Predicting EVERY Week 6 FBS Matchup

Can Northwestern knock off #4 Ohio State? Get our pick below… (Credit Wiki Commons)

We’re predicting four top 25 upsets in Week 6 of the 2013 FBS college football season. Two of them involve matchups of two top 25 teams, and the other 2 involve unranked teams taking out ranked opponents. Not intrigued yet? We’ve got two top 10 programs falling.

This isn’t about us making splashy picks. In fact, we got a lot of criticism for picking one top 25 upset last week (and Georgia over LSU wasn’t really an upset). Truth was, we just didn’t see them happening. This week, however, we feel quite differently.

The only difference between Maryland and Florida State so far this season has been name recognition. While FSU has put up 51.3 points per game and allowed 15, Maryland’s averaged 39.8 points per game and only given up 10. And the Terps are 1st in the ACC in sacks and 2nd in interceptions. If #25 Maryland is to knock off #8 Florida State, we don’t see that as much of an upset.

INSTANT RETRACTION, 10/5/13: We’re not changing our pick, but holy crap were we wrong about FSU/Maryland. Like, 63-0 with 4 minutes to play wrong. Disgusting. We’re a little embarrassed.

So that’s a hint as to one top 10 team we can see falling in college football this weekend. Who’s the other one? And what about our picks for every FBS matchup this weekend has to offer? After a strong 40-9 set of picks last weekend, we’re looking to duplicate our success in Week 6. Let’s get to it!

2013 NCAA football week 6: Top 25 picks

#1 Alabama over Georgia State.

#2 Oregon over Colorado. The Buffaloes have been a nice story so far this year, starting 2-1 after a 2012 campaign that saw them go 1-11, with that single victory coming by a single point. They’ve already beaten Colorado State this year in their rivalry game – but this is a beast of a different nature.

#3 Clemson over Syracuse.

#16 Northwestern over #4 Ohio State. We’ve been picking this game as the one Ohio State will drop all season, and we aren’t swaying from our choice. The Wildcats are a good football team, capable of scoring with the Buckeyes, and have a ball-hawking, opportunistic defense. It’s a classic tough road trap after a big home win against a rival (Wisconsin), and we see Northwestern getting a signature program win.

#5 Stanford over #15 Washington. The Huskies a very good football team, and this game shouldn’t be decided by more than 10 points. Stanford, however, brings a physicality that Washington has yet to see this season. Asking the Huskies to pull this upset on the road may just be too much to ask.

#6 Georgia over Tennessee. As the weeks go by, the loss to Clemson looks less and less severe for the Bulldogs, who still have the opportunity to control their own fate in the SEC. Aaron Murray has become everything we said he wasn’t: clutch, mature, and imbued with a killer instinct.

#7 Louisville over Temple.

#25 Maryland over #8 Florida State. Take the rankings out of the equation; these teams are far more even than much of the country understands. The Terps have the offensive skill players and defensive playmakers to compete with the Seminoles, and it’s the perfect time to play FSU for Maryland, as Jameis Winston and company have to be looking ahead to their next game in 2 weeks at Clemson.

#10 LSU over Mississippi State.

#11 Oklahoma over TCU.

#12 UCLA over Utah. The Bruins cannot afford a letdown here; Utah is (much like Maryland) a better team than much of the country will give them credit for. Ultimately, UCLA is the better squad, but a road test on a Thursday night can always prove tricky – especially if Utah gets out to a fast start.

#13 South Carolina over Kentucky.

#14 Miami over Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes will likely get injured QB Stephen Morris back for this game, and they’ll need him to help control the clock against a Yellow Jackets club that likes to slow down the pace and punish you on the ground. The Hurricanes’ front seven must be prepared for a slugfest; this isn’t going to be a finesse, flashy win. Still, Miami is the pick.

#17 Baylor over West Virginia.

Arkansas over #18 Florida. Bret Bielema and company finally figure it out after 2 straight losses to Rutgers and Texas A&M. Simply put, we think if the Razorbacks can score 24 points, they’ll win this football game. The loss of Jeff Driskel for the Gators was masked by a bad Kentucky team last week.

#19 Michigan over Minnesota. This was the fifth top 25 upset we were contemplating going with this week, but it all just seemed a little much… plus, the Gophers showed us they’re still a little ways away from the “bright lights” with their loss last week at the hands of Iowa.

#20 Texas Tech over Kansas.

#21 Oklahoma State over Kansas State.

#22 Arizona State over Notre Dame. The Sun Devils dismantled and put away USC in the third quarter last week so badly that Lane Kiffin was technically fired before the game ended. As we learned in South Bend in Week 5 courtesy of the Oklahoma Sooners, Notre Dame simply can’t come back from a deficit of more than 10 points.

#23 Fresno State over Idaho.

Auburn over #24 Ole Miss. This isn’t “dog-piling” on Ole Miss after being blanked by Alabama last week; it’s a matter of a young team going on the road to a revitalized Auburn team that always plays tough at home. The Rebels will finish the season ranked again, but this loss – for now – will take them out of the top 25. Auburn will improve to 4-1, and 2-1 in the SEC.

2013 NCAA football week 6: all other FBS picks

Texas over Iowa State

Western Kentucky over Louisiana-Monroe

Utah State over BYU

San Diego State over Nevada

Navy over Air Force

Indiana over Penn State

Nebraska over Illinois

Ball State over Virginia

Buffalo over Eastern Michigan

Iowa over Michigan State

Rutgers over SMU

Virginia Tech over North Carolina

Boston College over Army

Miami (OH) over Central Michigan

Troy over South Alabama

Marshall over UTSA

Ohio over Akron

UAB over Florida Atlantic

Toledo over Western Michigan

North Carolina State over Wake Forest

Bowling Green over Massachusetts

Tulsa over Rice

Northern Illinois over Kent State

East Carolina over MTSU

North Texas over Tulane

Washington State over California

UCF over Memphis

Old Dominion over Liberty

Cincinnati over South Florida

New Mexico over New Mexico State

Louisiana-Lafayette over Texas State

Vanderbilt over Missouri

UTEP over Louisiana Tech

Hawaii over San Jose State

2013 FBS football predictions, year-to-date

Week 5 Predictions: 40-9

2013 FBS Predictions, To Date: 111-19 (85.4%)

Related articles

• No. 25 Maryland Poised For Trip To Florida State (baltimore.cbslocal.com)
• College Football Week 6 Picks: Highlighting Most Intriguing Showdowns (bleacherreport.com)
• 2013 College Football Rankings: Week 6 (Oct. 1, 2013) (sidelinemob.com)