We’ve reached October, meaning college football conference play is in full swing and the halfway point of the regular season is rapidly approaching.
What do you need to know ahead of Vanderbilt-Alabama, Miami-Florida State and more in Week 6? Take our pregame quiz and catch up on essential reading below. (Find all College Sports Quizzes here.)
Pregame reads
As always, Manny Navarro makes his Oddly Specific Predictions, Justin Williams counts down to the top 10 games of the week and our staff makes its picks against the spread.
• No. 3 Miami at No. 18 Florida State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC): Florida State is coming off a deflating upset loss at Virginia, but the stakes are still high in the first ranked matchup in this rivalry since 2016, especially as Miami pursues its first ACC title and College Football Playoff bid. Entering Saturday, Austin Mock’s model gave Miami an 89 percent chance to make the CFP and a 41 percent chance to win the ACC. Prior to FSU’s loss, which prevented this from being the first top-10 matchup in the series since 2013, Manny Navarro wrote about the surging Hurricanes’ quest to avoid the “rat poison,” to use a Nick Saban term. The spotlight will only brighten in prime time in what Scott Dochterman ranked as college football’s seventh-best rivalry in our summer top 100.
• No. 16 Vanderbilt at No. 10 Alabama (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC): Vandy memorably stunned No. 1 Alabama in Nashville last year, and now this is the first ranked matchup in the series since 1937. Amid a cluttered SEC race, can Vandy make it two in a row against the Tide for the first time since 1955-56? This isn’t your typical Vanderbilt team — especially after quarterback Diego Pavia was granted an extra year — but Joe Rexrode writes that expecting the Commodores to win a game like this doesn’t come easily. One thing you can count on? Clark Lea’s Commodores leaving behind a clean visiting locker room.
• Clemson at North Carolina (noon ET, ESPN): Things haven’t gone well for either Dabo Swinney’s Tigers (1-3) or Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels (2-2). Expectations were a lot higher for preseason No. 4 Clemson, an experienced team whose rough start Swinney called a “coaching failure” this week, but it seems clear that Belichick’s roster flip in Chapel Hill went sideways. So: Can either team turn things around?
• No. 9 Texas at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET): Florida is off to a rough start, too, sitting at 1-3 to increase the pressure on coach Billy Napier in his fourth season. Why can’t Florida, which has won three national titles, figure it out? Matt Baker reports six theories as to why the Gators have had four coaches flop in a row. Speaking of pressure: Arch Manning’s celebrity brings with it big bucks — but also high expectations that have not been met early in his first season as Texas’ starting quarterback. Bruce Feldman gathered intel about what’s gone wrong for Manning and several other hyped big-name quarterbacks.
• Boise State at No. 21 Notre Dame (3:30 p.m. ET): Boise State made the Playoff last year and has plenty of history of subverting expectations, but it is a heavy (20.5 points) underdog in South Bend despite the Irish’s 2-2 record. Why is Notre Dame still feeling good? CJ Carr looks like a star at quarterback, the defense might be heading in the right direction and the Playoff remains within reach, thanks in part to a beatable schedule the rest of the way. First: The Irish must avoid the Boise upset trap.
In case you missed it
• Here’s what Bruce Feldman and Ralph Russo are hearing ahead of Week 6 about North Carolina, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Virginia, Alabama and the coaching carousel.
• There have been plenty of surprising and disappointing teams through the first month of the season. Transfer portal acquisitions, too.
• Which transfer quarterbacks have performed best? Sam Khan and Antonio Morales run through the top 20.
• Georgia has plenty of experience losing to Alabama, but does it have a lot more problems than usual? Seth Emerson breaks down what’s wrong with the defense, while Stewart Mandel’s mailbag ponders the state of the program.
• Is No. 1 Ohio State’s offense about to let loose and catch its dominant defense? Against Minnesota and beyond, keep an eye on freshman running back Lamar “Bo” Jackson, who is commanding attention for his game, not just his famous name(s).
• What exactly is going on with the Big Ten and potential private equity investment? Ralph Russo and Scott Dochterman lay out what we know, while Austin Meek ponders the meaning of games like Michigan-Wisconsin in the Big Ten’s new era.
• It’s hard to go a week without seeing a field stormed somewhere in college football — though Virginia’s against Florida State looked particularly wild. Columnist Will Leitch acknowledges the recklessness of storming the field but writes that we all have to admit we love seeing it happen.
• Ohio State, Oregon and Miami led the way in both The Athletic 136 and the AP poll after Week 5.
• Dante Moore and Fernando Mendoza top our first staff Heisman Trophy straw poll, something nobody would have predicted in the preseason.
(Photo: Carly Mackler / Getty Images)
