Week 6 College Football Picks: Joshua Nunn’s Predictions for Today’s Under-the-Radar NCAAF Games

Saturday’s Week 6 college football slate features plenty of under-the-radar matchups that may not get the coverage they deserve.

With that said, I decided to dive into three of those matchups on Saturday: Ball State vs. Northwestern, Virginia Tech vs. Cal and Charlotte vs. North Texas.

Let’s take a look at my Week 6 college football picks and NCAAF predictions for Saturday, Oct. 10.

Ball State vs Northwestern Pick

Ball State competed very well last week against Toledo in what was a one-possession game late into the fourth quarter.

Keldric Luster gives this team a fighting chance throwing the football, and the Cardinals have shown explosiveness in getting the ball to Donovan Hamilton and Jabari Smith. TJ Horton is an explosive running back as well.

Things are starting to click on the offensive side of the football. Ball State wants to run the football, and there’s a chance that the Cardinals will be able to here. I wouldn’t be stunned to see Ball State have some success being able to sustain drives while having 2-3 scoring opportunities at a minimum.

Northwestern has been unbelievably impressive coming in at 3-1, and the dismantling of Penn State last week was really the coming-out party for this versatile offense. We’ve seen Chip Kelly run triple option, Wing-T and go five wide all in the same offensive series.

Remarkably, this team ran for 413 yards against Penn State last week, and the Ball State defense has been shredded on the ground this season.

The Cardinals rank just 92nd in Success Rate allowed on running plays and are 137th nationally in allowing explosives on the ground.

There might not be much Ball State can do about containing the ground game, which will open up the pass, where Northwestern will have success.

Northwestern is in quite a spot coming off back-to-back spirited efforts against Indiana and Penn State, and the Wildcats could be peaking ahead to next week’s road game against Michigan State and former head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

I could potentially see the defensive effort not being as intense here in a natural letdown spot. The offense will score points, but I could see Ball State scoring a couple of touchdowns in this game as well. I would look to the over, which is currently set at 52.5.

Pick: Over 52.5 (Lean)

Virginia Tech vs Cal Pick

Cal has looked very disjointed offensively, and now there are rumblings about quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele potentially not playing in this contest due to being in concussion protocol.

That would be a big blow for an already struggling offense that struggles in scripted drives and putting drives together.

The offensive play-calling has been terrible, and changes in the offensive coaching staff personnel are already underway for first-year head coach Tosh Lupoi.

The Bears are 2-3 on the season, but you could make a real argument they didn’t deserve to win the game against Syracuse. When we look back on this season, it could expose Cal as the worst team in the ACC.

Bowl eligibility appears to be slipping away, and now Cal will be facing a Virginia Tech team that’s angry off a loss and looking to get back into the ACC race.

There will be a monumental coaching mismatch between these two teams in favor of Virginia Tech.

Cal has been out of position defensively, and the team tackling grades are poor. I expect the Virginia Tech offensive line to feast in the trenches here and for holes to open up for Jeffrey Overton Jr. and Marcellous Hawkins Jr. on the ground.

VT quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer was very sharp this season prior to throwing the pair of costly interceptions against Pitt last week, and I expect him to get back to form in this game.

California has struggled to prevent explosive plays on defense, and the Hokies should accumulate a ton of them in this game.

Cal’s offense can’t be counted on to match Virginia Tech score for score, and I expect the Hokies to pull away in the second half and win this game by three scores. I will lay -9.5 here.

Pick: Virginia Tech -9.5

Charlotte vs North Texas Pick

North Texas has been one of the most impressive teams in the country relative to preseason expectations, as the Mean Green offense is averaging 7.1 yards per play and 41 points per game.

Quarterback Tayven Jackson has transitioned his skill set well to the offense, running back Jahiem White has revamped his college career and the receiving game is explosive.

This offense looks… well, a lot like last year’s incredible North Texas offense that ended up at Oklahoma State.

This offense should feast against Charlotte, which comes in 0-5, including an embarrassing season-opening loss at home against The Citadel.

The defense has been Swiss cheese this year, specifically against the pass, where the 49ers are allowing 8.8 yards per attempt.

Last week, this secondary gave up 386 passing yards and six touchdowns through the air in what is another lost season for Tim Albin at Charlotte.

The UNT defense has been one to give up a decent amount of yards and points, and Charlotte quarterback Cole Gonzales could have some success in what will likely be a blowout loss.

I wouldn’t be stunned to see the 49ers cut Gonzales loose and let him throw the ball a little bit here.

North Texas could threaten to score 50 or more points by itself. This team is vastly improved compared to preseason expectations, and this is a team that will contend to win the American this season.

North Texas is a top-25 offense in terms of registering explosive plays and preventing Havoc, and it should see very little pressure from the Charlotte defensive line in this game.

The 49ers are a bottom-five level team at the FBS level with very little to play for outside of pride.

North Texas will score a lot of points early in this one, and I could see Charlotte scoring in the second half against the UNT backups. This should be a higher-scoring game and one where I would lean to the over.

Pick: Over 58.5 (Lean)