Football Friyay: Is Missouri for Real?

Oct 04, 2024

We’re already in Week 6 of college football action. We’re coming off the first week of Conference play that included some great games. Also, there were some games that had top-ranked teams on upset alert.

This week, quite honestly, shouldn't be anything too crazy. There won’t be a ton of upsets, there will be a ton of blowouts, but it will also be an opportunity for Heisman hopefuls to improve their argument for the trophy. While this week won’t be as exciting as last week in terms of upsets, there are still some storylines and games to look at.

It’s time for our Week 6 Fri-yay preview.

Believe in the hype in Missouri?

Texas A&M versus Missouri is the only game between ranked teams this week. The Missouri Tigers continue to climb the rankings into the top-10 and find themselves against the 25th ranked Texas A&M Aggies this week. The Tigers started off the season in their first two games with dominant victories over Murray St. and Buffalo. The past two games though, they haven’t been as dominant. It took overtime to beat Vanderbilt 30-27, and the week before they beat an unranked Boston College team 27-21. They’ve won the last two games by a combined nine points, both against unranked teams.

This week, the Tigers will be on the road and playing at Texas A&M will be no easy task. Coming into the season, there was so much hype behind Tigers quarterback Brady Cook, and in four games he hasn’t matched those expectations. They’ve yet to play a ranked team and he only has 946 passing yards, four touchdowns, one interception, and he ranks 37th in the country with his 71.6 QBR. For a team that relies on their passing attack, he will have to step up big time on the road to secure a victory.

The Aggies defense hasn’t faced a quarterback like Cook, but this far hasn't allowed any big time plays by any opposing quarterback. Lineback Tauren York could have a big day for Texas A&M. He leads the team in tackles with 27. But the defensive player to keep an eye on will be defensive back Marcus Ratcliffe. He leads the team with three interceptions and he also has a forced fumble. This will be a battle and we will see if Missouri is really a top-10 team in the nation.

Heisman Watch

The number 12 ranked Ole Miss Rebels hit the road to face an unranked, but impressive South Carolina Gamecocks team. Ole Miss is coming off a huge 20-17 upset loss to the Kentucky Wildcats and will be looking for some redemption. This includes Heisman hopeful quarterback Jaxson Dart.

What helped Kentucky have so much success against Dart last week was limiting his big times and only allowing one 20 yard pass out of his seven passes that were thrown more than 20 yards down field. He will be looking to have a much more successful week, but it’ll be against arguably a better defense and a team that beat Kentucky 31-6. Dart is still a top-3 Heisman candidate with his 1,815 yards, 13 touchdowns, two interceptions, and 86.5 QBR (7th in the country).

As long as he doesn’t force any passes, this could be a huge opportunity for him to elevate his argument as a Heisman hopeful.

Indiana Hoosiers look to start 6-0: CFB Playoff on Horizon?

One of the most impressive teams thus far this season that’s success has been unprecedented has been the Indiana Hoosiers. Head coach Tom Allen has praised his group before the season even started and believed it would be a special year. Going into Week 6 with a 5-0 record and playing a mediocre Northwestern Wildcats team seems to indicate the Hoosiers will be 6-0 after this week. This is the program’s first 5-0 start since the 1967 season.

The B1G Conference has gotten so much more competitive since adding teams like Oregon, USC, Washington, and UCLA. But as of right now, the Hoosiers sit atop of the conference. The offense is led by senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who has 1,372 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 90.2 QBR (3rd in the country). Under coach Allen, the Hoosiers’ best season was the 2019 season when they went 8-5. This season projects to be one of the best seasons the program has ever had. Barring any injuries or a complete collapse, a college football playoff berth isn’t crazy to think about right now.