs out of contention in regards to the College Football Playoff in big part due to their relatively mediocre schedule the rest of the way.
They will certainly be on upset alert this week against a Tennessee team that has been good but hasn’t been able to close out games. The Volunteers had 13-point leads in each of their three losses this year and a more complete effort could lead to them getting back to .500. Georgia will need to regroup and reload coming off that tough loss to Alabama.
Star running back Nick Chubb could be the hero that helps them get back on track on the road as he looks to shred a Tennessee defense that just gave up 275 rushing yards to Arkansas last week.
No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys @ West Virginia Mountaineers
Saturday, 7:00 PM ET
A 37-yard field goal with 32 seconds left on the clock allowed Oklahoma State to survive a date with Kansas State. That kept their perfect record intact but there is bound to be somewhat of a letdown after a comeback victory in which they trailed by 15 points late in the second quarter.
West Virginia is looking to get back on track after suffering its first loss of the season on the road at Oklahoma last week and while their defense has been good, the offense has struggled.
The Mountaineers simply can’t afford to turn the ball over the way they did last week when Skyler Howard turned it over five times. The Mountaineers are giving up a Big 12-low 310 yards per game but if Howard can avoid the turnovers that plagued West Virginia, last week then they could make this game interesting at home.
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No. 11 Florida Gators @ Missouri Tigers
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
Florida is coming off an emotional 38-10 win over Ole Miss that turned a lot of heads last week but they will have to be careful not to fall in to a trap this weekend at Missouri.
The Tigers are coming off a tough loss at Kentucky and haven’t looked very good at all early on this season but this is their chance to right the ship. The Gators are coming off a big win and but they’re a young team that might be victim of this type of emotional letdown more than anyone else. They can’t afford it – especially with a trip to Baton Rouge to face undefeated LSU looming for next weekend.
Missouri quarterback Drew Lock is going to need his protection to be better and the Tigers need more playmakers to emerge on the offensive side of the football. If they can get some big plays, they could make this game interesting. Florida has scored 52 points while gaining over 500 yards of total offense over its last five quarters but look for a bit of a letdown this week as the Gators are put to the test on the road in a game that ends up being a lot closer than expected.
No. 23 California Golden Bears @ No. 5 Utah Utes
Saturday, 10:00 PM ET
Utah is coming off a bye week following its blowout win over Oregon and all eyes will be on them to see if they can buck the recent trend of Pac-12 teams falling once they get to the top spot.
The bye week gave Utah a chance to regroup following an emotional win and an extra week to prepare for this game, so it probably couldn’t have come at a better time. They’ve dominated thanks in big part to a strong defense and special teams that continue to make big plays. California has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround from a 1-11 season just two years ago but they were fortunate to escape with wins over Texas and Washington.
The schedule is about to get a lot tougher with trips to Utah and UCLA. Junior quarterback Jared Goff and the Golden Bears passing attack can certainly make this game interesting but in the end this game is still the Utes’ to lose.
