It’s our week 6 college football preview. Alex and Jake Majka break down week 6 on the pod and make our picks for the week’s biggest game in the blog below!
Alex’s Picks
Say it with me; “Red River Shootout”. Texas and Oklahoma are among the greatest rivalries in all of college football. Two blue blood schools who have battled one another from the Southwest Conference to the Big 12 and soon the SEC, the rivalry has spanned 118 meetings since 1900.
Since 1929 this game has faced off at the Texas State Fairground at the Cotton Bowl, giving a unique neutral ground setting for this iconic showdown. This year Texas is the “home team” and enters as -6.5 point fav and leads the series 63-50-5 all time.
Oklahoma
Last year the Sooners were thoroughly embarrassed by the Longhorns losing 49-0, being shut out for the first time since 1965 and having their largest margin of defeat since…ever. This year looks to be a much closer affair as Oklahoma comes in averaging 47.4 points per game which is 3rd in the country and the 5th best defense in the country allowing only 10.8 points per game.
2nd-year head coach Brent Venables has righted the ship and has the Sooners primed to make a push for the Big 12 Title. QB Dillon Gabriel is tied for the 4th most passing TDs (15) and 7th most passing yards in CFB with 1,593 currently, expect a heavy passing attack against the Longhorns. On the defensive side of the ball, DBs Billy Bowman Jr., Key Lawrence and Gentry Williams all have 2 Ints on the year, Texas QB Quinn Ewers will have to be careful with the ball.
Texas
Are they back? This week will give us the answer, if the Longhorns improve to 6-0 with their 3rd ranked win, they should be able to cruise to a Big 12 Title berth and most likely the CFP. Even though Texas is coming in as favorites they can’t expect an easy game, they haven’t won back-to-back Red River Shootouts since 2008-09 when QB Colt McCoy was at the helm.
Texas comes in with the 30th-ranked offense in points per game with 36 and the 13th-ranked defense with 12.8 ppg. Not as elite of numbers as Oklahoma but their level of competition has been slightly better having played at #3 Alabama and hosting #24 Kansas just last week. Both games were won in decisive fashion 34-24 and 40-14 respectively.
Under 2nd year starter Quinn Ewers the Longhorns are primed to keep on winning games, and major props need to go to RB Jonathon Brooks. Stepping up and filling the shoes of Bijan Robinson is no easy task, but Brooks has risen to the occasion having the 3rd most rushing yards in CFB (597) to go along with 5 scores on the ground. Last week was a career-high 218 yards on 21 carries for 2 of those touchdowns.
One thing is for sure, the 2023 Red River Shootout is primed to be an all-time classic.
Texas wins
Although not considered an official rivalry these two programs have battled every season since A&M joined the SEC back in 2012. Since then the Tide have won 9 of the last 11 and are entering College Station as very slight favorites at -1. The bigger story is Alabama HC Nick Saban and Texas A&M HC Jimbo Fisher, Fisher has been one of Saban’s former assistants and the first to ever beat him. The last games have been decided by a combined 7 points and the last trip to Kyle Field saw Alabama lose on a walk-off field goal, 41-38. Expect a close game between two SEC West “rivals”.
Alabama
QB Jalen Milroe has officially locked up the starting spot and after some early season stumbles seems to be getting back on the right track. Even though this is his first year as a starter, Jalen’s first start actually came last year against A&M filling in for an injured Bryce Young. He came away from that game with a 24-20 win and 3 touchdown passes but also 3 TOs.
He has had issues keeping the ball safe and will need to be on top of his game to pull off the win. Also a major key is the offensive line stepping up. Milroe has been sacked 15 times in 4 games and is going up against an A&M D-Line that is tied for the 2nd most sacks in CFB with 20 through 5 games.
This season, Alabama ranks 51st in ppg on offense and 17th on defense. Not nearly as balanced as usual Alabama teams but outside of losing to Texas, the Crimson Tide have won 3 straight by double digits. LB Dallas Turner has stepped up and in the last 3 games has 5.5 sacks, more than he had all of last season.
If he keeps progressing, Alabama’s defense will have another All-American on their hands. Alabama is still very much alive in the SEC and will look to keep rolling.
Texas A&M
The Aggies (lame name) are a mixed back every year. Jimbo Fisher is great at recruiting, having 3 top 15 classes including the top class in 2022. The only issue is that they never seem to be able to get over the hump and last year was a rough spot going 5-7 after being the preseason #6 team in the country.
So far they have been a solid team going 4-1 with their only coming at Miami (FL.) and have SEC wins over Auburn and Arkansas (Jerry Jones Bowl iykyk). The Aggies are 17th in the country for ppg on offense and 32nd for defensive ppg. Much more balanced than the Crimson Tide on paper and as previously mentioned they have the 2nd most sacks on CFB this season. DL Shemar Turner and Walter Nolen are likely to cause a lot of mayhem on the Bama offensive line.
QB Max Johnson will get his 2nd start of the season and 19th overall in his career, having posted a stat line of 17/28 for 210 yards and 2 TDs with an INT against Arkansas last week.
The game might end up being decided by whichever QB makes the least amount of mistakes.
Alabama Wins
Jake’s Picks
Maryland @ #4 Ohio State
Ohio State
Buckeyes fans do not get up for Noon ET starts. It’s just a fact. If Buckeye Nation had the choice, every game would be a night game in the shoe.
So a sleepy Buckeye nation, and potentially Buckeye team facing a Maryland team who… mighally good?
But, first, let’s focus on the Buckeyes. They are coming off a bye, but the week prior they defeated Notre Dame 17-14 after a game-winning drive by Kyle McCord, Marvin Harrison JR and co.
But are they ripe for a let down? Buckeye teams in the past have slipped up in conference play against inferior opponents before, and this team has hardly looked like world-beaters this year. They are 20-point favorites at home, but this will be a great litmus test for the Buckeyes. Can they handle business against Maryland? Or will they struggle on Saturday? Or could they lose?
Maryland
They are 5-0 and have blown everyone in front of them out. Looking for a signature Big Ten win, this could be their best chance yet. The Buckeyes have played down to their competition all year and Maryland is going to play this game like their Super Bowl.
Taulia Tagovailoa is averaging 292 yards a game and has thrown 13 TDs. Avoiding turnovers and hitting his playmakers on shot plays has been the key to Maryland’s success for years.
I think this is a one-score game.
Buckeyes win by 7.
#20 Kentucky @ #1 Georgia
Is Georgia going to slip up? They have also played down to their competition. I’m sure UGA fans would have liked to avoid the tense moments they’ve faced the last two weeks against South Carolina and Auburn.
In comes Kentucky. The Wildcats are undefeated and come into Athens after dominating the Florida Gators. Kentucky is a solid team with a high floor. They will eliminate mistakes from their game and try to force Georgia into making their own
Carson Beck has yet to elevate his team in a game. Brock Bowers sure hasn’t though. Will their lack of QB excellence come back to bite them? So far, the Bulldogs offense has struggled in SEC play.
Ray Davis is the X Factor. He’s electric.
But the Georgia defense is built to contain a guy like Davis. If Davis is ineffective, Kentucky will have a hard time scoring any points on Saturday.
Kentucky covers (-14.5), and Georgia wins. Close.