October 13, 2012
Six a the magic number in college football. Yes, touchdowns count for six points but there a six in college football that is just as important.
Every team in college football wants to reach the magical six win mark to become bowl eligible. There are five teams with the necessary six wins already, they are the Ohio Bobcats, Tulsa Golden Hurricane Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Buckeyes and South Carolina Gamecocks.
That makes the Ducks, Bobcats and Gamecocks, Buckeyes, and Golden Hurricanes our big winners of the week. Ohio is in the running to become a BSC Buster and South Carolina along with Oregon is looking for a BCS Title. Ohio State can't even win the Big Ten outright since they are ineligible for the post season.
The opposite of the magical six wins is the dreaded seven losses. Teams that reach seven losses are all but out of the bowl race unless they get a special wavier from the NCAA. UCLA received one of those wavers last season.
Those teams will start showing up in week eight or nine at the earliest. This week we will take a look at all the teams that can reach six wins.
ACC
Two teams in the ACC are going for six wins this week. Clemson is off this week and sitting on five wins.
Duke faces Virginia Tech on the road and this might be the best chance for the Blue Devils to get to six wins. The Hokies have been up and down this season but normally have little trouble taking care of Duke since joining the ACC.
Florida State looks to avoid the upset for the second straight week and get to six wins. The Seminoles return home and face a bad Boston College team.
Any outside chance the Seminoles have at a national title would go up in flames with a second straight upset. The Eagles have only one win against FCS team Maine.
Big-12
The Big-12 has a lot of offense and not much defense this season but two teams are trying to reach six wins. The rest of the conference is sitting on four or fewer wins.
West Virginia looks to stay undefeated and get their six wins against a dangerous Texas Tech team. The Mountaineers put up a lot of points but also give up a lot of points. If a team can get a couple of turnovers or stops on defense, West Virginia's title hopes will go down quicker than their offense can score.
The Mountaineers must avoid the road upset as the travel to Lubbock for the first time in conference play.
Kansas State has been one of the most surprising team in the country. The Wildcats also look to stay undefeated and get six wins against a tough Iowa State team.
There might not be a better defense in the Big-12 than Kansas State but Iowas State is a home and that is where they normally pull off their upsets. The Wildcats better be wary of this early morning game.
Big East
Louisville faces an up and down Pittsburgh team for their sixth win. The Panthers started slowly with two bad losses before going on a two game winning streak before falling to Syracuse last week.
The Cardinals have been shaky lately and this game is on the road. Louisville still has title hopes if they run the table on what could end up being a very weak schedule.
Rutgers is the only other Big East team that can reach six wins. The Scarlet Knights face a dangerous Syracuse team.
The Orange have played everyone they have faced tough and are not an easy out. If Rutgers can win out it would set up a great showdown against Louisville to end the season.
Big Ten
How bad is the Big Ten this year? Ohio State has six wins but can't play in the conference title game due to NCAA penalties.
Northwestern failed to reach six wins last week in an upset loss to Penn State. The Wildcats get a second chance this week against a surprising Minnesota team.
The Golden Gophers get a chance to play spoiler at home in this game. Northwestern should get that sixth win on Saturday because they are the better team on offense and defense.
PAC-12
No team in the PAC-12 can reach six wins this week but there is a PAC-12 team that can stop a team from getting to six wins. Stanford hits the road to face an undefeated Notre Dame team.
The Fighting Irish have been another surprising team this season. Notre Dame has one of the best defenses in the country but struggle at times on offense.
This should be a smash-mouth, old school football game. Both teams play physical on both sides of the ball but the Irish defense should win the day for the sixth win.
SEC
Four teams in the SEC are going for their sixth win this week and another team gets a chance to stop a team from reaching six wins. Three of the teams going for that magical sixth win is also trying to stay undefeated.
Florida faces Vanderbilt on the road after a big win last week against LSU. The Commodores always seem to play the Gators tough. This could be the biggest trap game of the weekend.
Alabama looks to rollover new conference member Missouri. The Tigers have injuries all over the place and have yet to taste victory in their new conference after losing to Vanderbilt last week.
The Crimson Tide hit the road to get their sixth win after a week off. Alabama should win this game but crazy things can happen in the SEC in October.
LSU is looking for their sixth win after getting denied by the Gators last week. The Tigers won't get an easy chance to get to six this week when they host South Carolina.
The Gamecocks are, again, looking to stay undefeated in Tiger Stadium at night. LSU has a great defense but their offense is the unit that is letting them down.
Crazy things happen at night in Tiger Stadium. Don't be surprised if their is a major upset in this game.
Texas A&M is making up their season opener against Louisiana Tech after weather forced it to be postponed. The game has been moved from Rustin to Shreveport to allow more fans into the game.
This should be a great game featuring two very good defenses and high scoring offenses. The Bulldogs are looking to get to six wins and stay in the BCS Buster race. The Aggies are looking for their fifth win and a chance to play spoiler on what could be a special Louisiana Tech season.
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs/sports/2012/oct/13/weekly-look-back-look-forward-heading-to-week-7/">Check out my thoughts on Mississippi State here.
The rest
Texas-San Antonio out of the WAC looks to reach six wins and stay undefeated against Rice out of Conference-USA.
Toledo faces winless Eastern Michigan as the Rockets look to reach six wins in the MAC. Staying in the MAC, Northern Illinois is hoping to reach six wins against Buffalo.
Nevada is looking to to become the first Mountain West team to reach six wins as they face UNLV. The Wolfpack has been a solid team with their pistol offense.
Weekly picks (winners in bold)
Louisville at Pittsburgh
Kansas State at Iowa State
Texas at Oklahoma (in the Cotton Bowl)
Syracuse at Rutgers
Duke at Virginia Tech
Alabama at Missouri
Oregon State at BYU
West Virginia at Texas Tech
Stanford at Notre Dame
Fresno State at Boise State
Boston College at Florida State
Florida at Vanderbilt
USC at Washington
South Carolina at LSU
Texas A&M at Louisiana Tech
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