The Cardinal Face The Huskies (College Football Week 6 Preview)

Matt: Week 6! Last week I killed Ryan, gaining some ground on his overall lead. I went 38-10, while Ryan went 33-15. I am now just one game behind him in the overall standings. This week we are previewing just 5 matchups, but there are plenty good games as we get into the meat of conference play. You can check out all our picks below the preview, the ones that aren't highlighted are the ones that Ryan and I picked different teams to win. Enjoy!

Indiana vs. Penn State

Ryan: This matchup marks the opening of Big Ten play for both teams. Indiana has been up and down this year, losing after every win, and winning after every loss. With that logic, IU wins this game. However, that’s not a strategy to go betting your lifesavings on. Penn State is a strong program still with a lot to prove. Christian Hackenberg has played well for a freshman quarterback, throwing for more than 175 yards and a touchdown in every game. He did, however, struggle against Kent State, completing only 37 percent of his passes. IU has shown some early offensive production this season. Quarterback Nate Sudfeld has thrown for over 1100 yards and 11 touchdowns already. Sudfeld struggled against a tough Missouri team, throwing three interceptions. This game is a tossup, but I have to go with the Nitny Lions. IU still has a long way to go before they prove to me they can be a legitimate team in this conference. Winner: Penn State

Matt: My Hoosiers open up Big Ten conference play with the Nitny Lions, followed by both Michigan teams, so this isn’t going to be an easy three game stretch for my Hoosiers. Penn State isn’t the same team that was a powerhouse a few years ago, but they still have a chip on their shoulder and want to prove that they can play even though they aren’t eligible for the postseason. Honestly, I’m not sure how this game plays out, Indiana has been up and down like Ryan  said, and two weeks ago game against Missouri was hard to watch, but I think the Hoosiers will bounce back nicely after a week off. I told our friends that I wouldn’t pick against my own team, and I’m not doing it here. Indiana wins this one, and starts turning some heads in the Big Ten.
Winner: Indiana

Illinois vs. Nebraska

Ryan: Nebraska goes into this game with a huge injury. Starting quarterback Taylor Martinez is out against Illinois, meaning Freshman Tommy Armstrong is getting the start. The loss of Martinez is going to mean Ameer Abdullah is going to be getting a lot more carries in the run game. Abdullah has rushed for over 100 yards in three of the first four games. The only time he didn’t was in the loss to UCLA. Illinois has had a better than expected season, beating a Cincinnati team, who we now know is not good, and a close game against Washington. The Illini are powered by Nathan Scheelhaase and Josh Ferguson. Ferguson has been a matchup nightmare out of the backfield, catching twelve passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Nebraska and Illinois both give up a lot of points and score a lot of points. I picture a shootout with the Cornhuskers on top.
Winner: Nebraska

Matt: The Illini go into Lincoln to start their Big Ten season against the Cornhuskers, and it will not  be an easy test for Scheelhaase and company. However, this isn’t the same Illini team that the Big Ten is use to seeing, I’m expecting that this game will be closer than Nebraska wants it to be. With Nebraska’s starting QB out of the game, Illinois has a chance to do  something big here and possibly pull out the upset. In the end, I think Nebraska comes out on top on this one, but part of me will be cheering for Illinois because I’m still not ready to accept Nebraska as a Big Ten school yet.
Winner: Nebraska

New Mexico State vs. New Mexico

Ryan: The Rio Grande Rivalry takes place in Albuquerque this Saturday. Not being a fan of either team could make this a skip over game. The bad records could also do the same. The Lobos have lost two very winnable games against UTSA and UNLV, having led in both. The Aggies, however, haven’t even gotten close to winning a game in over a year, losing 16 straight now. Time to make it 17. The Lobos have finally clicked in the running game, rushing for over 300 yards a game. Kasey Carrier is tenth in the nation in rushing with 559 yards in four games. The Lobos struggle on defense and have no passing game, but none of that will matter against NMSU. Lobos will win this one easily and maintain their control over the Land of Enchantment.
Winner: New Mexico

Matt: I won’t say much about this game, because I know very little about either team, but from what I’ve seen or read about the Lobos, they seem to put a lot of heart into their games, losing a couple of close one this year already. With that being said, I’m going with New Mexico State on this one, just because the one time I did pick New Mexico, they lost to a FCS team, and I’m still not willing to forgive them for that.
Winner: New Mexico State

Notre Dame vs. Arizona State

Ryan: Notre Dame has struggled in big games this year. The Irish had to come from behind at Purdue and lost close ones to Michigan and Oklahoma. This week they play Arizona State in Cowboys Stadium. Tommy Rees seemed to have his turnover issues behind him until throwing three interceptions in the first half against the Sooners, all resulting in a touchdown. The run game has worked for the Irish, and will be a key part in this game. The Irish use a running back by committee approach. Arizona State is coming off a huge win against USC and looking to put themselves on the map with a marquee win on primetime. The Devils have not looked too impressive this year, losing big to Stanford and winning by bad calls against Wisconsin. Taylor Kelly has thrown the ball well for the Sun Devils, with over 1300 yards and 11 touchdowns. Kelly has also thrown five interceptions in his last three games. Turnovers early for the Irish will spark their defense and grab momentum. The Irish will need to play sharp early in order to run the ball down the stretch and come away with the win.
Winner: Notre Dame

Matt: This Arizona State team is for real. I wasn’t sure when they barely got past Wisconsin but after watching them pretty much dominate USC on both sides of the ball, leading to Lane Kiffin’s firing, I’m pleasantly surprised of the Sun Devils performance. With that being said, I think that Arizona State will be able to take care of Notre Dame pretty easily, Notre Dame has yet to beat a ranked opponent this year, and barely skated pass Michigan State. I think this is the game that Fightin’ Irish prove to the rest of the country what most of them already know, they aren’t that great. The Sun Devils win this one, and Notre Dame returns to being a sub-par team.
Winner: Arizona State

Stanford vs. Washington

Ryan: Stanford has jumped out as the early favorite to upset Alabama this year in the national title game. The Cardinal defense isn’t as stout as they were last year, but the offense is better. Kevin Hogan has shined at quarterback so far this year while Tyler Gaffney is having the best rushing year of his career. Washington is looking to spoil and national title hopes and PAC-12 hopes with an upset this week in Palo Alto. Keith Price has played efficient football so far this season with nine touchdowns and only two interceptions. A big reason for that success comes from running back Bishop Sankey. Sankey has rushed for 607 yards and five touchdowns. With the running game bringing more defenders in the box, Price is getting better matchups on the outside. The Huskies defense is also very underrated, only allowing 10.8 points a game. A close game and not too far for the Huskies to travel, I think Washington will upset the Cardinal.
Winner: Washington

Matt: This is going to be a great game and could determine who possibly goes to a national championship and who ends up being disappointed and going to the Rose Bowl. Washington has a tough next three weeks with games against Stanford this week, Oregon next week, and Arizona State the next. If the Huskies are able to pull the huge upset, it could give them a lot of momentum going into next week against Oregon. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that is going to happen. Stanford has been running like a well-oiled machine the whole season and I think they are still under the radar in the national championship talks, and still feel they have something to prove. I think they’ll come out and want to show the nation what is up. Stanford wins this one, but not with some challenges from the Huskies.
Winner: Stanford

Time	Away Team	Home Team	Matt	Ryan
7:30 PM	Texas Longhorns	Iowa State Cyclones	Texas	Texas
7:30 PM	Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks	Western Kentucky	Western Kentucky
10:00 PM	13 UCLA Bruins	Utah Utes	UCLA	UCLA
8:00 PM	BYU Cougars	Utah State Aggies	BYU	BYU
9:00 PM	Nevada Wolf Pack	San Diego State Aztecs	Nevada	San Diego State
11:30 AM	Air Force Falcons	Navy Midshipmen	Navy	Air Force
12:00 PM	Eastern Michigan Eagles	Buffalo Bulls	Buffalo	Buffalo
TBA	Arkansas Razorbacks	20 Florida Gators	Florida	Florida
TBA	Maryland Terrapins	8 Florida State Seminoles	Florida State	Florida State
12:00 PM	Penn State Nittany Lions	Indiana Hoosiers	Indiana	Penn State
12:00 PM	Michigan State Spartans	Iowa Hawkeyes	Michigan State	Michigan State
12:00 PM	24 Texas Tech Red Raiders	Kansas Jayhawks	Texas Tech	Texas Tech
TBA	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	15 Miami (FL) Hurricanes	Miami (FL)	Miami (FL)
12:00 PM	Illinois Fighting Illini	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Nebraska	Nebraska
TBA	3 Clemson Tigers	Syracuse Orange	Clemson	Clemson
TBA	9 Georgia Bulldogs	Tennessee Volunteers	Georgia	Georgia
12:00 PM	Ball State Cardinals	Virginia Cavaliers	Ball State	Virginia
12:21 PM	Georgia State Panthers	1 Alabama Crimson Tide	Alabama	Alabama
12:30 PM	North Carolina Tar Heels	Virginia Tech Hokies	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech
TBA	21 Ole Miss Rebels	Auburn Tigers	Ole Miss	Ole Miss
1:00 PM	Army Black Knights	Boston College Eagles	Boston College	Boston College
1:00 PM	Central Michigan Chippewas	Miami (OH) RedHawks	Central Michigan	Miami (OH)
1:00 PM	South Alabama Jaguars	Troy Trojans	Troy	Troy
2:00 PM	Ohio Bobcats	Akron Zips	Akron	Ohio
2:00 PM	UTSA Roadrunners	Marshall Thundering Herd	Marshall	Marshall
3:00 PM	Western Michigan Broncos	Toledo Rockets	Toledo	Toledo
3:00 PM	Florida Atlantic Owls	UAB Blazers	UAB	UAB
3:30 PM	Massachusetts Minutemen	Bowling Green Falcons	Bowling Green	Bowling Green
3:30 PM	Northern Illinois Huskies	Kent State Golden Flashes	Northern Illinois	Northern Illinois
3:30 PM	Minnesota Golden Gophers	18 Michigan Wolverines	Michigan	Michigan
3:30 PM	East Carolina Pirates	Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders	East Carolina	Middle Tennessee
3:30 PM	Kansas State Wildcats	11 Oklahoma State Cowboys	Oklahoma State	Oklahoma State
3:30 PM	North Texas Mean Green	Tulane Green Wave	North Texas	North Texas
3:30 PM	Rice Owls	Tulsa Golden Hurricane	Tulsa	Tulsa
3:30 PM	North Carolina State Wolfpack	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	North Carolina State	Wake Forest
4:00 PM	Washington State Cougars	California Golden Bears	Washington State	California
4:00 PM	FIU Golden Panthers	Southern Miss Golden Eagles	Southern Miss	Southern Miss
5:00 PM	25 Fresno State Bulldogs	Idaho Vandals	Fresno State	Fresno State
6:00 PM	2 Oregon Ducks	Colorado Buffaloes	Oregon	Oregon
7:00 PM	Texas State Bobcats	Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns	Louisiana	Louisiana
7:00 PM	6 LSU Tigers	Mississippi State Bulldogs	LSU	LSU
7:00 PM	New Mexico State Aggies	New Mexico Lobos	New Mexico State	New Mexico
7:00 PM	TCU Horned Frogs	14 Oklahoma Sooners	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
7:30 PM	22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Arizona State Sun Devils	Arizona State	Notre Dame
7:30 PM	Kentucky Wildcats	12 South Carolina Gamecocks	South Carolina	South Carolina
7:30 PM	Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	UTEP Miners	Louisiana Tech	UTEP
7:30 PM	Missouri Tigers	Vanderbilt Commodores	Missouri	Vanderbilt
8:00 PM	West Virginia Mountaineers	19 Baylor Bears	Baylor	Baylor
8:00 PM	4 Ohio State Buckeyes	17 Northwestern Wildcats	Ohio State	Ohio State
10:30 PM	16 Washington Huskies	5 Stanford Cardinal	Stanford	Washington
12:00 AM	San Jose State Spartans	Hawaii Rainbow Warriors	Hawaii	Hawaii