Bama's shot at revenge, high stakes in the ACC and the 29 biggest games of Week 6

It feels similar we cognize little astir the assemblage shot scenery present than we did a period ago. Virginia is ranked, and Clemson precise overmuch isn't. Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Texas A&M are unbeaten and ranked successful the AP apical six, and Texas, Alabama, Georgia and LSU are not. If you knew thing astir assemblage shot past and dove into this brainsick satellite lone this season, you would judge that Indiana, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt are 3 of the astir elite programs successful the country.

It's into this murky satellite that we wade for Week 6. Last week boasted superior headliners that clarified the Big Ten's hierarchy (Oregon implicit Penn State) and precise overmuch blurred the SEC's (Bama implicit Georgia, Ole Miss implicit LSU). Week 6 doesn't diagnostic the aforesaid marquee matchups, but we inactive get Miami-Florida State, positive galore games that are acold bigger and amended than we expected -- Bama against unbeaten Vandy, Virginia against unbeaten Louisville, Texas Tech against unbeaten Houston, and Iowa State against a scorching Cincinnati.

Welcome to October. It's hard to spot wherever this play is taking us, but that makes the travel awfully fun. Here's everything you request to travel successful a surprising, mysterious Week 6.

All times Eastern.

Revenge clip successful Tuscaloosa?

No. 16 Vanderbilt astatine No. 10 Alabama (3:30 p.m., ABC)

Part of succeeding a fable is that we announcement anytime you don't unrecorded up to the legend's standards. Granted, Kalen DeBoer has proven adept astatine continuing Nick Saban's comparative occurrence against Kirby Smart's Georgia, but DeBoer's way grounds different has immoderate holes. He has already mislaid 4 games to unranked teams, arsenic galore arsenic Saban mislaid successful 17 years. Not great.

Saban was peculiarly bully astatine putting upstarts successful their spot -- deliberation of Michigan State and Washington successful the College Football Playoff. Or Missouri successful the SEC title game. Or Mississippi State each clip the Bulldogs thought they were good. He was besides bully astatine revenge. His Crimson Tide bopped Tim Tebow's Florida successful 2009 and bushed LSU by 3 TDs erstwhile they got a 2nd changeable astatine the Tigers successful the 2011 BCS Championship Game. They mislaid to Auburn 4 times but won the pursuing twelvemonth by an mean of 25 points.

You mightiness retrieve what happened the past clip Alabama played Vanderbilt.

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Vanderbilt fans tempest tract aft historical triumph implicit Alabama

Vanderbilt hangs connected for its first-ever triumph implicit a No. 1 ranked squad successful a thrilling 40-35 triumph implicit Alabama.

Vandy has to spell to Tuscaloosa this time, which sets up a revenge opportunity. But the Commodores are overmuch amended this time. They're 11th successful SP+, and they're scoring 49 points per game. Diego Pavia is 3rd nationally successful Total QBR (and mayb...