College football games, Week 6: Underdogs take center stage for a change, Heisman Trophy race shifts again

The MLB playoffs have started, and so has the sport’s crapshoot. Compared to college football, baseball’s postseason is wide open. In the last 20 years, only six times has the team with the best regular-season record won the World Series. It’s only happened three times in the last 10 years. And for the first time since 2014, no MLB team won 100 games.

That goes against everything major college football stands for — well, not in words, but deeds. 

It doesn’t take kindly to Cinderellas. Look at history, access and the exclusionary tradition. In the College Football Playoff era (2014-present), 15 schools occupied the 40 available spots in the field. Only six schools won it all. 

The Big Ten and SEC meet next week in a summit that threatens to enhance that exclusion. There are rumblings the two leagues are going to demand automatic bids (beginning in 2026) for the second time this year. At the same time, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey denounced a so-called “super league” that revealed his architects this week. “Dumbing down,” he called it. On several occasions, Sankey has rattled chains about the SEC staging its own playoff.

This weekend, which features just one game between ranked teams (No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M), actually highlights the underdogs. Navy (No. 1) and Army (No. 9) enter Week 6 in the top 10 nationally in pass efficiency. The best running back in the country, Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty, is at Boise State. The center of college football universe this weekend is arguably the Bay Area. Enterprising fans can catch Virginia Tech vs. Stanford at 3:30 pm ET. That night, and 44 miles away, they can see No. 8 Miami vs. Cal at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Elsewhere: 

So as we approach the halfway point of the season (Oct. 12),…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-games-week-6-underdogs-take-center-stage-for-a-change-heisman-trophy-race-shifts-again/

Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2024-10-04 15:33:42

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.