Week 6 Trap Games
With Week 6 of the college football season approaching, some of the top-ranked teams around the country will have targets on their backs as they travel to play teams with upsets on their minds.
Trap games are defined as games where a top-ranked team travels to play a lesser-ranked or unranked team that always looks to pull an upset.
Let’s take a look at some of the potential trap games around the country.
No. 4 Penn State at Northwestern: Saturday, 12 p.m.
The Nittany Lions are fresh off of a 45-14 demolition of Indiana and now they have to travel to face the Wildcats at Ryan Field. Northwestern lost to Wisconsin 33-24 last week but their offense was able to crack the tough Wisconsin defense.
Northwestern has won the last two meetings by the scores of 29-6 in 2014 and 23-21 in 2015. The 2015 meeting ended with a Jack Mitchell field goal with nine seconds left to give the Wildcats the lead.
Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson will be a huge factor in the Wildcats’ bid for an upset. Look for the Wildcats to test the Penn State front seven as they will get a healthy dosage of star running back Justin Jackson, whom of which has big play capability at any time.
No. 17 Louisville at No. 24 NC State: Thursday, 8 p.m.
Lamar Jackson is really good. There’s no argument there. However, NC State has confidence oozing almost everywhere in every aspect of their game riding high on a four-game winning streak.
Carter-Finley Stadium at night is one of the most underrated atmospheres in college football and the Wolfpack will be ready for Louisville’s potent offense led by 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson.
Louisville spanked NC State 54-13 last year and the Wolfpack will be seeking revenge after that embarrassing loss. Look for Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley to test the Louisville secondary early and often hoping to make a statement in the ACC.
No. 13 Miami (FL) at Florida State: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Miami against Florida State. One of college football’s most historic, competitive, and well-known rivalries. The Hurricanes have beaten the teams they have faced pretty handily and Florida State’s young season has turned into a disaster after star quarterback DeAndre Francois was injured in the first game of the season against Alabama.
However, this rivalry has been proven to be a game where anything could happen. Florida State currently holds a seven-game winning streak and survived in Miami last year on a blocked extra point to win the game 20-19. The last three meetings have been decided by less than six points and look for this game to be extremely entertaining. Florida State will have the motivation of trying to keep the winning streak alive alongside looking for a quality win to turn their season around.
Christopher Hess is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email christopherhess22@gmail.com.
