College Football Week Six Breakdown: In-State Rivarly Showdown

http://gty.im/494493400


Week Six Features an In-State Rivalry Game.


Week six of the college football season is here and it’s a week that many college football fans in the state of Michigan have been looking forward to. Michigan and Michigan State will play for the Paul Bunyan Trophy and bragging rights.

Clemson probably came away with the most impressive showing in the college football world last week. They faced Virginia Tech who was number 12 in the ranking and came away with a 31-17 victory. They were led by their defense and the defending champs look to be a contender again this season.

Here’s the action that you should watch this week:

LSU at #21 Florida, 3:30 pm on ABC

Embed from Getty Images

LSU comes into this game after losing to Troy 24-21 last week. They will be looking to turn things around, a team with as much talent as LSU should play much better than they have so far in 2017.

Florida sits at 3-1 so far this season despite having some of their best players such as receiver Antonio Callaway and running back Jordan Scarlett being suspended. There are no signs that point to those guys being reinstated anytime soon. The Gators still have enough talent on the roster to be able to play with most teams in the country.

One reason that LSU has struggled so far is injuries. Star running back Derrius Guice (pictured above) missed last week’s game against Troy due to a knee injury. He’s expected to play in this game but he may be limited. Defensive end Arden Key missed the first two games of the year because he was still recovering from shoulder surgery he had done in the offseason. Both Guice and Key are keys (no pun intended) to LSU’s success. They are two of the best players in all of college football.

Another Tiger to look for is cornerback Kevin Tolliver II. He has great size at 6’2” and 196 lbs., is physical and has some nice cover skills.

For the Gators, cornerback Duke Dawson is off to a good start this season. He has notched two interceptions and four pass break-ups. Dawson has great speed and does a good job of being physical despite only being listed at 5’10” and 208 lbs.

Michigan State at #7 Michigan, 7:30 pm on ABC

Embed from Getty Images

This will be the 110th time that these teams face-off and will be the first time they do it at night under the lights. Michigan won last years game 32-23 in East Lansing. This one will be played at the Big House.

Michigan State hasn’t looked great on offense up to this point in the season. One reason for this is that running back LJ Scott (pictured above) has gotten off to a slow start. This season he’s recorded 58 carries for 214 yards (3.7 yards per carry) and a touchdown on the ground and has caught six passes for 30 yards and another score.

Scott was a productive player during his first two seasons as a Spartan and is a talented running back. He has really good size at 6’1” and 231 lbs. and runs with power. It’s hard to believe he won’t turn things around in 2017.

Michigan has one of the most talented teams in the country despite losing so many players during the offseason.

Defensive end Chase Winovich has gotten off to an impressive start to the season, logging five sacks, seven and a half tackles for loss and a forced fumble through four games. Another player who is playing well in 2017 is linebacker Mike McCray who has 26 tackles, two and a half sacks and four and a half tackles for loss.

Talented defensive tackle Maurice Hurst hasn’t shown up much on the stat sheet in 2017. He has two tackles for loss and has yet to record a sack. There’s plenty of time to get back on track but the sooner he does it the better off he’ll be come draft day.

I really hope you enjoyed the article! Follow me on twitter @CHayes95 and join the discussion on the Lions’ subreddit!

 

More From The Detroit Lions Podcast

About the Author

Cory Hayes
I attend Central Michigan University, I am majoring in Journalism and minoring in Sport Management. I am a junior. I am from Marysville, MI. I love following sports, both professional and collegiate. I follow the Lions, Pistons, and Tigers very closely, and the college team that I choose to cheer for is Ohio State.