- The Clemson vs. North Carolina game features a rare matchup between a multi-time national champion coach and a multi-time Super Bowl champion coach.
- Florida State faces a crucial rivalry game against Miami that could determine its ACC championship and playoff chances.
- No. 17 Vanderbilt aims to defeat No. 11 Alabama for the second consecutive year, a feat not accomplished since the 1950s.
This wasn’t what we expected from Clemson and North Carolina.
Saturday’s game marks just the second in college football history pitting a coach with multiple national championships and a coach with multiple Super Bowl rings. The other came when Joe Paterno and Penn State met Bill Walsh and Stanford in the 1993 Blockbuster Bowl.
But the Tigers and Dabo Swinney are 1-3 with only an ugly win against Troy. The Tar Heels are 2-2 in Bill Belichick’s first year, with losses to TCU and Central Florida by a combined 59 points.
Clemson’s offense is terrible. The Tar Heels might just be terrible, period. Rather than a must-see clash between Swinney and Belichick, Saturday’s game in Chapel Hill is one of the saddest matchups of the regular season.
The drumbeat of discontent over Clemson’s slide into irrelevance would grow even louder with a loss to one of the weakest teams in the ACC. From the Tar Heels’ perspective, a loss would drop their bowl odds even lower and place Belichick on track for a miserable debut.
USA TODAY Sports looks at the team, game, coach and quarterback facing the most pressure in Week 6 of the regular season:
Team: No. 19 Florida State
Florida State opened the year with a win against No. 11 Alabama and capped the first month with a 46-38 loss at Virginia. The Seminoles are one of the biggest enigmas in the Power Four as the regular season turns to October.
The offense is obviously much improved, especially on the ground. FSU ran for 1,079 all of last season but are currently averaging a Power Four-best 336.3 yards per game. Overall, the offense ranks second nationally at 8.2 yards per play.
But the defense flopped against the Cavaliers and will be put to the test by Carson Beck and No. 3 Miami. This is a crucial rivalry matchup that promises to have a huge impact on the ACC race.
With a loss, FSU will be 0-2 in league play and down the tiebreaker to the Hurricanes. In this scenario, the Seminoles would need a perfect run through the rest of the ACC slate and some help to sneak into the conference championship game.
But a loss would be even more damaging to the Seminoles’ reputation after a dreadful 2024 season and a dramatic offseason overhaul. To be taken seriously as a playoff contender, FSU has to beat Miami at home.
Game: No. 17 Vanderbilt at No. 11 Alabama
Vanderbilt is looking to beat Alabama twice in as many years, something the program hasn’t done since 1955-56. (The 1957 game ended in a 6-6 tie, the Tide hired Bear Bryant a year later, and the rest is brutal history for the Commodores.) Led by Diego Pavia, the Commodores swamped Utah State to end September and are 5-0 for just the second time in the modern era.
The Tide salvaged the first month by beating No. 10 Georgia 24-21 behind two touchdowns from quarterback Ty Simpson, who has 11 scores without an interception in four games. While the cast has changed, Alabama ended last September with a win against the Bulldogs but cratered from there in a disappointing debut season for coach Kalen DeBoer.
Losing to Vanderbilt would erase the good vibes coming out of the win in Athens and be nearly fatal to the Tide’s playoff hopes with games still to come against No. 18 Missouri, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 13 LSU and No. 8 Oklahoma.
It’s a prove-something Saturday for Vanderbilt. The Commodores’ best win came last month against then-No. 10 South Carolina, which lost star quarterback LaNorris Sellers to injury in the second quarter. Beating the Tide would make them a legitimate playoff contender.
Coach: Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Sarkisian has dodged the spotlight given all the national focus on Arch Manning’s struggles as the new starter. While that’s been one of the biggest storylines of the first month, Manning’s issues are simply a microcosm of the Longhorns’ sloppy and often unimpressive play through four games.
The first two weeks of October will decide whether Texas makes another appearance in the SEC championship game. First comes a road trip to Florida as roughly touchdown favorites, followed by No. 8 Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl.
The Gators are capable of pulling off the upset if they can protect the football and awaken an unproductive running game. That Florida has been pathetic on early downs has set up quarterback DJ Lagway up for failure during this three-game losing streak to South Florida, LSU and Miami.
Looking ahead one week, Oklahoma will be without quarterback John Mateer and will use backup Michael Hawkins Jr., who started last year’s 34-3 loss to the Longhorns. Hawkins and the Sooners will have a tune-up game this Saturday against Kent State.
This crucial two-game stretch that will decide the Longhorns’ season. After a rocky month, Sarkisian has to get Texas back on track to avoid a loss that could cripple its postseason résumé.
Quarterback: CJ Carr, Notre Dame
Carr and the No. 21 Fighting Irish rebounded from losses to No. 3 Miami and No. 6 Texas A&M by routing Purdue and Arkansas. The redshirt freshman has thrown six touchdowns and averaged a whopping 13.8 yards per attempt in these two Power Four wins.
A productive passing game has helped open things up on the ground. After going for 229 yards on 3.4 yards per carry against the Hurricanes and Aggies, the Irish have 464 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground against the Boilermakers and Razorbacks.
Things should be a little more difficult against Boise State, which gave up just 65 yards on 28 attempts in last week’s 47-14 win against Appalachian State. Overall, the Broncos are allowing opponents to complete 55.5% of attempts with four touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Broncos’ national credibility makes this one of the most important games on Notre Dame’s remaining schedule, perhaps exceeded only by the matchup with Southern California later this month.