Carla and Crappy Show: The Catch Your Breath Edition

It’s Week 6 of the college football season, and friends, it’s time to catch our breath. As expected, last weekend was a wild ride. And we’ll just go ahead and say it now: You’ll want to clear your schedule for next weekend. 

But this week? While there is a bunch of intrigue on the slate, there aren’t a ton of marquee matchups. 

As always, before we look ahead, we look back at last weekend and go lightning-round style in our recaps to avoid the two-hour recap we feared we might have last week. Some of our highlights: Penn State needs a kicker, Ohio State can block, and that little game down in Tuscaloosa lived up to our expectations. We also take a moment to break down the chaos that is the ACC and Big 12 just for fun, and Crappy updates us on Carnegie Mellon’s scare last weekend in Little Washington. 

Next up? AJ goes in-depth with what’s shaping up to be a fantastically intriguing #GroupOfFiveAfterDark slate this weekend. 

And then we turn to the games that have our attention:

Syracuse at No. 25 UNLV (9 ET Friday, FS1): Hajj-Malik Williams had himself a debut last weekend. Can he keep it up in a game where Kyle McCord is his counterpart?

No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M (Noon ET, ABC): Surprise! It’s Mizzou that enters this game with the more prolific offense. Can the Tigers win their first road test of the season?

SMU at No. 22 Louisville (Noon ET, ESPN): The Cards nearly finished last weekend's comeback at Notre Dame. Also, why isn’t SMU ranked? This should be a dandy.

Iowa at No. 3 Ohio State (3:30 ET, CBS): Hey, Iowa’s scoring points this year! But we’re not convinced that’s enough for a win in the Shoe.

No. 12 Ole Miss at South Carolina (3:30 ET, ESPN): This game has the potential of being real spicy. How does Ole Miss respond after being dragged down in a slugfest last weekend?

No. 10 Michigan at Washington (7:30 ET, NBC): While these teams are nowhere near the same ones that met in the natty last season, will the Huskies get their revenge? (We hope so.)

No. 8 Miami at Cal (10:30 ET, ESPN): It’s ACC After Dark! This game feels like a get-right game for the Canes, but a cross-country road trip and a pesky Cal team could alter those plans.

With MTSU off until Oct. 10 – welcome back, CUSAction! – Carla gives her honorable mentions to UCLA at No. 7 Penn State (Big Nude, FOX) and offers a friendly reminder to Nashvillians to avoid West End on Saturday as No. 1 Alabama comes to Vandy (4:15 ET, SECN). Crappy, meanwhile, has other interesting games on his radar: No. 15 Clemson at Florida State (7 ET, ESPN), No. 23 Indiana at Northwestern (3:30 ET, BTN), and No. 11 USC at Minnesota (7:30 ET, BTN). 

Finally, we send our thoughts and prayers to those impacted by Hurricane Helene, especially in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, including our friends at Appalachian State. If you’d like to contribute to recovery efforts, which will be extensive and ongoing, here are our suggestions:

• Appalachian State Disaster Relief Fund

• United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

• American Red Cross

We’ll be back here next week to get you ready for a slate of games we promise you won’t want to miss. Cheers, yinz.