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Separation Saturday and Week 9 College Football Picks

Currently there are 11 undefeated teams in college football. Louisville stayed undefeated after escaping at home against Cincinnati on Friday night with their 34-31 win.

Only 10 of the undefeated teams have any hope of playing in a BCS game. Ohio State is undefeated but ineligible for a bowl game this season because of NCAA sanctions.

Easy pick for the big winner this week. The Duke Blue Devils are bowl eligible for the first time since 1994. Duke is currently 6-2 and in first place in the ACC Coastal division.

David Cutcliffe has done a great job a making the Blue Devils a competitive team during his time leading this program. Not bad for a coach who shouldn't have been fired from Ole Miss years ago. I expect plenty of big time programs to contact Cutcliffe after they making coaching changes at the end of the season.

Currently there are 28 teams that are bowl eligible with at least six wins and 10 teams that have at least seven loss and won't go bowling this year. There are 24 teams with five wins and will need just one more win to reach the magical six.

The number of bowl slots available is 42, since there are 35 bowls and each one needs two teams. Even if all the team with five wins reach six wins, there will still be 18 bowl slots available.

This Saturday features several big games features undefeated teams against each other, undefeated teams against one-loss teams and teams looking for that magical sixth win. The end of October mean it is time for the contenders to separate themselves from the pretenders.

By the time November rolls around, the national title picture will start to come into focus. This week we look at big games and teams that can reach six wins.

ACC

The ACC features two big games this weekend. Tallahassee hosts the biggest game of the weekend.

Florida State leads the Atlantic division and Duke, as stated above, leads the Coastal division. The ACC division leaders meet with the Blue Devils having a chance to put a stake in the Seminoles title hopes.

Duke has never beaten Florida State as the Seminoles are a perfect 17-0 against the Blue Devils. This is not a normal Duke team and this is not a FSU team from the 1990's.

The Seminole should win this game but Duke should make them for the win.

North Carolina State is the only team that has been Florida State and can reach six wins against North Carolina. The Wolfpack will have to get their sixth win on the road against the Tar Heels.

NC State has played nearly every game close but finds ways to win. North Carolina better take their foot off the gas if they get a lead in this game.

Big-12

The Big-12 features one of the biggest games of the day, when Oklahoma host Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are looking to stay undefeated and the Sooners are looking to get back into the national championship race with just one loss.

Notre Dame will become a title contender with a win in this game. The Irish has played one of the toughest schedules in the country.

Oklahoma will need to win this game and get a ton of help to get into the title race again. The Sooners title hopes are dead with a loss in this game.

The best part of this game will be watching the Oklahoma offense against a very stout Notre Dame defense.

Texas looks to get their sixth win against hapless Kansas. The Longhorns should reach bowl eligibility with ease.

TCU looks to get their sixth win against Oklahoma State. The Horned Frogs bid for six wins won't come easy as the Cowboys look to get their fifth win of the season.

The Big-12's second showcase game features undefeated Kansas State against Texas Tech. The Wildcats are the best hope for the Big-12 to get a team into the national championship game.

On the flip side, the Red Raiders look to make a big statement as a one loss team. Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech head coach, seems to live for beating top ten teams. Tuberville has one of the best coaching records against top competition.

Offense will be star of this game and the team that forces a punt might win. Kansas State has the better defense but that is not saying much if you have seen the way defense is played in the Big-12.

Big East

Rutgers puts their undefeated season on the line against Kent Sate. The Scarlet Knights still have a big showdown looming against Louisville to end the season.

MAC teams have been pulling off upsets left and right this season. The Golden Flashes get their chance to beat at team from a BCS conference.

This game should be a Rutgers win but if we have learned anything this season, it is that you must fear the MAC.

Big Ten

Nebraska hosts Michigan in a game where the winner reaches six wins and takes first place of the Legends division. The Wolverines are 3-0 in conference play and the Cornhuskers are 2-1 in conference play.

This game features two teams that had higher hopes for 2012 when the season started. Michigan can take a huge step towards the Big Ten title game and Nebraska can keep their hopes of at least a spot in the conference title game going for another week.

Ohio State and Penn State face off in a match up of the two best teams in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes look to stay undefeated and Nittany Lions want to keep rebuilding their program after scandal shook it to the core.

Neither of these team can go to a bowl game this season, so this is both their bowl game. Happy Valley should be rocking as Penn State hosts this game.

Urban Meyer has Ohio State on track in his first season but how long until he leaves OSU due to his health? You have to think getting Meyer for five years is about all the Buckeye faithful can hope for before the leaves.

PAC-12

The biggest game in the PAC-12 this weekend is UCLA at Arizona State. Both teams are chasing USC in the PAC-12 South division.

One more thing on the line in this game, the winner gets their sixth win. The Bruins need to win this game if they are going to stay in the South title race. The Sun Devils face a tough stretch to end the season but are currently in second place in the division.

Arizona State still has to face Oregon State and USC in PAC-12 play. UCLA has UCLA left and Stanford in conference play.

Stanford should reach six wins this weekend against Washington State in the only other PAC-12 game that should have post season ramifications. I just don't see Colorado beating Oregon, Arizona upsetting USC or Oregon State falling to Washington.

Arizona and Washington do get a chance to pull the upset at home.

SEC

Texas A&M looks for their sixth win, keeping Auburn winless in SEC play and help move Gene Chizik closer to door. The fall for the Tigers have been swift since Cam Newton left for the NFL after leading the program to the championship.

The Aggies lost a heart-breaker against LSU last week and will take out that frustration on Auburn. Without question, Texas A&M is the best team in this game. Auburn can't score on offense and their defense wears down in the second half because the offense can't sustain drives.

I would be surprised in Texas A&M didn't win this game.

Florida against Georgia might be the biggest game of the day when these two get together in the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party". Yes, I know that name for this game might be out of favor but it has always been called the Cocktail Party for as long as I can remember.

This should be a great game featuring the Gators defense against the Bulldogs offense. If Florida wins this game they win the SEC East and if Georgia wins this game they control their own destiny.

Georgia is going to try to stop the Florida rushing attack and force Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel to beat them with his arm. The Gators will look to wear down the Georgia defense with their running game and force the Bulldogs into turnovers.

Florida will have to stop the Georgia passing attack if they want to win this game. National championship hopes for both teams will be on the line in this game.

This week's picks (winners in bold)

Tennessee Volunteers at South Carolina Gamecocks

Texas Longhorns at Kansas Jayhawks

North Carolina State Wolfpack at North Carolina Tar Heels

UCLA Bruins at Arizona State Sun Devils

Florida Gators at Georgia Bulldogs (neutral location)

Texas Tech Red Raiders at Kansas State Wildcats

USC Trojans at Arizona Wildcats

Duke Blue Devils at Florida State Seminoles

Kent State Golden Flashes at Rutgers Scarlet Knights

TCU Horned Frogs at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions

Texas A&M Aggies at Auburn Tigers

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Oklahoma Sooners

Michigan Wolverines at Nebraska Cornhuskers

Oregon State Beavers at Washington Huskies

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