2020 - Week 6 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 6
Quote of the week “Today we looked more like who we’ve been the last 13 or 14 years on offense.” - Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy after defeating Kansas 47-7
TEAM TO WATCH:
Georgia
In the first top-10 showdown of the season, then No. 4 Georgia handled No. 7 Auburn with ease behind new starting quarterback Stetson “The Mailman” Bennett. Bennett threw for 240 yards and a touchdown a week after coming in to save the Bulldogs. Head coach Kirby Smart may have found his quarterback after speculation that USC transfer JT Daniels and freshman D’Wan Mathis would be under center this year. The Bulldogs dominated nearly every statistical category versus the Tigers, with the offense gaining 442 yards and the defense allowing just 216. Sophomore wide receiver Kearis Jackson was the breakout player of the game, securing nine catches for 147 of Bennett’s 240 yards. The Bulldogs host No. 14 Tennessee this week before traveling to No. 2 Alabama to finish up their early season gauntlet.
TEAM OF THE WEEK:
Tulsa
The Golden Hurricane hit then No. 11 UCF with all they had and came out with a 34-26 victory, ending the Knights 21-game home winning streak. Tulsa came back from an 18-point deficit to defeat UCF for the second straight time. Senior quarterback Zach Smith led the way with 273 yards and three touchdowns, one of which came with 12:56 left on the clock to take a 31-26 lead. Sophomore running back T.K. Wilkerson added 85 yards on the ground to go along with a touchdown, and the Golden Hurricane defense forced three turnovers. Success against UCF has almost become expected of Tulsa. The last time the Knights lost at home was on November 19, 2016, to the hands of Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane take a week off but look to carry momentum into their next game against No. 11 Cincinnati on October 17.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 6
games of the week #4 FLORIDA AT #21 TEXAS A&M 10.10 | 9 AM | ESPN
#19 VIRGINIA TECH AT #8 NORTH CAROLINA 10.10 | 9 AM | ABC
#22 TEXAS VS. OKLAHOMA 10.10 | 9 AM | FOX
#14 TENNESSEE AT #3 GEORGIA 10.10 | 12:30 PM | CBS
#7 MIAMI AT #1 CLEMSON 10.10 | 4:30 PM | ABC For a full schedule of Week Six games, click here. (All times in AZ)
AP Week 6 Rankings 1. CLEMSON
6. OHIO STATE
2. ALABAMA
7. MIAMI
3. GEORGIA
8. NORTH CAROLINA
4. FLORIDA
9. PENN STATE
5. NOTRE DAME
10. OKLAHOMA STATE
For the full AP Top 25 Rankings, click here.
WHERE IS COLLEGE GAMEDAY:
Death Valley
For the third time of the young season, College Gameday will feature Miami, as the No. 7 Hurricanes travel to face the No. 1 team in the country, Clemson. Miami is off to a 3-0 start thanks to an explosive offense which will need to show up against the Tigers. In the last two meetings, Clemson has outscored Miami by a combined 96-3 in 2015 and 2017. Gameday has a different look this Fall, but fans are still able to participate online and send in their best Gameday Signs on Twitter by heading to collegegameday.com for a chance to rep their team. College Gameday airs Saturday, October 10, at 6 am AZ Time.
2020-21 Bowl PREDICTIONS: PLAYSTATION ® FIESTA BOWL
CACTUS BOWL
ESPN Bonagura – Penn State vs. Oregon
ESPN Bonagura – Oklahoma vs. Purdue
ESPN Schlabach – Notre Dame vs. Oregon
ESPN Schlabach – Kansas State vs. Purdue
The Athletic Mandel – USC vs. Notre Dame
The Athletic Mandel – Kansas State vs. Iowa
CBS – Boise State vs. USC
CBS – Texas vs. Iowa
USA Today – BYU vs. Oregon 247 Sports – Cincinnati vs. Oregon
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 6
GOLDEN HISTORY:
1987 – “THE BATTLE FOR NUMBER 1” Head coach Jimmy Johnson brought his powerful Miami Hurricanes to Tempe to oppose legendary Penn State on January 2, a day set aside by NBC to spotlight the top college football game of the year.
ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT:
Joe Burrow
The 2020 No. 1 overall pick and 2018-19 PlayStation ® Fiesta Bowl Offensive Player of the Game, Joe Burrow earned his first NFL win for the Cincinnati Bengals with a 33-25 victory over Jacksonville. Burrow threw for 300 yards with one touchdown and one interception on 25-of-36 passing. The Heisman Trophy winner looks to carry momentum into next week’s contest against Baltimore. On January 1, 2019, Burrow was hoisting the trophy on the PlayStation ® Fiesta Bowl stage after throwing for 394 yards and four touchdowns. That game thrust Burrow into the national spotlight. He took his PlayStation ® Fiesta Bowl performance on to have a record-breaking 2019 campaign and lead LSU to the National Championship.
Dubbed the “Battle for Number 1,” the 1987 Fiesta Bowl featured top-ranked Miami, who arrived in army fatigues, to battle second-ranked Penn State. The teams lived up to the hype, dueling to the final nine seconds of the game when Penn State’s Pete Giftopoulos intercepted a Vinny Testaverde pass to preserve the Nittany Lions’ victory and national championship, 14-10. With the victory, Penn State claimed its second national title in five years. The Nittany Lions intercepted Heisman Trophy winner Testaverde five times, but none was bigger than the fourth and goal play with just nine ticks on the clock. The 1987 Fiesta Bowl went down in history as one of the greatest college football games of all-time, landing at No. 5 on ESPN’s Top 150 college football games and No. 3 on Sports Illustrated’s Greatest Bowl games in college football history.
Red River Showdown We hope you haven’t missed the distinguished roster of guests on the Fiesta Bowl Football Focus Podcast. We visited with College Football Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown, who guided Texas to the 2009 Fiesta Bowl title, along with key players from the classic 2003 Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Miami. This week, in advance of this weekend’s Oklahoma vs. Texas matchup in the Red River Rivalry we have Oklahoma Athletics Director Joe Castiglione and Texas Athletics Director Chris Del Conte in a preview conversation that also has some humorous stories.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 6
MORE THAN JUST A GAMEÂŽ EMPOWERING DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
PRESENTED BY BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF ARIZONA & FIESTA BOWL Supporting their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, the Fiesta Bowl Organization and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona created the first-ever Empowering Diversity Scholarship, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Fiesta Bowl. The total of $80,000 in awards will support Arizona minority residents who attend or plan to attend instate, post-secondary institutions. Sixteen students were selected, each receiving a $5,000 grant for their higher education. Click here to read more about the 16 Empowering Diversity scholarship recipients.
PNC Fiesta Bowl Par 3 Challenge
PRESENTED BY CHAPMAN AUTOMOTIVE PNC Bank has joined the Fiesta Bowl Organization as the new title sponsor of the PNC Fiesta Bowl Par 3 Challenge presented by Chapman Automotive. This one-of-a-kind tournament gives golfers the opportunity to win prizes on every hole and compete for a chance to win $1 million. This is the first sports sponsorship in Arizona for PNC Bank, which has been active in giving back in its communities across the country. During the PNC Fiesta Bowl Par 3 Challenge, the financial institution will cross-promote its relationship as the Official Bank of NASCAR, in advance of the NASCAR Championship race to be held in Phoenix in November.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 6
JAN. 2, 2021 S TATE FAR M STAD IUM
D ATE & TIME TBD C HASE FIE LD
FIESTABOWL.ORG /FIESTABOWL
@FIESTA_BOWL
/CACTUSBOWL
@CACTUSBOWL
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 6