Sports
‘I know the student body is excited’: Previewing Miami-Cal, a ranked SEC matchup and more ahead of Week 6
Week 6 in college football is here as we dive into another weekend filled with intriguing matchups you won’t want to miss.
Cal is hosting No. 8 Miami on Saturday in an ACC matchup that has Bears fans ready to show up for their team with College GameDay visiting for the first time. But can quarterback Cam Ward and the Hurricanes spoil the show and continue their perfect season on the road?
No. 9 Missouri will travel to College Station to take on No. 25 Texas A&M in the only ranked-versus-ranked matchup of the weekend. While both teams remain undefeated in SEC play, one team is about to get its first conference loss.
Our college football experts preview big games and players to know about and share quotes of the week from coaches ahead of Week 6.
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FSU starting QB | What to focus on to win | Miami-Cal
Freshmen to watch | Quotes of the week
Brock Glenn named starting QB for Florida State in game against Clemson
Before the season started, one of the biggest games circled on the calendar was Clemson at Florida State, with former Tigers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei now playing for the Seminoles. But heading into their matchup Saturday, Uiagalelei will not have a chance to play against his former team.
Uiagalelei is out with a broken finger, meaning backup quarterback Brock Glenn has once again been put in an unenviable spot. According to ESPN Research, Glenn would become the fourth quarterback in the playoff era to make his first three career starts against top-15 teams.
Glenn started his first career game as a true freshman in the ACC championship game last year thanks to injuries to Jordan Travis and Tate Rodemaker. Florida State won, but only after going to Lawrance Toafili out of the Wildcat format. Then Glenn started the Orange Bowl, a 63-3 loss to Georgia. Now he is tabbed to start against Clemson and its formidable defensive front.
Coach Mike Norvell acknowledged the “very difficult circumstances” Glenn has faced in his starts, adding, “He’s built for it. I love his energy, his teammates respect that, the work, the investment he makes. He’s got a great bounce to him. There’s no question Brock has earned his respect here in his time in Tallahassee.”
He might have earned respect, but it has not been easy for Glenn. In those two starts last year, Glenn went 17-of-47 for 194 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Last week in relief of Uiagalelei in the fourth quarter in a loss to SMU, Glenn went 0-for-4. Florida State is 1-4 and has had a host of issues on offense beyond quarterback, including dismal offensive line play and limited production from its backs and receivers.
Florida State ranks No. 116 in the nation in third down conversions, No. 130 in rushing offense (65.2 yards per game), No. 125 in total offense (278.2 yards per game) and No. 113 in turnover margin (minus-8).
Norvell told ESPN earlier this week the frustration runs deep. “I don’t think we’ve handled adversity or disappointing results very well. We haven’t been able to execute, coaches have to make sure we’re putting guys in the right positions. We’ve not done a good enough job of that as players, as coaches, as an entire football team. That’s why we are where we are.”
Will Glenn change those fortunes? Not without help from his teammates. — Andrea Adelson
What each team has to focus on to win
Louisville: There’s a pretty clear formula if Louisville wants to topple SMU in Week 6: Hold on to the football. The Cardinals actually played quite well against Notre Dame last week but lost because they committed three turnovers, all of which resulted in Irish points, and because of a 1-of-5 performance on fourth-down tries, three of which gave Notre Dame a short field and another that would’ve been a chip-shot field goal for Louisville. On the flip side, no team in the country has benefited more from takeaways than SMU, which is plus-63 in points-off-turnovers margin — nearly double the next-closest Power 4 team.
SMU: After a frustrating loss to BYU on Sept. 6, SMU made a change at QB, going from Preston Stone to Kevin Jennings. While it has had a notable impact on the offense overall, it’s not the passing game that has made the real strides. It’s the ground game. In its first two FBS games, SMU averaged 108 rushing yards and scored a total of 44 points. In its past two since the QB swap, it has averaged 221 rush yards and tallied 108 points. But the test gets much bigger in Week 6 against Louisville’s stout defensive front. In its past 10 quarters, the Cardinals’ defense has surrendered just 3.2 yards per designed run and stuffed nearly one third of runs for a loss or no gain. SMU will rely heavily on Jennings and emerging star Brashard Smith to move the ball on the ground, but to do that more effectively than even Notre Dame could against Louisville will be a tough task. — David Hale
Get to know your new conference rival
Eventually, we’ll all get over the absurdity that Miami and Cal are in the same conference, but it still seems worth acknowledging this week in advance of the Hurricanes’ trip to Berkeley. That said, it won’t be unfamiliar territory for some of Miami’s key figures, as coach Mario Cristobal (Oregon), quarterback Cam Ward (Washington State) and leading rusher Damien Martinez (Oregon State) have all previously competed against the Bears in Berkeley. Last year, Martinez won 52-40 at Cal as he rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Ward threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-39 loss.
Cal’s move to the ACC has pumped fresh life into the program, but after a 3-0 start — highlighted by a 21-14 win at Auburn — the Bears were tripped up two weeks ago by then-winless Florida State as their offense kept stalling in the red zone. The big news for Cal this week is it expects to have star running back Jaydn Ott closer to full health, which would provide a huge boost after he had been slowed by an ankle injury suffered in the season opener against UC Davis. Ott is coming off a brilliant sophomore season in which he rushed for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns and when healthy figures to be among the best offensive players in the ACC. — Kyle Bonagura
Five freshmen to watch
Brown came to Tuscaloosa from California powerhouse Mater Dei and wasn’t even the top cornerback in his own signing class at Alabama. That was No. 2 overall prospect Jaylen Mbakwe. But it’s Brown who has emerged this fall as a freshman starter for the Crimson Tide, and it was his first interception that sealed Alabama’s 41-34 win over Georgia in Week 5.
Starting opposite experienced USC transfer Domani Jackson, Brown trails behind only three Crimson Tide defensive backs in total plays in pass coverage this fall, and he enters Week 6 ranked 43rd nationally in defensive completion percentage, coming in at 31.3% on 16 balls thrown his way. Brown was busy in Week 5 as Georgia targeted him nine times Saturday, but the 6-foot, 196-pound freshman held his own, down to the game’s last meaningful snap when he jumped in front of senior pass catcher Colbie Young to pick off Carson Beck in the end zone, squashing the Bulldogs’ late comeback bid.
While the focus has rightly hung on standout Alabama freshman pass catcher Ryan Williams, the Crimson Tide have a budding first-year star in the secondary, too. Brown should have an easier matchup at Vanderbilt on Saturday (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network) against a Commodores passing game that ranks 101st nationally (184.5 yards per game).
On the heels of his first career loss, Raiola flashed signs of resilience in the Huskers’ 28-10 win at Purdue on Saturday. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound passer finished 17-of-27 with 257 yards and a touchdown, but also threw six passes that led to pass interference calls and overcame a slew of penalties that slowed Nebraska’s offense, including one flag that negated Raiola’s 22-yard touchdown connection with Rahmir Johnson.
Through his initial five college starts, Raiola is completing 70.4% of his passes for 1,224 yards with nine touchdowns and only a pair of interceptions. Among FBS quarterbacks nationally, those numbers leave him 10th in completion percentage, 25th in yards and 31st in touchdown throws. Not bad for a freshman passer and a second-year offensive coordinator in Marcus Satterfield. Raiola’s latest test comes at home Saturday against an unbeaten Rutgers secondary that ranks 36th nationally in passing yardage allowed. With a win over the Scarlet Knights (4 p.m. ET, FOX), Raiola will have the Huskers matching their highest win total since 2016 and a victory away from bowl eligibility.
Florida State’s secondary is susceptible to chunk gains through the air, and Bryant Wesco Jr. seemingly deals only in big plays, making the Tigers’ Saturday trip to Tallahassee an intriguing one for Clemson’s first-year pass catcher.
Among Wesco’s seven catches so far this fall, ESPN’s No. 28 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle has logged four receptions of 30 or more yards, including a 76-yard touchdown grab against Appalachian State in Week 3 and 70-yard catch against Stanford last week. Nationally, only Tennessee‘s Dont’e Thornton Jr. is averaging more yards per catch than Wesco (34.0) this fall. That might spell trouble in Week 6 for a Florida State secondary that’s giving up five big passing plays (15 yards or more) per game and ranks 76th in pass defense this fall. Let’s see if Wesco and Cade Klubnik can take advantage against the 1-4 Seminoles (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
We acknowledge that you might not have South Alabama’s Week 6 visit to Arkansas State circled on your calendar. But the meeting between two-win Sun Belt foes is worth tuning in to if only for the opportunity to see what Jaguars freshman Fluff Bothwell will do on Saturday.
Bothwell was not star ranked by ESPN when he signed with South Alabama out of Oneonta (Alabama) High School. But the 5-foot-10, 219-pound rusher has gained a foothold in Major Applewhite’s backfield this fall and was averaging 9.7 yards per carry (37 attempts, 359 yards) with six touchdowns before South Alabama got shut down by LSU last Saturday.
Bothwell exploded for 143 yards and two scores on seven carries in an 87-10, Week 3 win over Northwestern State, then backed it up with 116 yards and another two touchdowns against a much sturdier Appalachian State defense a week later. In the same season Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty has fully burst onto the national stage, Bothwell has emerged among the Group of 5 running backs of the future. Expect more fireworks Saturday when he meets an Arkansas State run defense allowing 234.0 rushing yards per game this fall (130th nationally).
Wide receivers Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) and Ryan Williams (Alabama):
We’ve spilled plenty of digital ink on these guys already this fall, but for good reason. Through five weeks, Smith and Williams are no longer looking like just the top first-year wide receivers in 2024, but rather two of the best pass catchers anywhere across the country.
Smith highlighted a five-catch, 83-yard, two-touchdown effort against Michigan State last week with a pair of eye-popping, one-handed grabs. Among Big Ten pass catchers, Smith is the only one who ranks inside the top five in receiving yards (364), touchdowns (five), yards per reception (19.2) and yards per game (91.0). As for Williams, pick your favorite from his bobbling grab or the stunning spin move he used on the go-ahead touchdown to power a six-catch, 177-yard performance in last week’s win over Georgia. Entering Week 6, Williams’ 15.3 yards after catch per reception rank fourth nationally and most among Power 5 pass catchers.
Smith and Williams were outstanding Saturday. The question now: How will the pair of dazzling freshmen follow it up this weekend when Smith faces Iowa’s secondary (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) and Williams meets Vanderbilt. — Eli Lederman
Quotes of the week
“Marcel’s sister Briah Reed is our assistant director of on-campus recruiting here at the University of Missouri, so she’s not allowed to be at practice this week. Didn’t know that until about three weeks ago, when he started against Florida. One of the staff members told me, so obviously happy for their family.” — Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, on finding out one of his staffers is related to Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed.
“I don’t know that there’s many tickets left. They’re very, very excited. The fans are, the student body. And I know with ‘GameDay’ being here, it’s the biggest show, certainly in college football, and maybe the biggest shows in all of sports is ‘College GameDay.’ So it’s great to have them on our campus, and I know the student body is excited for that early Saturday morning wake-up call.” — Cal coach Justin Wilcox
“We had a good month here at home. That’s great for us, but you’ve got to go take it on the road. I tell them all the time: Good teams win at home, great teams win on the road. You’ve got to be able to execute when they’re not all cheering for you.” — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on traveling for its first true road game Saturday against Florida State in Tallahassee.