Week 6 Predictions

What an exciting weekend of college football we have in store for week 6. The biggest match ups are in the SEC, but the Big 10 and Pac 10 both have their share of intrigue as well.

Here are my predictions for some of the biggest games during week 6 in College Football:



No. 17 Auburn (5-0) at Arkansas (2-2)

Auburn jumped into the AP poll at No. 17 following it's 26-22 win at Tennessee. The Tigers remain unbeaten at 5-0, and 2-0 in SEC play.

The Razorbacks are coming off a dominating 47-19 win over Texas A&M.

Arkansas is 2-2, but the two losses were a shootout to Georgia and a smackdown from Alabama.

The Razorbacks will provide a real test for a largely unproven Auburn team. What the Tigers have shown, however, is that their offensive struggles of a year ago are behind them.

Auburn ranks fifth in the nation in total offense, and eighth in scoring offense. Arkansas counters with its own potent offense led by quarterback Ryan Mallett, who has 11 touchdown passes to just two interceptions while leading the nation's sixth-best passing attack.

The emergence of true freshman Ronnie Wingo at tailback last week gives the Hogs a nice one-two combo with Wingo and Michael Smith.

The numbers for Ben Tate (540 rushing yards), Chris Todd (1,230 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, one interception), and Onterio McCalebb (416 rushing yards, 6.2-yard average) have been even more impressive for Auburn.

Expect a lot of points to be scored in this one, and it could come down to whomever has the ball last.

Pick: Auburn


Michigan (4-1) at No. 12 Iowa (5-0)

Michigan blew an opportunity last week against Michigan State to prove it was back among the elite in the Big Ten. This week, the 4-1 Wolverines travel to Iowa City for a night game against unbeaten Iowa.

The Hawkeyes, always tough at home, will be even more fired up under the lights. Iowa is on a roll, and its defense has been stellar, only allowing 67 points in five games.

Iowa's offense has been hit and miss.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi must do a better job of protecting the ball. He's got eight touchdown passes, but also seven interceptions.

Giving extra possessions to an offensively talented team like Michigan could spell disaster.

If Michigan can force Stanzi into mistakes, and score early, it could take the frenzied crown inside Kinnick Stadium right out of the game.

Pick: Michigan

Wisconsin (5-0) at No. 9 Ohio State (4-1)

Wisconsin needs little motivation for this one.

Despite a 5-0 start, and winning their first two Big Ten contests, the Badgers are outside of the AP's top 25.

Wisconsin led most of the game last week against Minnesota in its first road game, but allowed too many big plays which kept the Gophers close.

Allowing big plays against Ohio State could be disastrous, with Terrelle Pryor behind center for the Buckeyes.

Pryor has struggled with his accuracy and some decision making, but he can create plays with his legs, and has a cannon for an arm.

The 6-6 sophomore quarterback leads the Buckeyes with 298 rushing yards. He's found the end zone three times on the ground, and another eight through the air.

His big-play target has been Dane Sanzenbacher, who has 14 receptions for 302 yards and four scores.

Wisconsin has the conference's leading rusher in John Clay.

Clay has 582 yards on 112 carries with seven touchdowns. He busted out for 184 and three scores against Minnesota.

If Wisconsin can establish Clay early, and give QB Scott Tolzien time to throw, the Badgers could be heading home at 6-0.

UPSET Pick: Wisconsin


No. 13 Oregon (4-1) at UCLA (3-1)

The Ducks haven't lost since their season-opening 19-8 loss to No. 6 Boise State.

Following a close home win over Purdue, the Ducks have been downright impressive.

They knocked off then No. 18 Utah, then destroyed then No. 6 California and Washington State.

Now they hit the road for the first time since the first week, and travel south to Los Angeles.

The Bruins were 3-0 and flying high until last week's road loss to suddenly resurgent Stanford. UCLA will look to bounce back in the Rose Bowl, but will need to get more productivity from a stagnant offense that ranks 106th in the country.

Oregon's offense is a middle-of-the-pack unit and will be facing a comparably average UCLA defense.

This won't be a pretty game, but it has huge Pac-10 implications.

A UCLA win puts it back in contention, while an Oregon victory puts the Ducks in the driver's seat for the conference crown.

Pick: Oregon


No. 3 Alabama (5-0) at No. 20 Ole Miss (3-1)

Before this season, this game was dubbed "The Game of The Year". Even after Ole Miss' loss to South Carolina, this game still has major SEC and national implications.

This game has double importance for the Rebels, who bounced back from their 16-10 loss at South Carolina to dispatch Vanderbilt last week.

Ole Miss can climb back into the SEC race with an upset here, but it needs to have quarterback Jevan Snead break out of his two-week funk.

With that being said:

Alabama’s offense is full of players they can plug in on offense to make plays, as we have already seen so far. The defense is playing lights-out as well.

Jevan Snead threw three interceptions against Vanderbilt last week, but the Rebels, who look like they are quite possibly the most overrated team in the nation, still pulled it out.

Bama QB Greg McElroy is ranked sixth in the nation in passing efficiency. On top of that Bama has one of the deepest RB core in the country. 

Back to McElroy: His numbers, (78 of 119 passes for a 65.5 completion percentage, 1086 passing yards, 9 TDs, and only 1 INT, and a 165.5 QB Rating) are among the best in the country.

Bama has scored over 34 points in every game this season.

Here’s a list of some of the teams that haven’t been able to do that: Florida, LSU, Boise State, Auburn, Texas Tech…

Wait there's more...

How about Houston, Cincinnati, USC, Ohio State, Michigan...

The Tide are very good this season. Look for them to roll over Ole Miss

Pick: Alabama


No. 1 Florida (4-0) at No. 4 LSU (5-0)

Will Tim Tebow play? That remains the question.

What is unquestioned is the magnitude of this game, not only in the SEC title race, but in the national championship picture.

Florida is the defending BCS champs, but is still waiting to see if its Heisman Trophy quarterback will be cleared to play following a concussion he suffered in a win over Kentucky two weeks ago.

The Gators haven't played since, and the time off has allowed teams doctors to evaluate Tebow's injury. He's still not practicing, but if he's in the game, it adds an extra dynamic to the Florida offense.

If he can't go, it will be up to John Brantley to deal with the raucous crowd inside LSU's Tiger Stadium, aka Death Valley.

Brantley has been very good in limited action this year, competing 23 of 30 passes for 232 yards and four scores without an interception.

The Tigers have been playing with a horseshoe all season, squeaking out last-minute wins over Washington, Mississippi State and Georgia. This week, LSU's 99th-ranked offense will be going up against a Florida defense that has given up just 29 points in four games.

Granted, those four games have been against an unimpressive schedule that includes FCS Charleston Southern, Troy, underachieving Tennessee and Kentucky.

Unless the Tigers can find some consistency in their offense, this could be a disappointing night for the home crowd.

But, if the LSU defense can give the offense short fields to work with, the Tigers just might have a chance. Might.

Pick: Florida