by Chris Asbrock

The college football season is six weeks in and there has been plenty of excitement. There have been some surprising performances and some great teams that have been resurrected. Injuries have been the talk recently for some teams that have seen their stars come down with season-ending injuries. With the conference races starting to take shape, these next few weeks are going to be massively important to the landscape of the 2015 college football season.

1. Michigan is the team nobody wants to face

The Michigan Wolverines are playing some of the best football in the country as we speak. They were expected to face a tough test from the 13th ranked Northwestern Wildcats today at the Big House. It is safe to say, they passed the test with flying colors. The Wolverines defense has been incredible as they have posted three straight shutouts, for the first time since Ronald Regan took office in 1980. Two of those shutouts have come against two ranked teams in BYU and Northwestern.

We all knew that when Jim Harbaugh took over in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines were going to turn it around. However, nobody expected the turn around to happen this quickly. Harbaugh adds a different dimension and attitude to this team and it is certainly showing. Even in the opening night loss to a damn good Utah team, the Wolverines have steadily improved. With all phases playing great, the Wolverines will continue to make noise and rise up the rankings. They face a very stiff test next weekend when their rival, the Michigan State Spartans head to Ann Arbor. A victory over the Spartans will catapult them into the top 10 and continue to snowball their momentum.

2. Charlie Strong cools the hot seat
I for one, am a fan of Charlie Strong. He is a good coach and deserves a better fate than what he is experiencing in Austin. With the Texas Longhorns season already in the crapper, the pressure was mounting on Strong and his seat was getting extremely hot. Things changed with a victory in the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma. The 24-17 victory over the 10th ranked Sooners could be just what the Longhorns needed to help get their season back on track.
Strong struggled in his first two seasons at Louisville but quickly turned it around, making them one of the better programs in the ACC. With Strong being a great recruiter, he has brought in some talent to Austin. The majority of the talent in Austin is very young so Texas should only continue to get better under Strong these next few seasons. That is, if the fans and administration have any patience.

3. Notre Dame still not convincing

The 38-3 demolition of the Texas Longhorns seems like a long time ago for Notre Dame fans. The Fighting Irish have been dealt some serious injury blows this season, losing two of their top offensive starters to season ending injuries. Since that game against Texas, Notre Dame has failed to impress. Yes, they entered the top 10, but lost on the road to Clemson. I will give you that, but in home games against UMass and Navy, the Irish were played tough in those games. The scoreline will not indicate a close game.

Notre Dame, who is now ranked 14th, has a big game against the reeling USC Trojans this weekend. In looking ahead on their schedule, they are all winnable games, with their toughest tests to be on the road at Temple (10/31) and Stanford (11/28). The Fighting Irish has six games remaining and very well could be 11-1 when all is said and done. For Notre Dame to convince me they are better, I will need to see a truly dominant performance in their final games.

4. Utah is much better than people think

The Utah Utes are the class of the Pac-12 and there is no denying that. The Utes have rapidly ascended up the polls following their bludgeoning of Oregon and their win over the upstart Cal Golden Bears. The fourth ranked Utes have a very dangerous rushing attack which is spearheaded by Devontae Booker and quarterback Travis Wilson. Wilson will not carve you up in the air, but is very dangerous when on the run.

Utah is currently projected to make the college football playoff and based off their upcoming schedule, that is very attainable. The Utes host Arizona State this Saturday then head to USC next week. Following these two games, their only true test is at home to #18 UCLA. The football power index gives the Utes a 1.4% chance of winning out as they give Utah only a 23.2% chance of winning on the road at USC. I would have to disagree with that. Look for the Utes to continue rolling and cruise into the Pac-12 Championship game.

Chris Asbrock is a staff writer and analyst for FTI Sports and can be followed on Twitter