College football Week 6 primer: All eyes on Red River Showdown

Here's what to look forward to in Week 6 of the college football schedule:

Top 5 games to watch

5. No. 13 Kentucky @ Texas A&M (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

It feels like Kentucky's involved in one of the marquee matchups every week.

The Wildcats are a fierce team that's been crushing opponents at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Their offensive line is one of the very best in the nation, and they run a creative, taxing system.

On defense, a burgeoning group has exploded. Linebacker Josh Allen headlines the unit, having erupted into a household name thanks to a string of dominant performances. He's grown from a versatile player into a reliable, rampaging pass-rusher. He's begun to figure out the game within the game, and he pairs that intellect with lethal, athletic traits.

There aren’t a whole lot of bells and whistles to this one. Texas A&M leads the SEC in run defense. Its front held up against Clemson and Alabama on the ground, while Kentucky leans heavily on its run game.

So, if the Aggies can put the Wildcats into third-and-long situations, the offense will be put in the hands of quarterback Terry Wilson, a talented athlete who's a less-than-impressive thrower. Can Wilson make the big-time throws needed on third downs to secure a conference win on the road?

4. Missouri @ South Carolina (12 p.m., SECN)

This matchup features two easy selling points: Missouri quarterback Drew Lock and South Carolina pivot Jake Bentley.

We have a pair of fun, up-tempo offenses marshaled by a pair of good quarterbacks. Bentley has struggled so far this year, but if anything can get him going, it’s Mizzou’s leaky defense.

Both teams have averaged 6 yards per play on offense. South Carolina coach Will Muschamp’s switch to an up-tempo, spread approach has paid dividends from down to down, but it hasn't translated to many wins.

If anything, Missouri is the same team it was a year ago. The Tigers run a wacky offense, albeit with less success. Meanwhile, Barry Odom is still struggling to put a competent defense together, having conceded 6.7 yards per play, a number that puts the unit behind luminaries such as Charlotte, Texas El-Paso, and Rutgers. Rutgers!

3. No. 6 Notre Dame @ No. 24 Virginia Tech (8 p.m., ABC)

First of all, you won’t find a better uniform matchup this week. Assuming neither team is wearing one of those wackadoo one-offs that typically stink, that is.

On the field, we have a tasty schematic matchup: Notre Dame’s innovative defense that features a ton of moving parts versus Justin Fuente’s one-read-and-go simplicity on offense.

Not having starting quarterback Josh Jackson hurts the Hokies, as Jackson is out indefinitely with a broken leg.

Jackson was the one offensive piece capable of breaking Fuente’s carefully orchestrated system and creating magic all by himself. Losing that outlet will make moving the ball on money downs difficult

Something else to monitor is how Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book will handle his first major road game. He looked spectacular a week ago against Stanford at home. On the road in Blacksburg, at night, is a completely different deal.

2. No. 5 LSU @ No. 22 Florida (3:30 p.m., CBS)

I’m not going to lie - this thing will be a slog. It always is. But it will be an entertaining slog!

The Gators and Tigers have enjoyed one of the testiest rivalries in football in recent years. And we have a new character this time around: Dan Mullen.

Mullen has turned around the Gators quicker than I anticipated. Winning on the road against Mississippi State last week was huge in terms of legitimizing the program. But Mullen hasn’t quite figured out the Gators' misfiring offense yet. The team is averaging a not-awful 6.1 yards per play, but it needs to start finishing drives.

Mullen bamboozled LSU a year ago when he was still overseeing Mississippi State. He used a slew of slow-developing run designs to get LSU’s linebackers attacking the wrong gaps, and they bit on all the pre-snap eye candy while consistently finding themselves out of position.

Still, expect this to be a defensive battle, as both units are blessed with future NFL talent at every level. Todd Grantham and Dave Aranda both like to draw up exotic blitzes and different pressure looks - for example, a defensive lineman dropping out and someone else attacking the QB.

So, which quarterback will make the most mistakes? Feleipe Franks has been solid for Florida. He’s big and can move, but does little more than that. Joe Burrows has shown more nuance as a passer. He distributes the ball well to a bunch of playmakers, but he's still prone to back-breaking decisions.

Whichever guy can limit his mistakes will come out of the swamp with the win.

1. No. 19 Texas vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (12 p.m., FOX)

It’s Red River. What more do you need?

Why have strength versus strength and weakness versus weakness. Oklahoma’s offense, run to near-perfection by Kyler Murray, is among the top groups in the country. Texas’ defense is just as creative and effective.

The real battle is on the other side of the ball - what can Texas get going against Oklahoma’s defense?

Mike Stoops has never put a convincing group together in Norman. This year’s side has been beset by a lack of depth and bad decision-making. Tom Herman needs to take advantage.

Player to watch

QB Jarrett Stidham, Auburn (@ Mississippi State)

Nothing's as deflating as the preseason hype for a quarterback dripping away week by week. Jarrett Stidham has all the gifts in the world, but he’s yet to put them all together.

Saturday will be a true prove-it game for Stidham against a nasty Mississippi State defensive front.

Auburn has offered little to nothing in the run game this season. Its offensive line has been a disappointment, as the unit makes elementary errors and generates little push. Overall, Malzahn’s spread-to-run attack is currently averaging a pathetic 3 yards per rush attempt, good for 118th in the nation. That’s a figure so bad it sits behind Washington State's, which literally won a game last week with zero rushing yards.

Stidham hasn’t looked like himself all season, playing without his typical one-step-ahead vision that creates explosive plays downfield. There was first-round draft hype in the preseason - as nonsensical as it may have been - and it's time for him to deliver.

Under-the-radar matchup

Boston College @ No. 23 NC State

Here are two teams at a fascinating stage of their development cycles. Watching them go head to head will be fun.

It’s a prove-your-program game for NC State head coach Dave Doeren. Last year was the most successful season he’s had thus far with the Wolfpack, as the team won nine games before a whopping nine players were selected in the NFL draft.

Was last season a one-off? Or was it the start of long-term, sustained success?

It’s time to find out. Doeren’s defense hasn’t skipped a beat since losing all that talent. The unit ranks 33rd in defensive S&P+, which isn't too shabby for a group that’s young and light beyond its starting eleven.

Don’t sound too shocked, but the Wolfpack’s offense is all sorts of fun too. The group does lots of wonky things with personnel packages and pre-snap movements. It even has a series of plays in which the quarterback lines up behind one of the guards before the entire offensive line shifts.

I’m telling you - Doeren’s team is goofier than his coach-speak lets on.

But there’s no funkiness to Ryan Finley, as NC State's quarterback has been among the best in the nation this season. He sports an impressive 109.7 passer rating from a clean pocket, per ProFootballFocus. When pressured, his passer rating is 114.6, which is, umm, bonkers.

BC brings some intrigue to this game, too. You probably know all about running back AJ Dillon by now. However, Dillon is banged up and will be a game-time decision.

But there’s entertainment value all over this Eagles offense. The offensive line is one of the most impressive in the country. The unit can line up and bulldoze folks down the field, or get creative with quirky gap-scheme elements, pulling and moving linemen.

Philosophically and schematically, BC coach Steve Addazio is giving us a glimpse of the future of football with a blend of 12-personnel, multi-tight end sets, with plenty of movable pieces, done at a fast tempo.

Addazio nabbed this system from the Oklahoma side that ran it a decade ago. The system quickly fell out of fashion, as spread-option and Air Raid principles took over the country. But the confuse-and-clobber style is quickly making a comeback, particularly as the lines between pro and college playbooks continue to blur.

Who’d have thought Boston College and Steve Addazio would be at the forefront of the offensive evolution? Not me. You can catch a glimpse of it from Raleigh on Saturday.

Coach who needs a win

Bobby Petrino, Louisville (vs. Georgia Tech)

All is not well in Louisville. The Cardinals' season is off to a rough start, as they've suffered back-to-back disappointing losses at the hands of Virginia and Florida State.

Botched plays, bad quarterback performances, and a ground attack that’s vanished has seen Bobby Petrino’s side average a measly 18.4 points a game, tied for 123rd in the nation. Isn’t he some sort of offensive savant?

Petrino will now face a frisky Georgia Tech side on Friday night that's very much in need of a win.

Now, Petrino isn’t exactly on the hot seat. If Louisville fires him during this season or right after it, the school could owe him more than $14 million in buyout money, thanks to one of those classic why-are-you-doing-this-now contract extensions the coach penned in 2016.

Complicating things is that the school is already paying a bunch of people to not work, including former athletic director Tom Jurich and former basketball coach Rick Pitino, with a lot of money involved in both cases.

And it’s not exactly like the Cardinals can dip into those oh-so-sweet Papa John's funds. You may have heard, but the relationship between the two parties isn't great these days.

Moving on from Petrino, then, would be a huge ask, even if new athletic director Vince Tyra wants to cut ties from the past.

This could all be irrelevant. It’s possible Petrino wants out anyway. His longtime ally Jurich is gone, and Louisville has long been rumored to be his stepping stone back to a big-time SEC job. But to keep his name at the top of job boards, Petrino needs to keep winning.

Meanwhile, Louisville faces a gauntlet the rest of the way, and it's not inconceivable that the team could lose every game. Friday night might serve as Petrino’s last chance to get the Cardinals rolling, and to put himself back in the minds of athletic directors across the country.