Predictions for Week 6 of the 2023 College Football Season + Misses from Week 5

We are nearly halfway through the 2023 College Football regular season. At least Notre Dame is, having played 6 games and recording a 5-1 start, and by a mere few inches they could have been 6-0 instead. Sadly for Iowa, Cade McNamara is done for the year with a torn ACL and Duke’s Riley Leonard has an ankle sprain after a gritty effort against the fighting Irish. Utah proved vulnerable without Cam Rising, and Ray Davis nearly set an SEC record in a bravo performance against the Florida Gators. Lane Kiffin finally won a shootout, and LSU is in danger already of not making a return trip to Atlanta. Auburn gave Georgia trouble, and Bowling Green pulled of a big upset too. Don’t count out Deion Sanders’ Buffs, either, as they are a gritty team and made it a game against the USC Trojans. Illinois had a scare with a fire earlier today, but reports seem to indicate everyone is OK, and hopefully they continue to be safe.

Week 5 record: 44-15 (.746)
Record after 5 weeks: 306-71 (.812)

October 4 (2 games):

Jacksonville State def. Middle Tennessee State, 35-20
New Mexico State def. Florida International, 28-21

October 5 (2 games):

Liberty def. Sam Houston State, 48-10
Western Kentucky def. Louisiana Tech, 35-28

October 6 (2 games):

Kansas State def. Oklahoma State, 37-27
Illinois def. Nebraska, 27-17

October 7 (45 games):

3) Texas def. 12) Oklahoma, 38-34
4) Ohio State def. Maryland, 41-27
21) Missouri def. 23) LSU, 35-31
Boston College def. Army, 28-21
Mississippi State def. Western Michigan, 31-21
Wisconsin def. Rutgers, 35-19
Virginia def. William & Mary, 38-10
Toledo def. Massachusetts, 45-21
Marshall def. NC State, 27-23
UTSA def. Temple, 31-20
Central Michigan def. Buffalo, 30-27
13) Washington State def. UCLA, 37-33
Northwestern def. Howard, 27-7
5) Florida State def. Virginia Tech, 29-17
Texas A&M def. 11) Alabama, 29-27
14) North Carolina def. Syracuse, 30-21
Purdue def. Iowa, 24-17
Clemson def. Wake Forest, 38-17
Navy def. North Texas, 34-29
Louisiana def. Texas State, 38-27
Eastern Michigan def. Ball State, 26-14
Bowling Green def. Miami (OH), 37-31
Ohio def. Kent State, 35-21
Northern Illinois def. Akron, 28-20
Florida def. Vanderbilt, 33-17
Kansas def. UCF, 38-31
South Florida def. UAB, 35-30
Troy def. Arkansas State, 37-23
Rice def. UConn, 31-23
Florida Atlantic def. Tulsa, 30-27
Colorado def. Arizona State, 45-38
20) Kentucky def. 1) Georgia, 28-24
South Alabama def. UL Monroe, 33-23
Southern Miss def. Old Dominion, 33-31
2) Michigan def. Minnesota, 35-7
10) Notre Dame def. 25) Louisville, 28-25
16) Ole Miss def. Arkansas, 41-20
17) Miami def. Georgia Tech, 38-24
24) Fresno State def. Wyoming, 36-31
Baylor def. Texas Tech, 34-31
TCU def. Iowa State, 27-20
Colorado State def. Utah State, 38-33
Boise State def. San José State, 38-35
15) Oregon State def. California, 35-21
Arizona def. 9) USC, 41-38

Caleb Williams is still very much a contender for the Heisman Trophy as long as his team continues to play well on offense, but their defense continues to be a dark cloud on an otherwise formidable team. Arizona has been able to score too, especially hanging tough with both Washington and California, and has been able to close out games, such as their win against Stanford. This is a major test for many teams this week, especially as Georgia welcomes a ranked team that is coming off an impressive victory, Alabama travels to a place it lost last they played there, and Maryland is an undefeated team playing against an Ohio State team that is beatable. Michigan plays a night game away from home and has struggled to win road night games under Jim Harbaugh. In fact, under Harbaugh, Michigan is just 2-4 away from home at night.