College Football Week 6 Predictions & Best Bets

Eight games, eight plays, and a Saturday that starts at 9 in the morning our time and does not stop until Fresno.

Let's get into it.

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SATURDAY MORNING

#7 INDIANA HOOSIERS @ NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

Saturday, October 10 | 9:00 AM PT | FOX

Line: Indiana -7.5 | O/U: 48.5

Weather: 74°F, gusting to 36 mph

The Big Red Machine is back baby… wait… both of these teams are red… I MEAN NEBRASKA OF COURSE!

Nebraska has been playing lights out all year and faces their toughest match yet in the defending national champion Indiana.

Matt Rhule has done a fantastic job with transfer portal diamond in the rough Anthony Colandrea and has Husker Nation believing this team has closed the talent gap in the B1G.

On the other side is Indiana and Curt Cignetti. Cignetti and Indiana survived a scare from Northwestern two weeks ago and bounced back with a win at Rutgers — I mean anyone can do that — last week.

I still feel like Indiana has more question marks than that 5-0 record suggests.

I think Nebraska pulls off the upset.

PREDICTION: NEBRASKA 27, INDIANA 24

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NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS @ #25 PITTSBURGH PANTHERS

Saturday, October 10 | 9:00 AM PT | ESPN

Line: Pittsburgh -4 | O/U: 47.5

Weather: 68°F

Pitt was able to steal one away from Virginia Tech last Friday but at the cost of their starting QB.

Pitt announced Mason Heintschel is out for the year, and the Panthers will look to journeyman Holden Geriner to step up and lead them the rest of the year.

North Carolina has lost two in a row but was very competitive in each game vs Clemson and Notre Dame.

Pitt's defense is stout — 12th in the country in points allowed, and second against the run — so I expect points to be hard to come by. The one soft spot is the Panthers secondary, 110th against the pass, and Geriner has to beat them through the air to find it.

I think Belichick and UNC pulls one out.

PREDICTION: NORTH CAROLINA 23, PITTSBURGH 17

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SATURDAY MIDDAY

#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS vs OKLAHOMA SOONERS

Saturday, October 10 | 12:30 PM PT | ABC

Line: Texas -7.5 | O/U: 39.5

Weather: 88°F, neutral site — the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas

Oklahoma's offense has been non existent all year — 22 points a game, 109th in the country — and things won't get any easier for them when they face one of the country's best teams in Texas.

Texas hasn't been overwhelming on offense, but their defense has come up clutch in big games. They're 11th in the country in points allowed, with a 24-23 win over Ohio State and a 20-17 win at Tennessee.

I expect them to handle business and remain undefeated.

PREDICTION: TEXAS 24, OKLAHOMA 3

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#21 UCLA BRUINS @ #13 OREGON DUCKS

Saturday, October 10 | 12:30 PM PT | CBS

Line: Oregon -11.5 | O/U: 58.5

Weather: 53°F, 34% chance of rain

UCLA has been scoring in bunches lately and has been one of the biggest surprises this season.

They have scored 50 plus points in their first two B1G games, and will look to keep the scoring going when they travel to Eugene to play Oregon, who beat USC 41-27 in Los Angeles two weeks ago. That one was not the dismantling the score makes it look like — USC had it tied at 27 with 12:41 left before Oregon pulled away — and Oregon won it with backup Dylan Raiola, who came on after Dante Moore was carted off following a targeting hit. Moore is ruled out again this week, so Raiola gets the start.

Both teams were off the week prior and should be well rested heading into this one. With both teams coming off bye weeks, I can guarantee you Bob Chesney — the former James Madison stud head coach — will have something cooked up to deal with the high flying Oregon offense.

If UCLA wants to win this game, then they will need to rely on the ground game and limit how many chances Oregon's offense will get.

I think Oregon wins but I like UCLA to cover.

PREDICTION: OREGON 31, UCLA 27

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SATURDAY AFTERNOON

#10 LSU TIGERS @ KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Saturday, October 10 | 4:00 PM PT | ESPN

Line: LSU -8.5 | O/U: 51.5

Weather: 63°F, 56% chance of rain

Kentucky was able to steal one away from South Carolina — 35-34 in overtime, after trailing 17-0 — while LSU dominated McNeese, as they rightfully should have, last week.

Both of these teams beat Texas A&M, LSU by 29 and Kentucky by 10, but LSU has a lot more talent and should be able to handle Kentucky's run game with their potent run defense.

PREDICTION: LSU 31, KENTUCKY 20

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#2 GEORGIA BULLDOGS @ #6 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Saturday, October 10 | 4:30 PM PT | ABC

Line: Alabama -1.5 | O/U: 51.5

Weather: 70°F, 81% chance of rain, gusting to 23 mph

YEAHHHH BUDDY!

This is the type of SEC matchup we all live for. You couldn't ask for a better matchup between two teams who are clicking on all cylinders.

Keelon Russell has been dynamite for Bama, while Gunner Stockton has taken the next step as QB1 for Georgia. Both of these teams have been dominant.

The last matchup in Tuscaloosa was one of the best college games I've ever watched and actually helped me win my 17-leg parlay, as Bama blew a huge lead, only to take it back with an epic Ryan Coleman-Williams touchdown late. What an experience.

The one question mark for this weeks matchup might be Alabama's tackling ability.

Because of that, I'm gonna roll with Georgia.

PREDICTION: GEORGIA 33, ALABAMA 30

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#19 USC TROJANS @ PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

Saturday, October 10 | 4:30 PM PT | NBC

Line: Penn State -1.5 | O/U: 54.5

Weather: 62°F

I'm not sure why Penn State is favored in this game, especially with how they have been playing the last couple of weeks.

USC has an explosive offense — 37.3 points a game — and Penn State lost a lot of their physicality when James Franklin departed to Virginia Tech.

Penn State is basically Iowa State now, Matt Campbell and all, and I don't think they have the size or talent to deal with USC.

Give me the Trojans.

PREDICTION: USC 34, PENN STATE 24

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SATURDAY NIGHT

#23 BOISE STATE BRONCOS @ FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS

Saturday, October 10 | 7:30 PM PT | CW

Line: Boise State -6.5 | O/U: 48.5

Weather: 79°F

It seems like Boise is always playing for the G6 title week after week.

This should actually be a real challenge for them though, as they head to Fresno to face the Bulldogs. Funny enough, both of these teams started 0-1, but have responded with 4 straight wins.

Both of these teams have holes on defense. For Boise, it's their secondary — 119th in the country against the pass. For Fresno, it's their rush defense, and that one lines up badly for them, because Boise runs it for 226 yards a game at better than five a carry.

This might be a shootout.

PREDICTION: BOISE STATE 31, FRESNO STATE 27

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— Justin Tapp | The Sizzlin CEO