Halfway through the college football regular season, Week 6 brings a slate with plenty of heavy hitters and a few games that could tilt the conversation fast. Missouri gets Texas A&M at home after the Florida win, Texas and Oklahoma renew their rivalry in Dallas, UCLA heads to Oregon, LSU visits Kentucky, and Georgia and Alabama take center stage in Tuscaloosa. Here’s how the picks shake out.
Missouri opens the day as a 3.5-point favorite against Texas A&M, and both Sammy Stava and Matthew Gustafson are leaning toward the Tigers. Stava sees this as the moment Eli Drinkwitz finally gets past Mike Elko and the Aggies, pointing to Missouri’s momentum and the home crowd, while also noting that an 11:00 a.m. kick could work against Texas A&M.
His call: Missouri 35, Texas A&M 30. Gustafson is also on Missouri, saying the two teams are trending in opposite directions and that the recent series history should help keep the Tigers focused after the Florida win.
He has Missouri winning 34-27.
Texas is next as a 7.5-point favorite over Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, and both picks land on the Longhorns. Stava says rivalry games can get strange, but he still expects Texas to handle a depleted Sooners team, with a 31-20 finish.
Gustafson makes the same point from a different angle, saying Texas has shown no signs of slowing down since the Ohio State win, while Oklahoma has done little but slow itself down. His pick is Texas 35, Oklahoma 21.
At Autzen Stadium, UCLA comes in ranked No. 21 and Oregon is laying 10.5 points. Stava believes the Bruins’ rise under first-year head coach Bob Chesney ends here, with Oregon too strong in Eugene.
He’s taking the Ducks 35-23. Gustafson agrees, calling Oregon battle-tested and saying Dylan Raiola stepped up when he had to against USC.
He thinks UCLA can make it competitive, but not enough to win in a marquee spot at Autzen. His line: Oregon 31, UCLA 24.
LSU travels to Kentucky as an 8.5-point favorite, and both writers are again on the favorite. Stava says Kentucky deserves respect and probably should be ranked, pointing to road wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina, even if the Wildcats stumbled at home against Alabama.
He still sees a higher-scoring LSU win, 42-31. Gustafson calls it a fun matchup but says the talent gap is clear, adding that LSU’s loss to Ole Miss had more to do with the circumstances of that game than anything bigger.
He has LSU winning 38-27.
The marquee game of the day comes in Tuscaloosa, where No. 2 Georgia visits No.
6 Alabama with the Crimson Tide favored by 1.5 points. Stava is taking Georgia, saying Kirby Smart out-coaches Kalen DeBoer and that Gunner Stockton gets better quarterback play than Keelon Russell.
His prediction: Georgia 28, Alabama 24. Gustafson is also on the Bulldogs, though he admits the weather could shape the game.
If it turns into a defensive grind, he says he’d take Georgia every time. His final: Georgia 24, Alabama 17.
In Other News...
Mizzou Just Sent A Serious Message With That Texas A&M Win
Missouris trip through November picked up a lot of weight with a 27-6 win over Texas A&M, a result that snapped the Tigers drought against the Aggies and came with the kind of balance winning teams usually show in the stretch run. Jamal Roberts kept pushing the offense forward with 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and he became the first Missouri running back since 2000 to top 200 yards in back-to-back games.
Just as important, the defense made Texas A&M look uncomfortable from the start, limiting the Aggies to six points while Nicholas Rodriguez led the way in tackles and the pass rush piled up sacks and interceptions. For Missouri, it was more than a clean conference win. It was the sort of complete performance that can change how the rest of the league views a team, especially when the schedule starts to tighten and every snap feels bigger than the last. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzous Surge Suddenly Looks Like More Than One Big Win
Missouris 27-6 win over Texas A&M at Faurot Field was the kind of all-around performance that can change how a stretch of the season feels in a hurry. The Tigers smothered the Aggies for most of the afternoon, holding them to 74 yards and two first downs through the first 45 minutes, while the offense did enough behind quarterback Austin Simmons, a touchdown catch by Cayden Lee and multiple field goals from Blake Craig to keep the game under control.
Jamal Roberts gave the Tigers the kind of ground-game punch that can travel, rushing for 222 yards and two touchdowns as Missouri dictated the terms from start to finish. For a team that has been trying to build momentum, the bigger question now is whether this was simply a statement win at home or the start of something sturdier, because the way Missouri looked on both sides of the ball suggested more than a one-off surge. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Rallies Around DJ Jones During A Painful Fight
Missouri has spent the past week rallying around Johnnie DJ Jones, the offensive tackle whose diagnosis of a heart condition required a transplant and quickly turned football into something far bigger than football. Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers have made their support plain, offering prayers and standing with Jones as he begins recovery after the procedure was completed successfully.
The program showed that bond in a visible way against Texas A&M, when players took the field wearing helmets marked with a heart symbol in Jones honor. It was a small gesture with a heavy meaning, a reminder that for Missouri, this has become a story of a teammate first and a football player second, with the larger road ahead still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]