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The FBS schedule for week six has 54 games on the docket with zero FCS opponents. That means there are a whopping 36 schools taking a bye week and they include BYU, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
See the full Schedule and Picks.
The college football weekend starts tonight with a pair of games as Texas State goes to Troy for a Sun Belt battle within the west division, and Sam Houston travels to Texas El Paso for a Conference USA clash.
Friday has a four-pack with TCU hosting offense-challenged Houston, Jax State at FBS newbie Kennesaw, Michigan State at Oregon, and emerging Mountain West power UNLV hosting Syracuse.
Last Friday night, Virginia Tech and Miami met in Miami. This weekend, both schools are in the Silicon Valley region and could meet for dinner, if they wanted to. Miami at Cal meet for some 'ACC After Dark' at 7:30 local time, 10:30 eastern time on ESPN on Saturday. The Hokies will kick-off 7 hours earlier at Stanford at 12:30 local, 3:30 eastern on the ACC Network.
The other ACC newcomer, SMU, heads to Louisville for a Noon (ET) kick-off on ESPN.
A traditional ACC rivalry will take place this week that usually draws a lot of attention, but is barely being mentioned. We're talking about Clemson at Florida State where - right now - you can buy re-sell tickets on the 40-yard line for $19.
The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy chase begins with Navy at Air Force. The Falcons will go to Army on November 2, and the Army-Navy game will take place on December 14 in Baltimore. Army has dominated possession of the trophy since 2017 with the exceptions of Navy in 2019 and Air Force in 2022.
Auburn visits Georgia to renew the Deep South's oldest rivalry which began in 1892. The Bulldogs have won the last seven, ten of the last eleven, twelve of the last fourteen, and sixteen of the last nineteen.
UCF goes to UF for a rare in-state game between the two schools that are only two hours apart, but have met just three times. The Knights took the last meeting in the Gasparilla Bowl in 2021 for its only win vs. the Gators.
Other games to watch include Iowa at Ohio State, Michigan at Washington, Missouri at Texas A&M, and Rutgers at Nebraska.
Also, Indiana will try to stay undefeated when the Hoosiers head to Northwestern.
A total of 19 teams go into this weekend without a loss. Only 2 teams on this list - Liberty and Texas - have a bye week.
By conference, the undefeated teams are as follows:
American (2): Army, Navy
ACC (3): Duke, Miami, Pittsburgh
B1G (5) : Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers
Big 12 (2): BYU, Iowa State
CUSA (1) : Liberty
Independents (0): None
MAC (0): None
MWC (1): UNLV
PAC-2 (0): None
SEC (4 ): Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas
Sun Belt (1): James Madison
Here's a closer look at four of this week's games:
Every season, there’s at least one program that grabs you and takes you on a delightful ride you never expected. UNLV might be that team in 2024.
The Rebels lost their QB, Jayden Maiava, to USC in the offseason. Then, starter Matthew Sluka left the program last week over an alleged financial dispute. Enter Campbell transfer Hajj Malik-Williams who shredded Fresno State last weekend in his first start with the team. UNLV is AP ranked for the first time in school history. In Friday’s primetime affair, Barry Odom’s kids have an opportunity to beat a Power 4 team for the third time in five weeks. Syracuse played well in the opening month, led by QB Kyle McCord who’s second in the ACC with 14 TD passes.
It’s not Georgia-Alabama, but the SEC Game of the Week will be a terrific matchup in College Station.
Missouri and Texas A&M meet for the first time in three years in a battle of ranked teams. The Tigers are coming off a bye week and are playing on the road for the first time this season. They’ll need to elevate their play, especially on offense, after consecutive close calls with Boston College and Vanderbilt. The Aggies have won four straight since dropping the opener to Notre Dame. They’ve rallied around true freshman QB Marcel Reed who’s played well in Conner Weigman’s absence. However, the competition has been average over the last month, and A&M had its own brush with disaster two weeks ago versus Bowling Green.
Ohio State is rolling, like expected. But it would be careless to ever sleep on Iowa as an underdog.
The Hawkeyes have always been dangerous under Kirk Ferentz. They play great defense, stir things up on special teams, and are having more success on offense under first-year coordinator Tim Lester. Iowa will play loose and with everything to gain Saturday in Columbus. Ohio State has bounced all four opponents by no less than 31 points to start the season. But the Buckeyes’ best win was last weekend at Michigan State. Like Ole Miss hosting Kentucky in Week 5, it’ll be interesting to see how OSU responds to a physical team that’s loaded with talent in the secondary and can run the ball with Kaleb Johnson.
How about some ACC After Dark to put a wrap on the Week 6 schedule?
Miami and Cal are meeting in the regular season for the first time since 1990. College GameDay is making its first trip to Berkeley. This one should be fun. The Canes are ranked in the Top 10 after surviving Virginia Tech’s upset bid last Friday. QB Cam Ward is off to a wicked start with Miami, leading the FBS with 18 touchdown passes. Cal already has one upset this season, a Week 2 win over Auburn at Jordan-Hare. Justin Wilcox’s defense leads the country with 10 picks and has yet to yield more than 14 points in a game, so this will be a test for Ward and his receivers.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best player with the Maxwell Award. CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a member of the voting panel.
Here’s a look at some of last week’s standout performances on offense.
Jim Mora has UConn eyeing a bowl game for the second time in the last three years. The Huskies have steamrolled opponents at home this season, scoring 95 points the last two weekends versus Florida Atlantic and Buffalo. The Bulls, which shocked ranked Northern Illinois a week earlier, could not cover Bell. The Wisconsin transfer and Bronx native had a career day with six receptions for 153 yards and three TDs in the 47-3 blowout.
Being a member of a conference sure looks good on the Black Knights so far. Army moved to 4-0, and 3-0 in AAC play, with Thursday night’s 42-14 win at Temple. Daily has been the catalyst of the ground game and the great start. He rushed for 152 yards and three scores, while completing 2-of-5 passes for 54 yards. Daily has rushed for more than 100 yards in three straight games and has scored six times in the last two outings.
Don’t look now, but Colorado has momentum. The Buffs have won three straight games, answering last week’s thrilling comeback over Baylor with an impressive blowout of undefeated UCF in Orlando as a two-touchdown underdog. In a total team effort, Colorado started fast and closed with a 48-21 win. The do-everything Hunter was at it again with nine catches for 89 yards and a TD on offense, and two tackles and an acrobatic interception on D.
Right now, there isn’t a better back in the country than Jeanty. The junior leads the FBS in rushing and is on pace for a record-setting campaign as the Broncos compete for a playoff berth. Jeanty torched unbeaten Washington State Saturday night for 259 yards and four scores on 26 carries. Almost all of his production came after contact as he earned Pro Football Focus’ top grade (94.4) for a Week 5 running back.
K-State is back on track after bowing to BYU a week earlier. The Wildcats rebounded by thumping Oklahoma State, 42-20, to stay in the top half of the Big 12 standings. Johnson electrified the Manhattan crowd with his arm and his legs. The sophomore accounted for five total touchdowns and 319 yards in the victory. In the process, Johnson became the first Wildcat since 2012 to throw for three scores and rush for two more against a ranked opponent.
Milroe running Kalen DeBoer’s offense is going to be a major problem for every remaining Alabama opponent this season. Milroe did the unimaginable Saturday night by making Georgia’s elite D look helpless. He led the Tide to touchdown drives on the first four possessions. And when the Dawgs rallied back to take the lead, he threw the game-winning TD pass late in the fourth for a wild 41-34 victory. Milroe finished with 491 total yards, including a game-high 117 on the ground, and two touchdowns apiece with his legs and his arm.
Ever so quietly, the Blue Devils are 5-0 after rallying from 20 down to beat rival North Carolina and capture the Victory Bell. Thomas helped carry the offense to 21 points in the final 21 minutes. The versatile New Mexico State transfer ran for a season-high 166 yards, 78 coming in the final quarter, and a score while catching two passes for 45 yards and another touchdown.
Looks like UNLV will be just fine, even after the high-profile decision of starting QB Matthew Sluka to leave the program last Wednesday. Starting for the first time since transferring from Campbell, Williams was spectacular for the undefeated and ranked Rebels. The sixth-year senior from Atlanta spearheaded a 59-14 rout of Fresno State, completing 13-of-16 for 182 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 119 yards and another score.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a member of the voting panel.
Here’s a look at some of last week’s standout defenders.
Carter may be the second coming of Micah Parsons and the next great pass rushing specimen from Happy Valley. Carter has incredible movement skills and lateral range for a 6-3, 252-pounder. He spearheaded the defensive effort that blanked Illinois over the final 54 minutes to help hand the Illini its first loss. Carter registered seven tackles, four stops for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup in the win. According to Pro Football Focus, his eight total pressures tied for third among all Week 5 defenders.
Clemson played just one bad half of football in September and is arguably the ACC’s hottest team heading into October. The Tigers have won the last three games by no less than 24 points and are getting it done on both sides of the ball. Carter, the All-American candidate, was the defensive star of Saturday’s 40-14 win over Stanford. His team-high 10 stops included 3.5 behind the line and 1.5 sacks of Cardinal QBs.
Arizona made great use of its bye week, bouncing back from a Week 3 loss to Kansas State to stun No. 10 Utah, 23-10, in Salt Lake City. Davis, who’s very popular in the NFL scouting community, helped take the Rice-Eccles Stadium crowd out of the game. He had seven solo tackles and used his length and cover skills to set a career-high with five pass breakups.
Boston College scored 14 points in the final quarter to rally back against Western Kentucky. However, the Eagles’ Week 5 star plays on the defensive side of the ball. Ezeiruaku has recaptured his 2022 form, when he was an All-ACC pass rusher. In Saturday’s 21-20 topping of the Hilltoppers, his career-high 14 tackles included four stops for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, and two QB hurries.
The Aggies had a poor start in Arlington against rival Arkansas, falling behind, 14-7, in the opening quarter. But the defense stepped up to allow just three points in the final 50 minutes of a key 21-17 victory. Scourton spearheaded the defensive effort. All four of the future NFL star’s tackles were for minus yards, including a pair of sacks of Taylen Green, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.
With all of the attention the quarterbacks are getting in Austin, it’s easy to miss the explosive development of Simmons. The blue-chip true freshman from Dallas was as good as advertised in September. Simmons capped a breakout first month by harassing another rookie, Mississippi State QB Michael Van Buren Jr, enroute to seven tackles, three stops for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble in Saturday’s win.
On an afternoon that the offense produced just 171 yards, NC State survived Northern Illinois’ upset bid behind the play of the front seven. Vann, in particular, one of the ACC’s top edge linemen. The senior notched 10 tackles, 3.5 stops for minus yards, a sack, and two forced fumbles that helped give the offense the short field it sorely needed in Week 5.
The Cowboys earned their first win for new head coach Jay Sawvel Saturday night, defeating Air Force, 31-19, in Laramie. Suiaunoa keyed a defensive effort that held the Falcons to only six points over the final two quarters. The sixth-year senior from Houston established a new personal best with 13 stops, three of which were behind the line of scrimmage.
Only 3 FBS-FCS games were played over the weekend with the FBS schools going 2-1. The winner was UT-Martin, which was actually a slight favorite over brand new FBS member Kennesaw and prevailed 24-13.
FBS schools are 108-6 in such games this season, and a collective 1,908-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there are 121 scheduled scheduled matchups between FBS and FCS schools with 119 schools playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
This year, 15 schools do not play a FCS opponent and 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, are repeats from last year's list of schools that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
GEORGIA - Won 26 straight home games. But its 42-game regular season winning streak and 16-game winning streak in true road games ended with the loss at Alabama.
Last: Lost 41-34 at Alabama on Saturday, September 28.
Next: Hosts Auburn on Saturday, October 5.
MICHIGAN - 27 straight conference wins, 11 straight road wins.
Last: Won 27-24 at home over Minnesota on Saturday, September 28.
Next: Visits Washington on Saturday, October 5.
MISSOURI - Won 8 straight overall. (tied with Army)
Last: Was idle this past weekend. Won 30-27 in OT at home over Vanderbilt on Saturday, September 21.
Next: at Texas A&M on Saturday, October 5.
ARMY - Won 8 straight overall (tied with Missouri)
Last: Won 42-14 over Temple at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday, September 26.
Next: Visits Tulsa on Saturday, October 5.
KENT STATE - Lost 14 straight over-all. Lost 6 straight home games (tied with UTEP).
Last: Lost 52-33 at home to Eastern Michigan on Saturday, September 28.
Next: Hosts Ball State on Saturday, October 12 after a bye week.
ULM - Had lost 10 straight conference games going into this past weekend's action.
Last: Won 13-9 at Troy on Saturday, September 28.
Next: Hosts James Madison on Saturday, October 5.
VANDERBILT - Lost 10 straight conference games.
Last:Was idle this past weekend. Lost 30-27 in 2 OT at Missouri on Saturday, September 21.
Next: Hosts Alabama on Saturday, October 5.
STANFORD - Lost 9 straight home games to FBS foes.
Last: Lost 40-14 at Clemson on Saturday, September 28.
Next: Hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday, October 5.
UTEP - Lost 6 straight home games.
Last: Lost 27-17 at Colorado State on Saturday, September 21.
Next: Hosts Sam Houston on Thursday, October 3.
TEMPLE - Lost 16 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 42-14 to Army at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday, September 26.
Next: Visits UConn on Saturday, October 5.
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Rich Cirminiello is the VP of College Awards at Maxwell Football Club. He can be followed on Twitter at @Rich Cirminiello