College Football Tournament Week 6 - Regroup

Week 5 Recap

The College Football Tournament has now passed its halfway point, with only 56 teams left fighting for that final crown, including at least one member from every conference. The top teams continue to create separation from the pack, as Clemson and tOSU dodged close calls while Bama, UGA, and OU continue their path of destruction. Notre Dame is now officially lurking, without many major hurdles remaining on the schedules. The Horned Frogs escaped elimination with a game-winning FG, while Tournament darling North Texas failed to convert their late FG opportunity, shockingly sending the Mean Green to the scrap heap. Conference title contenders sent their lower-level peers packing as the Vols, Bears, Cavs, and Red Raiders all succumbed to superior squads. Ultimately the Tournament rid itself of 13 pretenders, even if they weren’t the teams we all expected to fall

FOW reader picks: Week 5: 1-5; Season: 19-19 (50%)

Week 6

A handful of teams on the brink of elimination get a reprieve and a moment to breathe ahead of the long sprint to the finish line – TCU is joined by Penn State, USC, Oregon, and Duke on bye this week, reducing the number of elimination opportunities. The Frogs certainly need the week to heal up, but will also benefit of a full slate of games that will shrink the field and bring top teams closer to their demise – survival is simple when there is no game to be played. Though we are only guaranteed three eliminations in Week 6, we are still assured of a significant shakeup – either we get 10+ eliminations or the biggest contenders will come back to Earth off of their high horse. Regarding other teams facing elimination during our Bye Week, it is best stated by the famed turn-of-the-century young male poetry collective N Sync “It ain’t no lie, I want to see you out that door, baby. Bye bye bye.”

1. Florida State @ Miami (-12.5) – These two Florida Men have been on the ropes but are still surviving, with this game being the opportunity to jump ahead in the state’s pecking order and back into a true contender position. FSU’s Taggart really needs to pull this upset, as his first season has already brought out FSU Twitter’s claws – it would be hard to ever recover from getting eliminated at the smug hands of Mark Richt. The U suffered an early defeat to LSU that appeared to be a major smear, but the Tigers have continued to win, boosting the Hurricanes back fully into the AP Poll. With a straight-forward enough schedule, Miami could certainly take care of business and end up in the ACC Championship game again, with a chance to leap into the Playoff.

Where to watch: Saturday 10/6, 2:30 PM, ABC

2. Iowa (-6) @ Minnesota – Kirk Ferentz is the longest tenured coach in college football, having been in Iowa City for a season longer than Gary Patterson has been in Fort Worth, and somehow he just keeps ticking. On the other sideline will be PJ Fleck, the second youngest P5 head coach, only a few years older than OU’s Lincoln Riley. Thanks to Wisconsin last week, we won’t have to talk to our kids about an undefeated Iowa, but the Hawkeyes remaining B1G West schedule does lend itself to a sustained run of easy victories if the Golden Gophers don’t snip their wings here. Minnesota on the other hand has to go to Columbus next week, likely ending any streak they could start here.

Where to watch: Saturday 10/6, 2:30 PM, B1G Network

3. San Diego State @ Boise State (-14.5) – The Mountain West Super Bowl is upon us. Being in different divisions, we don’t get this game every year, though it is always assumed pre-season that these two will meet in the MWC Championship game – each has won that Championship twice in its 5 years of existence, but never against each other. The winner of this game will be the likely host the conference title game and be jockeying for position against the eventual winner of UCF-USF for the G5 NY6 bid. *cut to: Fresno & Cinci fans screaming into the abyss, begging for respect* Both have had solid wins and respectable P5 road losses…the line appears large, but perhaps the Smurf Turf just adds a TD to the spread.

Where to watch: Saturday 10/6, 2:30 PM, ESPNU