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Week 6 Featured Games
Thursday
#12 UCLA at Utah, 10:00/7:00 PM, FOXS1
Spread: UCLA -5.5
Announcers: Justin Kuthcer, Petros Papadakis, Joe Klatt
All-Time Series: UCLA leads 9-2
Last Meeting: 10/13/12 UCLA 21, Utah 14
Reason to Watch: The rare instance where ESPN is not where you should tune in for your Thursday night FOOTBAW. UCLA is coming off a bye week where they got to laugh at the demise of Lane Kiffin at USC. They’ve moved up to just outside the Top 10 but with the exception of a phenomenal second half at Nebraska it’s tough to say at this point if they are worthy of their current lofty ranking. Utah has already captured the state championship by beating rivals Utah State and BYU and was an overtime loss against Oregon State from being unbeaten.
Back Up Game: Texas at Iowa State, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN
Friday
BYU at Utah State, 8:00/5:00 PM, CBSSN
Spread: Utah State -6.5
Announcers: Andrew Catalon, Aaron Taylor
All-Time Series: BYU leads 45-34-3
Last Meeting: 10/5/12 BYU 6, Utah State 3
Reason to Watch: ESPN goes 0-2 this week on the pre-Saturday games. This is the battle for second place in the state of Utah as both try to brush off close losses to the Utes. Game features two quarterbacks on the opposite end of the passing spectrum. BYU’s Taysom Hill received a lot of attention after rushing for 259 yards against Texas but he can’t throw the ball at all (40.6% completion pct). Utah State’s Chuckie Keeton on the other hand currently ranks second in the nation in completion percentage (71%), touchdowns (17), and quarterback rating (161.66).
Back Up Game: Nevada at San Diego State, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN
Early Saturday
#25 Maryland at #8 Florida State, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN
Spread: Florida State -15.5
Announcers: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese
All-Time Series: Florida State leads 21-2
Last Meeting: 11/17/12 Florida State 41, Maryland 14
Reason to Watch: Although the odd makers clearly think otherwise this at least has the chance for an upset. Maryland in the early going has looked impressive, albeit against sub-standard competition but their complete destruction of West Virginia two weeks ago looks a lot more impressive after the Mountaineers upset Oklahoma State. As for the Seminoles if you haven’t seen quarterback Jameis Winston play yet, do so immediately.
Back Up Game: Michigan State at Iowa, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN2
Mid-day Saturday
Georgia Tech at #14 Miami, 3:30/12:30 PM, ESPNU
Spread: Miami -5
Announcers: Anesh Shroff, Kelly Stouffer
All-Time Series: Georgia Tech leads 10-8
Last Meeting: 9/22/12 Miami 42, Georgia Tech 36
Reason to Watch: Georgia Tech’s loss to Virginia Tech last week took the shine off this game and it has been shunted off to ESPNU but there’s really not many appealing games in this timeslot (watch Minnesota/Michigan at your own peril). Miami has played essentially no one since their win over Florida about a month ago. Get a win here and their schedule sets up very nicely the rest of the way save for a road trip to rival Florida State in early November.
Back Up Game: #6 Georgia at Tennessee, 3:30/12:30 PM, CBS
Primetime Saturday
#4 Ohio State at #16 Northwestern, 8:00/5:00 PM, ABC
Spread: Ohio State -7
Announcers: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit
All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 59-14-1
Last Meeting: 11/8/08 Ohio State 45, Northwestern 10
Reason to Watch: This game is probably going to get more attention than any game on the schedule so I have it here as the featured primetime game despite having it ranked lower than the ASU/Notre Dame game. I’m just personally not sold at all on Northwestern and I think Ohio State is probably going to blow the doors off them. This is by far the biggest game for Wildcats since their shocking 1995 Rose Bowl season. Depressing fact is that this might be the toughest opponent remaining on the Buckeyes’ schedule on their way to undefeated season no decent person wants to see happen.
Back Up Game: #22 Arizona State vs. Notre Dame, 7:30/4:30 PM, NBC
Late Night Saturday
#15 Washington at #5 Stanford, 10:30/7:30 PM, ESPN – ***GAME OF THE WEEK***
Spread: Stanford -7.5
Announcers: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge
All-Time Series: Washington leads 41-37-4
Last Meeting: 9/27/12 Washington 17, Stanford 13
Reason to Watch: Here’s your real game of the week and should be well worth waiting for. This is the first of a brutal two week Stanford/Oregon gauntlet for Washington as they try to show that this is finally the year the program returns to the elite of Pac-10/12. A win here would likely result in their first Top 10 ranking in more than a decade. The Huskies did hand Stanford one of their two losses last season behind a 144 yards rushing by Bishop Sankey. Although you wouldn’t think it with their arrive late in the 1st quarter, leave at halftime, and don’t show up at all if it rains alumni fan base, the Cardinal have quite the home field advantage going 21-1 at home since 2010.
Week 6 Game Rankings
1. Washington at Stanford
2. Arizona State vs. Notre Dame
3. Maryland at Florida State
4. Ohio State at Northwestern
5. Georgia Tech at Miami
6. Mississippi at Auburn
7. TCU at Oklahoma
8. UCLA at Utah (Thur.)
9. Missouri at Vanderbilt
10. Michigan State at Iowa
11. BYU at Utah State (Fri.)
12. LSU at Mississippi State
13. Arkansas at Florida
14. Kansas State at Oklahoma State
15. Georgia at Tennessee
16. Illinois at Nebraska
17. Clemson at Syracuse
18. Penn State at Indiana
19. Minnesota at Michigan
20. North Carolina at Virginia Tech
21. Oregon at Colorado
22. Texas at Iowa State (Thur.)
23. Ball State at West Virginia
24. Washington State at California
25. Texas Tech at Kansas
26. Kentucky at South Carolina
27. N.C. State at Wake Forest
28. Rice at Tulsa
29. Rutgers at SMU
30. Texas State at Louisiana-Lafayette
31. UCF at Memphis
32. Northern Illinois at Kent State
33. East Carolina at Middle Tennessee
34. Nevada at San Diego State (Fri.)
35. Air Force at Navy
36. North Texas at Tulane
37. South Alabama at Troy
38. Florida Atlantic at UAB
39. Army at Boston College
40. Western Kentucky at Louisiana-Monroe
41. UTSA at Marshall
42. Ohio at Akron
43. Louisiana Tech at UTEP
44. Louisville at Temple
45. Cincinnati at South Florida
46. Fresno State at Idaho
47. Central Michigan at Miami (OH)
48. Eastern Michigan at Buffalo
49. Western Michigan at Toledo
50. Massachusetts at Bowling Green
51. New Mexico State at New Mexico
52. FIU at Southern Miss
53. Georgia State at Alabama
Featured Image Credit: Otto Gruele Jr/Getty Images
