Week 6 brings the kind of Saturday college football fans wait for all season: unbeaten teams facing their toughest tests, traditional rivals meeting with plenty at stake and ranked matchups of programs trying to strengthen their playoff résumés.
There’s a little bit of everything on this week’s schedule, from a potential upset in one of the sport’s toughest road environments (and a late-morning kickoff) to a heavyweight showdown under the lights.
Add in one of college football’s most famous annual neutral-site rivalries and a prime-time game in a raucous environment of over 100,000 fans, and there’s no shortage of reasons to keep the TV on all day.
We picked five games that stand out above the rest, so settle in, keep the remote close and scroll on.
Your viewing schedule starts here.
No. 7 Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at Nebraska (5-0, 2-0)
Noon ET Saturday, Fox
A trap game for the defending national champs, perhaps?
With an 11 a.m. local kickoff and a massive home game against Ohio State looming on Oct. 17, Indiana has to first get through a Nebraska team that has reason to believe it can win this game.
Memorial Stadium is one of the toughest venues in the country, and the Cornhuskers will be fully motivated to end the Hoosiers’ 21-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the FBS.
If Indiana gets caught looking ahead, the Hoosiers could be on upset alert.
READ MORE: Ultimate road trip for Big Ten football fans: Five stadiums, 5 cities, 5 weekends
No. 1 Texas (4-0, 1-0 SEC) vs. Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1)
3:30 p.m. ET Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, ABC
The Red River Rivalry rarely needs much selling, but this year the contrast between these rivals is especially stark.
Texas arrives as the top-ranked team in the country and looking every bit like a legitimate national championship contender. Oklahoma enters with a season that needs rescuing.
Could that make this rivalry matchup more dangerous?
Oklahoma has little to lose, while Texas has to carry the burden that comes with being the favorite in one of college football’s most unpredictable annual spectacles.
READ MORE: The eight college football border rivalries that divide neighboring states
No. 21 UCLA (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at No. 13 Oregon (3-1, 1-0)
3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS
This somewhat unexpected ranked Big Ten matchup has the Bruins looking for an early signature victory under their first-year head coach, Bob Chesney.
A win surely would force everyone to start taking the upstart program seriously.
For Oregon, which has aspirations of reaching the College Football Playoff for the third straight year, this is about avoiding an early stumble in a conference race that offers little room for error.
Especially since the Ducks have a trip to Ohio State on the horizon in early November.
READ MORE: From mascots to rituals: Every Big Ten school’s most iconic football traditions
No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 3-0 SEC) at No. 6 Alabama (5-0, 3-0)
7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC
Forget the rankings for a moment. This is what the SEC is supposed to look like: Georgia and Alabama, both unbeaten, meeting under the lights with enormous stakes on the line.
No need to manufacture drama here, although the remnants of Hurricane Isaias could play a factor. The winner takes a significant step toward controlling its path through the conference’s nine-game gauntlet.
Remember, Bama beat UGA 24-21 last season in Athens, then the Bulldogs rolled the Tide 28-7 in the SEC championship game.
Also of note: Georgia hasn’t won at Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2007.
READ MORE: Nine SEC college football traditions make the top 25. Here’s where they rank
No. 19 USC (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) at Penn State (3-2, 0-2)
7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, NBC
The annual White Out game at Beaver Stadium provides the ultimate visual backdrop — and one of the most unforgiving environments in college football — as Penn State fights to save its season after dropping its first two conference games.
This is the second trip for USC this season approaching 3,000 miles (the Trojans beat Rutgers 42-35 on Sept. 19).
A hostile, white-clad crowd of over 100,000 fans will make an already daunting journey across the country that much more difficult.
READ MORE: These four Big Ten matchups stand out among college football’s biggest rivalries
Mike Garbett is a content specialist working with McClatchy’s Content Innovation Lab.