NCAA Football 2019 Week 6 picks

Thurs Oct 3
Temple Owls at East Carolina Pirates:  The usual stiff Pirates defense has some holes this season, and the Owls are flying.  TEMPLE

Fri Oct 4
#16 UCF Golden Knights at Cincinnati Bearcats:  The Knights are a powerful team, but they showed some cracks earlier this season.  Cincy has slowly been establishing themselves as a competitive force, and those Bearcats can be feisty.  This could be a close game.  UCF

Sat Oct 5
Top 25:
#15 Michigan State Spartans at #1 Ohio State Buckeyes:  The Spartans come to Columbus to attempt to upset the behemoth Buckeyes.  Sparky has a good defense, and their offense is improving as Brian Lewerke gets more comfortable, but the Buckeyes are too strong a force.  They will shake up Lewerke, and the Buckeyes offensive line is too strong for the smaller (albeit quicker) defensive line of Michigan State.  OHIO STATE

Purdue Boilermakers at #3 Penn State Nittany Lions:  No contest here.  PENN STATE

Kent State Golden Flashes at #4 Wisconsin Badgers:  Wisconsin won't have to fight for this win, and they might return to keeping their opponents scoreless.  WISCONSIN

Utah State Aggies at #6 LSU Tigers:  Another easy win.  LSU

#7 Georgia Bulldogs at Tennessee Volunteers:  Tennessee suffered one of their worst SEC opening losses in school history, and their second conference game might be even worse.  GEORGIA

#8 Auburn Tigers at #20 Florida Gators:  The Gators get their first real challenge of the season, and I don't think they are up to it.  AUBURN

#9 Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks:  Kansas is playing better this year, but not nearly well enough to compete with the Jalen Hurts-led Sooners.  OKLAHOMA

Cal Golden Bears at #10 Oregon Ducks:  Oregon had an extra week to prepare for this game, and they might need it.  Cal has proven to be a strong force in the Pac-12, and they could engineer the upset.  I'll give credit to the Ducks' extra week, but watch out!  OREGON

Bowling Green Falcons at #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  Another game that will be very one-sided.  NOTRE DAME

#12 Iowa Hawkeyes at #23 Michigan Wolverines:  On paper, Iowa should roll.  Their offense is clicking, and is based on a strong ground game.  The Wolverines have perhaps the worst running defense in the conference.  Their offense has been struggling, and the Hawkeyes defense can get very stiff as opponents approach the red zone.  However, Iowa stumbles in at one game each season, and this one seems ripe for that.  I'll pick Iowa, but watch out for a Michigan run.  IOWA

#13 Texas Longhorns at West Virginia Mountaineers:  The Longhorns visit the 3-1 Mountaineers, who may be the weakest 3-1 team in the country.  West Virginia's defense is good, but their offense leaves much to be desired, giving a large edge to the Longhorns.  TEXAS

#14 Washington Huskies at Stanford Cardinal:  Stanford was an early favorite to play in the Pac-12 Championship Game.  Now, we wonder if they will even make a bowl game.  Not if the Huskies have their way, and I think they will have their way against Stanford.  WASHINGTON

#17 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Texas Tech Red Raiders:  The Cowboys are ready to sneak in and take the conference lead if Oklahoma loses, but they need to keep pace.  The Red Raiders defense has some punch, but it's offense is lacking.  OKLAHOMA STATE

#19 Baylor Bears at #22 Kansas State Wildcats:  The Wildcats did not survive their first real test, and they won't survive this one, either.  BAYLOR

#24 TCU Horned Frogs at Iowa State Cyclones:  This won't be an easy game for the Horned Frogs, as the Cyclones play tough at home.  I'll give TCU the edge, but watch for the upset here.  TCU

#25 Boise State Broncos at UNLV Running Rebels:  UNLV is the worst team in the Mountain West.  Easy win.  BOISE STATE

Big Ten:
Maryland Terrapins at Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  Maryland gets a great rebound game against the struggling Scarlet Knights.  MARYLAND

Illinois Fighting Illini at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  Will the extra week to prepare help the Illini win this game?  Alas, I fear not.  MINNESOTA

Northwestern Wildcats at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  Nebraska has the better team, but they tend to turn the ball over too much, and Northwestern is great at exploting turnovers.  The 'Cats could win, but I'll give a slight edge to the home team.  NEBRASKA

Other Games of Interest:
Tulane Green Wave at Army Black Knights:  This battle of 3-1 former American Athletic opponents will come down to how well the Tulane defensive line can control the Army running game.  I think they will start well, but the Black Knights will wear them down as the game progresses.  ARMY

Air Force Falcons at Navy Midshipmen:  Navy also controls the ground as they pound the Falcons.  NAVY

Memphis Tigers at Louisiana-Monroe Indians:  No contest.  MEMPHIS

Troy Trojans at Missouri Tigers:  Troy's been too inconsistent for me to think they can engineer this upset.  MISSOURI
for the fist time in 35 yer
Tulsa Golden Hurricane at SMU Mustangs:  SMU will advance to 6-0 for the first time in 35 years.  SMU