Week 6’s top 10 college football games: Time to find out if Mizzou is a paper tiger?

Perhaps the schedule makers thought we would need a breather after Georgia–Alabama last week? There’s only one ranked matchup across the entire slate and nothing that jumps out on paper. That said, there are some intriguing matchups that could yield potentially telling results. No judgment if you opt for the pumpkin patch this weekend, but no sense in complaining about a full day of college football, either.

Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 6, starting with honorable mentions and counting down.

Honorable Mention: Syracuse at No. 25 UNLV (Fri.), Pitt at North Carolina, Navy at Air Force, West Virginia at Oklahoma State, No. 15 Clemson at Florida State, James Madison at ULM, No. 11 USC at Minnesota

(All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)

10. SMU (4-1) at No. 22 Louisville (3-1), Noon, ESPN

Two teams the jury is still out on. Louisville has one of the best offenses in the country and outgained Notre Dame by more than a hundred yards last Saturday, but the Cards couldn’t overcome their first three turnovers of the season in a 31-24 loss. SMU has found ways to put up points — except in the loss to BYU, where the Mustangs were held without a touchdown and made a change at quarterback. Their best win is a 66-42 barnburner over TCU in the Iron Skillet. Louisville’s offensive firepower looks more promising, and receiver Caullin Lacy returned against Notre Dame, but ideally this game will tell us something about the ACC.

Line: Louisville -6.5

9. Texas Tech (4-1) at Arizona (3-1), 11 p.m., Fox

Big 12 After Dark, featuring two teams that have situated themselves at the top of the league standings in the early going. Texas Tech has rebounded from a shaky start with three straight wins and the highest-scoring offense in the Big 12, bolstered by the return of a healthy Tahj Brooks at running back. Arizona similarly responded to a blowout loss to Kansas State with a road win at Cam Rising-less Utah. Both teams are streaky but have explosive offenses, which should make for a fun, late-night matchup. Take the over.

Line: Arizona -6.5

8. UCF (3-1) at Florida (2-2), 7:45 p.m., SEC Network

Florida head coach Billy Napier survived a road win at Mississippi State and subsequent bye week, now the hot-seat watch resumes in Gainesville. There is some kerosene drizzled around this in-state matchup, the first leg of a lengthy 2-for-1 series that was agreed to when UCF was still a Group of 5 program. Florida fans have long looked down on the Knights, and in the past, the program didn’t see any reason to agree to a true home-and-home. It should offer some bulletin-board material for a UCF team that is a road favorite and seems to be charting a more encouraging course than the Gators. Napier’s dismissal has seemingly become inevitable, but if Florida loses to UCF in The Swamp, it’s tough to envision him lasting through the weekend.

Line: UCF -2.5

7. No. 10 Michigan (4-1) at Washington (3-2), 7:30 p.m., NBC

It’s wild to think that just nine months ago, these teams faced off in the national championship. Now they meet as newly realigned conference foes in a game that couldn’t crack the top half of this week’s list. Both programs have had considerable turnover coming off historic seasons. Michigan — despite getting handled at home by Texas, pulling out some narrow victories and an inability to throw the ball — is still a top-10 team. Washington has suffered a pair of tough losses to Wazzu and Rutgers, but can claim a top-20 offense and top-10 defense in terms of yards per play. We’ll see how much an edge in continuity matters for Michigan and if it has enough winning DNA to get a road upset and hang in the Playoff discussion for another week.

Line: Washington -1.5

6. No. 8 Miami (5-0) at Cal (3-1), 10:30 p.m., ESPN

ACC After Dark! ESPN’s “College GameDay” is headed to Berkeley for this one, broadcasting at 6 a.m. local time — a full 12-and-a-half hours before kickoff. Miami finally looked mortal in its controversial Friday night win over Virginia Tech, including a pair of interceptions by quarterback Cam Ward and a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. Cal’s defense has been solid thus far as well, ranking in the top 20 in yards per play and points allowed. However, the last time we saw the Golden Bears a couple of weeks ago, they earned the ignominious distinction of being the only team to face Florida State and lose this season. Maybe the West Coast travel has an impact on Miami, but to pull off an upset, Cal will probably need a big game from running back Jaydn Ott, who has yet to fully erupt as he works back from injury.

Line: Miami -10.5

5. No. 12 Ole Miss (4-1) at South Carolina (3-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Was last week’s deflating home loss to Kentucky the real Ole Miss, or will the Rebels return to their high-octane form? Lane Kiffin’s crew still has one of the top offenses in college football at more than 600 yards per game, but tallied just over half of that against UK and managed to put only 17 points on the scoreboard. Now it faces a South Carolina team that smoked Kentucky on the road in Week 2, should have beaten LSU and has a top-10 defense. The narrative on Ole Miss quickly shifted from being a Playoff team and dark-horse title contender to questioning whether the Rebs are a Potemkin village primed to collapse under the weight of an SEC schedule. With the likes of LSU, Oklahoma and Georgia still lurking, Saturday’s trip to Columbia is a test Ole Miss can’t afford to fail.

Line: Ole Miss -8.5

4. Rutgers (4-0) at Nebraska (4-1), 4 p.m., FS1

The Scarlet Knights stay chopping. It hasn’t been the most convincing undefeated start, but Rutgers is riding running back Kyle Monangai, who is third in the FBS at 147.3 rushing yards per game. A home loss to Illinois and ugly win over Purdue took some of the wind out of Nebraska’s resurgence, but the Cornhuskers are in position to reach bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. This game could be an inflection point for both teams. Nebraska has a bye up next followed by road trips in the span of a month to Indiana, Ohio State and USC, all of which are ranked in the Top 25. Rutgers, however, has an easy schedule by Big Ten standards, avoiding Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and Indiana. A win Saturday could potentially set Rutgers on a path toward the Big Ten title game, thanks in part to opponents it won’t have to face along the way.

Line: Nebraska -7

3. Iowa (3-1) at No. 3 Ohio State (4-0), 3:30 p.m., CBS

I realize there’s a big spread in this game, but Ohio State has yet to appear on any of these weekly top 10 lists, because it hasn’t faced a team good enough to make a game interesting. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 195-27 (!!!) through four games. Iowa may well join that list of hapless challengers on Saturday, but the Hawkeyes are by far the toughest test Ohio State has seen this season and should provide a better sense of just how high the ceiling is in Columbus. It’s also a potential trap game for Ohio State, with a road trip to Oregon next week and games against Nebraska and at Penn State on the horizon. Iowa’s schedule eases up significantly after this one, but losses to Iowa State and the Buckeyes would really dampen the Playoff resume.

Line: Ohio State -19.5

2. No. 4 Tennessee (4-0) at Arkansas (3-2), 7:30 p.m., ABC

Tennessee registered its lowest point total of the season in the 25-15 road win at Oklahoma on Sept. 21, but the Vols have been one of the most impressive and balanced teams in college football, starting 4-0 and ranked in the top five for the first time since the program’s national championship season in 1998. Conference losses by Georgia and Ole Miss also crack the window a bit more for Tennessee to possibly reach the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2007. There’s still a long way to go, with Alabama and at Georgia on the schedule, but if the Vols can split those two and win out otherwise, that might be good enough to get them there. Still, beating Arkansas isn’t a given. The Hogs rush for better than 5 yards per carry and are ranked a respectable 34th in ESPN’s SP+.

Line: Tennessee -13.5

1. No. 9 Missouri (4-0) at No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1), Noon, ABC

Does this game deserve the top spot? It’s more or less here by default. Missouri is lingering in the top 10 despite some wobbly wins over Boston College and Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M is barely hanging on in the Top 25, tied with UNLV for the final spot. Yet it’s still an important game. Is Mizzou a legit top-10 team or merely a paper tiger? Do the Aggies have enough to work their way back into Playoff contention? I get it if the knee-jerk reaction is to wince at this being the best game of the weekend, and maybe I’m a college football populist for this take, but I like that an early October meeting between Mizzou and a rebuilding A&M has some meaningful big-picture stakes involved.

Line: Texas A&M -2.5

 (Photo of Luther Burden III: Rick Ulreich / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)