College football schedule Week 6
Conference play is nearly all the rage in Week 6. We’ve only got six non-conference games and two of them are against FCS teams. There are also a lot of teams enjoying their one bye week of the season. It is a bit of a smaller card with fewer betting options, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some situational spots to think about.
Remember that these are not sole justifications for a bet. They are simply something to consider in the course of breaking down a game and it could be something that puts you over the top to make a bet or leaves you with enough questions to omit that game from the card.
In the interest of lead time, I’ll ignore the fact that we have two Wednesday games this week, but obviously the Conference USA schedule is something that those players and coaches aren’t used to, so every game is a bit of a situational spot. FIU has the biggest one, as they go from Miami to Las Cruces to face New Mexico State at elevation on Wednesday.
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(Games sorted by Kickoff Time; odds as of October 2, 8:00 p.m. PT)
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns (-6, 60.5)
Saturday, Noon ET
We start with a huge revenge spot, as Oklahoma got beat 49-0 by Texas last year in this game. The Longhorns let out four years worth of frustration by beating the Sooners to a pulp for the most lopsided game in this series since Oklahoma won 65-13 back in 2003. Usually this game is a thriller with a close final score, but that was not the case last season. You can bet that Brent Venables would like to have a better showing here and the Sooners will have had 364 days to think about that blowout loss.
Boston College Eagles at Army Black Knights (-3, 51)
Saturday, Noon ET
After playing three straight ACC opponents, Boston College hits the road to defend the Army triple-option. The Black Knights are off of a bye, so they’ve had extra time to work on their shortcomings and get ready for this one. Meanwhile, BC needed a big comeback to beat Virginia after getting blown out by Louisville on the heels of nearly beating Florida State. It has been a bumpy ride on a roller coaster for the Eagles this season. They do have a bye after this, so there is no lookahead spot to another conference game, but this is a tricky one, especially given the opponent.
Central Michigan Chippewas (-3, 57) at Buffalo Bulls
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET
This is a low-key situational spot, but a good one. Central Michigan beat Eastern Michigan last week to take down the first leg of the prestigious Michigan MAC Trophy series. Eastern Michigan missed a game-tying field goal with 51 seconds left for CMU to preserve the win. Buffalo needed overtime to beat Akron, but it was the first win of the year for the Bulls, who had given up at least 38 points in each of the first four games. Mount Pleasant to Buffalo is a little bit of a haul and I think it’s a tough spot for the Chips off of a rivalry win.
Bowling Green Falcons at Miami (OH) RedHawks (-10, 48.5)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
The most obvious letdown spot among Group of Five teams would certainly appear to be this one, as Bowling Green went on the road and hammered Georgia Tech last week. Now they’re back in MAC play as a double-digit underdog to a Miami (OH) team that didn’t spend a ton of energy beating lowly Kent State last week. I think some might be surprised to see this line where it is, but the RedHawks have played quite well since being overmatched by the other Miami to open the season.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-6.5, 53) at Louisville Cardinals
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
At this point, Notre Dame might as well own real estate in this column. The Fighting Irish were able to overcome a horrible spot last week against Duke with a 21-14 win on a late touchdown and two-point conversion. The task at hand doesn’t get much easier against Louisville this week with a line that is curiously in the same place as the line from the game against the Blue Devils. Louisville is on an extra day of rest after playing last Friday against NC State, so we’ll see if that helps them at all. With USC on deck for the Fighting Irish, this game is a real tricky one with an emotional gas tank close to ‘E’.
Arkansas Razorbacks at Ole Miss Rebels (-11.5, 63)
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Arkansas has really not looked the part this season, but the Rebels are in an awful spot down in Oxford this week. We know that Ole Miss puts a ton into the Alabama game and that was a huge disappointment two weeks ago in Tuscaloosa. Last week, LSU and Ole Miss traded haymakers in a 55-49 win for the Rebels that came down to the final play. Lane Kiffin’s crew finds themselves laying a hefty home number here against a desperate Arkansas team that has lost three straight games.
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