Week 5 of the college football season was highly entertaining last weekend as both #3 Oregon and #10 Florida suffered surprising defeats. The Week 6 slate is jam-packed with more marquee games for football fans to enjoy. Here are the three games to keep an eye on this Saturday (ESPN).
Georgia @ Auburn
Georgia made a huge statement by shutting out #8 Arkansas last weekend 37-0! Even without star QB JT Daniels, who missed the game with a lat injury, the Bulldogs dominated the Hogs from start to finish. The crazy thing was that Georgia only threw 11 passes the entire ball game. That may not work as well against a talented Auburn defensive line.
Auburn comes into this game at 4-1 after pulling off a nice road win over LSU last Saturday night. Bo Nix, who was benched the week before against Georgia State, made several highlight-reel plays to lead the Tigers to victory. Look for new coach Bryan Harsin to give the ball to RB Jarquez Hunter as much as possible. Hunter has 447 rushing yards and three TDs already this season.
Oklahoma @ Texas: Noon EST on ABC
The annual Red River Rivalry game should be must-see TV on Saturday. Oklahoma hasn’t looked dominant but they’ve survived some scares and still have a perfect 5-0 record. Texas has started 4-1 and new coach Steve Sarkisian has this offense hitting on all cylinders.
Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler has put up a decent stat line so far (10 TDs, 4 INTs) but has been inconsistent at times. The Heisman hopeful will need a huge game if the Sooners are going to keep pace with the potent Longhorns offense. Sooners RB Kennedy Brooks (318 yards, 4 TDs) should play a big role in this game as well.
Texas QB Casey Thompson has been a pleasant surprise for the Longhorns so far. The 6-1 junior has thrown nine touchdown passes and only three picks. The engine of this offense though is All World tailback Bijan Robinson, who has already run for 652 yards and seven scores.
Penn State @ Iowa: 4 PM EST on Fox
This should be an outstanding, old-school Big 10 football game. Both teams have perfect 5-0 records and had dominant performances in Week 5. Whichever team wins this matchup will have a legitimate chance at a conference title and possibly a playoff berth.
Penn State QB Sean Clifford has matured into a solid playmaker for the Nittany Lions. The 6-2 senior has thrown 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions so far. Clifford is also a great team leader and knows how to fire up this offense. You can bet Clifford will be looking for his favorite target, Jahan Dotson, who has 446 yards and six touchdowns.
Iowa took Maryland to the woodshed last Friday night in a 51-14 shellacking. Though some folks refer to Hawkeyes QB Spencer Petras as a “game-manager”, his stat line of seven touchdowns and only one pick is impressive. The Iowa defense is the backbone of this team as they’re only allowing 11.6 points per game.
