COLLEGE FOOTBALL: WEEK SIX PREDICTIONS

I had a good week, getting almost 90% correct in Week 5. I'm going out on a couple of limbs today, going against conventional wisdom to pick some upsets. 

Last Week:     24 - 3   88.9%
Overall:      115 - 25   82.4%

Thursday: (from my appearance Thursday on Lou in the Morning)

(17) Louisville (4 - 1) 31 @ (24) NC State (4 - 1) 34: This has turned out to be a very compelling game. With a victory over Florida State a couple of weeks ago, NC State has injected itself into the ACC Atlantic division title race. The Wolfpack has a good defense and enough offensive power to take advantage of Louisville's less than average defense. This will be a difficult environment for the Cardinals and I look for the Wolfpack to come away with the win.

Friday:

Boise State (2 - 2) 24 @ BYU (1 - 4) 20: BYU just can't seem to generate any consistent offense this season, but Boise hasn't exactly been a point producing machine. Virginia exposed some  big weaknesses of the Boise defense, but I don't believe BYU has the weapons to take advantage of it. Even though this game is in Utah, I expect Boise State to come out on top in what could be a low scoring affair.

Saturday:

Wake Forest (4 - 1) 14 @ (2) Clemson (5 - 0) 30:Wake Forest may have the most unfortunate scheduling in the ACC, with consecutive games against Florida State, at Clemson, at Georgia Tech, Louisville and at Notre Dame. The Deacs are a good team, but they'll be over matched against a Clemson team that might be the best in the country...again. The Tigers dominated a pretty good Virginia Tech team in Blacksburg a week ago and just have too many athletes for Wake Forest.

Iowa State (2 - 2) 13 @ (3) Oklahoma (4 - 0) 34: After a week off, Oklahoma begins to get to the meat of its conference schedule, but not until next week. The Sooners should have little trouble with the Cyclones, as long as they don't start looking ahead to next week's showdown with an improving Texas team.

(4) Penn State (5 - 0) 37 @ Northwestern (2 - 2) 20: Penn State has the most dynamic player in college football in Saquon Barkley, with 960 yards from scrimmage.Northwestern just doesn't have the horses to compete with the Nittany Lions.

(5) Georgia (5 - 0) 31 @ Vanderbilt (3 - 2) 16: Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has his Bulldogs on a roll and playing at a high level. Georgia is in a great position to enter their rivalry game against Florida in a couple of weeks with a 7 - 0 record. Vanderbilt is decent, but it'll take some breaks for them to have a chance in this one.

Ole Miss (2 - 2) 17 @ (12) Auburn (4 - 1) 37: Ole Miss was exposed against Alabama last week and Auburn just continues to rack up victories. The SEC West is very competitive as usual and with Auburn's only loss coming against Clemson, we can't underestimate the chances of the Tigers to contend for the division title.

(23) West Virginia (3 - 1) 23 @ (8) TCU (4 - 0) 27: West Virginia can really generate offense, but TCU shut down Oklahoma State and will  probably do the same to the Mountaineers. However, if this turns into a track meet, TCU could be vulnerable. I don't see that happening as the Horned Frogs appear to be on a collision course with Oklahoma on November 11.

(13) Miami (3 - 0) 26 @ Florida State (2 -1) 23: Miami has lost seven straight to their in-state rivals. This game has produced some of the greatest drama in the history of college football. Florida State won a tough one last week at Wake Forest, but I still haven't seen enough from backup quarterback James Blackman to indicate he can lead his team to victory against a top 15 team. It looks like Miami will break the drought.

(21) Notre Dame (4 - 1) 34 @ North Carolina (1 - 4) 20: Notre Dame has injected themselves in the national conversation, especially since their remaining schedule allows for some more quality wins. North Carolina is in rebuild mode and seems in a bit of disarray. Don't be surprised if the Irish are in the playoff mix if they keep finding ways to win. Their one-point loss to Georgia will continue to be more impressive as the Bulldogs chalk up impressive wins.


LSU (3 - 2) 23 @ (21) Florida (3 - 1) 21: Florida has been extremely fortunate this season, and LSU has not looked good at all. But something tells me the Troy loss may give the Tigers a wake-up call to try to salvage their season. I'm not sold on the Gators and think LSU just has too much talent to remain dormant.

Maryland (3 - 1) 20 @ (10) Ohio State (4 - 1) 37: Ohio State needs to be on guard, but Maryland's porous defense gives the Buckeyes a chance to score some points. For Ohio State to get back to the playoffs, they can't afford another loss, and I think they'll take care of business.

Oregon State (1 - 4) 17 @ (10) USC (4 - 1) 44: Oregon State is one of the weakest Power Five teams and it will give USC a chance to rebound from their loss to Washington State. Look for the Trojans to try to get some style points with big win over the Beavers.

(1) Alabama (5 - 0) 30 @ Texas A&M (4 - 1) 31: I've maintained from the start of the season that I didn't think Alabama would run the table this year. Despite drilling Ole Miss last week, the Tide have some defensive injuries and A&M has shown the ability to score points. I'm going out on a big limb and predicting that the Aggies pull a huge upset at home to throw a monkey wrench into the national picture.

(16) Virginia Tech (4 - 1) 34 @ Boston College (2 - 3) 17: The Hokies lost an emotional game to Clemson last week but still control their own destiny in the ACC Coastal. But to have a chance at returning to the ACC championship game, they have to collect themselves, head to Boston and take care of business against an improved but still over matched Eagles team. They should be able to get back on track, but the Hokies drop one of these apparently slam dunks every season.

Michigan State (3 - 1) 17 @ (7) Michigan (4 - 0) 27: Michigan State scored a surprising win over Iowa last week, but they face a daunting task to upend Michigan in the Big House. Even though Michigan's offense hasn't been particularly impressive so far, their defense has been stellar. I think State is a year away from contending in this one.

(9) Wisconsin (4 - 0) 30 @ Nebraska (3 - 2) 24: I'm not sure we can take much from Nebraska's victory over Illinois, but they seem to have gotten some things corrected that resulted in consecutive losses to Oregon and Northern Illinois. Wisconsin hasn't played any tough competition and struggled a bit against Northwestern last week. The Badgers need a better effort against the 'Huskers if they want to make a run at the playoffs.

(11) Washington State (5 - 0) 42 @ Oregon (4 - 1) 31: This will be the test that Washington State needs to pass to be taken seriously. After a tough season a year ago, Oregon has turned it around under new coach Willie Taggert. But the Ducks still have some defensive issues that Washington State will exploit.

(25) UCF (3 - 0) 37 @ Cincinnati (2 - 3) 17: UCF, due to Hurricane Irma, had two games cancelled and another one rescheduled. They've gone largely unnoticed and overshadowed by their fellow AAC foe South Florida. But the Knights are a good team and will put up some points on Cincinnati tonight.

Stanford (3 - 2) 30 @ (20) Utah (4 - 0) 20: After a rough start to the season, Stanford appears to be hitting stride, especially offensively. While Utah is undefeated, their schedule thus far has been pretty weak. I like Stanford to pound the ball with running back Bryce Love, who has turned out to be a very suitable replacement for Mr. Everything Christian McCaffery.

California (3 - 2) 21 @ (6) Washington (5 - 0) 34: Cal started 3 - 0 but now reality has set in. Washington needs to stay focused though, because the Bears are just good enough to cause them problems if they get some breaks.

(19) San Diego State (5 - 0) 40 @ UNLV (2 - 2) 16: San Diego State is in a race with South Florida to remain in the hunt for a New Year's Day bowl game. UNLV probably won't pose much of a problem for a team that has already beaten two Pac-12 teams.

Duke (4 - 1) 21 @ Virginia (3 - 1) 27: After a few years of fielding largely noncompetitive teams, Virginia stunned Boise State on the Broncos' home blue turf. Duke started 4 - 0, but looked pretty average against Miami last week. The Wahoo fans will be up for this one in Charlottesville, so I'll go with the Cavs to win.

Kansas State (3 - 1) 24 @ Texas (2 - 2) 27: I'm just not sold on Kansas State and their high school caliber non-cnference schedule. Texas is definitely on the rise and should be able to take care of the Wildcats today in Austin. If they don't, the Tom Heman era will be off to a pretty rocky start.

Illinois (2 - 2) 10 @ Iowa (3 - 2) 27: This game should look a lot like last week's Nebraska win over Illinois. Iowa was surprised by Michigan State a week ago, but they'll be able to contain Illinois and score enough points to win.

Minnesota (3 - 1) 24 @ Purdue (2 - 2) 30: This is a surprisingly tough pick, especially since Minnesota hasn't beaten a quality opponent. Purdue has played a couple of top 20 teams tough, so I'll take the Boilermakers to come out on top at home.

Arkansas (2 - 2) 27 @ South Carolina (3 - 2) 20: After an impressive start to the season, South Carolina has struggled the last three weeks. Arkansas looked pretty good in defeat against Texas A&M and then followed it up with a strong defensive performance in a win over New Mexico State last week. If the Hogs can get their running game going, they should be able to control the clock and make it difficult for South Carolina to put points on the board.

Hear my recent interview with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, where we discussed his agency, concussions, franchise relocation and philanthropy at http://thechtonsports.com/cold-hard-truth-sports-radio-show-1242017/

Also listen to our conversation with author and sports journalist Mike Carey, as we discussed his latest book "Bad News" about Marvin Barnes and reminisced about Mike's coverage of the Boston Celtics during their glory years with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/golongmedia/2017/02/08/the-cold-hard-truth-on-sports-radio-show

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" at  Amazon.com and listen to me Friday's at 8:40 am EDT/ 7:40 am CDT on Lou in the Morning, streaming live on www.WPFLradio.com, 105.1 FM. Also check out www.thechtonsports.com for our podcasts and live broadcast on Tuesday's at 8:30 pm EST. I can also be reached via email at kevin@pkfrazier.com.