This weekend had the potential to serve as the final warmup before what looked like the most intriguing slate of games of the 2026 season.
Unfortunately, Oklahoma is playing an offensive brand of football that, frankly, is offensive.
That doesn't mean Week 6 lacks intrigue. There are marquee matchups, ranked-vs.-ranked showdowns and a few sneaky-good conference games worth watching.
Still, everything pales in comparison to No. 2 Georgia traveling to face No. 7 Alabama, which remains undefeated and, in this universe at least, has no business sitting behind one-loss Ohio State in the rankings.
But that's a debate for another day.
For now, here are the five biggest questions in college football entering Week 6:
Will Georgia-Alabama winner become No. 1 seed in College Football Playoff?
The Big Ten may be basking in a run of
national championships not seen in decades, but this season it isn't college football's best conference.
That distinction belongs to the SEC, and right now it's not particularly close. The debate between the ACC and Big 12 is much tighter, though it's really a battle for third place. For the record, I'd lean Big 12.
As for Georgia, its toughest remaining hurdle after this rain-soaked trip to Tuscaloosa appears to be a road game at Ole Miss, which will start stopping opponents about the same time someone catches a glimpse of Bigfoot.
If Georgia wins in Tuscaloosa, Kirby Smart's Bulldogs should have a clear path to the SEC Championship Game. And there's a strong argument that, regardless of what happens in Atlanta, Georgia would deserve the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.
I'm here for that argument.
Has Indiana’s soft schedule prepared it for life on the road in the Big Ten?
The win over Northwestern deserves some Birdman-level respect put on its name. After all, Northwestern is the same team that made Penn State look like an FCS newcomer a week earlier.
It's a legitimate victory.
That said, Indiana's Gerber-soft nonconference schedule and gentle runway into Big Ten play still leave questions about this Hoosiers team, defending CFP champion or not.
Will Nebraska answer them?
Actually, yes.
The Cornhuskers may hang around for a half, but quarterback Anthony Colandrea's career track record suggests trouble is eventually coming. Across stops at Virginia, UNLV and now Nebraska, he's thrown 62 touchdown passes alongside 31 interceptions.
In other words, he's averaging roughly one interception for every 24 completions.
That feels like a dangerous formula against Bryant Haines' opportunistic Indiana defense, which seems likely to add another takeaway or two to the ledger.
Should we all be discussing James Madison more as a CFP return candidate?
The Dukes might be the best Group of Six CFP contender not named Boise State, and their brand may ultimately carry more weight than a famous Idaho potato.
Consider this: Under first-year coach Billy Napier, James Madison has matched Boise State's recent national relevance. The Dukes' last postseason appearance ended with them hanging 34 points on Oregon in the opening round of the 2025 College Football Playoff, the most prolific offensive performance by a Group of Six playoff team to date.
They've also already passed a significant early test, traveling three time zones west and beating San Diego State, a projected Pac-12 contender under Sean Lewis after the Aztecs won nine games and shared a conference title in 2025.
If James Madison handles Clay Helton's Georgia Southern team this weekend, the Dukes will remain firmly on track for another Sun Belt Championship Game appearance. And just as importantly, last year's title-game opponent, Troy, still must make the trip to Harrisonburg later this season.
The path to another CFP push is very much there.
Is Oklahoma’s offense broken beyond repair?
The Sooners are in a bad spot, and a loss in the Red River Rivalry, their fourth in five years against Texas, would effectively end any meaningful hopes for this season.
Seriously. There would be a lot of wasted NIL dollars and revenue-sharing money to explain away if Oklahoma loses this game.
At some point, the struggles can no longer be dismissed as bad luck or an outlier. The high-powered offense many expected from quarterback John Mateer and coordinator Ben Arbuckle simply hasn't materialized. Not consistently, anyway.
It's easy to pile up points and impressive statistics against Group of Six and FCS opponents. The truth emerges against teams with comparable talent and resources.
Want the most troubling statistic surrounding Oklahoma's offense? Since the start of the 2025 season, the Sooners have scored more than 26 points against a Power Four opponent exactly once.
Read that again: once.
Even that number comes with an asterisk. Oklahoma scored 33 points in last season's win at Tennessee, but a defensive touchdown accounted for part of that total.
So if Arbuckle's offense isn't the answer, who is? Kevin Wilson engineered some excellent offenses during his career as a coordinator, but his most recent stint running a program ended with a 7-16 record in 23 games at Tulsa.
That's what makes Oklahoma's offensive issues so alarming. At this point, they're not a one-week problem or a one-season problem. They're starting to look like the program's defining problem.
Does Missouri use this weekend to stamp its arrival as legit SEC contender?
Skepticism is warranted. In fact, it's probably required.
The only time Missouri has ventured more than a few hours from home this season, the Tigers came away with a 31-24 loss at then-unranked Mississippi State.
Yet here they are: 4-1 and ranked No. 16 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
Now comes a home matchup against what may be college football's most disappointing team, Texas A&M, which appears destined for a Nov. 21 showdown with Oklahoma in what could double as the Consolation Bowl.
Missouri is expected to win. Oddsmakers certainly think so.
But will it?
A 5-1 start would put the Tigers in territory they haven't occupied often since the Gary Pinkel era, when Missouri burst into the SEC and routinely found itself atop the East Division standings.
That's what makes this game so important. If Missouri can't beat a wounded Texas A&M team at home, there's little reason to believe this season is building toward anything meaningful down the stretch. The Tigers don't need a statement win as much as they need validation that this fast start is more than a mirage.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Georgia unstoppable? Is Oklahoma broken? Week 6's five biggest questions
