College Football Watch Guide: Week 6

Oct 7, 2022 - 10:01 PM

Don’t look now but we’re at the halfway point of the 2022 college football season. Hard to believe it took us eight months to get to the season and in the blink of an eye we’re already halfway through the woods. We’ve seen so many things in the last six weeks, from huge upsets to Hail Mary thrillers, sometimes the same team doing both in successive weeks. Athletic directors across the country have not been shy in cutting coaches loose even at the cost of millions of dollars.

Scott Frost was the first to go. Of course, we all saw that one coming.

Then Arizona State fired Herm Edwards. Ok, a bit surprising but not totally out of left field.

Now you can add Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst to the list.

Whoa...well, I suppose they did just get roasted by Illinois but...wow.

Chryst’s record as the Badgers’ head coach was 67-26, a .720 winning percentage with a trip to the Rose Bowl and wins in the Cotton and Orange under his belt. However, the team underperformed in the COVID year of 2020, and lost their chance at the B1G West crown in 2021 after an upset loss to Minnesota. Blowouts at the hands of Ohio State and Illinois, and a close loss to Washington State, were the final straws for the eight-year head man.

On one hand I admire the fact the AD was willing to take such a risk, feeling a coach was not living up to the standard of the program despite relative success and willing the pull the trigger. On the other, that was the exact same reasoning Nebraska gave when firing Bo Pelini and the Huskers have never been the same since. Badgers fans everywhere are praying they don’t go down that same road.

Anywho, where was I? Oh yeah, week 6. Here we go!

Speaking of those pesky Bugeaters, they’re going cross-conference Friday night when Nebraska visits Rutgers. It’s a pretty thin Friday night lineup, and with this being the only major conference game played it’ll get plenty of eyes by default. But I’d definitely check out Houston @ Memphis. Despite being mid-majors, both teams have been pretty good of late so we could see an entertaining ballgame here.

As infrequently as I watch it these days, I will be tuning in to ESPN’s College Game Day this week. The show will visit Lawrence, Kansas for the first time in its history for #17 TCU @ #19 Kansas. I was 100% expecting the worldwide leader to hit the easy button and do the Red River Rivalry for the 800th time but I was pleasantly surprised to hear the news. Like the show or hate it, there’s an undeniable charm when they visit a new campus. Kansas’ run to 5-0 has been fun to watch, and I’m expecting a fun game here as well.

The Red River Rivalry will of course draw eyeballs, Texas @ Oklahoma will always command attention no matter how underwhelming both teams are. It’s an early kickoff on network television, and despite both teams’ struggles this rivalry is usually entertaining.

It’ll be interesting to see if Arkansas can bounce back from some tough outings and knock off #23 Mississippi State, and #8 Tennessee @ #25 LSU is good for some top-25 action. Purdue @ Maryland will show if Purdue can gain momentum after toppling the ranked Gophers last week, or if a letdown is in the works.

All in all the morning slate looks to be pretty darn good.

Forget Pac-12 After Dark. This Saturday gives us Pac-12 After Noon. #11 Utah @ #18 UCLA provides a rare sight indeed: two ranked Pac-12 teams kicking off when most of the country is still awake. Joking aside, I’m really looking forward to this. Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly’s team is surprisingly strong, going 5-0 and scoring over 32 points in every game. Their upset of the Washington Huskies last week vaulted them into the top-25, and their reward is another date with a ranked team. Get the popcorn ready for this one.

Wisconsin @ Northwestern will give us the first glimpse of Jim Leonhard’s term as Badger head coach, and while he’s officially only the interim coach the common belief is it’s his job to lose. The Wildcats are trash this year, so this should be a good opportunity for the team to get its confidence back.

Texas Tech @ #7 Oklahoma State could be an upset watch candidate, and #3 Ohio State should roll over declining Michigan State. Much of the afternoon slate is a full of good, but not great conference tilts. North Carolina @ Miami might be a fun one for you sickos who actually like offense.

In the evening we’ll see what our Iowa Hawkeyes can do against suddenly dangerous Illinois. If you’re one of those hoping a loss to Bret Bielema’s squad could topple the Ferentz regime as it did Paul Chryst, don’t get your hopes up. Iowa could lose this by 60 without any changes to staff. Iowa won’t lose by that much, and hopefully not at all, but this is a dangerous road trip for the Hawkeyes.

Elsewhere at night there isn’t a lot of spicy matchups. #16 BYU @ Notre Dame would pack more of a punch if the Irish hadn’t fallen flat on its face to start the year. Maybe this game will show us which private religious university God favors the most.

Texas A&M could topple #1 Alabama for the second year in a row, but I doubt it, and #20 Kansas State @ Iowa State is a critical bounce-back game for the Campbell Crew. You probably can’t go very wrong with whatever game you end up on, as most of the games at night look to all be on par with each other.

And with that we’re into the latter half of the 2022 season. It’s hard to imagine we’re this far in already. But if I can offer any small consolation, its that we won’t have to deal with any more Aaron Judge cut ins during these last six weeks.

It’s a Week 6 miracle!