The calendar turns to October this week, which means the rubber is hitting the road in the race for the College Football Playoff. No. 6 Notre Dame will travel to No. 24 Virginia Tech, No. 7 Oklahoma will take on No. 19 Texas in the Red River Showdown, and No. 5 LSU will square off with No. 22 Florida in Saturday's biggest games.

Early lines are out, so let's break down where the best bets are for Week 6:

Lines you need to know

No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 24 Virginia Tech (+4.5): Ian Book has been phenomenal since taking control of the quarterback job, and now he faces a Hokie defense led by veteran coordinator Bud Foster. But which Hokie defense will show up, the one that gave up just 4.36 yards per play in a win over Duke last week, or the one that gave up 7.52 in the loss to Old Dominion two weeks ago? Either way, Lane Stadium will be rocking at night.

No. 19 Texas vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (-7.5): The Longhorns and Sooners tee it up in the Cotton Bowl in a game that not only means bragging rights but could be huge in the Big 12 title race. Quarterback Kyler Murray has emerged as one of the top players in college football, and it will be fascinating to see what he does in his first action in this rivalry against a pretty solid defense.

No. 5 LSU at No. 22 Florida (+2.5): The Gators returned to the AP Top 25 this week after shutting down the Mississippi State offense last week. Can they repeat the feat against an LSU team that has found a groove under graduate transfer quarterback Joe Burrow? The former Ohio State signal-caller wasn't rattled by Jordan-Hare Stadium in a win over Auburn in Week 3, so he has a taste of what he's walking into in The Swamp.

No. 13 Kentucky at Texas A&M (-6): Yes, you read that right. The unranked Aggies are almost a touchdown favorite over the undefeated Wildcats. Playing at Kyle Field is certainly an advantage for Jimbo Fisher's crew, and the Aggies run defense has been stellar (85 yards per game). But quarterback Kellen Mond will be under fire from Josh Allen and the fierce Wildcats front seven.

Other games of note

No. 1 Alabama at Arkansas (+35): This won't be a competitive game, but it's always fun to play "How Big Will The Bama Spread Be?" The Crimson Tide didn't cover the 49-point spread last week against Louisiana-Lafayette and didn't cover 24.5 against Texas A&M two weeks ago. Coach Nick Saban wants to hear some negativity, so here goes ... good teams win, but great teams cover.

No. 8 Auburn at Mississippi State (+4): The Tigers offensive line has been dreadful against every FBS opponent it has faced, and now it goes up against a talented Bulldogs front seven led by Montez Sweat and Jeffery Simmons. The Bulldogs offense has been nearly non-existent in back-to-back losses, and now faces the fearsome Auburn defense. This might end 3-2 -- just like the 2008 edition.

Maryland at No. 15 Michigan (-17): The Wolverines survived a scare against Northwestern last week and will return home to take on a Maryland team that has had two weeks to prepare after stomping Minnesota 42-13 on Sept. 22. Wolverines quarterback Shea Patterson came up clutch in the fourth quarter against the Wildcats, and we'll see if he can stay hot in the Big House.

Florida State at No. 17 Miami (-14): The old-school Sunshine State rivalry doesn't pack as much punch this year thanks to Florida State's September to forget. But revenge will be on the minds of the Seminoles after falling to the Hurricanes last year in a thriller in Tallahassee. N'Kosi Perry has taken control of the quarterback position for Miami, which has two extra days to prepare for its arch-rival.

Northwestern at No. 20 Michigan State (-8.5): The Spartans haven't exactly been impressive this year, and now they have to host an angry Wildcats team that let one slip away against Michigan. It'll be solid battle of quarterbacks in East Lansing between the visiting Clayton Thorson and home-standing Brian Lewerke.

Iowa State at No. 25 Oklahoma State (-10): The Cowboys got back on the winning track with a 20-point road win at Kansas last week, and return home to square off against a Cyclone squad that took TCU to the wire in Fort Worth last week. The Cyclones defense came to play last week, and it will be interesting to see how they attack the explosive Cowboys offense.

Arizona State at No. 21 Colorado (-2): This game probably won't draw a ton of buzz this week, but the undefeated Buffaloes have been sneaky-good -- most recently in a 38-16 win over UCLA on Friday night. Sun Devils running back Eno Benjamin racked up a whopping 312 rushing yards and three touchdowns last week in a win over Oregon State.

Boston College at No. 23 NC State (-3.5): The Eagles haven't looked great over the last two weeks, and look to get back on track against a Wolfpack team that's coming off a two-touchdown win over Virginia. Both teams are 1-0 in conference play, and this game will go a long way toward determining which is Clemson's primary threat in the ACC Atlantic.

Best of the rest

Vanderbilt at No. 2 Georgia (-27.5)

Indiana at No. 3 Ohio State (-27)

No. 4 Clemson at Wake Forest (NL)

Kansas at No. 9 West Virginia (-26.5)

No. 10 Washington at UCLA (+21)

SMU at No. 12 UCF (-26)

Utah at No. 14 Stanford (NL)

Nebraska at No. 16 Wisconsin (-23)