Table of Contents
By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast
Week Six: Red River Rivalry Week
It’s week six of CFB and everyone with a pulse and a clue into the world of college football knows it’s Red River rivalry week in the BIG 12…for the last time. Sure, both Texas and Oklahoma are packing up and moving to the SEC in unison for next season, but for now, we get one last Big 12 showdown in Dallas amidst the Texas State Fair, and it couldn’t come at a better time for these two teams to meet. The 119th meeting of UT and OU starts off a day packed with great matchups, and ample opportunity for a winning Saturday to kick off October. Is Texas…you know…____? I don’t want to say it, but I may have to after this weekend.
As for week five, it was headlined by #1 Georgia finally getting pushed to the brink of defeat for what feels like the first time in ages. Texas and Oklahoma did their job in staying unbeaten to highlight this week’s matchup, and Notre Dame’s comeback win late was the nighttime highlight Saturday. Now, we zoom in on the Cotton Bowl and the other headline games that week six brings.
Must Watch “Main Screen” Games
#3 Texas vs. #12 Oklahoma (+5.5) – 12 pm ET – Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel versus the Longhorns defense will tell the story of this game. All season the Texas offense has started sluggishly but heated up as the game progresses. If Quinn Ewers gets going early it could be all downhill for UT, or this devolves into an old-fashioned Big 12 shootout if both QBs find winning form in the first few drives.
#23 LSU @ #21 Missouri (+6.5) – 12 pm ET – LSU might be the most frustrating team in the country – full of talent, electric on offense but often anemic on D against half-brained offenses. They have a hard time pulling away so the one-score line is fair on the road. My gut tells me they get the chance to win with ease once the second half arrives.
#11 Alabama @ Texas A&M (+3.5) – 3:30 pm ET – The SEC on CBS showcase pits the Aggies and the Tide against each other, and this matchup has been one-sided and often embarrassing in recent years. Will A&M QB Max Johnson change the pattern on Bama beatdowns in this game? The line suggests that they’re a live underdog in this one.
#20 Kentucky @ #1 Georgia (-15) – 7 pm ET – NOW we’re getting into the real juice of the SEC schedule with this beauty of a matchup. Kentucky finds themselves back in the top 25 and is surprisingly blemish-free at 5-0 after beating Florida with authority. They now catch a Georgia team that was flat-footed for most of their game and escaped with a rare “no cover” win for the Dawgs. I’d imagine pubic money flies in on the Wildcats with the number currently on the board.
#10 Notre Dame @ #25 Louisville (+7) – 7:30 pm ET – It was looking dicey for Sam Hartman and the Irish at Duke last Saturday night, but he pulled a rabbit out of a hat late to seal the victory and keep any remaining college football playoff hopes intact. Now they face a Louisville club that has stumbled into a 5-0 start with some gutsy efforts in recent weeks. This feels like a spot where the public falls in love with Louisville but the sharps back the Irish to keep the train on the tracks.
Tier Two “Second Screen” Games
Maryland @ #4 Ohio State (-18) – 12 pm ET – In staying with the theme of surprise unbeaten, the Maryland Terps find themselves in a sneaky big spot on the road…and they’ve bothered Ohio State before. At +18 they are as pesky an underdog as they come, but they feel overmatched against the NFL-caliber wideouts for the Buckeyes.
Syracuse @ #14 UNC (-9.5) – 3:30 pm ET – Ordinarily this reads like an elite matchup on your March Madness brackets, but football is what’s being played here. Like Ohio State, UNC also comes off an idle week and is rested to play an upstart underdog. Syracuse came back down to earth last week and I expect that to continue for a second week in a row.
#13 Washington State @ UCLA (-3) – 3 pm ET – Cam Ward is FLOWIN’ and revitalized at Wazzou and it’s safe to say he’s part of the loaded bunch of talent at QB in the PAC-12. This is a big-time spot for them to show out at the Rose Bowl and get Washington State into all sorts of National conversation.
The “Tablet Game” Night Capper
Arizona @ #9 USC (-21.5) – 10:30 pm ET – Next year’s #1 overall draft pick in the night capper? Don’t mind if I stay up until the clock strikes midnight on Sunday and beyond…after all, you always get a gazillion points with the Trojans offense so what should that slow down? No reason I’m seeing, so an OVER to end the night could be in order.
**No Midnight snack game this week, sadly.
Week Six Plays To Watch
LSU -6.5 – Very curious about this line movement, but this is a good spot for them.
Texas A&M +3.5 – This line stinks so I’m thinking the home team finally wins a big one.
UNC -9.5 – Cuse already outkicked their coverage this season and should regress to mediocrity – a bad matchup against Drake Maye is incoming.
Washington State +3 – A road win could put Cam Ward on a dark horse Heisman campaign!
Arizona/USC Over 72 before it skyrockets even further up!
CFB FAQs
How are college football bowl games determined?
Only bowl-eligible teams are selected for College Football Bowls. At the NCAA Division I FBS level, the standard by which teams become available for selection in bowl games varies. For example, in 2018-19 season, the team had to have at least as many wins as overall losses. Wins against non-Division I teams do not count toward the number of wins.
How do you play college football pick'em pools?
Simply pick winners from the games each week selected by the Pool Commissioner, either straight up or against the spread. Whichever member has the most points at the end of the season wins
What is a football pool?
"Football Pool" is a broad term for a group of people competitively guessing the outcome of one or more football games. There are many types of formats, each assigning winners differently. They can be played informally between friends or through a more formalized system. They are often considered a great alternative to fantasy football given the ease of playing, although there are fantasy football pools as well.
How to run a football pool?
How you decide to run a football pool varies greatly depending on the game type. In each case, however, you'll want to determine the rules and settings before you begin inviting members to join you. You'll want to clearly establish how score will be kept, how tiebreakers work, and how winners are decided before anything else.
How to play squares football pools?
Football squares are played by creating a grid, in which Team 1 takes the column and Team 2 the rows. In some cases, participants may claim as many squares as they like. In others, commissioners limit them to one. At the quarter times and end of the game, the winner is decided at the point the scores final digit intersect.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
What is a college football squares pool?
In a college football squares pool, a commissioner starts with a 10x10 grid of 100 squares (though commissioners decide to use smaller 5x5 pools). Members pick one or more squares in that grid. Winners are determined based on the score of each team after each quarter and at the end of the game.
How many squares in a football pool?
In a traditional football squares pool, a grid is sectioned off into 100 squares with 10 columns and 10 rows. This accounts for a direct relationship between each possible digit from 0 to 9 on both the X and Y axis. For smaller square grids like 5x5, multiple numbers can be assigned to each column and row.
How to read a football squares pool sheet?
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
How do you win college football confidence bowl pool?
The winner of a college bowl confidence pool is the member with the most points after all games have ended. Members rank each game based on how confident they are in their pick (44 points = most confident, 1 point = least confident). For each game picked correctly, members receive the number of points they assigned.
What is a college football bowl confidence pool?
Players try to pick the winner of every bowl game, assigning a point value to each game. Picks are made "straight up," not using a point spread system. Members rank each game based on how confident they are (44 points = most confident, 1 point = least confident). A winner is determined by totalling the point values assigned to correctly picked games.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
How do you win college football bowl pick'em pool?
As you might expect, the player who selects the most bowl winners will win their pick'em pool. You can win your college football bowl pick'em pool by choosing winners wisely, based on past performance, player starting status and other "intangibles."
What is a college football bowl pick'em pool?
In a College Bowl Pick'em pool members attempt to pick the winner of every College Bowl game (or a subset of games determined by the Pool Commissioner). Picks are made using the point spread system or "straight up", as assigned by the Pool Commissioner.
