On October 16, 1993, there were three games with teams that were 5-0 or better: No. 1 Florida State beat No. 15 Virginia 40-14; No. 6 Nebraska beat Kansas State 45-28; and No. 19 Auburn defeated No. 4 Florida, 38-35. It was the first time in college football history that six teams with those records played on the same day, according to ESPN’s Chris Fallica.
It took almost exactly 29 years, but we’re finally repeating that happy combination of success and programming again. On paper, Saturday’s slate is a knockout, with Penn State-Michigan, Alabama-Tennessee and Oklahoma State-TCU all matchups of teams 5-0 or better, plus three other games ranked as bonus points . Everything is well spread across all the TV windows. A very nice little Saturday, really.
Penn State visits Michigan, giving Nittany Lions coach James Franklin a chance to finally get a road win against a beloved rival. In eight road games against top-five foes in his Penn State and Vanderbilt coaching career, Franklin has gone 0-8, losing those games by an average score of 37-11. The Nittany Lions are undefeated on the road this season, escaping Purdue with a last-second win in their opener and beating Auburn in Week 3, but neither of those teams come close in the same league than the Wolverines, one of the top 10 teams of the season. in terms of the SP+ efficiency metric in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams (Georgia is the only other team that can boast that). Michigan has looked at least a little risky in each of its last three games, but has turned it on when needed, and Penn State may not have the offensive firepower to keep up (its offense ranks 114th nationally in rushing percentage, while the Wolverines). defense ranks seventh in this category). …
Best college football bets: Uncertainty points to less in Alabama-Tennessee
Tennessee hasn’t finished a season in the AP top 10 since 2001, though the undefeated volunteers can continue their long climb to prominence by beating alabama. Tennessee’s offense has been ruthlessly efficient this season: It has had 17 goal-and-goal situations and scored a touchdown in all of them (the next closest team to 100 percent success is just 10-for-10), according to FiveThirtyEight. But the Crimson Tide defense will be the best Tennessee has seen this season, and Nick Saban is 15-0 against the Vols as Alabama’s coach, with his teams winning by an average of 25.9 points. It remains to be seen if defending Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young will play after missing last week’s opener against Texas A&M with a shoulder injury. Backup Jalen Milroe didn’t look as confident against the Aggies. … Oklahoma State’s defense could be a little depleted against TCU, given that the Cowboys’ defense was on the field for 104 plays in last week’s win over Texas Tech. The Horned Frogs only average 66 plays per game, but when you average a national-best 8.1 yards per play, you tend to get things done in a pinch. … Syracuse hosts North Carolina State in just their second home game as a ranked team since 2001. The Wolfpack will likely be without quarterback Devin Leary, who suffered a shoulder injury in last weekend’s win against Florida State. …
Mississippi State has won two straight SEC contests, over Texas A&M and Arkansas, but both the Aggies and Razorbacks had to rely on backup quarterbacks for some or all of those games. The The Bulldogs won’t be so lucky against Kentucky. Wildcats quarterback (and NFL prospect) Will Levis looks set to play after missing last weekend’s loss to South Carolina with an injured foot. Kentucky averaged about a yard per play less than its season average against the Gamecocks. … Utah is a three-point favorite over USC. As Fallica noted, this will be just the 16th time since 2015 that a team 6-0 or better (the Trojans) will be an underdog to a team with at least two losses (the Utes). The favorite team in these games has gone 12-3 straight. Of course, the Utes’ two losses this season came in games in which they were favored (at Florida to open the season and at UCLA last weekend). The Trojans’ 6-0 record is, at least in part, the result of an easy schedule: USC hasn’t played a team ranked higher than 45th in the SP+ overall efficiency ranking. Utah is number 10 in this metric.