The 10 Best College Football Games of Week 6: Time to find out if Mizzou is a paper tiger?

Maybe the schedulers thought we needed a breather after Georgia-Alabama last week? There's only one ranked matchup on the entire roster and nothing that stands out on paper. Still, there are some interesting encounters that could potentially yield meaningful results. No judgment on whether you decide to hit the pumpkin patch this weekend, but there's no point in complaining about a full day of college football either.

Let's rank the ten best games of week six, starting with honorable mentions and then counting down.

Honorable Mention: Syracuse at No. 25 UNLV (Fr.), Pitt at North Carolina, Navy at Air Force, West Virginia at Oklahoma State, No. 15 Clemson at Florida State, James Madison at ULM, No. 11 USC at Minnesota

(All point spreads come from BetMGM; Click here for live odds. All kick-off times are Easter and Saturday unless otherwise stated.)

10. SMU (4-1) at No. 22 Louisville (3-1), noon, ESPN

The jury is still out on two teams. Louisville has one of the best offenses in the country and outgained Notre Dame by more than a hundred yards last Saturday, but the Cards couldn't overcome their first three turnovers of the season and lost 31-24. SMU has found ways to put up points – except in the loss to BYU, where the Mustangs went without a touchdown and made a change at quarterback. Their best win is a 66-42 barnburner over TCU in the Iron Skillet. Louisville's offensive firepower looks more promising and receiver Caullin Lacy returned against Notre Dame, but ideally this game will tell us something about the ACC.

Line: Louisville -6.5

9. Texas Tech (4-1) at Arizona (3-1), 11 p.m., Fox

Big 12 After Dark with two teams that started at the top of the league. Texas Tech has recovered from a shaky start with three straight wins and the highest-scoring offense in the Big 12, helped by the return of a healthy Tahj Brooks at running back. Arizona also responded to the drastic defeat against Kansas State with an away win at Utah without Cam Rising. Both teams are mixed but have explosive offenses, which should make for an entertaining duel late into the night. Take command.

Line: Arizona -6.5

8. UCF (3-1) at Florida (2-2), 7:45 p.m., SEC Network

Florida head coach Billy Napier survived a road win at Mississippi State and the subsequent bye week, now the hot seat guard resumes in Gainesville. There's some jet fuel flying around this in-state matchup, the first leg of a long 2-on-1 series agreed upon when UCF was still a Group 5 program. Florida fans have long looked down on the Knights, and in the past the program saw no reason to agree to a true home-and-home. It should provide some bulletin board material for a UCF team that is an away favorite and appears to be headed in a more encouraging direction than the Gators. Napier's firing seems to have become inevitable, but if Florida loses to UCF in The Swamp, it's hard to imagine him making it through the weekend.

Line: UCF -2.5

7. No. 10 Michigan (4-1) at Washington (3-2), 7:30 p.m., NBC

It's crazy to think that just nine months ago these teams were competing in the national championship. Now they meet as new conference opponents in a game that failed to make the top half of this week's slate. Both programs have seen significant turnover in recent seasons. Despite coping well at home against Texas, getting some close wins and not being able to throw the ball, Michigan is still a top 10 team. Washington suffered two tough losses to Wazzu and Rutgers, but boasts a top-20 offense and a top-10 defense in yards per play. We'll see how important an edge in continuity is for Michigan and whether it has enough winning DNA to surprise on the road and stay in the playoff conversation for another week.

Line: Washington -1.5

6. No. 8 Miami (5-0) at Cal (3-1), 10:30 p.m., ESPN

ACC after dark! ESPN's “College GameDay” travels to Berkeley this time and will air at 6 a.m. local time – a full 12.5 hours before kickoff. Miami finally seemed lethal in its controversial win Friday night against Virginia Tech, including two interceptions by quarterback Cam Ward and a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Cal's defense has also been solid so far, ranking in the top 20 in yards per game and points allowed. However, when we last saw the Golden Bears a few weeks ago, they earned the ignominious distinction of being the only team to face Florida State this season and lose. Maybe the trip to the West Coast has an impact on Miami, but to pull off an upset, Cal will likely need a big game from running back Jaydn Ott, who hasn't quite hit the ground running yet as he recovers from an injury.

Line: Miami -10.5

5. No. 12 Ole Miss (4-1) at South Carolina (3-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Was last week's disappointing home loss to Kentucky the real Ole Miss, or will the Rebels return to their best? Lane Kiffin's team still boasts one of the best offenses in college football, averaging more than 600 yards per game, but against UK they managed just over half of that and managed to put just 17 points on the scoreboard. Now it faces a South Carolina team that smoked Kentucky on the road in Week 2, should have beaten LSU and has a top-10 defense. The narrative about Ole Miss quickly shifted from a playoff team and a dark title contender to whether the Rebs are a Potemkin village primed to collapse under the weight of an SEC schedule. With the likes of LSU, Oklahoma and Georgia still lurking, Saturday's trip to Columbia is a test that Ole Miss cannot fail.

Line: Ole Miss -8.5

4. Rutgers (4-0) at Nebraska (4-1), 4 p.m., FS1

The Scarlet Knights move on. It hasn't been the most convincing undefeated start, but Rutgers is riding running back Kyle Monangai, who is third in the FBS with 147.3 rushing yards per game. A home loss to Illinois and an ugly win over Purdue took some of the wind out of Nebraska's resurgence, but the Cornhuskers are in position to achieve bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. This game could be a turning point for both teams. Next up is Nebraska, followed by road trips within a month to Indiana, Ohio State and USC, all ranked in the top 25. However, Rutgers has an easy schedule by Big Ten standards, avoiding Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and Indiana. A win on Saturday could potentially put Rutgers on its way to the Big Ten title game, thanks in part to the opponents it won't have to face along the way.

Line: Nebraska -7

3. Iowa (3-1) at No. 3 Ohio State (4-0), 3:30 p.m., CBS

I realize there's a lot of spread in this game, but Ohio State hasn't appeared on any of these weekly top 10 lists yet because it hasn't faced a team good enough to make a game interesting close. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 195-27 (!!!) in four games. Iowa could easily join that list of hapless contenders on Saturday, but the Hawkeyes are by far the toughest challenge Ohio State has faced this season and should give a better sense of how high the ceiling is in Columbus. It's also a potential fall game for Ohio State, with a road trip to Oregon next week and games against Nebraska and Penn State on the horizon. Iowa's schedule will be a lot more relaxed after this game, but losses to Iowa State and the Buckeyes would really put a damper on the resumption of the playoffs.

Line: Ohio State -19.5

2. No. 4 Tennessee (4-0) at Arkansas (3-2), 7:30 p.m., ABC

Tennessee posted its lowest point total of the season in a 25-15 road win at Oklahoma on Sept. 21, but the Vols were one of the most formidable and balanced teams in college football, starting 4-0 and ranking in the top five for the first time since the program's national championship season in 1998. Georgia and Ole Miss' conference losses also open the door for Tennessee to potentially reach the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2007. There's still a long way to go, with Alabama and Georgia on the schedule, but if the Vols can split those two and win otherwise, that could be enough to get them there. Still, beating Arkansas is not a given. The Hogs are averaging more than 5 yards per carry and rank a respectable 34th in ESPN's SP+.

Line: Tennessee -13.5

1. No. 9 Missouri (4-0) at No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1), Noon, ABC

Does this game deserve the top spot? It's more or less standard here. Missouri remains in the top 10 despite a few shaky wins over Boston College and Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M stays just inside the top 25, tied with UNLV for last place. However, it is still an important game. Is Mizzou a true top 10 team or just a paper tiger? Do the Aggies have enough to return to the playoffs? I understand if the knee-jerk reaction is to cringe because it's the best game of the weekend, and maybe I'm a college football populist in that regard, but I like that there's an early October meeting between Mizzou and one another There were some significant overall commitments associated with the rebuilding A&M.

Line: Texas A&M -2.5

(Photo by Luther Burden III: Rick Ulreich / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)