Chris 'The Bear' Fallica's 2024 College Football Week 6 'Bear Bytes'

College football Week 6 is here and I couldn't be more excited.

This means that the coming days will be exciting for fans who love football and for gamblers looking for fun ways to bet a few dollars.

I've already given you my best bets for the Week 6 games, but now it's time to have some fun with my 'Bear Bytes'.

These little 'bytes', as I call them, are just nuggets of gold that will provide you with some entertaining conversation topics to draw on as you watch the football festivities with friends and family or chat with your coworkers at the water cooler.

Here are the biggest nuggets that caught my eye during my research.

Only two teams have played at least three games against Power Four competition, winning them all BYU and Notre Dame.

(All times ET)

Friday October 4

No. 10 Michigan @ Washington (7:30 p.m., NBC)

Are you expecting a good one in Seattle? In the past 25 seasons, there have been 18 top-10 teams that have been underdogs against unranked teams this late in the season. Only seven of the 18 won the match outright, but 13 of the 18 participated.

Saturday October 5

UCLA @ No. 7 Penn State (afternoon, FOX and FOX Sports app)

UCLA is 0-3 vs. this season. Power Four teams and is outscored by 67 points. Among Power Four teams, only Purdue was outscored by more points against Power Four teams (-94). Additionally, the Bruins have allowed 3.67 points per drive against Power Four teams this season (worst among Power Four teams). In two games against Power Four opponents, Penn State has allowed 3.8 yards per play (second among Power Four teams vs. Power Four opponents; Tennessee 3.1).

No. 9 Missouri @ No. 25 Texas A&M (afternoon, ABC)

Since 2000, Texas A&M is 3-11 at Kyle Field when the Aggies are ranked and hosting a top-10 team. That includes six different coaches (RC Slocum 0-2, Dennis Franchione 0-1, Mike Sherman 1-1, Kevin Sumlin 1-4, Jimbo Fisher 1-2 and Mike Elko 0-1). The Aggies were favored in five of those games and lost four, including the season opener against Notre Dame.

Pitt @ North Carolina (afternoon, ESPN 2)

Pitt hasn't started 5-0 since 1991. The Panthers would finish 6-5 that year. Over the past two weeks, North Carolina has allowed 70 against James Madison and squandered a 20-0 second half lead to Duke.

Navy @ Air Force (afternoon, CBS)

Underdogs have won 18 of the last 23 games between service academies. That includes nine of 12 games with four outright wins in which a team was at least a TD favorite. It's 4-0 Navy at Air Force and 4-0 Army at Tulsa. It's the first time since 1945 that the Army and Navy are both 4-0. Both got off to a 5-0 start that season.

Purdue @ Wisconsin (afternoon, BTN)

If Wisconsin pulls off a shocking upset at Purdue, it would be the fourth time in five years that the Badgers have a losing record after five games. From 1991 to 2019, the Badgers never had a losing record through five games.

Chestnut brown @ No. 5 Georgia (3:30 p.m., ABC)

Hugh Freeze is 4-10 in his last 14 games against FBS opponents and 3-9 in his last 12 versus Power Four teams. In Auburn's last seven games against Georgia away from Jordan-Hare, the Tigers have scored four touchdowns, are 0-7 and have been outscored 216-54. In three games against Power Four teams, Auburn has committed 11 turnovers, the most among Power Four teams. That's good for a Power Four-worst -9 TO margin.

Iowa @ No. 3 State of Ohio (3:30 p.m., CBS)

Iowa has been shut out in its last three games against ranked opponents, losing by a combined score of 92-0. Iowa has lost seven straight when facing ranked opponents by a combined score of 235-44, never scoring more than 17 in any game. Ohio State is the only Power Four team to have played just one game against a Power Four opponent. That was last week's 38-7 win at Michigan State.

Indiana @ Northwest (3:30 p.m., BTN)

Indiana hasn't started 6-0 since the Hoosiers' 1967 Rose Bowl season.

No. 12 Be madam @ South Carolina (3:30 p.m., ESPN)

Under Shane Beamer, the Gamecocks faced six top-15 teams. South Carolina has twice recorded three setbacks as a 'dog of at least 14 points and has covered five of six games.

Rutgers @ Nebraska (4 p.m., FS1)

As an underdog, Rutgers has lost 15 straight conference games, only three of which have been covered. The last win came in 2021 in Indiana.

West Virginia @ State of Oklahoma (4 p.m., ESPN2)

The last time Oklahoma State did not have a winning record after six games was 2007 (3-3). That was Mike Gundy's third year in Stillwater, and of course the same season that saw his famous “I'm a man, I'm 40” comments.

No. 14 Clemson @ State of Florida (7 p.m., ESPN)

Florida State was twice an underdog by more than 14 points, losing those two games by a combined score of 104-25. The Seminoles lost to Clemson 59-10 in 2018 as an 18.5-point dog and 45-15 to Florida in 2008 as a 16.5-point dog. Since the start of 2022, Mike Norvell has gone 21-3 with Jordan Travis as his quarterback, winning his last 17 starts. Without Travis at QB, Norvell and FSU are down to 3-5 in that span, including 1-4 this year.

No. 11 USC @ Minnesota (7:30 p.m., BTN)

Since 2021, Lincoln Riley has been the favorite away from home 14 times. His team has won 10 of 14 games, but is just 3-11 against the spread (ATS) (2-8 at USC).

Baylor @ No. 16 The state of Iowa (7:30 p.m., FOX and FOX Sports app)

Iowa State last started 5-0 in 1980.

UCF @ Florida (7:45 p.m., SEC Network)

This is the fourth straight home game against an FBS opponent of which Florida is an underdog. The Gators were a house dog in just four of their previous 26 home games when they faced FBS opponents. From 1992 to 2011, Florida was a home dog in just four of 117 home games against FBS teams.

Duke @ Georgia Tech (8 p.m., ACC Network)

Since 1979, there have been eight teams with a mark of 5-0 or better that were underdogs of at least seven points against an unranked team. Seven of eight lost, with the only victory being 6-0 Liberty. In that case, the Flames won 38-35 at Virginia Tech in 2020 as 17-point underdogs.

Syracuse @ No. 25 UNLV (9 p.m., FS1)

This marks the first time since 2008 that UNLV has been favored over a Power Four (formerly Power Five) opponent. UNLV defeated Iowa State 34-31 that day as a 2.5-point favorite. Since then, the Rebels have been an underdog in 25 straight games against Power Four or Five opponents. The last time UNLV was such a heavy favorite over a Power Four or Five team? That was in 2003, when UNLV lost 46-22 to 11-point favorite Kansas.

Miami @ Cal (10:30 p.m., ESPN)

Mario Cristobal faced Justin Wilcox three times while coaching a ranked Oregon team against an unranked Cal team. Cristobal's teams didn't cover any of the three, including the 2020 loss at Cal as a 9.5-point favorite. In those three games, Cristobal's team averaged 19.3 points per game.

Mario Cristobal coaches ranked teams against unranked Wilcox teams:

2021: Spread, -13.5; Won 24-17
2020:Spread, -9.5; Lost 21-17
2019: Spread, -21.5; Won 17-7

Chris “The Bear” Fallica has been covering sports for nearly three decades. Although college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, football, golf, tennis, MLB, NHL and horse racing, with an “occasional” bet on such events. Chris recently won the first Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He is a multiple qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember: “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @Chrisfallica.

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