It is hard to believe we are already at week six of the college football season. Each week has brought some heart-stopping football, the kind that college football fans love to see.
This weekend has a slate of great in-conference match-ups, including two top five-ranked teams battling it out down in Baton Rouge.
Top Five Curse
Every week, except for last week, had seen a top five-ranked team fall. Both teams from Oklahoma fell in the first two weeks.
USC went to Washington in week three and lost. Mississippi and Penn State both lost to unranked opponents in week four.
Last week, all top five teams won (or were idle), but the pollsters put Virginia Tech (5) in ahead of Boise State (6). Virginia Tech has beaten three ranked opponents as opposed to Boise State’s one win over a ranked opponent.
Florida (1) and Texas (2) have remained glued to their one-two rankings all season, but this week could change all of that.
Florida (1) will travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU (4) on Saturday night at rowdy Tiger Stadium for the biggest game of the weekend.
The Gators have been dominant this season behind their star quarterback Tim Tebow, but Tebow will be a game-time decision after a concussion two weeks ago at Kentucky.
With the 92,000-plus rowdy fans at Tiger Stadium, the noise may become a factor according to Florida coach Urban Meyer.
“If the noise bothers Tim, he won’t be in the game. It means he’s still symptomatic [from his concussion].”
If Tebow is unable to go, sophomore back-up John Brantley will get the start for the Gators.
LSU coach Les Miles prepared his team for any possibility. On the LSU Web site he said, “We’re preparing for the Florida offense. There’s a personality there. We recognize the quarterback can be a different guy, but he’ll probably be asked to do very similar things. They have some very talented guys.”
Coach Urban Meyer said, “I think these games come down to field position. We have to play great defense. If you don’t, you have no chance to win this game.”
The Gators are ahead in the series with a record of 29–23–3 since their annual meetings began in 1971.
While LSU is the underdog in the game, they have not lost at Tiger Stadium at night since 2002.
Other Notable Matchups
Alabama (3) will travel to Mississippi (20) for a great SEC West match-up Saturday afternoon. Ole Miss tumbled from the top five after a loss to South Carolina in week three.
The Crimson Tide are ranked number two in total defense and have only lost twice in the last 18 meetings with Ole Miss.
Undefeated Iowa (12) looks to creep into the top ten when they face Michigan at home on Saturday night. Michigan is coming off of a tough overtime loss to in-state rival Michigan State last week.
While the wins have not been pretty, Iowa is off to its best start in 14 years. The Hawkeyes have not gone 6–0 since 1985, which is also the last year they came into the Michigan game ranked higher than Michigan.
Michigan has won six of the last seven at Kinnick Stadium.
The Florida–LSU game is clearly the biggest of the weekend, but with most teams playing conference games, all games are big. The upset fairy has shown no mercy this year. I would expect week six to be no exception.
