Latest / College Football Nobodies / Georgia at Alabama, USC at Penn State, and More | Week 6 Preview

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Georgia at Alabama, USC at Penn State, and More | Week 6 Preview · College Football Nobodies

• Kevin: Welcome back, folks, college football and nobodies, week six. Kevin and Eric here again with you. Excited to preview another really good slate of college football action this Friday and Saturday. Eric, I don't know about you, but looking across the landscape this weekend, Erich: Yeah. Kevin: what's really exciting and happens every year in college football is there's games we're going to be talking about that you didn't necessarily think you were going to be talking about before the season. Course, that's half the fun of it. So I cannot wait to dive into some of these really unique matchups this weekend as the stakes only continue to get higher. With that said, we got 13 games to dive into. So we want to get right into things. Do you got anything, Eric, before we get into the Friday night action? Erich: I have a small game for you. Rapid fire question game. So clear Kevin: boy. Erich: your mind. It's gonna be fast. There's no buts or ums allowed in this. I'm gonna say a conference, and you rank the top three teams, and you just say their names quickly. Ready? Kevin: I hope so. Yeah, this is this is good. Good stuff. Erich: A C C Kevin: Miami Wake Pit. Erich: SEC Kevin: Georgia, Texas, Bama. Erich: Big twelve. Kevin: BYU Utah Gosh, that's so that's so tough. BYU. I'll go actually BYU Oklahoma State, Utah, since the Polk's got that one over Oregon. Erich: Okay, last one. Big ten. Kevin: I'll go Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana. Erich: Okay, so my point for doing that was I know the polls have people thinking there's gonna be like six SEC teams in the playoffs right now, but people should ignore that because a lot of those teams are gonna play each other, they're gonna stack up wins and losses depending on what side of your you are on. But the other point of doing that was and so this is me saying the top 12 right now is irrelevant because there's so many games left. And two, the other point is is a lot of the teams we really liked. The top of conferences going into the year, going into week six, are kind of still there. So Wake Forest, probably a surprise to some people. Oklahoma State, not a surprise to you, but the general public, probably a surprise to a surprise to people. The Big Ten, who didn't say Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana as the top three going into the season? The SEC, who didn't say Texas and Georgia at the top, within like Obama or LSU right there. So Where I'm going with this is the powers of the conferences at this point. And especially the ACCA. I mean, I mean, Miami was everyone's pick going into it, and it still appears to be that way. But it does appear that the powers are still there. Will that change as we go? We'll see. But let's get into the games, Kevin. And Friday night, we have the get off the mat game. Iowa travels to Washington. You and I had a lot of negative things to say about Washington. And without a tremendous lift from the referees to help USC last week on a ridiculous pass interference call, maybe the worst one I've seen in years, Washington probably wins that game. Like that's how pivotal of the call that was in that moment. Now Iowa has to get off the mat having lost and really gotten throttled, getting throttled by Ohio State at home and travel across the country Friday night. We know how these Friday night games have gone so far. A lot of weird things can happen. And they gotta play a Washington team that just looked pretty pretty darn good against USC, at least for most of the game last week. I don't know where to go with this one, so I'm curious to see what you're thinking. Washington favored by three right now, opened around two and a half. What are your thoughts? Kevin: I just first off want to say, Eric, I'm exhausted from that quiz you threw on me. I'm I'm still I'm still recovering. That was a lot of that was a lot of pressure out of the gates for me. So I'm gonna try to bring it back to this Iowa Washington game. Really interesting conference game in the Big Ten. Two teams right in the middle trying to get in that upper echelon. Wesh Washington finally looked alive last week versus USC. Does that say more about USC? Is Washington improving? And for Iowa, they desperately wanted to show themselves versus Ohio State in a better way than they did. I think that was a big letdown for them. Losing by 17, a game they were really never in. Game day was there. There was a lot of people high on the Hawkeyes, as you said. It you know, it wasn't just you, it was a lot of national pundits. Thought they could, if not, spring the upset, really take the Buckeyes down to the wire. Huskies favored by three in this one. I really don't love this spot for Iowa. I think it's an emotional letdown. You you lost your opportunity at Ohio or at home versus Ohio State. You gotta travel all the way out to Seattle in a place that's always hard to play. Hank Brown's got an AC joint. Injury going on, so it's not a guarantee he will play for Iowa. I know they don't always rely on quarterback play at Iowa, but he's been pretty solid this year. Has made some plays. The funny thing with this game is Iowa's pass rush, I think, will get after Damon Williams and flood him out of the pocket, but that's probably a problem for Iowa because Damon Williams is best when he's out of the pocket. Look no further than some of the plays he made last week versus. The Trojans. So I'm gonna lean Washington here outright in a small upset. And courtesy of my friends over at the Action Sports Network, where they do some really deep analytical dives. Iowa's rush offense is a lot of the outside zone concept, and Washington is one of the best in the nation at stopping that. They're quietly a really good rush defense. And if Iowa can't get Kamari Moulton going and they gotta lean on a backup quarterback in this game, on the road, hostile environment, in a time slot they're not accustomed to playing with, I think it's just one of these classic college football situational spots. And I'm gonna go Huskies here with the upset when it comes to the rankings, but not when it comes to the odds. Erich: Yeah, I I agree. And Eileen home team here on this simply because of the Friday night, tremendous travel west. Iowa just got physically dominated. They gotta come off of that and play against a Washington team that probably came out of the USC game with some confidence. Like, hey, like we should have just beat a top fifteen in the country. Refs screwed us. So Eileen Washington as well. I don't think it's gonna be pretty. Twenty to sixteen or something like that would be where Eileen. Well, let's let's stay west and move into the Big 12 here. And BYU escapes last week against TCU, did when they needed to, nasty weather. We talked about that. Iowa State comes into town. Having played, I mean, let's be real. If you're an Iowa State fan right now, you probably don't feel that horrible about losing Matt Campbell at this point. I mean, I think I think Rodgers has shown quite a bit as their head coach. Brought in a ton of players, clearly has a locker room that is in a good spot. And so they're I think they're going to play well and probably win more games than people thought. I I know, I think Phil Steele and others, if you remember, had them ranked like last in the Big 12 going into it. I don't I don't see that. I think they're they're definitely better than the bottom half of of the Big 12 at this point. But I don't like this spot for them at all. And I know we say crazy things happen on the road. Generally not in Provo. on Friday nights, generally not in Provo, I don't think. I think BYU BYU's favor for 10 and a half. I think that feels right to me. I don't think BYU is not this offensive juggernaut, but I think I see 24, 27 to 10, something like that. So either they're gonna cover or they're gonna barely not cover. That's kind of where Eileen and I just think defensively BYU is gonna force Iowa State to play this defensive game that they're probably not best suited playing unless they're playing a a team that maybe isn't quite as effective at offense like Iowa, compared to BYU. So that's where Eileen, what what you s what say you, Kevin? Kevin: Really interesting game because as you said, Iowa State has completely completely outperformed their expectations. They were the consensus pick for dead last in the Big 12 by everyone. So kudos to Jimmy Rogers and and the whole Cyclone program. Jalen Rayner has been a huge part of that. He gives them a legit a legitimate chance in this game with this dual thread ability. They just ran for a ton of yards last week. I know it was against West Virginia's much malign defense. But Aiden Flora Ran for two twelve, and that's a guy that for Matt Campbell sat behind Carson Hansen and Abu Sama, who's now at Wisconsin. So, hmm, kind of interesting there. Maybe he should have got some more carries last year for the Cyclones. I think that gives him a chance with the running game and the dual thread ability of Rayner. The issues is he worries me with his he's turnover prone in his career. You can't do that out in Provo. They gotta play a clean game. But they're also catching a bl break with the Cougars. LJ Martin is doubtful for this game. The Bell Cal running back for the Cougars. they're also beat up on defense. the linebacker Isaiah Glasker is out for BYU. So I kind of like the cyclones to cover here. Just sneak, you know, sneak inside, maybe a late cover or kind of hang around and and lose by eight or so. I think BYU's disciplined enough on defense. They're more talented. And I think I think they can cause some turnovers for Rayner in this game. That could be the difference, just like it was for them last week. But but watch out in this game if Iowa State can consistently stay on the field and and leave Bear Bachmeyer on the sideline. So I'm excited to see this game. It's another really good Friday night game. this is the Fox game, I believe, on Friday night. I'm almost positive. no, excuse Erich: Yeah. Kevin: me. It's the no, it's the late night Erich: ESPN. Kevin: ESPN. It'll be what's it's not 8 15 mountain time out there in Provo. So 1015 Eastern. I'll lean Cyclones getting getting the points there. Fun game. BYU takes care of business though. Erich: Yeah, I love it. Let's see what happens. good chance for BYU to get an extra day of rest, get out of there, and get ready for Notre Dame the following week. Little preview on that, Kevin. If ticket prices come down late, I will be at the game. If they stay at $500 or more receipt, though, I already told my best man in my from my wedding way back in the day, who's a Notre Dame alum and wants to go there that you do what you want. I'm not paying over 500 bucks to go see Nord Dameplay at BYU. moving on. The CW at new the noon kick. Wake for us, our fastest growing most favorite team in the ACC at NC State. Road favorite, Kevin. Wake. Favored by four. How Wake's played so far, you would think they should be favored by more. But then Nancy's NC State got the win last week against Louisville. So you're like, I I don't know. This is, I think, where the ACC is going to get really interesting because is it going to be. I know we want to like crown favorites, but I think we should pump the brakes and just say there's really only one team you can do that with in the ACC. And in most conferences, there's only one or two, maybe three that you can. But in the ACC right now, that's Miami. So for this one, I think this is gonna be a good game, Kevin. I I I think the the four and and this is gonna be like a this test. If Wake can get through this woke road game and get another good win here, look out. Then they're you know they're kind of gonna build confidence every week. They've looked great so far. You know, everyone was crapping on Miami after they didn't destroy Wake Forest, and now we know why they didn't, because Wake's a pretty darn good team, especially in offense. But NC State, they do have talent there. So I'm leaning with the road team on this one, Kevin. Although like part of me saying, man, this feels like this could be that stop where Wake maybe loses one, they'll look back and feel like they shouldn't. what do you think? Kevin: I love this spot for Wake. No surprise for those of you that have been listening. And thank you, viewers out there. I'm all about the Demon Deacons in this game. I think it's perfect because NC State did win a big home game last week versus Louisville. And now to do it two weeks in a row, I just think Dave Doran's ball club at NC State is too inconsistent to do that. And I think his quarterback, CJ Bailey, is too inconsistent. To do that. I think he'll have some turnovers in this game. I love, love Langston Hardy, the edge player for Wake. He, I think, led the ACC in tackles for loss last year with 17. He's important in this game because CJ Bailey can get loose with his legs. So having a freak like that on the edge is important. I also think NC State last week benefited their defense, guarding against Louisville, who just kind of runs a straightforward downhill attack. Now you got Gio Lu Lopez who brings some of that off-platform running. He brings some option ability. Carlos Hernandez, if you have not seen him, one of the most electric players and really fun players to watch in the country. A returner man, as well as a receiver with over 600 yards receiving already this year, and a punt return to the house. Erich: Yeah. Kevin: I just think this team has a lot of weapons. KD Daniels is a really good running back. I've really been impressed watching him. This team has dudes, like they Erich: Yeah. Kevin: got a lot of talent on this roster. Jake Dickert, one of our favorite coaches, he's gonna be on the shortlist, like we talked about Erich: yeah. Kevin: on Sunday, for some big jobs. They're just really well coached. I think they're built to go into this game. They've had a early schedule that's prepared them for this. And I think they get out of Raleigh and I'll say 34 27 Demon Deacons. Nice win at Carter Finley Stadium. Competitive ball game. You could certainly score on the Demon Deacons a little bit, but I think they got enough to get past the inconsistent inconsistent Wolfpack, who I think will be patting themselves on the back a little too much after last week. And I I think that said more about Louisville and their inconsistencies and lack of toughness at times. Erich: Yeah, I agree. speaking of consistency and lacks a lack of toughness. Same time but the ABC game, Texas AM goes to Missouri, and I I just don't know what to think about Missouri. Because you watch them last week, you're like, this is one of the best teams in the country, right? Kevin: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Erich: Then you watch them other times, you know, that at times they didn't look great against Kansas, but you know, then they pulled away at the end there. you know, obviously they they lost at Mississippi State and Texas AM just hasn't looked great across the board, other than when they're playing teams like Arkansas last week. That's the only time they seem to looked good. Missouri has appears to have a really good front four, and that's a problem for Texas hanging down. So if Missouri's pass rush is on, I think Marcel Reed just is not. He's just not good enough of a quarterback to deal with that at this point, unless you just let him scramble everywhere. So I I don't know. Missouri favored by three and a half. It just feels like they're the more stable team what we've seen here. They're the more most consistent team. Losing at Mississippi State is not what I'd quantify as a bad loss at this point. Whereas Texas AM has just looked downright bad in spots this year against quality teams. So I don't other than the emotional side of it is Missouri has to get off the mat against Florida. Maybe. I I I don't know. I just think do we start trusting Elay Drinkowitz as a coach here to show some consistency for Missouri. So I I see your facial expression here. You're kind of feeling what I am a little bit. To me, I just think Missouri's the better team here. But I think I don't think it's gonna be as clean as it should be. if you look at just the rosters here, I Missouri feels like they're the better team, but I don't know. This one is weird. Another one we're gonna pick. I'm hesitant to pick against the spread, which is why I'm just gonna go with it. Missouri 31 AM 24. Just because I don't know how to call this one other than. Yeah, Missouri's looked more consistent and like the better team, from what I've my eyes have shown me thus far. Kevin: I so badly want to take AM in this game. This is it is the ultimate letdown spot for Mizzou. They are not as good as they showed last week. And I don't care what type of heat I take from Tigers fans on that. They played a flawless game. It was like Chase Daniels, Jeremy Macklin level, like back to 2008. Missouri teams. I just don't see them duplicating that again. I think this is an ugly, ugly game. The only thing that's keeping me from pulling the trigger on the upset with AM is exactly what you said. They've looked so bad this year. I was really down on them coming into this year. I've predicted seven and five. I've thrown nothing but shade at the Aggies. I can't just all of a sudden pick them to win a tough road game versus Mizzou, even though I don't think Mizzou is as good as they showed last week. Florida has some defensive issues that they still got to clean get cleaned up. AM can really make this a low-scoring game. They still have the athletes on defense and the personnel to slow down Mizzou's offense. If they can stay on the field, muck it up, convert third and shorts. That's the thing though. They gotta be able to run the ball versus Mazoo's tough front four, as you said. Cause if Marcel Reed is forced to pass in this game and it's off schedule, like that's not gonna be good as we know for the Aggies. And unfortunately, I hate to pile on a kid, but that's really why I I cannot pick AM in this game. I do not trust Marcel Reed to not make some really boneheaded plays in this game. I trust Erich: Yeah. Kevin: Austin Simmonsmore at home, like you often say, lean the better quarterback. But if AM is leading this game like 17-16 in the fourth quarter, I will not be surprised. I think it's lower scoring, so I'll go the under here. I think Mizzou sneaks by, maybe a winning field goal at the gun or a failed two-point conversion late by AM. So I'll say 21-19. Mizzou. Ugly game. Stay away. This one's a tough, tough one to predict. Another one of these situational spots. Erich: I love it. Well, another situational spot going on at noon here on the Fox game. You could maybe say Indiana's first test, but as we now know, Northwestern was a a pretty good test as well at this point. But Indiana has to travel to Lincoln Field, Nebraska, and they're getting, you know, they're favored by seven and a half. Kevin, I have this in one of my categories, so I will talk about it then. But I'll let you talk for a couple of minutes before we go to our next game. Kevin: Yeah, you mentioned this game on Sunday. I'm really fired up about this one too, Eric. You think back to 2024, Matt Rule called it the worst loss of his career. The Hoosiers rolled into Lincoln and won 56-7. I mean, imagine saying that Erich: Domination. Kevin: to Nebraska in the prime of their program that Indiana's gonna roll in 56-7 in Memorial Stadium. But that's the current state of college football. Nebraska is quietly five and and has Erich: Mm-hmm. Kevin: Kinda looked pretty good doing it, Eric. This is a team that college football fans, including ourselves, have loved to pile on. The proud program of the nineties, you know, they haven't been relevant since 2001. And speaking of 2001, I saw a really interesting stat. They've won their first five games by at least 17 points or more. For the first time since that 2001 Eric Crouch team that got blasted by Miami in the national championship after Colorado had beaten them 62 36 in that famous game in Boulder. That's really that was Colorado and Miami started the downfall of the Nebraska program. And since they've been trying to get back, and I want to lean Nebraska here, but how many times have they had these big games and these opportunities? Erich: Yeah. Kevin: There's been a some a lot of years they've just been straight up bad, but they've had some of these teams where it's like, hey, maybe they're kind of good, and it just doesn't happen for them. This could be the time. Cause man, Anthony Anthony Calandria for Nebraska quarterback looks like the real deal. They might have upgraded there from Dylan Riola. I think they did. They're scoring 44 points a game. Indiana scoring 44 points a game. Neither team has played anybody. Indiana a little stronger because Northwestern looks pretty good. So we'll see. Those are my initial thoughts. And I'm rambling a bit, so I'll I'll take a breath before I give w a couple of closing thoughts on the game. What's what are your thoughts? I know I know you want to talk about later, but just initial thoughts. Erich: My initial thought is, and my preview is streaks come to an end at some point. And that's all I'll say for now. Kevin: Okay. Yeah, I just to put a ball on it. You know, Turbo Richard is back for Indiana in this game. It looked like a bad injury, but you know, he ran for over 200 yards last week, so obviously he's healthy. you know, in Indiana's rush defense is great. but Nebraska's run defense has pretty been pretty solid. There's just a lot of there's a lot of numbers here that Nebraska's right there with Indiana. I'll be a I'll be a coward and go Indiana here. Erich: Mm-hmm. Kevin: I I hate it because this just seems like an upset. There's just something missing a little bit with Indiana, which that's not anything ridiculous to say. They they're not as good as their national champion team. Just based off what I've seen with my eyes so far. I think others and you would agree with that. you know, Nebraska, they are protecting the quarterback better than Indiana. They're Pass rush is better than Indiana. They have more sacks than Indiana. So watch out. I'll go with Signetti here, though, just because I can't trust Matt Rule in a big game. Erich: Ha ha ha. Kevin: I'll I'll go 27-24, Hoosier's heartbreak again for the Huskers, but could absolutely see Nebraska winning this game. There's something, something's brewing there, it seems like. Erich: Well, we'll see. Like I said, we'll come back to that game a little later. Houston at Kansas State, back to the Big Twelve. speaking of heartbreak that might not exist, Kansas State not ranked, favorite over the ranked team. Based on what we saw from the no crowd at Houston's home game last week, I don't know that anyone cares in that city what happens to this team, and it's too bad because they're pretty good. We got the Bill Snyder family stadium. Really nice jersey colors contrast here, Kevin. Not the color palette of the week award, but some good contrast here. I'm going with the home team here. I just I don't know what else to say. Maybe it's because I want Houston to lose just after that ridiculous crowd last week. And it just feels like Kansas State is sneakily playing decent. Favored by two and a half. You know, that doesn't mean much, but I'm thinking the home team here is what gets it done. I think they win by three. I do think there's gonna be some points in this game. It's not gonna be crazy, but twenty seven, twenty-four is what I'm going with in this one. Kevin: I'm with you. It's it's hard to be fired up with Houston last week after that crowd. I'm going with the Purple Cats here in Manhattan. Another fan base that always shows up. This will be a good atmosphere. Another one of those ranked teams on the road, but Kansas State is the favorite in the desert by two and a half. Gimme the Wildcats here. Total clash of styles. You know, Houston's averaging forty five points a game. 250 yards passing a game, 250 roughly rushing yards a game. And then K-State allows 15 points a game and only gives up 106 passing yards a game. I think the Wildcats have the exact tools that you want in this game. They can defend the pass really well without selling out on the run. That affects what Connor Wegman can do for Houston, keeps him in the pocket. I think they can stop him from running. And they can do a good job versus the Houston receivers. And Wigm Wagman's not gonna have time downfield. So give me the defense in this game. I think K State has the matchup there for sure. Just think they're a little bit more physical than Houston as well. I'd be really impressed if the Couggs are able to go in there and get this done. And and then let's not forget Avery Johnson's got a low loads of experience for Kansas Erich: Yeah. Kevin: State. So small upset here. I was just a coward on the last pick. I'll take Kansas State here in the minor big twelve upset, which would be a big win for them. Erich: Absolutely. You know, going into the season, we probably would have thought that the Red River shootout would be a game we're gonna be struggle to move on from and talk about too long and is gonna have all these stakes on the line. Unfortunately, right now, it just doesn't seem to be like that. We'll see if Oklahoma can change that narrative. But boy, Cotton Bowl and Dallas I just I don't I'm not saying it's gonna be like a a a shootout, but with what I've seen from Oklahoma and just how bad they are on offense, Texas is really good on defense. I mean, they got guys who sack the quarterback five times and then pretend like they're peeing on the ground, running all over the place, getting penalties for simulating using the bathroom, Kevin. They're probably gonna it's probably hard pressed to stop them from doing that again. Unless Mathir suddenly learned how to Be a pocket passer and read the defense and make quick decisions. This just feels like a terrible spot from Oklahoma. Even I think they had a bye week last week, so even with that. Texas favored by eight and a half. It feels like they'll probably cover that at this point. And Texas hasn't been this behemoth offensively, but you know, they have been pretty consistent. When they need to make plays, they do, they're tested. Know they're more tested in Oklahoma at this point. So yeah, I don't know. I think 31 14, I I I'd love to give more respect to this game. I just until I see something, still you see some signs from life from Oklahoma. And they're almost in this weird place that for me in their conference, they're in the same place that Michigan is. A team that you know has talent, but it just looks like a mess right now. so I think Texas wins this game. They maybe pull away late and it's maybe a little close early. But I think in like either twenty-seven, thirty one, fourteen, somewhere near, that's where I land. Kevin: Yeah, it's interesting how little hype this game is gonna get when you think of Oklahoma, Texas. A game I've always wanted to get to. The environment there. Erich: Yeah, we we should make a point of doing that at some point. Kevin: yeah. My brother was there in two thousand eight when it was Sam Bradford versus Colt McCoy. And I believe it was a shootout in the forties. I think Oklahoma won that. But he just talked about the Texas State Fair there, big Tex, the corndogs, second to none, all the fair food. The teams walk in with the fair going on right there into the tunnel to their locker rooms. Just totally college football field, half crimson and cream. Burnt orange on the other side. The conballs should still be played there. I I I hate that it's in Jerry World. This is such a cool venue. As far as the game, really, really hard to see Oklahoma winning. Like, how how are they gonna score, Eric? How are they going to score? Erich: I don't know. We saw how hard it was on Tennessee and Tennessee is a really, really good rushing attack. And they they couldn't most times get outside their backfield more than three yards. So I I have no idea how they're gonna score. Kevin: I think like you said, it's close for a bit. Oklahoma's coming off a bye. Texas, I believe, as well. A lot of years these teams get a bye before this game. And Brent Venables and the pride of the Sooners will show up in this game because it's after Ohio State, Michigan and the Iron Bowl, you know, this is right there for the the all time college football rivalries. I I'm with you. Texas wins a low scoring game. You don't see a total like that in this game a lot. It's at thirty-nine and a half. Texas's talent on the defensive side will be too much. Oklahoma just has shown nothing in the run game, and John Mathias had a really rough year. I don't know how that magically gets fixed versus one of the more talented defensive rosters. Texas, Erich: Yeah. Kevin: I think, will keep Oklahoma in this game at times because their offense still has those weird inconsistencies where you're just like, what the heck is going on here? So it could be 10-3, 13-6 at half, Longhorns, but eventually Arch Manning, Hollywood Smothers, and the Texas offense gets untracked. I think they make some big plays down the field with. Ryan Wingo and company. I'll go Texas twenty three Oklahoma fourteen. So I think right around the spread and good old fashioned Erich: Okay. Kevin: physical game. Erich: Well, if I was a gambling man, a game at the same time, I would bet this one's gonna have more points. So the CBS afternoon game, we got UCLA at Oregon. And I'm excited for this because I think we will learn a lot about UCLA. Obviously, my badgers have to travel there next week coming off a bye. And so I really gonna want to get a better understanding of what this team is. They've run the ball really well, they've put up points, a lot of points in some of their games. They haven't exactly played. a traditional Big Ten power or highly ranked team at this point. So this is an interesting test for them. Oregon favored by eleven and a half, regardless of who plays quarterback at this point. So it'll be interesting just to see if if Rayola plays or if Dante Moore is back. I'm not really sure. Tough place to play, tough place to win. Hardly anyone, anyone ever wins there. This is probably, I think, the spot where we come back around on Oregon. That's the way I feel about this one, Kevin. Where we say, okay, UCLA, we've seen what they can do. A chance for Oregon to kind of step up defensively and be a little bit better there against the run. And I think they cover. I do think, and again, it might be one where they cover late. I think there's gonna be points, but I think I'm like I'm in the like the Oregon 33, UCLA 20, which is respectable against an high powered Oregon team that seems to be getting better every week. So if I'm a UCLA fan, I wouldn't be disappointed about that. A lot of teams go there and get beat way worse and would be a good step for this team as they are clearly improved after last couple years. Kevin: Yeah, I'm fired up for this one, Eric. Anytime you get these old Pac Ten matchups that are meaningful, great color matchup, of course, if Oregon please wear green and yellow, something normal. Erich: don't count on it. Kevin: I know it almost seems like the bigger the game, the dumber they get with their uniforms. So that's that. But, anyways, not taking away my excitement from the game. The Sharps hammered this line down right away. I think there's something with UCLA. Bob Chesney, of course, is doing great things out there in Hollywood. They're 4 0, roughly 45 points a game. They certainly are explosive. Nico's been awesome. But it's that ground game. Sometimes you think of explosive teams. It's it's not all the passing game. They really can run the ball. The dark knight in the backfield for the Bruins, Wayne Knight, the James Madison transfer that Chesney brought with him has been electric. And I I like I like UCLA here. Knight is a really tough back to tackle. Oregon's had some tackling issues this year. Kinda reminds you of like Maurice Jones Drew back in the day. Bruins fans, of course, have great memories of him. I I don't want to pull the trigger here. It's so hard to win an odson. I don't think UCLA is ready to do that yet. I'm thinking Oregon 34, UCLA 24. I worry about UCLA's defense in this game. They have given up some points. We talked offline. I believe it was 38 points versus Purdue. They gave up a bunch of points to Cal early. Oregon. Brings a lot of confidence into their game. That was a big road win for them at USC to bounce back from that Oklahoma State loss, which as we know doesn't look like a bad loss at all. So we'll see. But this is going to be interesting. UCLA's tempo, the ability to run the football, the ability to keep Oregon and Dante Moore off the field is going to be really important. but I think the Ducks and that NFL loaded. Front four, front seven is gonna be ready to go. I think they have new life from that loss to Oklahoma State. And I think they're gonna be able to get too much pressure on Nico and force UCLA into some uncomfortable spots where they can't grind grind it out. But if UCLA stays on the field for a long time, watch out. I'll go ducks. Thirty four twenty four. Really entertaining game. Erich: Yeah, and like I said, I think a a score like that, I know you don't want to be satisfied with the loss, but based based off where UCLA was the past couple years, how can you not be at least somewhat confident coming out of that that you played that well on the road against Oregon? Another road game favorite, Kevin, or not compared to last game, but some of the others. I'm gonna call this the pump the breaks game of the week. And I'm saying that about Kentucky. LSU at Kentucky. I mean Kentucky for most people is probably outperformed everything you thought they would do at this point in this season, just in terms of the wins they've gotten. They're four and one, they're playing well. It just feels to me like they've had to lay it on the line multiple times now in a row. And even the week before that how who were they playing that group of six team where they was tight early and they had to pull away late. And then they had to win in overtime this last week to pull it off. LSU, I think, covered for their favorite by eight and a half for a reason. And I think two things happen here. Kentucky kind of resets, and LSU kind of establishes themselves as the hey, it's not a top three. I know we have the loss, you know, that happened to us, but look, that was a terrible spot for us. The emotions were high. Let's play that game again and we're here and we can compete with anyone. So I think we come out of this thing and LSU is is probably solidified as that, you know, they're in that top four or five in the SEC quite handily. And Kentucky, I don't want to say takes a step back, but I I think it's just the pump the brakes game for them where they have to mentally reset. Kevin: With you. I kind of mentioned that last week. I know Kentucky fans won't love this, but you won a game versus a poorly coached South Carolina team. You were down 17-0 early. Kudos to Will Stein and the Wildcats for coming back. Kenny Minchie has been better than I thought. And Erich: Yeah. Kevin: it's fantastic. Kentucky, you're having a great season. You also want at Texas AM, a really hard place to play, but I think. That's a really, really overrated Texas AM team that's gonna end up with a record that's not too pretty. The only thing about this game is the LSU injuries. Otherwise, I have them big in this game. Sam Levitt's not Erich: Yeah. Kevin: 100%, and his best asset is running. Trade as green, the freak tight end for LSU is out. Deshaun Spears and the secondary is out. Wit weeks are. Defensive leader is out. That is a lot, a lot of talent for the Bayou Bengals. I'll still say they cover, though. There is a lot of talent in the cup Erich: Yeah. They're loaded. Kevin: in the cupboard over there. I think Kentucky, similar to Alabama in that second half where Alabama just rolled them. I think they find out, like, yeah, this is the upper echelon. There's still a ways to go here. And one of the stats in this game I look at is LSU's only allowing 3.9 yards a play. Kentucky is averaging like five and a half yards per play. They've been able to overcome that. You don't want to do that versus LSU's offense. I think it would get uglier if everyone was healthy for the Tigers, but I still think they can win by three scores in Lexington. So I will go. Thirty thirty one No thirty four seventeen LSU. Erich: I love it. Let's jump into the group of six here for a moment, Kevin. North Dakota State at UNLV, big game. chance for UNLV to one kind of re-establish themselves as one of the top group of six teams. Obviously, they they kind of fell off from that early. And a chance for North Dakota State, who's already established themselves quite well their first year in FPS. As a hey, what can they do? This one's tough. North Dakota State, they're a road favorite. They've played incredible so far. I don't know, Kevin. I feel like this just feels like the spot where they're gonna drop one. I I just I c don't think you can expect them to go undefeated this year. I think this is one of the tougher games on their schedule, other than New Mexico that's coming up. And so if they're not gonna, but boy, if they win here, man. What are they going to do the rest of the way? Because this is one of their toughest spots from a travel perspective. So Bison lane three, but I think UNLV pulls this off and gets the upset here. It just feels like that spot to me where they're going to be motivated. Again, they'll match up wealth talent wise with North Dakota State. So I'm going UNLV. I think there's going to be point more points in this one than they're showing here. I'm going 3127 UNLV. I hate doing it. You know how much I love the bison, but that's just what my mind's telling me here. Kevin: Give me the bison. Erich: Love it. Kevin: There's no way on college football nobodies that we both pick against the bison. It's unacceptable. It might be in our Erich: Ha ha ha ha. Kevin: it might be in our contract, Eric. I will not allow it. Tim Polisek and the Bison roll into Vegas. This is a disciplined program. They're not interested in playing the slots, head into the strip. They they've never even heard of that. No. They're there in their hotels, tucked into bed neatly, 10 o'clock, and they're gonna be ready to roll in Vegas. I think they dictate the tempo in this game. I don't trust Jackson Arnold to not turn the ball over a time or two. And I think ND NDSU can stay on the field in this game. Keep that explosive UNLV offense off the field. I do think it's gonna be a great game. I I I'm with you. It's a little scary because the rebels have been flying under the radar. They're kind of forgotten about, thrown out the window. You're not what we thought. But I just think North Dakota State's the better team. They're more disciplined. They tackle better. UNLV really struggles to tackle. And UNLV's best advantage is to create explosive runs. And North Dakota State just doesn't allow that. Erich: Yeah. Kevin: And so I think they're going to be able to bottle up the rebels in this game. I'm all in on them. They allow around 12 points a game. I do think they cover, I'm gonna say twenty-seven twenty-one bison. Erich: I hope you're right from an emotional standpoint. The next game's gonna be interesting. I'm really curious to hear which way hear which way you go. We're gonna try to keep you on a pitch count with this one, Kevin, because I know you could talk about it for 20 minutes, but let's let's let's try to rein it in. An earmarked game going into the season. We knew it was gonna be all the white out early, and now feels like the At least going into it, one of the most lackluster emotional buildups to a whiteout I have remembered in years for Penn State. So USC traveling to Beaver Stadium. Penn State somehow favored by a point and half right now. Although the point and a half favorite is usually not a good sign for the home team because that's basically the coin flip. I don't know what to expect here because we know and To this day, we know USC still trul struggles to travel east. They should have lost to Rutgers early in the year, was kind of bailed out by a pick six on their own one-yard line. So I I don't know, but my God, Penn State has just looked terrible. And so I'm gonna pick USC, and here's why. USC, regardless of where they're playing, has shown the ability to score touchdowns on drives. Penn State. Kevin: Ha ha ha. Erich: Without the as an assistance of a turnover, has not scored a touchdown in over two games. So maybe this is their get right game. I don't know. I don't see it. I'm picking USC. I don't know that it's gonna be pretty, but I'm just going with what has at least looked somewhat effective or decent on the field, whereas just Penn State hasn't any time. They've played a team that has three star recruits on the field. So for me, I'm taking USC. I don't know what it's gonna look like. I'm going like twenty-four-seventeen, and hopefully Penn State's touchdowns are real touchdowns this week. What do you think, Kevin? Kevin: that's so true, Eric. It hurts, but the truth often hurts. I have no clue how Penn State's favorite in this game. It's the Erich: Yeah. Kevin: wild world of college football that we live in. What you said is true about the spread, but still to be favored by a point and a half. Who knows? This is a very weird game. Penn State has looked absolutely awful the last two weeks in Big Ten play. It's a complete shock. Matt Campbell said it best in his press conference today. He didn't sugarcoat it. He said, we lack an identity. Nothing could be further from the truth. And then Danton Lynn up won up to him with this quote, Eric, if you didn't catch it. The old USC defensive coordinator Danton Lynn, now for Penn State, said versus Northwestern, we didn't lose every time up front, but we didn't win at all. That Erich: not exactly a confidence statement, but Kevin: Is a microcasm of the defense. I'm with you. Unfortunately, I have to go with the Trojans in this game. They at least have one unit you can count on, and it's their offense. Penn State's defense has looked atrocious. Their offense, like you said, hasn't done anything without turnovers. Rocco Becht has a confidence issue right now from inside sources. There has been talk in the program of one, just how taken aback this Penn State staff has been by their Iowa State players. not performing to the level they're accustomed to. And two, they've talked about Rocco Becht and a couple other players lacking the confidence and wearing the pressure of putting on that Penn State uniform, which is something you don't always think about when some of these players transfer up a bit, but they've really felt that and the pressure. And I think that's shown. If Rocco Becht doesn't Or if he does look anything like he has in the last two weeks, there is zero chance for Penn State in this game. Lincoln Riley has no choice but to try the to run the ball versus Penn State in this game. How can you not after they gave up over 400 yards last week to versus Northwestern? Where Penn State's big defensive tackles, that was the big talk in the offseason. They got bigger on the interior. James Franklin's teams are often quicker, but a little smaller. They just got road graded out of the way. I think USC is going to try to run King Miller and Wayman Jordan early. If that doesn't work, I worry about Penn State's lack of pass rush in this game with Jaden Maiava. And yes, Penn State has great corners, but their safety play has left some to be desired. Trent Mosley's not going to go again in this game, but Caden Dixon Wyatt and other USC receivers are super talented. So I will say. 3120 USC. It's a game, I think, going into the fourth quarter. It is the whiteout. I could see some open seats. Penn State fans aren't happy with Pat Kraft driving up the prices there. This is a really hard place to get to. When you go to the whiteout, you don't get home till like two in the morning. Even if you live like twenty minutes away, that's just how the traffic is there. One way in, one way out. So I could see some empty seats, which is disappointing. I do think Penn State's gonna put everything into this game. They know that it's now or never, but I cannot in good f faith pick Penn State with what I've seen. I think USC's offense is the difference in this game. So I will go Trojans 31 21 over my beloved Nittany Lions. But I do think we at least show up in this game. Would it completely shock me if Penn State won? No, because it's Penn State at home, it's the whiteout. We know they have talent, but I would certainly be surprised. Erich: Well, speaking of talent, again we're gonna talk about again later, so maybe let's not overdo it now. Georgia at Bama. Obviously, this is one everyone circles anytime it happens. Because you know there's gonna be a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. and boy is there ever now. I do think Alabama favored by one and a half. Obviously, Brian Denny, it's a hard place to win. I I do I Kevin, I lean Georgia here. Georgia's been really consistent defensively all year. They've been really consistent offensively all year. And I think this is gonna be Keelan Russell's welcome to the SEC moment type game here. you know, Kirby Smart's been, I mean, let's be real. Last week, you know, obviously they was a little tight against Bandy early. They were probably prepping for Bama all week. Like that that's the reality. Georgia's been real consistent running the ball. They've been real consistent stopping the run for the most part. So I I lean Georgia in this one. I I mean again, Georgia is like Texas. It's I'm not gonna I'll pick against them once I see them actually lose. And I I think for Georgia it's gonna be a while before we we see them lose, if at all. And yeah, so that's that's the way I lean. I just think Georgia, there's no weaknesses for them. And Bama in moments has shown weaknesses, and I just It's a really complete Georgia team. They're not, they're they've been playing Bama a lot. They're not unused to it. They've played there. They've played neutral. They've played them at home last year. Last year, you know, they had the bad game. They lost to him and then they just destroyed them in the conference championship. So I'm going Georgia. I don't think there's gonna be a ton of points, but I think Georgia's gonna win like twenty seven seventeen and get the win. they're probably what will be their toughest road game of the year. Kevin: Well said. I'm going Georgia here. I think the dogs are just a little bit more of the complete team. They're not merely winning, they're just consistently separating from opponents. But this is the game they've had circled in Tuscaloosa. Kirby Smart always has his guys ready. It's so impressive how ready to play they are. And it's gonna be the physicality and the balance of the dogs. That get it done in this game. Gunnar Stockton's been efficient. Georgia doesn't need them to throw the ball 40 times. And I think with Keelan Russell, Alabama might need to do that. As much as Alabama's ground game has gotten on track, I don't know if it's gonna be enough to get past Georgia and their front seven in this game. Georgia can afford a lot of times to not rush and still dominate in the trenches. I think Keelan Russell's windows are going to be tighter because of that. I just think Georgia's more equipped for a four-quarter fight. You've mentioned some of the deficiencies of Alabama. They let up 38 points versus a very mediocre Florida State team. How does that happen? Last week, great win at Mississippi. Don't want to rain on the parade. They deserve all the praise for that matchup, as we talked about on our Recap video on Sunday. But Mississippi State has some clear issues on defense that Alabama was able to expose, and it was the perfect matchup for them. Keelan Russell can just play free in the pocket and throw vertical downfield to Ryan Williams and company. That's not gonna happen for a Girby Smart team. That's gonna be in your face, handsy, physical. Alabama is gonna make plays. They're They're obviously talented. This is gonna be a really, really good game, but I think you start to see in the fourth quarter the war of attrition of Georgia and Nate Frazier starting to pound at Bama. And they go in to T Town and get a big time victory. You said twenty-seven seventeen. I'll go twenty-eight twenty-three dogs. Erich: Love it. Love it. Well, I think we're gonna talk about this game one more time. So we'll circle back to it. Let's go to the G6 one more time. Back to the CW, Kevin. Sneaky late game. Huge game for Bo Boise because they got to travel to Fresno State, a team that people just didn't talk about after they lost to U USC, but has played pretty well since. So Kevin: Mm-hmm. Erich: they're four and one. Both teams are four and one. This feels like if Boise gets this one, Kevin, that you can I don't want to say start penciling them in, but if you look at the rest of their schedule, it's like, boy, if they get this one, like who's gonna stop them in the conference at this point and just the way the rest of the well, I guess we're still calling it the Pac-12 that they're in now looks. So there's that, but at the same time, I've picked against Boise too many times this year, and it's always come back to To bite me. I'm not doing it anymore. They're favored. They've looked great against everyone they've played against, even the game they lost against Oregon. That continues. It's probably close early, but Boise, I think, is just a really complete team, would probably beat. I think they're rightfully ranked in the top 25. They'd probably beat most of the power four teams that are out there. I mean, if you in any conference, you could just kind of probably name six or seven in each conference that they would lose to. So I'm going Boise. thirty Fresno twenty one. Kevin: Love this game, Eric. Big fan of it. CW action late night, as you said. It's gonna be a great game after the Bama, Georgia showdown and the whiteout between Penn State and USC, of course. Welcome to the Bronco Wagon. Happy to have you aboard. Erich: Ha ha ha. Kevin: Watch out here though. Matt Ents, heck of a ball coach for Fresno State. I r I really like him. He of course was at North Dakota State for several years, so we obviously know the type of ball coach that he is. Don't be fooled by that goose egg they put up against USC. They had a really off day. Ents Erich: Yeah. Kevin: talked about how horrible they were in that game, and I think he was right. You know, then Louisiana dropped thirty points. on the Trojans and I would absolutely take Fred's now over the Raging Cajuns. Also, Eric, I am picking Boise, but last week, if you recall, I mentioned a dirty little secret about Mississippi State, and it came true. I do worry the dirty little secret about Boise is their tackling is 119th in the country, which you wouldn't Erich: Wow. Kevin: think. And they allow almost 260 yards in the air. So Erich: Okay. Kevin: It's that's one thing. I'm I'm gonna go with Boise here, Jada and Mandel for Fresno, I think is gonna make plays in the air. He is the most important player to Fresno. He has to play well. He has this year. He's completing almost 70% of his passes. But I like Maddox Mattson too much for Boise and Erich: And boise just got that rushing attack that's really strong as well, so Kevin: Yes, yes. I I think I think they can do enough to overcome them giving up some plays in the air. So I think there's points here, but Boise matches it. I think it goes a little over the total. I'll say 28-25 Broncos. Great game, even throughout. Erich: I love it. I love it. Well, let's let's get into our categories and we'll go through these quickly here so we can do our best to keep this under an hour. I know we shoot for that every week, Kevin. It's it can be tough at times because we want to cover so much. But Color Palette of the week award brought to you by me, the commissioner of college football jersey colors. A little bit of a change up this week, Kevin. And what I mean by that is you and I, generally speaking, don't love alternate uniforms. But Utah ha is doing their first white out ever. And it's the alternate side of it is mostly in the helmet. And look it up if you haven't seen it yet. It's this like ice version of their helmet. And it's still like all white though. It it looks really well. So Kansas wearing blue with a white out in Utah, I think is gonna be pretty darn cool. And what I love too is most teams can't pull off though all white pants. Like if you look at when Memphis does it, it doesn't look good. And Utah's not. They got some red stripes on the side, which I think provides it a little extra contrast that works better for them than if they were wearing all white pants. So looks great. I think it's gonna look incredible on on screen. And of course I'm rooting for Utah to win that game because I think they're going to. What say you, Kevin? Or do you want to go into your environment of the week? Kevin: No, that's a great pick. Unique pick, Eric. could I mean, anytime the Wasatch Mountains are involved, Erich: Yes. Kevin: they it could be involved for Environment of the Week. Environment of the Week, easy one. Tuscaloosa, the game of the week, as we'll get to in a little bit. If you recall when I worked with you back in the day when I was covering Alabama, I got a chance to go down there. And Erich: Yeah, I remember. Kevin: Pictures next to Bear Bryan and Nick State Saban, those statues. I'll forever cherish those. Didn't go to the game, but you know, because I was down there midweek for work. I believe they were playing Ole Miss. It's right in the Saban Dynasty, and game day was in town. It was like a Wednesday and Thursday. You could already feel the palpable buzz in the air for a big game coming up. I can only imagine what an Alabama-Georgia game is like down there. That place rocks at night. And It always comes back to what we talk about, the bands. I love the sound of SEC bands at night, under Erich: Yeah. Kevin: the lights, really any time of day. George is gonna bring their band. They'll have their defensive song going doo doo doo doo. Like it it be incredible. Erich: Yeah, it's it I mean, it's just gonna be incredible. Kevin: So that's the environment of the week. I'm already getting carried away. Next, what do you got? Erich: All right, let's do our point spread letdowns of the week. I'm taking for this one, Tennessee's favored by 13 and a half over Arkansas. there's a good chance I'm gonna be wrong about this, but there wasn't a ton of great options for this. And I do think just because if Arkansas can stop the run a little bit, they can probably keep it close enough late to potentially cover this game. Not a lot of good quarterback play at Tennessee yet, which I think helps them, helps Arkansas potentially do this. I still think Tennessee wins probably by like ten, but I I think the thirteen and a half might be a little bit much for them. Kevin: Solid pick. I got Oregon not covering versus UCLA. Solid win by 10. I believe in UCLA and Bob Chesney. I think they play a good game in Austin. 34-24 ducks. Give me UCLA with the 11 and a half that they're getting. Erich: Let's do our upsets. Kevin, streaks at some point have to come to an end. I still think even after they lose this game, they're still a top three team in the Big Ten. But at some point, Indiana, the bounces aren't going to go your way. The running game's not going to be there for you. We kind of almost saw it against Northwestern. Give me Nebraska over Indiana. Monumental win for Nebby. I just think that they haven't had a win like that. they're they're ripe for one. They've played really well. The they look great at quarterback. I'm taking Nebraska over Indiana, Kevin. The streak has to end at some point. And I think Indiana comes out the better for it on the other side because there's still plenty of opportunities for them to get big wins themselves. And so this one I think will age well for them and won't end up being something that hurts them long term. So give me Nebraska, the Corn Huskers over Indiana. Kevin: I respect that pick pick so much, Eric. Thank you for not being a coward on this show. I hate that I am being a coward with that game. I I think you're gonna be right. I I really do. I don't know if Indiana and Kirk Signetti talked about it this week, knows what he's getting into in that game. He's never been to Lincoln. God bless those fans that sell out that stadium year after year when they have been so dreadful lately. It is going to be absolutely rocking. For the big noon kickoff, 11 central there. And this is where I think Josh Hoover, good quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, Heisman winning quarterback. I think that shows up and matters in this game. And Hoover's not able to be that calming influence for the Hoosiers that really matters in a rock and place. So kudos to you for picking it. And I have much smaller upsets. I it's a combination pick for me of Kansas State over Houston and Washington over Iowa. It's really weak because they're both favored. But if you look at the rankings, they're upsets. That's that is not great, folks. Feel free to just crush me in the comments. That's horrible. Erich: Hey, sometimes you gotta go with your brain rather than your heart. And there's nothing wrong with that. our games of the week, I mean, we already talked about this one. yours is and we've talked about both of these, but Georgia Bama, SEC night games are always great. You and I love them, and this one is whenever we get this one on the the pick, and because they don't play each other every year, you know you and I are watching, and it's gonna be fantastic, and I think it'll live up to the hype that it always has. Kevin: A hundred percent. I'm going back to UCLA Oregon here. I think it's a really fun game, a competitive game. Oregon better be ready to play in this game. I think UCLA will be, even in a really, really hostile road environment in Eugene. Part of me picking this is yeah, I'm not dumb. I know Georgia Bama's the game of the week. We don't always want to have the same things. CBS two thirty, the atmosphere to see old. regional rivals getting after it again and UCLA relevant is why I put this because this is a game where if you're a college football fan, it's great to see. So that's why I went with the Bruins and the Ducks here in this spot. Erich: I love it. Well, that's the week six preview, folks. Thanks for listening. Like and subscribe would help us out. We appreciate it. Kevin: Good luck to your teams out there, folks. We really appreciate you listening and have a great rest of your week.