The Macho Rhino College Football Week 6 Selections

Week 6 is upon us in college football, thankfully, after a poor week five performances from me with my picks dropping me to 95-20 on the season. Some teams are looking to get bowl eligible this week while some are trying to salvage a poor start to the year. After this week, you could start to see the coaching carousel move as many coaches could have their fates sealed with a bad loss. There are some good match-ups this week in the SEC and Big XII. Here’s how I see them playing out:

1. Alabama vs. Vanderbilt
Bama fell behind early last week but then poured it on the Gators in the Swamp. Vandy has been decent this year but they’re facing a far superior team. The Tide rolls again.

THE PICK: Alabama 42-10

2. LSU vs. 18. Florida
John Brantley is out and that means a Freshman QB will have to start in Baton Rouge at night. This LSU defense will attack like when a shark smells blood. Florida’s defense will have a lot of pressure to keep their team in it. I think they will but their offense won’t get going.

THE PICK: LSU 24-3

3. Oklahoma vs. Texas
Both teams enter undefeated. Texas is looking to prove their officially back after an awful 2010. The Sooners are looking to keep going toward a BCS title game. Texas seems to have figured out the QB situation and I think will give the Sooners all they can handle. OU finds a way to win these games though. This should be another great one in the Red River Rivalry.

THE PICK: Oklahoma 31-27

5. Boise State at Fresno State
Boise gets the national stage with a Friday night game so they’ll try to send a message. Pat Hill’s team is always tough at home but I don’t think they have what it takes to take down the Broncos. Fresno will stay close for a half but Kellen Moore won’t let his team lose this year.

THE PICK: Boise State 35-20

6. Stanford vs. Colorado
Stanford’s defense has played very well this season and faces a CU offense that’s struggled at times. The Buffs defense I can’t see slowing down Andrew Luck. It’s been a rough start to Pac-12 play for Colorado.

THE PICK: Stanford 42-10

7. Oklahoma State vs. Kansas
Oklahoma State is coming off a bye week so they’ve had plenty of time to analyze the Jayhawks. Turner Gill’s trying to get things going in Lawrence but needs better players. He’s had good QB play this year but KU’s defense won’t stop the Cowboys. Brandon Weedon to Justin Blackmon will be called a lot on Saturday.

THE PICK: 49-14

8. Oregon vs. California
Oregon hosts the Bears on a Thursday night game to show the nation they’re better than their opening loss to LSU. Cal has looked good and showed last year they found a way to try to slow down that high speed Duck offense. I think Oregon keeps it going this week and cruises.

THE PICK: Oregon 42-21

9. Clemson vs. Boston College
Boston College has been disappointing this season and it doesn’t look to get any better this week traveling to Clemson. The Tigers are undefeated coming off big wins over Florida State and Virginia Tech. This could be a bit of a letdown game for them so look for it to stay close for a while but Clemson wins.
 

THE PICK: Clemson 28-13

10. Arkansas vs. 11. Auburn
This is the game I really want to watch. It should be a shootout as both have great offenses and defenses that have given up a lot of points in games this year. The one thing I’ve learned this season is not to count Auburn out of a game and after last week, I think you can say the same about Arkansas. Auburn needs to run the ball and keep Arkansas out of rhythm. The Hogs have the playmakers though to outduel the Tigers.

THE PICK: Arkansas 42-35

12. Texas A&M at Texas Tech
A&M blew another big second half lead last week so their confidence can’t be high heading on the road to Texas Tech. Tech hasn’t seen the level of play they will on Saturday. A&M knows they’ve got to win this one but it’s going to be closer than expected.

THE PICK: Texas A&M 35-27

13. Illinois at Indiana
Indiana is having a tough time adjusting to new coach Kevin Wilson’s system. Definitely growing pains while the Illini have been winning late in games. I think this one will be competitive for awhile since it’s the first road game for the Illini but Illinois will find a way to put some distance between themselves and the Hoosiers.

THE PICK: Illinois 30-10

14. Georgia Tech vs. Maryland
Georgia Tech is looking good this season. Their offense is great as they’re second in scoring nationally. Maryland seems like they peaked week one and are more concerned with what they’ll be wearing.

THE PICK: Georgia Tech 42-21

15. Michigan at Northwestern
Northwestern played well last week but couldn’t stop Illinois at the end. Now they return home to host the undefeated Wolverines. I think the Wildcats will have a tough time slowing down Denard Robinson but should be able to hang in the game. This will be one that goes to the wire again.
 

THE PICK: Michigan 30-24

16. South Carolina vs. Kentucky
Steve Spurrier announced Connor Shaw will again be the starting QB for the Gamecocks. Kentucky’s offense has sputtered all year and they’ll need to score some points to beat South Carolina this week. Marcus Lattimore has another great game to lead his team to a win.

THE PICK: South Carolina 27-10

17. West Virginia vs. Connecticut
UConn is not very good this season. They have been very inconsistent and I think that’s going to lead to a blowout at WVU. Geno Smith and the Mountaineers should dominate this game at home.

THE PICK: West Virginia 38-13

19. Nebraska vs. Ohio State

More suspensions for Ohio State this week and I can’t say that I’m surprised. That program is out of control. Nebraska is looking to rebound from a blowout loss in their Big Ten debut. Ohio State’s offense is atrocious. Nebraska’s defense should look better than it has this year against them and the Huskers will break Taylor Martinez loose a few times to pull away.

THE PICK: Nebraska 28-10

20. Arizona State at Utah

The Sun Devils need this game to stick atop the Pac-12 South. The Utes will play a backup QB and didn’t look good last week. I think ASU wins with the passing attack and a good defensive effort. 

THE PICK: Arizona State 31-17

21. Kansas State vs. Missouri

Missouri has a couple of losses while K-State is perfect on the season. The Wildcats had a come from behind win last week against Baylor so they should have a lot of confidence coming into this one. I’m still just not sure if they’re that good. I think the Tigers are ready to get the win on the road with their great running game.

THE PICK: Mizzou 35-27

22. Pittsburgh at Rutgers

Ray Graham had a huge game last week and should keep going. Rutgers is off to a good start but is going to face a far superior team to anyone who they’ve seen on the schedule so far. Pitt will keep getting better each week and win this one on the road. 

THE PICK: Pitt 27-17

23. Florida State at Wake Forest

E.J. Manuel returns for the ‘Noles and that should help them get back on a winning track. They had a week off to recoup after back to back losses. Wake will give them a tough game but FSU will pull this out in the end.

THE PICK: Florida State 35-31

BONUS GAMES
 

Air Force at Notre Dame

The Falcons head to South Bend coming off an OT win against rival Navy last week. Notre Dame looks like they’ve figured out how to hold onto the ball and that’s letting them reach their potential. I think it keeps going this week. ND will have some trouble with the option attack but AF will have more trouble stopping Michael Floyd.

THE PICK: Notre Dame 35-21

Georgia at Tennessee

Another great SEC game this Saturday. These two are pretty evenly matched and I can see it going either way. I think it comes down to motivation and Georgia has more of that this week as they know a win here puts them in the driver’s seat in the East. 

THE PICK: Georgia 27, Tennessee 24

TCU at San Diego State

TCU has struggled this year and a team that normally has a stout defense has been getting gashed for a lot of yards and points. San Diego State has a lot of offense on talent and I think put up more than TCU. 

THE PICK: San Diego State 34-30