Texas-Oklahoma football, the huge Alabama-Texas A&M bets, plus Alex Gulich’s NFL turnaround

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Utah doesn’t play on Saturday, but it does He actually won this week for nothing Where each scholarship player receives a 2024 Ram 1500 Big Horn truck. Bruce Feldman also joins us to discuss the job Alex Golesh is doing in South Florida.

Here’s what’s happening in college football as of Saturday…

Week 6 schedule breakdown

Red River is on deck, underdogs to watch

The College Football Playoff is a game changer

(All times are Eastern Time)

Noon: No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0) vs. No. 3 Texas (5-0) in Dallas, ABC: Red River Competition! OU and Texas are the clear leaders of the Big 12 in their final season as members of the conference. Will the Longhorns add another win to their case for being No. 1 in the country?

Afternoon (3:30 p.m.): Virginia Tech (2-3) at No. 5 Florida State (4-0), ABC: The Seminoles’ bye week came when they needed it (after a two-point win over Boston College and an overtime escape against Clemson). This is their chance to get back on track.

Primetime (7 p.m.): No. 20 Kentucky (5-0) at No. 1 Georgia (5-0), ESPN: Seth Emerson takes a fascinating look at this strange, but one-sided, competitive rivalry. The Dawgs haven’t lost to the Wildcats since 2009, but after a close call against Auburn last week, can Georgia have a crack?

Set of 5 spotlights

Noon: Boston College (2-3) at Army (2-2), CBS Sports: The Black Knights will play their second ACC opponent in a row. The Eagles lead this series 25-13 but are just 13-11 at Michie Stadium.

Afternoon (2 p.m.): Marshall (4-0) at NC State (3-2), The CW: The Wolfpack are making a change at QB (sophomore MJ Morris to graduate transfer Brennan Armstrong) after a rough start to their season. The offense should mesh quickly with Marshall’s defense, which is ranked second in the Sun Belt.

Primetime (8 p.m.): No. 24 Fresno State (5-0) at Wyoming (4-1), Fox: Fresno State has shut out the Cowboys twice in a row in this series. Chris Vannini says the winner can jump to the top of their G5 rankings.

Sneaky good games

Back: Maryland (5-0) at No. 3 Ohio State (4-0), Fox: The Terps are undefeated and should probably be ranked. Last year’s matchup between these two nearly ruined the Buckeyes’ season, and Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa is back with a vengeance (it’s the toughest test yet for OSU’s defense).

Afternoon (3 p.m.): No. 13 Washington State (4-0) at UCLA (3-1), Pac-12 Network: Wazzu QB Cam Ward is right up there with the other electric Pac-12 QBs, while UCLA’s defense ranks first nationally in yards allowed per game (3.75).

Prime Time (10:30 p.m.): Arizona (3-2) at No. 9 USC (5-0), ESPN: The Trojans are at the top of the NFL’s “you want to see them lose” watch list, and Arizona kept things closer than expected against Washington last week. USC’s defense will likely fall apart again, but will Caleb Williams be enough to salvage another win for the Trojans?

Best Bets by Austin Mock

Back: Texas vs. Oklahoma Under 60.5 (-110): “The Red River Rivalry is the biggest game of the weekend, but I’m not sure we should expect fireworks. Texas has a great defense, and Oklahoma wasn’t very impressive against two of the best defenses I’ve faced (SMU and Cincinnati). I expect a game with Fewer goals.”

Afternoon (3:30 p.m.): No. 11 Alabama -1.5 (-105) at Texas A&M, CBS: “This is one of my best bets this week because I think Alabama is underrated because of Jalen Milroe’s performance against Texas. Yes, he had some bad throws, but he showed his potential. He’s no Bryce Young or Tua Tagovailoa, but he’s good enough to lead this offense.” Alabama prevail nearby.

Primetime (7:30 p.m.): No. 10 Notre Dame -6.5 (-110) at Louisville, NBC: “Notre Dame is having some big games, so there might be disappointment, but my model isn’t very high on Louisville. The Cardinals are 5-0, but close wins over Georgia Tech, Indiana and NC State don’t give me a lot of confidence that they’ll be able to keep up with the Fighting Irish most talented.

(All point spreads come from BetMGM. Click here For live odds and here For ticket information from StubHub.)

Feldman files

Golish gets it done

It just took Alex Golish month to surpass his predecessor Jeff Scott’s three-season best season win total At the University of South Florida (Only the bulls won Four matches total in Three seasons Under Scott’s leadership, he achieved two wins in 2021). Gulich, who went to South Florida after serving as a play-caller at Tennessee and offensive coordinator as the Vols went from stuck in a trench to being in the top 10 in the AP, and the Bulls already have three wins.

Gulish, 39, followed a similar model to his old boss: Josh Heupel, used in Knoxville, devote “a significant amount of time to the culture of the program,” which means constantly being around players to form relationships. Golish has also learned well from being around him Matt Campbell When he took over Iowa State’s woeful program.

“This group was really convinced to do everything the right way,” Golish told me this week. They knew they needed to change and they did. They worked hard to perfect their process and not worry about the end results. They have played hard all year, and have performed better every week on both sides of the ball. The effort gave us a chance in every game.”

The Bulls’ resilience was evident last week after falling behind 14-0 in the first six minutes at Navy before battling back to win 44-30 to move to 3-2. In redshirt freshman Byrum Brown, a stout 6-foot-3, 210-pounder from North Carolina State who has thrown for nearly 800 yards in the past two games with five TDs and zero picks, Golesh appears to have found a budding star for his system. Brown rushed for 330 yards and five more touchdowns on the season. He leads the AAC in total offense with 309 yards per game, ranking 13th in the nation.

“He’s physically strong but mentally even more impressive,” Gulish said. “He never lets one play influence the other. A calm demeanor at all times. He’s gotten better every week – both from the reading side and his comprehension, but he continues to improve with his timing and ball placement. It’s a rare trait in young people – generally they start to tire and don’t They can reset themselves.

USF improved from No. 8 in the AAC on offense in 2022 to No. 3, and the nation’s worst defense in 2022 is now respectable. The Bulls rank third in the conference in third-down defense.

“We have good coaches and good support,” Golish said. “It was very cool to see.”

But he also points out that that in itself “doesn’t guarantee anything.” From week to week, we have to fight to keep building it.