Week six is the calm before the beautiful chaos that will be a massive week seven. Only two games feature battles between ranked teams, but that means the devil is in the details this weekend. Good games are to be had, but stranger games are abundant. Let’s unpeel this banana and break it all down.
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GAME OF THE WEEK: NORTHWESTERN at MICHIGAN
Remember in week one, when we wondered how Stanford could get suffocated by Northwestern and Michigan could get lit up by Utah? It turns out Northwestern is an ace team and Michigan ran into one of the nation’s elite. This is a fun game with a lot on the line for both. The Wolverines are trying to keep pace in the East, while Northwestern wants to keep the egg in the loss column as playoff aspirations begin to percolate in Evanston.
It’ll be the top two scoring defenses in the country going at it in Ann Arbor. Expect a sub-30- point game.
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UPSET SPECIAL: NAVY at NOTRE DAME
Navy’s triple option is unlike anything else in major college football. The Midshipmen pound the ball at you and force you out of your traditional defense. The triple option operates at its height when it features an experienced, intelligent quarterback, and there is none better than Keenan Reynolds. The man who might have made Navy fans forget about Ricky Dobbs has been a motor for the Midshipmen for years. Reynolds sits five touchdowns shy of the NCAA’s all-time mark, and his incredible field sense is the X-factor for Navy.
Veteran Navy teams have given Notre Dame fits in the past, and the Irish have their biggest annual rivalry game, against USC, in a week. Even a quick look past Navy could be disastrous for the Irish.
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NERDOUT OF THE WEEK: ILLINOIS at IOWA
How in the wide world of sports did this become a game between power brokers in the Big Ten West? Iowa is ranked for the first time all season, and the Illini have quietly put together a 4-1 record to open the year. A valuable divisional tiebreaker is at stake, and Illinois is playing to prove that its comeback win over Nebraska wasn’t a fluke. Iowa wants to cement itself as one of the league’s elite. It’ll be a fun one to kick off the day in Iowa City.
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UNIMPORTANT GAME OF IMPORTANCE: INDIANA at PENN STATE
Indiana left everything on the field last week in Bloomington against Ohio State, but couldn’t pick up the win. Penn State labored to victory against another inferior opponent; this time it was Army. Both sit at 4-1. A loss drops the less fortunate team into the thicket of the Big Ten East. How does Indiana respond, on the road, after getting deflated like a popped balloon? How does Penn State fare in its first real test in league play? So many subplots, so little time, but a lot about both teams’ futures will be determined by this game.
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ODDITY OF THE WEEK: NEW MEXICO STATE at MISSISSIPPI
It’s a game that will move exactly zero national dials this weekend, but it is historic for the novelty of the contest. It’s the first time Ole Miss is playing any team from the state of New Mexico, and it’s the first time New Mexico State is playing a team from Mississippi.
