What to watch: Week 6 college football viewing guide

Week 6 doesn’t have the anticipation of Week 5.

The final weekend of September brought us a top-five clash that turned from a blowout into a thriller and a top-10 team losing at home as a big favorite. This week, there’s just one matchup between top 25 teams after there were four such games in Week 5.

We’ll probably get an upset, however. That’s typically how these types of weeks work. Will a team like No. 4 Tennessee get a scare at Arkansas? What about No. 8 Miami at Cal in an ACC After Dark special? Can No. 12 Ole Miss bounce back with a win at South Carolina? We’re about to find out.

Here are the five biggest games of Week 6 and some others to keep an eye on. All times are Eastern and all odds are from BetMGM.

Noon | TV: ABC | Line: Texas A&M -2.5 | Total: 48.5

The day begins with the only ranked matchup. The Tigers were off in Week 5 after a pair of wins that weren’t totally convincing. Missouri beat Boston College 27-21 in Week 3 and then needed double overtime thanks to three missed field goals and a bunch of mistakes to beat Vanderbilt 30-27 at home.

The Aggies took down Arkansas 21-17 in Week 4 as Marcel Reed made his third start of the season. The redshirt freshman has been replacing Connor Weigman after Weigman suffered a shoulder injury in the Aggies’ Week 1 loss to Notre Dame. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said Wednesday that Weigman has begun throwing and he’s listed as questionable on the Aggies’ injury report. It wouldn’t be a total shock if Weigman got the start, but Reed seems like the prohibitive favorite to take the first snap. He’s thrown for two touchdowns in each of his starts.

Missouri is looking to get its deep passing offense on track. QB Brady Cook excelled throwing the ball down the field a season ago but is averaging just 7.1 yards a pass so far in 2024. The Tigers’ run game has been strong despite Cody Schrader’s departure. Appalachian State transfer Nate Noel has rushed for 441 yards and is averaging over six yards a carry.

3:30 p.m. | TV: CBS | Line: Ohio State -19.5 | Total: 45.5

Yeah, the line on this game won’t get your hopes up that it’ll be competitive. It’s hard to see how Iowa’s offense can keep up. But the Iowa defense is the best unit Ohio State has seen so far, and we’re excited to see how the Buckeyes look against the stingy Hawkeyes.

RBs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson have been just as good as advertised so far this season. Each player is averaging over eight yards a carry and Ohio State has had the luxury of keeping both of them fresh. Judkins has rushed 47 times for 390 yards and Henderson has 31 carries for 276 yards. It’s also a prime opportunity to watch freshman Jeremiah Smith if you haven’t already. The five-star recruit has 19 catches for 364 yards and five TDs.

The Hawkeyes were off in Week 5 after an easy 31-14 win at Minnesota in Week 4. RB Kaleb Johnson dominated that game with 21 carries for 206 yards and three scores. He’s run the ball 82 times already this season, while QB Cade McNamara has attempted 102 passes. You can expect Iowa to try to control the ball as much as possible and shorten the game.

3:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: Ole Miss -9.5 | Total: 53.5

Ole Miss’ first SEC game was rough. After scoring at least 40 points in each of its four non-conference games, the Rebels were held to 353 yards and just 14 first downs by Kentucky in the Wildcats’ 20-17 loss. Ole Miss was a brutal 1-of-10 on third downs and struggled to run the football.

Kentucky had the ball for nearly 40 minutes and, like most big underdogs in big upsets, got a fortunate play when Josh Kattus recovered a Gavin Wimsatt fumble for the game-winning score late in the fourth quarter.

South Carolina’s defense is just as good as the Wildcats. Ask Kentucky. The Gamecocks dominated Kentucky in a 31-6 Week 2 win.

But will the South Carolina offense be able to do its part? QB LaNorris Sellers and RB Rocket Sanders are both listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Norris didn’t play in Week 4 as Robby Ashford started against Akron. Sanders is the team’s leading rusher with 286 yards.

7:30 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: Tennessee -13.5 | Total 58.5

The Volunteers head to Arkansas before four consecutive home games over the next five weeks. Tennessee’s offense has produced the highlights so far, but the defense has given up just 28 points over four games and the defensive line has shown itself to be one of the best in the SEC. Opposing offenses are averaging just 1.6 yards a carry against the Volunteers.

Arkansas can be explosive when it’s not turning the ball over. The Razorbacks had three turnovers in the loss to Texas A&M and also had three turnovers in its Week 2 loss to Oklahoma State. Arkansas QB Taylen Green even threw two picks in the win over Auburn, but the Tigers returned the favor with five turnovers of their own.

Green is completing just 54% of his passes this season and has taken 12 sacks. He may need to have his best passing game of the season for Arkansas to pull the upset.

10:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: Miami -10.5 | Total: 54.5

Miami’s learning what life is like in the new ACC as it heads out west to visit the Bears. This could be a raucous home crowd after a long day in Berkeley as Cal will be hosting ESPN’s “College GameDay” for the first time.

The Hurricanes escaped in Week 5 with a 38-34 win over Virginia Tech after the Hokies’ game-winning Hail Mary attempt was ruled incomplete. Heisman frontrunner Cam Ward threw two interceptions and Miami had to come back from a 10-point second-half deficit.

The Bears were off in Week 5 after a cross-country trip of their own. Cal lost 14-9 at Florida State in Week 4 after wins over Auburn and San Diego State. RB Jaydn Ott is averaging just 3.3 yards a carry so far after rushing for over 1,300 yards a season ago. Jaivian Thomas has stepped up as Ott has been held in check. He’s averaging seven yards a carry.

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Other games to watch

SMU at No. 22 Louisville (Noon, ESPN): The Mustangs have blown out TCU and Florida State over their last two games. The Cardinals enter this one off a 31-24 loss to Notre Dame thanks to three first-half turnovers. Whoever wins this will stay in the thick of the ACC race.

No. 23 Indiana at Northwestern (3:30 p.m., Big Ten): The Hoosiers are one win away from being bowl eligible after a 5-0 start and they enter this game as two-TD favorites. Northwestern is 0-2 against the two power conference schools it’s faced so far this season.

Rutgers at Nebraska (4 p.m., FS1): This is a quietly important game in the Big Ten, especially as both teams are aiming for an upper-tier bowl game. Rutgers beat Washington 21-18 in Week 5, while Nebraska rebounded from a sluggish start to knock off Purdue 28-10. Nebraska is aiming to slow down Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai. He already has 97 carries for 589 yards.

No. 10 Michigan at Washington (7:30 p.m., NBC): The rematch of January’s national title game narrowly missed the cut for our top five this week. Washington is a slight favorite over the Wolverines as both teams are vastly, vastly different than the ones that met nine months ago. This game has all the makings of a slugfest.