Real Kato Blog: College Football 2013: Week 6 Preview

Michigan starts Big Ten play against Minnesota; N.C. State plays Wake Forest.

#19 Michigan vs. Minnesota
It's weird seeing Michigan at 4-0 and ranked 19th... in years past, voters tended to over-rank Michigan to the point where they were the highest-ranked team with the same record. I guess those days are over, which maybe is a good thing.

Anyway, Michigan comes off a bye with perhaps a reshuffled offensive line, and hopefully a few new wrinkles in the playbook; they'll look to get their running game fixed against Minnesota.

Minnesota, meanwhile, started with four dominating wins averaging 42 points a game, before being unmasked against Iowa 23-7. Minnesota will probably gash Michigan's defense here and there running from the pistol spread, but I don't think they'll be able to do it with consistency against the Michigan front 7. Minnesota hasn't done a lot through the air, so stopping the rushing game is key.

Prediction: Michigan 41, Minnesota 24.

N.C. State at Wake Forest
It'd be easy to overlook Wake Forest this year, who is off to a dismal start. Coming off a 56-7 clubbing from Clemson and with their only two wins coming off Presbyterian and Army, the Deacons don't seem like much of a threat.

Wake Forest is capable of moving the ball, particularly through the air with senior quarterback Tanner Price. But the rushing game is practically non-existent. I think N.C. State's rushing game will give the Wake Forest defense a lot of trouble, particularly with the resurgence of Shadrach Thornton at tailback. If Pete Mitchell can manage the game and not make costly turnovers, State should be content to grind out the victory on the ground.

Prediction: N.C. State 35, Wake Forest 12.

Games to Watch on TV
At 11:30 AM, I'm guessing you won't see the Air Force vs. Navy game, due to the stupid government shutdown.

At noon, a surprisingly unbeaten #25 Maryland plays #8 Florida State on ESPN. Both have wins over middling opponents but no signature victories so far this year. I think Maryland will put up a good fight here. Penn State plays at Indiana on BTN, Illinois plays at Nebraska on ESPNU, and Michigan State plays at Iowa on ESPN2. All of them should be decent Big Ten matchups, so I'll be channel-flipping quite a bit.

At 3:30 the Michigan-Minnesota game is on ABC. N.C. State plays Wake Forest; the game is online on ESPN3 or locally on Fox Sports Carolinas. On ESPNU, Georgia Tech might give #14 Miami some challenges.

At 7:00 #10 LSU plays at Mississippi State on ESPN; this could be a trap game for LSU. At 7:30 PM #22 Arizona State plays Notre Dame on NBC. At 8:00 your Game of the Week is #4 Ohio State at #16 Northwestern. I still think Northwestern is a very dangerous team. This game will likely be a shootout, so it could be exciting. Also at 8:00 is West Virginia at #17 Baylor. Baylor is 3-0 but untested so far; this will be an interesting game.

At 10:30 PM the nightcap game is a good one: #15 Washington at #5 Stanford on ESPN.

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