2021 NCAA Week 6 Picks

7:30 pm #15 Coastal Carolina (-20, 71 1/2) at Arkansas State - The Chanticleers are ranked #15 for a reason. They're an exceptional football team that went 11-1 last season, losing their only game in the Cure bowl to Liberty, 37-34, in overtime. The ran roughshod through the Sun Belt last year and are doing the same in 2021, with a 5-0 mark. Last year's win over Arkansas State was a 52-23 blowout at home, but, even though this will be played on the Red Wolves' turf, it's unlikely to make much of a difference.

The host team is 1-4, losing last week at Georgia Southern, 59-33. They're really up against it here.

Coin Flip: Arkansas State

Prediction: Chanticleers 56 Red Wolves 27
RESULT: Chanticleers 52 Red Wolves 20... RICK: W... COIN: L

7:30 pm Houston (-6, 60 1/2) at Tulane - Houston may be making it back to the national scene with a win here. The Cougars opened their season with a 38-21 loss to Texas Tech but have since run off four straight wins, the last two, a 28-20 victory over Navy and a 45-10 rout at Tulsa were conference wins and put them atop the standings.

The Green Wave has had a tough go of it thus far, winning just once and losing four. Their only close encounter was against UAB, a 28-21 loss. Last week's 52-29 defeat at East Carolina was not pretty. It doesn't get easier for Tulane. After Houston they face SMU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Tulsa in succession.

Coin Flip: Houston

Prediction: Cougars 42 Green Wave 24
RESULT: Cougars 40 Green Wave 22... RICK: W... COIN: W

Friday, October 8

10:30 pm Stanford at #22 Arizona State (-11, 51 1/2) - Stanford knocked off #3 Oregon in what is a fierce rivalry, so the obvious to guard against for the Cardinal is an emotional letdown. Also, one has to respect the Sun Devils' 42-23 masterpiece at UCLA last week, knocking the Bruins out of the Top 25.

The Sun Devil win over UCLA puts them in the top slot in the PAC-12 South division, with a 2-0 record (4-1 overall). Stanford is 2-1 in the North, trailing 2-0 Oregon State. The Cardinal is 3-2.

Junior QB Jayden Daniels seems to have all the tools for AZST. The Devils lead the conference in defense and are right behind Oregon State and Oregon in offense. Stanford's home losses to Kansas St. and UCLA work against them.

Coin Flip: Arizona State

Prediction: Sun Devils 31 Cardinal 14
RESULT: Sun Devils 28 Cardinal 10... RICK: W... COIN: W

Saturday, October 9

12:00 pm #6 Oklahoma (-3, 63 1/2) vs. #21 Texas - Texas is much improved since Casey Thompson took over at QB from Hudson Card. Thompson took over late in the third quarter of the Longhorns' 40-21 loss at Arkansas with the score 33-7 and led his team to a pair of late touchdowns. Since then, Thompson has won three straight and enter the game a very respectable, 4-1. A win here would likely get them back into the Top 25 rankings.

5-0 Oklahoma hasn't managed to assert any dominance, if they even possess any. Other than a 76-0 win over Western Carolina, they haven't won a game by more than seven points. Their last two games were a 16-13 home win over West Virginia and last week's 37-31 win at Kansas State. The Sooners don't have much of a running game and their defense is often deficient with players out of place or missing assignments. Texas has a great shot at a win and revenge for last season's 53-45 4OT loss.

Coin Flip: Oklahoma

Prediction: Longhorns 38 Sooners 28

12:00 pm Maryland at #7 Ohio State (-21, 68 1/2) - Maryland dropped to 4-1 after turning the ball over seven times in their 51-14 comeuppance against the Iow Hawkeyes and now must travel to Columbus to face the Buckeyes, who are coming off a 52-13 win at Rutgers.

The Buckeyes really only have had problems in one game, their 35-28 loss to Oregon, but that was weeks ago and Ohio State football is back where it belongs, in the top 10 in the country. Judging by the line - and last week's performance - the Terrapins are in for a rude road trip.

Coin Flip: Maryland

Prediction: Buckeyes 45 Terrapins 17

12:00 pm #11 Michigan State (-5, 51) at Rutgers - The Spartans are 5-0 and remained unbeaten after their 48-31 win over Western Kentucky, a team that was supposed to hang with them somewhat. Michigan State has had only one close call, a 23-20 OT win over Nebraska two weeks ago. The Spartan defense is adequate for the task, and the offense averages 37.8 points per game.

Rutgers opened the season with three straight wins - Temple, Syracuse, Delaware - but lost at Michigan, 20-13, and were supposed to give Ohio State a run for their money, but flopped in a 52-13 home defeat. The five points they're getting is hopeful, but the Starters are looking to challenge for the Big Ten title and won't be looking past this game.

Coin Flip: Michigan State

Prediction: Spartans 37 Scarlett Knights 16

12:00 pm #13 Arkansas at #17 Ole Miss (-6 1/2, 66) - Interesting to have the two teams that were dominated by the #1 and #2 teams in the country last week facing each other. Arkansas was completely outplayed by Georgia in a 37-0 rout, while the Rebels were handled at Alabama, 42-21.

Ole Miss rates a big edge for home field, QB Matt Corral, and Arkansas' lack of quality wins. Their 40-21 win over Texas was legitimate, but that was before the Longhorns replaced their QB, and the win over Texas A&M also occurred when the Aggies didn't have their #1 QB on the field. Both teams enter the contest 4-1, but only he home team will leave 5-1.

Coin Flip: Arkansas

Prediction: Rebels 38 Razorbacks 27

Click here for late games.

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