The Biggest College Football Storylines Before Week 6

If it seems that the college football season has started slowly, without a lot of electric moments and captivating games… you’re right.

More on this and other themes heading into Week 6 of the longest regular season in college football’s 150-year history.

1 – This feels like the last “preseason” week of college football

Yes, it is technically true that college football involves zero preseason games. There are no exhibitions in this sport. Every game counts in the standings, unlike the NFL, which has four exhibition games before the regular season begins.

Yet, the season feels like a prelude right now. Future attractions are just around the bend. In Week 7, several high-end matchups will emerge, and the weekly schedules will generally be a lot more compelling from that point onward. Week 6 is in many ways the last weekend in which this sport will offer fans a breather. It isn’t preseason football, but it has that flavor with a few notable exceptions.

Here are those exceptions:

2 – Iowa-Michigan

The Hawkeyes are the main contender to the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten West Division. If they want to get the inside track to the division title, they need to beat Michigan in a battle of ranked teams. (Both are inside the top 20, outside the top 10.) Iowa and Michigan have a lot to prove in general, but they especially have a lot to prove on offense. Can quarterback Nate Stanley of Iowa or Shea Patterson of Michigan make a statement here? Doing so could change the trajectory of the season for the winner.

3 – Auburn-Florida

Auburn should definitely win this game, given that Florida is playing with its backup quarterback, Kyle Trask, who is replacing the injured Feleipe Franks (out for the rest of the season). Yet, Auburn has been known to slip on the banana peel in games it should win.

Florida will find it hard to score against Auburn, but the Gators can use their defense to keep this game close. Auburn quarterback Bo Nix struggled early in the season but improved in Week 5 against Mississippi State. If Nix can regularly make routine plays without coughing up huge turnovers, Auburn should be fine. If Nix gets rattled by the Florida pass rush, this game could become very complicated for Auburn, which is trying to show that it belongs in the top tier of the SEC alongside Alabama, LSU and Georgia.

If Auburn blows out Florida, the top-tier status will be warranted. A shaky win or an outright loss will puncture Auburn’s balloon.

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4 – The shadow of history

The night game between Michigan State and Ohio State seems to be a blowout in the making. Ohio State has played as well as any team in the country through five weeks. Yet, if you remember, Michigan State was a pronounced underdog at Ohio State in 2015, and the Spartans used a remarkably gutsy effort to stun the Buckeyes, 17-14.

Ohio State had a player named Ezekiel Elliott four years ago. You might have heard of him. OSU failed to feed Elliott the ball and paid a huge price. Elliott raged at Urban Meyer after the game, one of the more stinging losses of Meyer’s tenure with the Buckeyes.

Can Michigan State spring that kind of surprise? Never say never, but OSU quarterback Justin Fields is far better than 2015 Buckeye quarterback R.J. Barrett. This should be an Ohio State blowout, but Michigan State has been a thorny underdog before.

5 – Where will the intrigue come from?

Duke and Pittsburgh are trying to challenge Virginia in the ACC Coastal Division. They meet in Durham, North Carolina, on the Blue Devils’ home field.

Stanford is trying to save its season against Washington, but the Cardinal are a two-touchdown underdog to the Huskies.

California is playing Oregon without starting quarterback Chase Garbers, who is injured.

Matchups which looked attractive at the start of the season don’t look as attractive now. Interesting games involve programs which don’t receive a lot of national attention in the United States. Where will a surprise or a big story come from? Week 6 doesn’t make it easy to identify that source.

We will all have to watch 13 hours of football on the weekend to find out. Even when college football isn’t that attractive, it is still a blessing and a privilege to cover.

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