College Football Week 6: Best Bets, Picks and Predictions

After a wild and unpredictable first five weeks of the College Football season, Week 6 is just around the corner and that means a plethora of games for fans to enjoy.

The Week 5 slate had a few high-profile matchups, including a classic between Georgia and Alabama. There were also a few major upsets, including Kentucky knocking off Ole Miss in Oxford. Will we see some more upsets this week, or will the chalk mostly hold on Saturday?

Week 6 features a couple of big games between power programs, plus a number of contests further down the board that could have a serious impact on the College Football Playoff race. 

Without any further ado, it’s time to dig into the schedule and find some winners for this week. 

College Football Week 5 betting picks and predictions

Best Bet: Oregon -24.0 (-110) vs. Michigan State

For our expert’s best bet on the Week 6 slate, take the No. 6 Oregon Ducks to cover the spread in this matchup against the Michigan State Spartans.

It’s taken a few weeks for Oregon’s new-look offense to gel, and the Ducks' struggles against Idaho and Boise State were well documented. However, Dan Lanning’s group broke out in a big way in a dominant victory against Oregon State and the Ducks followed that up with a 34-13 victory over UCLA last week.

In reality, the box score against the Bruins was about as dominant as you could draw up, with Oregon outgaining the Bruins by nearly 300 yards and holding UCLA to merely 3.6 yards per play.

If it wasn’t for a pick-six right before halftime, the final score would have been by an even bigger margin in Oregon's favor. The Ducks went to a conservative game plan in the second half and made it clear that they just wanted to get out of Los Angeles with a victory. 

With the offense now clicking and the defense turning in back-to-back excellent performances on the road, the Ducks now return home to face a Michigan State team that should be overmatched in this one.

The Spartans were just dominated by Ohio State and have clear issues on offense, particularly in the ground game (109th in estimated points added per rush).

Oregon should be able to bottle up Michigan State on early downs and force Aiden Chiles into third and long situations, which doesn’t bode well for the Spartans against this Ducks defensive front that just had a party in the backfield against UCLA a week ago.

On the other side, Michigan State’s defense was dominated by Ohio State on the ground, which is exactly the recipe that Lanning should use in a game where the Ducks won’t want to show too much anyway, seeing as the Buckeyes are on deck.

San Jose State -7.0 (-110) vs. Nevada

For our second pick for the Week 6 College Football slate, back the San Jose State Spartans to cover the spread as 7-point favorites against the Nevada Wolfpack.

There’s no doubt that this Nevada team is better than what most expected heading into the season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. However, this line is simply too much of an overcorrection on the Wolfpack given their opponent has quietly exceeded oddsmakers expectations in every game this season. 

San Jose State holds a 3-1 straight up record while sitting at 4-0 against the spread following an easy cover against Washington State in Week 4. The Spartans were one of our best bets in our column that week, and we’re going back to the well with quarterback Emmett Brown, who leads this offense with 13 touchdowns and well over 1,300 passing yards through four games. 

Additionally, the best player on the field in this game will be wide receiver Nick Nash, who is easily one of the best players in the Group of 5. Nash already has eight touchdowns this season and is coming off a 16-reception effort in Week 4 against Washington State. 

On the other side, the San Jose State defense had major issues against Washington State in the passing game, but this is still a defense that is top 40 in EPA per pass and EPA per rush allowed.

Don’t expect this struggling Nevada passing offense to have enough in the tank to keep up with the Spartans on Saturday. 

California +12.5 (-110) vs. Miami

For our final pick for Week 6 of the college football season, take the California Bears +12.5 (-110) against the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes on Saturday.

This sets up to be one of the better situational spots of the week, as we’ll get to see a Miami team that is coming off a miraculous victory over Virginia Tech last week against a California side that is fully rested and ready for this massive home game following its bye week. 

The Bears have been playing inspired football this season, having already knocked off Auburn as near-two touchdown underdogs. California also dominated the box score against Florida State in Tallahassee a few weeks ago, but struggled with executing in the red zone, which proved to be costly in a five-point loss. 

What California does do well is defend, particularly against the pass (ninth in passing success rate, seventh in early downs EPA). That’s exactly what you need as a defense against Cam Ward and this high-flying Miami passing attack.

Miami will certainly get its points, but the Bears defense is top 20 in points per drive, so limiting the Hurricanes to field goals instead of touchdowns is certainly possible.  

Additionally, the Hurricanes did show some vulnerability on the defensive side of the ball against Virginia Tech, particularly against the run.

If the Bears want to keep this game close, they’ll likely need to keep the ball on the ground and shorten the game, which will limit possessions for the Miami offense on the other side.

Read more betting picks and predictions for College Football on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.