College Football Rankings 2011 Week 6

There are several teams in the college football rankings for week 6 that made significant strides and with the initial BCS polls about to be released very soon; it is time for some of those teams to start playing with a sense of energy. This week, there are 21 games featuring ranked opponents and only three games between two ranked opponents. It is seemingly a slow week for college football, but as we have seen in the past, it is always when you expect the least out of the NCAA, that it shows you how unpredictable this sport can be.

Get $50 of Free Picks Now No Obligation. The No.1 LSU Tigers (5-0) and the No.2 Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0) won big over their week-5 opponents, but No.3 Oklahoma (4-0), who beat Ball State 62-6, have slipped one spot in the rankings. The voters are starting to take notice to the strength of schedule and this is exactly why the Sooners have dropped spots two weeks in a row, even though they’ve won all of their games. The No.4 Wisconsin Badgers (5-0) jumped over a few teams this week with their big win over Nebraska. The Badgers jumped over No.5 Boise State (4-0) and the idle No.6 Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-0) and they are in great positions to keep climbing the college football rankings and eventually the 2011 BCS standings once they are released. The No.7 Stanford Cardinal (4-0) moved back just one spot this week, while No.7 Clemson (5-0) slid into the top 10 after their third straight victory over a ranked opponent.

The last two teams in the Top 10 are two one-loss teams. The No.9 Oregon Ducks (4-1) stayed put in the rankings and have now won four straight games after their season-opening loss to LSU. At No.10, the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1) rebounded nicely from their week-5 loss to and after beating a powerful South Carolina team; the Razorbacks are smack dab in the thick of things. The No.11 Texas Longhorns (4-0) climbed the ranks more than anyone this past week and now they will promote a matchup between two highly ranked rivals when they take on the No.3 Oklahoma Sooners. Texas is playing well, and the annual red river rivalry gets an extra bit of gusto as both teams are undefeated in the contest for the first time since 2008. The Longhorns have benefited from getting off to hot starts the past two weeks and last week, they led 34-0 at the half over Iowa State. The week before, they led 28-10 at the half in the Rose Bowl, but building such a lead against OU will be much more difficult.

For Texas to be successful, they will need to get their running game going. They are averaging over 200 yards per game with Malcolm Brown and Fozzie Whittaker. I expect a low-scoring, close game if they can run the ball effectively, which will be their only shot at winning this game. If it turns into a shootout, Landry Jones will use all his weapons to dominate the Longhorns. The winner of this game will find themselves in great position to make a run at the Big 12 title, while the loser of this matchup will probably need to win the rest of their games to convince the voters that they deserve a BCS Bowl bid.

Week 6 College Football Rankings

1 LSU
2 Alabama
3 Oklahoma
4 Wisconsin
5 Boise State
6 Oklahoma State
7 Stanford
8 Clemson
9 Oregon
10 Arkansas
11 Texas
12 Michigan
13 Georgia Tech
14 Nebraska
15 Auburn
16 West Virginia
17 Florida
18 South Carolina
19 Illinois
20 Kansas State
21 Virginia Tech
22 Arizona State
23 Florida State
24 Texas A&M
25 Baylor