YOUR WEEK SIX FIX

We righted the ship last week going 4 and 4. Not a spectacular outing but good enough to get our wagon out of the ditch...at least for the moment. Speaking of ditches, there's plenty of head coaches looking to do the same as their teams continue to struggle, like Georgia Tech, Tennessee, etc.

SIDELINES

• Georgia Tech is trying to avoid its first 4 game losing streak since 1996. The Jackets blew a 21-0 lead at home last Saturday, falling to UNC. One more conference loss and it's lights out at Bobby Dodd.

Who goes first? Bevo or Strong?

• When things are bad, things are really bad. The Texas Longhorns are off to their worse start since 1956 at 1-4. But now we learn that team mascot Bevo XIV has a life threatening condition and will not make the trip to Dallas for the Red River Shootout with Oklahoma. Am thinking that more Longhorn fans are pulling for Bevo than Charlie Strong to survive.

• This is the first time since 2010 that no SEC team is in the AP Top 5. Is that possible?

• Four of the top 10 teams were upset last week: Ole Miss, Georgia, Notre Dame, UCLA.

• Would you believe that LSU has attempted fewer passes than Georgia Tech? Only 62 pass attempts; 20 fewer than the Engineers. Of course, if I had Leonard Fournette, I'd be reluctant to pass, too.

• Not to pick on Tennessee but the Vols have lost 27 of the last 28 games versus ranked teams. Not a promising note as they host #19 Georgia this Saturday.

• Polynesian Pipeline to Utah. 33 Utes have Polynesian roots, the most of any NCAA team and 8 Utah Pacific Islanders are on current NFL rosters. These guys may lack the multi-star ratings but they sure can play football.

Here's Your Weekend Winners for Week #6...The Great Eight™...

#13 Northwestern @ #18 Michigan...the Wildcats are the biggest surprise in the Big Ten after beating Stanford and Duke as underdogs. At 5-0, Northwestern is ranked #1 in points allowed while Michigan has pitched back to back shutouts and is #2 in points allowed. The Wolverines have allowed only 7 points in the last 15 quarters. So this game at the Big House is truly shaping up to be a war of the defenses in which a 10-7 outcome may be in order.  Michigan has won 9 of the last 10 games with Northwestern. But this changes on Saturday. In an UPSET SPECIAL, take Northwestern and the points (8 pts). Wildcats escape Ann Arbor with a big win.

#11 Florida @ Missouri...who says a freshman quarterback and a first year head coach can't win in the SEC?? That's one of many excuses that's come out of Knoxville in recent seasons, but let's not go there right now. These two teams are emerging as the two best in the SEC East and the hot Gators have found their quarterback, Will Grier. He'll be facing a true freshman, Drew Lock, for the Tigers, who has to contend with an aggressive Florida defense. When you're hot you're hot. So put your money on the Gators.

#23 Cal @ #5 Utah...these two teams are the only undefeated schools left in the Pac-12. For ages, the Utes' role has been upsetting teams on the rise but now the Utes are sporting a huge target on their backs. In addition to being able to put up monster points (62-20 over Oregon), it looks like Utah is the real deal with a defense to match that will have its hands full with Cal's qb, Jared Goff who's been lighting up defenses this season. Take the Utes in this one over the Golden Bears.

Noles add to Golden's miseries

Miami @ #12 Florida State...the Noles have beaten the Canes five straight and the feeling in South Florida is that one more loss will send Al Golden packing much to the delight of Miami fans. The Canes can put up some serious offensive yards but also give up a ton of yards, too. Meanwhile the Noles, led by ND transfer Everett Golson, have not committed a turnover this season! Although FSU's stud running back is injured, there's enough firepower for the Seminoles to win this one. Put your money on the Noles.

#21 Oklahoma State @ West Virginia...this game features two of the top defenses in the Big 12. Okay, no one really plays defense in the Big 12 but don't let that get in the way of a good storyline. West Virginia has the top conference defense allowing only 16.8 points per game and second in total defense allowing 337 yards per game...right behind the Cowboys at 310. The Cowboys have a league best 22 sacks with 13 in its past two games. That's pretty stout. In an UPSET SPECIAL, take the Cowpokes and the points (7). Okie State wins.

Can Sir James work his magic at PSU?

Indiana @ Penn State...miracle worker James Franklin has Penn State off to its best start in a long time with a 4-1 record. But now its Big Ten schedule kicks in with Indiana followed by Ohio State, Northwestern and those two pesky Michigan teams. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Despite having a future NFL qb, Christian Hackenburg, the Nittany Lions offense has not hit its prime as they've beaten up on teams such as South Dakota State, Buffalo, and Army. Not exactly world beaters. Look for the Hoosiers to put up some points. They lead the Big Ten with 36 points per game. We like the Hoosiers in this one. In another UPSET SPECIAL, Hoosiers take one in Beaver Valley.

#2 TCU @ Kansas State...the Horned Frogs have one of the most potent offenses in the country and win by an average of 26.8 points. Trevone Boykin is lighting up the scoreboard throwing for over 1800 yards and 19 touchdowns. Bill Synder is always good for at least one surprise upset per year but his Wildcats need to score early to set the pace.  Not an easy task given that the Frogs have allowed only 9.6 points before halftime. Frogs get hoppy with a win over K-State.

Illinois @ #22 Iowa...Iowa is off to its best start (5-0) since 2009 when they finished 11-2. The Hawkeyes have regained their moniker, Bullies of the Big Ten, with a hard nosed defense that kept #19 Wisconsin out of the end zone last week and is the only team in the nation that hasn't given up a rushing touchdown this season.The Fighting Illini are off to a great start as well after coming from behind to beat Nebraska 14-13 last Saturday. Iowa has won 7 of the past 8 meetings. They'll make this number 8 on Saturday. Hawkeyes fly high with the win.

Good luck this week.

MAKE MO' MONEY WITH MARK™