With three games featuring top 25 opponents scattered throughout the day, the Week 6 college football slate has plenty to feast on no matter what time you choose to tune in. Conference play is now in full swing, so true upsets are bound to begin, and every lower-ranked team absolutely has an opportunity to knock a top 10 team off as most of the spreads are a touchdown or less.
With action beginning early in the day and continuing late into the evening, let’s take a look at the biggest games on the schedule Saturday along with our predictions for what will transpire in those contests. Our CBS Sports college football experts have picked every game both straight up and against the spread, giving you ample opportunity to decide how to make your picks ahead of kickoff.
All times Eastern
No. 19 Texas vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (-7.5) — Noon on FOX: The Longhorns have a good recent history of covering in this game. Their defense has been stout enough lately to keep this one within range. Both teams have cut it close in a couple of games already, so don’t be shocked if that’s the case again here (or if the under hits). It’s going to be hard to contain everything Oklahoma can throw at it, but Texas has enough answers to take the points. Pick: Texas +7.5 — Ben Kercheval
No. 5 LSU at No. 22 Florida (+2.5) — 3:30 p.m. on CBS: Defense will lead the way Saturday afternoon, which makes the pick for this game rather simple. Which quarterback do you trust more, Joe Burrow on the road or Feleipe Franks at home. The game will likely be low scoring, which means one or two throws could make a world of difference. We saw Burrow do exactly that, when he made two clutch throws on third-and-7 and fourth-and-7 to move the chains on the game-winning drive vs. Auburn. That’s enough to earn my trust, and pick the Tigers to prevail. Pick: LSU (-2.5) — Barrett Sallee
Florida State at Miami (-13.5) — 3:30 p.m. on ABC: Mark Richt is 14-3 in Hard Rock Stadium since taking over as Miami’s coach. The atmosphere should be electric and the Hurricanes will win the game, but I don’t know if there’s going to be enough offense in this game — on either side — to cover 13 points. When the over-under is low (currently at 48.5 at the time of this writing), I always favor the double-digit dog. Pick: Florida State +13 — Chip Patterson
Which teams should you back in Week 6 of the college football season? And which national title contender will get a massive scare on the road? Visit SportsLine right now to see the projected score for every single FBS matchup, all from the model that has returned over $4,000 in profit to $100 bettors over the last three seasons and is 49-36 on its top-rated picks this season.
No. 8 Auburn at Mississippi State (+3.5) — 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2: There’s no doubt about the style of this game. It will be an old-school, sloppy, defensive slugfest. The question is, which team “slugs” harder. The Tigers defense — particularly the front seven that includes defensive tackle Derrick Brown and linebacker Deshaun Davis — is more likely to get in the backfield and rattle Nick Fitzgerald. It won’t be the disastrous 3-2 game between these two teams from 2008, but — like that game — the two defenses will shine and the Tigers will find just enough offense to escape with a win. Pick: Auburn (-3.5) — Barrett Sallee
No. 24 Virginia Tech at No. 6 Notre Dame (-5.5) — 8 p.m. on ABC: While I wouldn’t be surprised to see a close game on Saturday night or to see Virginia Tech win outright, the smarter choice is Notre Dame right now. The Irish were already good before making the switch to Ian Book at QB, and now the offense has moved to another level. Virginia Tech isn’t a bad team, but without its starting QB, I’m just not convinced it can hang with the Irish for 60 minutes. Pick: Notre Dame -5.5 — Tom Fornell
Be the first to comment