2026 College Football Week 6 Best Bets: 5 picks for Oct 10 including Alabama vs Georgia, USC, Notre Dame

Week 6 is loaded with upset potential across the country ranking from Nebraska hosting Indiana, to Happy Valley with Penn State hosting USC. The headliner of the week, of course, is Georgia at Alabama in a top-six showdown, and I'm betting all three games, plus I'll be backing two more ranked teams to shut down two bad offenses. Game odds are courtesy of DraftKings. Here are my five best bets for Saturday of the Week 6 slate in College Football. Best of luck!

#7 Indiana (-7.5) at Nebraska: O/U 47.5

Indiana has a look-ahead spot with Ohio State on deck, but we know Curt Cignetti is a great coach and will probably have his locker room locked in here. Instead of betting the spread or total, a player prop caught my attention. Nebraska’s quarterback Anthony Colandrea has a prop of 195.5 and 197.5 at most sportsbooks. That’s an interesting number considering he’s thrown for at least 195 passing yards in all five games. Taking the Over seems like a sucky bet right off the rip, and it doesn’t help when Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles threw for 293 yards on the Hoosiers.

Colandrea, like Chiles, can use his legs, which will take away from his passing production. Colandrea has 10 rushing attempts in each of his last two games and has only taken two sacks. We can expect more sacks taken here, and Nebraska to utilize Colandrea’s legs as much as possible to get Indiana off balance.

The running game should be a focal point, with freshman sensation Jamal Rule back at running back for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska will likely lean into Rule early and use Mehki Nelson and Isaiah Mozee to spell Rule when he needs a break. Nebraska’s running game should be a full-go on Saturday, and there’s expected to be winds of 20-25 mph and gusts up to 45, which will impact passing. I’m going Under 197.5 passing yards on Colandrea down to 190.5.

Pick:Anthony Colandrea Under 197.5 Passing Yards (1 unit)

Stanford at #3 Notre Dame (-39.5): O/U 54.5

I think Marcus Freeman will take North Carolina scoring 26 points on his defense personally, and unfortunately for Stanford, they are next up on Notre Dame’s schedule. Stanford was just embarrassed 57-3 at Wake Forest, and they fly back across the country to play at Notre Dame. Stanford has lost by 54, 28, and 39 to Wake Forest, Duke, and Miami. Stanford scored a combined 16 points in those three games, and 16 came in the first half. So, technically, I should take Stanford to go over their 2.5 Team Total in the first half at Notre Dame, but I will not do it. No sir.

Notre Dame held Rice scoreless, then held Purdue scoreless in the first half, and shut out Michigan State in the second half before allowing North Carolina to score at least six points in every quarter against the Irish. Freeman said the mistakes Notre Dame’s defense made against UNC are fixable, and I believe Stanford is a quality opponent to iron out any details you want your team to focus on. For +136 odds, I will take a shot that Notre Dame holds Stanford scoreless in the first half over the four to six possessions they’ll have.

Pick: Stanford 1H Team Total Under 2.5 (1 unit)

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#2 Georgia vs #6 Alabama (-1.5): O/U 51.5

As of Friday afternoon, the weather for #6 Alabama versus #2 Georgia is expected to be 65 to 70 degrees with a 90 percent chance of rain and wind gusts between 20 and 38 miles per hour, with potential gusts of 50-plus. There’s expected to be problems through the city with trees, blocked roads, power outages, etc., so that gives you another idea of how ugly this game could be.

We know these are the two highest-scoring offenses in the country, combining for 101 points per game, and yet the game total has dropped from 55.5 to 51.5. Keelon Russell will make the biggest start of his career and he’s on a heater with four-plus touchdowns in three straight games. Georgia has the No. 1 defense per PFF, second in coverage grades, and third in rush defense grades, so it won’t be smooth sailing for the first-year starter.

Georgia and Alabama alike have gassed up all their opponents to the point where they’ve had to abandon the run. Both rush defenses will be tested, and if the weather is terrible, we could see both teams playing it safe. The total has finished at 51 or less points in four of the last five meetings between the Tide and Bulldogs. The total could close lower too. I’ll grab the Under 51.5 at -110 odds and go down to 50.5.

Pick: Under 51.5 (1 unit)

#19 USC at Penn State (-1.5): O/U 54.5

Penn State’s hosting their annual “White Out” against USC on NBC and Peacock. I was at Oregon at Penn State last season, and if we get half of that classic, we’re in for a treat. Matt Campbell and Penn State are on a two-game losing streak and have to throw the kitchen sink at the Trojans to avoid three-straight losses. The Nittany Lions were outgained in yards 355-233 to Wisconsin and 506-291 to Northwestern over the last two games, but those were two pretty good defenses — I can’t say the same for USC’s defense.

USC has gotten off to a slow start offensively over the last two weeks. USC scored a combined three first-quarter points and 17 in the second quarter against Oregon and Washington (32 2H PTS, 20 1H PTS). This will mark the second East Coast trip of the season for USC since going to Rutgers (42-37 win). The Scarlet Knights might be the worst team in the Big Ten, and this trip to Happy Valley will test USC before they hit the bye week.

I like Penn State to lead at the half for -110 odds. The Nittany Lions can force turnovers; they had three at home versus Wisconsin, and I believe they will here against USC. Jayden Maiava has thrown a pick in each of his last two games and had six interceptions and a 57.4 completion percentage on the road compared to two picks and a 74.2 completion percentage at home last year.

Pick: Penn State 1H ML (1 unit)

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Kansas at #12 Utah (-15.5): O/U 51.5

Kansas will play its first true road game of the season, and it’s going to be bad news. Utah’s defense has been flying around and rocking people. Lucky for the Utes, they’re fresh off a bye week, while Kansas is coming off a tuneup against Middle Tennessee. If Utah has any rust, I think it would come from the offense, not this top-25 defense.

Utah has allowed three first-quarter points all season (Arkansas) and has outscored their opponents 54-3 in the first 15 minutes. Kansas, on the other hand, has started slow. In the last three games, Kansas has scored three first-quarter points, and it came against Middle Tennessee. Kansas trailed Arizona State 3-0, was tied with Missouri 0-0, and led Middle Tennessee 3-0 in the first quarter of the past three games. Isaiah Marshall will struggle at Utah.

PFF ranks the Jayhawks’ pass-blocking grade 115th out of 138 teams and the passing grade is 93rd. The Utes will bring pressure from the opening drive and give Kansas problems. I like the Kansas 1Q Team Total Under 2.5 at -110 odds — Strong lean to Utah’s first-quarter spread of -3.5.

Pick: Kansas 1Q Team Total Under 2.5 (1 unit)

Season Record: 29-25 +1.23 units
Week 0 Record: 1-2 -1.57 units
Week 1 Record: 6-4 +0.96 units
Week 2 Record: 4-5 -0.97 units
Week 3 Record: 8-1 +6.8 units
Week 4 Record: 7-7 -0.22 units
Week 5 Record: 3-6 -3.77 units

Week 6 Picks

1 unit: Anthony Colandrea Under 197.5 Passing Yards (-114)
1 unit: Stanford 1H Team Total Under 2.5 (+136)
1 unit: Georgia vs Alabama Under 51.5 (-110)
1 unit: Penn State 1H ML (-110)
1 unit: Kansas 1Q Team Total Under 2.5 (-110)

Week 6 Articles

Week 6 Heisman Trophy Rankings
Week 6 Top 25 Poll
#2 Georgia at #6 Alabama Game Preview
#1 Texas vs Oklahoma Game Preview
#19 USC at Penn State Game Preview
#7 Indiana at Nebraska Game Preview
#3 Notre Dame vs Stanford Game Preview

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