If the predictions were always right and the favorites always won, the quartet of Alabama, Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma -- stars of what were supposed to be by far the two biggest games of Week 6 -- would be a combined 18-2 right now.
Instead, though Bama is 5-0 for the seventh straight year, the other three teams are 3-2 and unranked. And all four teams are battling through quarterback injury issues.
There are therefore two ways to look at Week 6. The pessimist would bemoan the fact that the two huge matchups we talked about all offseason are dampened significantly. But I'm an optimist, and I'm looking at this with two thoughts: First, OU vs. Texas and Nick Saban vs. Jimbo Fisher will always be must-watch television regardless. Second, into the headliner void has stepped a trio of optimistic and delightful matchups. We still get all the intensity of the games we expected to care about, and other matchups have taken on a lot more meaning.
I mean, College GameDay is in Lawrence, for goodness' sake! We're starting a Friday preview column with Kansas! How bad can things really be?
Here's everything you need to follow in the weekend ahead.
Cinderella vs. the Big 12's fastest team
No. 17 TCU at No. 19 Kansas (noon ET, FS1)
The only way you could have convinced me that TCU-Kansas would be a battle of unbeatens this year is if the game had been moved to Week 0. TCU went 5-7 last season thanks to a suddenly dreadful defense, and legendary head coach Gary Patterson was sent packing. Kansas, meanwhile, is Kansas, winner of 1.9 games per year since 2010. The Jayhawks went 5-28 from 2019 to 2021 and are 5-0 this season. Impossible!
Odds favor Kansas' unbeaten run ending this weekend. The main reason? Speed. TCU has the most rushes of 30-plus yards in the country and the second-most overall gains of 30-plus despite having played only four games, one fewer than most teams. Sonny Dykes' Horned Frogs are averaging 8.3 yards per play, the most in FBS; only two other teams are above even 7.4, and their names are Alabama and Ohio State.
Kendre Miller, Emari Demercado and Emani Bailey are combining for 170.3 rushing yards per game at 7.8 yards per carry. Quarterback Max Duggan, who got in on the act last week with a 67-yard run of his own, is averaging 14.2 yards per completion to a diverse set of nine guys with four to 14 receptions. Against Oklahoma, the Frogs scored on touchdowns of 62, 67, 69 and 73 yards. They made the Sooners look painfully slow. Their defense is pretty average, but they are favored on the road because whatever advantages Jalon Daniels and the Kansas offense find against the TCU D, TCU's own offensive edges should be larger.
The Jayhawks should indeed find some advantages, though. The KU offense ran aground against Iowa State's frustrating defense last week, but the Jayhawks are still combining highly efficient passing from Daniels -- 68% completion rate, 11-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio, No. 1 in Total QBR -- with a healthy dose of run explosions.
This game should be an absolute delight for lovers of creative and aggressive offense. And if Kansas is still unbeaten come Sunday, it will likely be because of two factors.
First, TCU's biggest (only?) offensive vulnerability springs from its biggest strength: Duggan looks downfield for big plays but takes some sacks because of it -- the Frogs rank 94th in sack rate allowed on passing downs (second-and-8 or more, third- or fourth-and-5 or more). Thanks primarily to Miami (Ohio) transfer Lonnie Phelps' five sacks, KU ranks 35th in passing downs sack rate. There's an opportunity here, but only if Kansas can force the occasional passing down.
The second factor: red zone offense. Kansas thrives there with Daniels' mobility and coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's extreme misdirection and creativity, while TCU's defense ranks 108th in red zone touchdown rate allowed (73%) and has given up touchdowns in every goal-to-go situation it has faced. TCU is favored for a reason, but if the Jayhawks can avoid field goals and sack Duggan a few times, they'll have a chance to keep this Cinderella story going.
Current line: TCU -6.5 (up from -5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: TCU by 7.3 | FPI projection: TCU by 6.4.
One test down, another to go for UCLA
No. 11 Utah at No. 18 UCLA (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
UCLA got rid of its "ain't played nobody" problem in one fell swoop last Friday night. Unbeaten in part because of a cakey nonconference schedule, Chip Kelly's Bruins danced and sped their way past Washington 40-32, gaining 499 yards and scoring six times in a seven-possession stretch that turned a 1-point deficit into a 24-point lead.
The win transformed perceptions of the Bruins. Now they must do it again, and against an even better team.
Since losing to Florida, Utah has beaten four increasingly decent opponents by an average of 46-11. The Utes are in the nation's top 15 in both points scored and points allowed per drive. They've easily covered for four straight games, and against an Oregon State team that nearly upset USC the week before, the Utes scored the game's final 21 points to cruise 42-16.
As with TCU-Kansas, this game will be an efficiency battle. UCLA's offense ranks sixth in overall success rate, and Utah's is 11th; Utah's defense ranks 17th, though UCLA's D is more bend-don't-break. Both teams dominate the field position game, both do well in the red zone, and both have benefited from a healthy turnover margin. Whoever carves out better advantages in the down-and-distance category probably wins.
This is also a battle between two of college football's most delightful quarterbacks, Utah's Cam Rising and UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson. They are currently sixth and seventh, respectively, in Total QBR.
UCLA plays mostly zone defense, and Rising destroys zone, averaging 9.5 yards per dropback with a 73% completion rate. He struggles a bit against man defense, as his receivers' lack of separation can backfire -- iffy explosiveness in the passing game again appears to be one of Utah's greatest liabilities -- but between a solid run game and Rising's efficiency, Utah is almost never off schedule. UCLA's run defense is awfully good, but we'll see if it's good enough.
We'll also see if DTR can maintain his current run of form. In two conference games, he has completed 77% of his passes for 549 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 109 yards and a nasty TD. He looks as confident as he's ever been, though Utah's hard-hitting defense has a way of making life frustrating for quarterbacks.
The Pac-12 has improved significantly in 2022. Part of that is because of the work of new coaches such as USC's Lincoln Riley, Washington's Kalen DeBoer and Oregon's Dan Lanning, but UCLA and Utah, with their incumbents, have looked the part of top-15 teams for most (but not quite all) of the season. The winner of this one scores a huge tiebreaker in what could remain a crowded and thrilling conference race.
Current line: Utah -3.5 (up from -3 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Utah by 0.2 | FPI projection: Utah by 6.8.
Can Tennessee end another drought?
No. 8 Tennessee at No. 25 LSU (noon ET, ESPN/ESPN app)
First, a plea to the SEC: Please don't overthink this. When Oklahoma and Texas join your conference, please end the flirtation with keeping eight-game conference schedules and embrace the nine-game, no-divisions life. With three permanent rivals and a rotation of all other opponents, you can keep almost every single valuable rivalry ... and you can make sure that Tennessee doesn't go 12 years between visits to Baton Rouge.
Indeed, the Volunteers have played in Death Valley just three times since 1992 and haven't visited since 2010's mind-bending 13-men-on-the-field loss. Granted, that single game included three decades' worth of absurdity, but these teams should not play this infrequently.
Tennessee was idle last week after scoring a funky, drought-busting win over Florida in Week 4. Now comes a chance to bust another drought: The Vols haven't beaten LSU since 2005.
If the first two games we looked at are efficiency battles, this one could be decided by big plays.
UT's defense is all-or-nothing by nature. The Vols rank eighth in stuff rate (run stops at or behind the line), 11th in blitzes per dropback and second in pressure rate. They want to invade your space and are willing to risk big plays in the name of forcing three-and-outs and turnovers.
LSU barely even tries for chunk plays. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is as scramble-heavy as ever -- he has 315 rushing yards from scrambles, most in the nation by more than 100 yards -- but he's evidently so scramble-heavy that he cannot wait for receivers to work their way downfield: Only 8.2% of LSU's passes this season have been thrown more than 20 yards downfield, 120th in the nation. Daniels is completing 68% of his passes but at only 10.3 yards per completion.
Hendon Hooker? A deep passer. Tennessee is throwing 17.7% of its passes at least 20 yards downfield. Hooker is completing 72% of his passes at a devastating 14.7 yards per completion, and while those numbers are propped up by two blowouts of MAC teams, he averaged 70% and 13.8 against Pitt and Florida too. Receiver Cedric Tillman's status is still questionable after ankle surgery, but fellow wideouts Bru McCoy and Ramel Keyton caught eight balls for 171 yards against Florida in Tillman's absence.
Tennessee tries for big plays and forces you to do the same. Will that result in their getting torched by Daniels? Will they hem him in like Auburn (mostly) did?
One other thing to keep in mind: Tennessee is among the best first-half teams in the country (+20.8 PPG, fourth overall), and LSU is among the best fourth-quarter teams (+6.2 PPG, 10th). If the Vols don't stake out an early lead, the advantage could swing the Tigers' way.
Current line: Vols -3 (up from -2.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Vols by 1.9 | FPI projection: LSU by 2.9.
Who turns around their season at the Cotton Bowl?
Oklahoma vs. Texas (noon ET, ABC/ESPN app)
Reality has struck quickly for Brent Venables in Norman. In his first three games as OU's head coach, the Sooners outscored opponents by an average of 42-10, replicating Oklahoma's previous offensive prowess while improving the defense immensely. The level of competition wasn't amazing, but they were getting the job done.
In the past two games, OU has been outscored 96-58. Kansas State and TCU gained 636 rushing yards and 541 passing yards on the Sooners. KSU found an advantage with physicality and zone reads, and TCU simply ran circles around the Sooners everywhere on the field.
Now comes a game that can either turn around or wreck a season. Just two years ago, OU came into the Red River Showdown having lost two games in a row, but the Sooners survived a slugfest and won out from there. It's not difficult to envision something similar happening here, but ... did you watch the TCU game? OU bears a massive burden of proof, and the Sooners might be without quarterback Dillon Gabriel, whose status is uncertain because of a head injury suffered against TCU. Backup Davis Beville was dismal in his absence (7-for-16 for 50 yards with three sacks), and Venables has suggested that Oklahoma could end up going with either Beville, sophomore General Booty or blue-chip freshman Nick Evers if Gabriel can't go.
It's hard to know what to expect from OU at this point -- or at least, it's hard to know what good to expect -- but we know Texas pretty well by now. The Longhorns are passive against the pass (99th in passing success rate allowed, 113th in completion rate) but give up few big plays, defend the run well and time their blitzes well in obvious pass situations (93rd in sack rate, but 43rd on passing downs). They are inefficient but explosive on the ground, and their passing game has been ruthlessly efficient with either Quinn Ewers or his injury replacement, Hudson Card, behind center. Ewers returns after missing nearly a month with a significant sprain to his non-throwing shoulder.
Granted, neither Card nor Ewers is as effective a runner as either Kansas State's Adrian Martinez or TCU's Max Duggan, but Texas has plenty of weapons with which to do damage if the Sooners don't get things turned around immediately. Even if Gabriel is somehow 100% healthy and effective, the Sooners will have to make some stops to get a win. Can they?
Current line: Texas -7 (up from -5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Texas by 0.5 | FPI projection: Texas by 6.5.
Hey, while we're on the topic of important quarterback injuries...
How bad can things get for Texas A&M?
Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama (8 p.m. ET, CBS)
It's bad enough to go from the preseason top 10 to 3-2 with both a meek upset loss to Appalachian State and a resounding defeat at division rival Mississippi State. It's far worse to do those things after signing maybe the most obnoxious contract in college football (granted, there's increasing competition for that title), landing the best recruiting class in the country and then all but challenging a former mentor to a duel for talking about that recruiting class in public. Whether he wants it to or not, virtually everything that happens to the A&M program, good or bad, becomes a referendum on both head coach Jimbo Fisher and the money he is making. And at the moment, that referendum isn't particularly kind.
A year ago, a miraculous performance against Alabama turned the tide a bit. The Aggies were reeling after losing two straight games (to Arkansas and Mississippi State) when the No. 2 Crimson Tide visited as 18.5-point favorites. A&M quarterback Zach Calzada somehow played the game of his life, throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns and leading the Aggies to a shocking 41-38 upset.
This time around, the Aggies are again reeling, and their quarterback play has again been atrocious. Max Johnson, who reportedly has a broken bone in his throwing hand, ranks 100th in Total QBR, and while that was an improvement over original starter Haynes King's production -- King would rank 118th if he had enough pass attempts to qualify -- it's still inexcusably bad considering the recruiting rankings involved. Every year we write about how A&M's QB play needs to improve, and every year it instead gets worse. In what had been one of the offseason's most highly anticipated contests, A&M is a 24-point underdog.
Bama could be a bit vulnerable now. Quarterback Bryce Young is questionable after a super-awkward shoulder injury against Arkansas, backup Jalen Milroe was explosive (he had a 77-yard run) but inconsistent (4-for-9 passing) in Young's stead, and for all of A&M's struggles right now, the Aggies are still among the best in the country at preventing big plays. There's a scenario on the table in which either Young can't perform to his capabilities or Milroe is hamstrung by a steady A&M defense, and the Tide are hemmed in like they were in their narrow 20-19 win over Texas. But this scenario probably only leads to A&M covering the spread; an outright win would require the Aggies to score quite a bit, and we have no real reason to assume that will happen. Alabama is second in the nation in defensive SP+ and second in points allowed per drive (0.80). Even with running back Devon Achane looking great, A&M's offense is 105th in points per drive (1.75). That seems like a bad combination.
Current line: Bama -24 (no change) | SP+ projection: Bama by 19.4 | FPI projection: Bama by 27.6.
My favorite bets
What happens when you slog through a 1-4 week? You trust the process! My best bets bounced back with a 5-0 performance in Week 5, moving to 14-10-1 (58%) for the season. We have clearly mastered predicting this sport, and we're obviously going to hit all our picks for the rest of the season.
Here are this week's five perfect picks.
Georgia Southern at Georgia State: Under 66.5 (2 p.m. ET, ESPN3). Eight of these teams' 10 games have gone under 66.5 points, making it an awfully high bar to clear, and SP+ projects 58.4 points on average (State 30.8, Southern 27.6). Southern's offense is better than its defense, and State's passing game makes some huge plays. But there should be just enough punts and red zone failures to keep this one under 66.5.
Auburn (+30) at No. 2 Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). Consider this one a dare for Georgia. The Bulldogs have underachieved against the spread by a combined 56 points over the past two weeks, combining a "We can turn on the intensity when we need to" attention span with a total lack of big plays in the passing game. Auburn's defense has held four of five opponents to 21 or fewer points, and while Georgia will top that, winning by 30 points is a lot. SP+ projects Georgia by 18.8, and while that seems too low, I'm feeling pretty good about that 24-to-28-point range.
Of course, any time you're betting on an awesome but slow-starting team to keep starting slow, you're playing with fire. The Dawgs could choose this week to wake up.
Virginia Tech at Pitt: Over 41.5 (3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network). This is a surprisingly low bar. All five of Pitt's games have topped 41.5 points, and while Virginia Tech's offense is dreadful, the Hokies' past two games have topped this mark too, thanks to a fading defense. Despite properly hating the Hokies' O, SP+ projects 51.5 points in this game on average (Pitt 32.8, Tech 18.7). Even if Tech tops out at 10 points for the third straight game, you're still over 41.5.
Washington State at No. 6 USC: Under 66 (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox). Four of Washington State's five games have finished under 66 points, as have two of USC's past three. The Trojans' defense seems to be improving, and Wazzu's defense has held four of five opponents under 18 points. Plus, Wazzu plays at a slightly below-average tempo, while USC averages 10.2 possessions per game, second-lowest in the nation. If you believe in Wazzu's defense making at least a few stops, the opportunities for topping 66 will dry up quickly. SP+ projects 55.9 points on average (USC 32.5, WSU 23.4).
No. 12 Oregon (-13) at Arizona (9 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network). Point totals are boring. We need at least two actual spreads in this list, so let's ride the Oregon love a bit longer.
Both teams pulled surprises in Week 1, with Arizona unexpectedly drubbing San Diego State and Oregon unexpectedly getting dominated by Georgia. Since then, however, the Ducks have dominated Eastern Washington, Stanford and BYU by an average of 52-20 and came back to beat Wazzu in Pullman despite a series of red zone disasters. Arizona has been all over the map, but since the Georgia game trusting Oregon has been profitable. When SP+ says Oregon by 22.7, I listen.
Week 6 playlist
Here are some more games you should pay attention to if you want to get the absolute most out of the weekend, from both information and entertainment perspectives.
Friday evening
UNLV at San Jose State (10:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN). Maybe the most sneaky-big game of the week. Six Mountain West teams finished with a winning record in conference play in 2021, and five of them (Utah State, Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Nevada) are a combined 9-15 this season. UNLV and SJSU are a combined 7-2. The conference appears to be wide open -- the West division in particular -- and the winner of this one is poised to take advantage.
Current line: SJSU -7 (up from -4 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: SJSU by 3.7 | FPI projection: SJSU by 3.4.
Early Saturday
Arkansas at No. 23 Mississippi State (noon ET, SECN). Arkansas has lost two in a row and now faces a three-game road stretch, while MSU is one bad quarter against LSU away from being unbeaten. Trends point toward the home team -- as does the fact that Hogs quarterback KJ Jefferson is banged up (like seemingly every other good QB in college football) -- but desperation points toward the visitor.
Current line: MSU -9.5 (up from -5.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: MSU by 8.2 | FPI projection: MSU by 9.7. The shift is likely due to Jefferson's questionable status.
Purdue at Maryland (noon ET, BTN). Another sneaky-big one. Per FPI, Purdue's odds of winning the Big Ten West have more than doubled to 32% since the start of the season, and the Boilermakers now own a potentially important tiebreaker over Minnesota. Can they keep climbing against a Terrapins team that is now top 25 in both FPI and SP+?
Current line: Terps -3 (down from -3.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Terps by 2.5 | FPI projection: Terps by 6.4.
Missouri at Florida (noon ET, ESPNU). Missouri is improving but coming off two gut-wrenching losses (at Auburn, home to Georgia). Can the Tigers maintain focus and take their third win in the Swamp in four tries? And how many different versions of Florida have we seen over the past month?
Current line: Gators -11 (up from -10 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Gators by 4.8 | FPI projection: Gators by 7.6.
Saturday afternoon
Auburn at No. 2 Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). Though acknowledging that it's playing with fire to assume Georgia continues its recent slow starts, I indeed advised you to place hard-earned money on Auburn above.
Auburn center Brandon Council on Georgia's defensive front: "If we can keep them out of their third-down packages, we can demolish them."
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) October 5, 2022
I've made a terrible mistake.
Current line: UGA -30 (up from -27.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: UGA by 18.8 | FPI projection: UGA by 23.3.
No. 3 Ohio State at Michigan State (4 p.m. ET, ABC). With stars Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson both battling injuries, Ohio State has averaged 56 points over the past four games. Michigan State ... doesn't really score or make stops at a particularly average level. The numbers suggest the Spartans will cover, but only if Ryan Day shows mercy.
Current line: Buckeyes -27 (up from -25.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Buckeyes by 17.8 | FPI projection: Buckeyes by 17.5.
Texas Tech at No. 7 Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1). OSU jumped on Baylor early and mostly kept the Bears at bay in an impressive road win. Now they return home to take on maybe the most unstable, and battle-tested, team in the conference. Tech has played four straight ranked opponents -- OSU will be No. 5 -- and has beaten two of them. Quarterback Donovan Smith is capable of literally anything good or bad, and so are the Red Raiders.
Current line: OSU -9.5 (down from -10.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: OSU by 12.1 | FPI projection: OSU by 10.3.
North Carolina at Miami (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2). In nine combined games, these teams have exceeded SP+ projections just twice. But someone has to here. Will UNC build on last week's blowout of Virginia Tech? Miami had to stew through a bye week following the embarrassment against Middle Tennessee. Will the Canes come out with their hair on fire?
Current line: Miami -3.5 (up from -3 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Miami by 3.7 | FPI projection: Miami by 6.1.
Saturday evening
Washington State at No. 6 USC (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox). USC is a week away from a potentially massive battle with Utah, but the Trojans first must get past a Wazzu team that has both covered and exceeded SP+ projections in four of five games. This one's not a gimme.
Current line: USC -12.5 (up from -11 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: USC by 9.1 | FPI projection: USC by 16.5.
No. 16 BYU vs. Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC). Notre Dame was projected seventh in SP+ but has fallen to 30th. BYU was 19th after a rousing Week 2 win over Baylor but has fallen to 39th. Notre Dame should be able to run the ball, but if there's an explosive play, it's far more likely to come from BYU. It won't take that many big plays to produce an upset.
Current line: Notre Dame -3.5 (up from -2.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Notre Dame by 2.8 | FPI projection: Notre Dame by 7.2.
Florida State at No. 14 NC State (8 p.m. ET, ACCN). Anxiety in Raleigh! Both teams are coming off disappointing losses -- FSU at home to Wake Forest, NC State to Clemson in the program's biggest game ever -- and both are facing tough games next week as well. The loser is staring a potential three-game losing streak in the face after an unbeaten start.
Current line: NC State by 3 (down from -3.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: NC State by 5.2 | FPI projection: NC State by 3.7.
Army at No. 15 Wake Forest (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3). Is Army very good this year? No. Am I listing this game simply to bask in the memory of last year's ridiculous 70-56 game? Absolutely.
Current line: Wake -17 (up from -16 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Wake by 14.7 | FPI projection: Wake by 14.6.
No. 20 Kansas State at Iowa State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU). Farmageddon! KSU destroyed Texas Tech with big plays last week, but Iowa State doesn't allow many of those. Of course, the Cyclones also don't make enough of them either and have lost two straight tight games because of it.
Current line: K-State -2 (up from -1 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: K-State by 1.6 | FPI projection: ISU by 1.8.
South Carolina at No. 13 Kentucky (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN). South Carolina has played five SP+ top-15 teams during Shane Beamer's 18-game tenure; the Gamecocks are 0-5 with the losses by an average score of 41-11. Kentucky might be a top-15 team in name only, though -- quarterback Will Levis is questionable with injury.
Current line: UK -6 (down -10.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: UK by 11.9 | FPI projection: UK by 9.8. Once again, it appears a key QB injury is making the line move.
Western Kentucky at UTSA (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+). A rematch of last year's Conference USA championship game and a meeting between what might again be the two best teams in the conference. UTSA's goal: Keep it close. WKU has lost six consecutive one-score games dating back to last season. Two of those came at the Roadrunners' hands.
Current line: UTSA -6.5 (up from -5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: UTSA by 4.0 | FPI projection: WKU by 1.5.
Late Saturday
Oregon State at Stanford (11 p.m. ET, ESPN). Stanford has fixed a lot of its offensive woes this year, combining an efficient run game with big-play passing. But the Cardinal's awful defense either gives up points or gets the offense pinned deep. It cost them during an 0-3 start in Pac-12 play, and Oregon State's offense is good enough to make sure it costs them on Saturday night too.
Current line: OSU -7 (same as Sunday) | SP+ projection: OSU by 5.8 | FPI projection: OSU by 2.7.
Smaller-school showcase
Let's once again save a shout-out for the glorious lower levels of the sport. Here are three games you should track. It's worth it, I promise. In last week's showcase games, Holy Cross inched toward an FCS top-10 ranking with a win over Harvard, Montana State remained in the top 5 with an easy 41-24 cruise over UC Davis, and in a Division III top-10 battle, Wisconsin-Whitewater narrowly maintained in-state superiority over Wisconsin-La Crosse with a last-second field goal and a 34-31 win.
This week, the Colonial Athletic Association and a couple of huge Div. II matchups take center stage.
FCS: No. 6 Delaware at No. 17 William & Mary (3:30 p.m. ET, FloFootball). This is a battle for CAA superiority. Delaware's nasty defense, led by linebacker Johnny Buchanan and safety Kedrick Whitehead, is the headliner, but ace pass-rusher John Pius and Mike London's well-rounded Tribe could be disruptive enough to take this one.
D-II: No. 9 NW Missouri State at No. 7 Pittsburg State (3 p.m. ET, MIAA Network). Not including the COVID season, NW Missouri State has won six of the past seven Mid-America Intercollegiate titles. But former FAU and Toledo offensive coordinator Brian Wright, now Pittsburg State's head coach, has an explosive passing game and an unbeaten team.
D-II: No. 10 West Florida at No. 15 West Georgia (7 p.m. ET, FloFootball). UWF, you've heard of. The Argonauts won the 2019 D-II title and are 3-1 this season. UWG, however, looked like an absolute contender before suffering an inexplicable loss to Mississippi College last week. No time like the present to pull off a quick rebound.