Week 6 delivered several statement performances across college football, with a handful of teams turning heads after impressive wins.
From major upsets to dominant performances against quality opponents, these programs gave fans plenty of reasons to believe they are heading in the right direction. Here are four of the biggest risers after Week 6.
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Georgia
After the Bulldogs’ 20-17 victory, Alabama is still a top-10 team that is ahead of schedule as they head into the Keelon Russell era. But back to Georgia – this game wasn’t always pretty; it wasn’t flashy, and it wasn’t always the most fun to watch. But in a game that encapsulated their program, Georgia came away with a 20-17 victory in Tuscaloosa and will likely be the new #1 in the AP poll heading into Week 7.
Dwight Phillips Jr. ran hard and filled in admirably for the injured Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens. Gunner Stockton likewise had some tenacious runs, and timely completions in the 4th quarter extended some key drives that allowed the Bulldogs to control the tempo of the game and score just enough to win.
UCLA
It is time to start acknowledging the Bruins as a College Football Playoff dark horse after their 17-15 win over Oregon. Wayne Knight was electric, topping 100 rushing yards against the vaunted Oregon defense.
The defense was so stout that Oregon ended up benching Dylan Raiola to look for an offensive spark elsewhere. Bob Chesney has very quickly turned things around in Westwood, and this Bruins team may be the Big Ten’s best hope to get 3 teams into the CFP.
Kentucky
Will Stein: champion of the analytics community. In back-to-back weeks, Kentucky has played in overtime games. In back-to-back weeks, Kentucky has been second on offense. And in back-to-back weeks, Will Stein made the call to go for two, and Kentucky has won both games on those two-point conversions.
Mathematically, this is such a sound decision, and credit to the Wildcats for going out and executing, and this week earning a massive win for the program over LSU. Kenny Minchey is looking like one of the best transfer portal QBs in this past cycle.
USC
Since USC has joined the Big Ten, cross-country road trips have doomed Lincoln Riley and the Trojans. In his tenure, Riley had a 3-6 record in the Central and Eastern time zones. So when USC was slated to travel to Penn State and play in their “white out” game in Week 6, a lot of pundits were picking against them.
But Jayden Maiava was outstanding, topping 300 yards, and the defense got just enough stops to preserve a victory and the Trojans’ CFP hopes.
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