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Showdown Saturday & Week Six College Football Picks

The Leaves have begun to fall and the weather is changing from the heat of September to the cooler temperatures of October. College football doesn't cool down with the weather it only begins to get hotter.

Gone are the September routs of weak scheduling of out of conference opponents. Finally, conference games are in full swing and their will be no where for the pretenders to hide.

It was tough to find a big winner from last week. So, I am going with the fans, who had to sit through a dog weekend to get to this week's monster schedule.

There are a bevy of big games in nearly ever BCS conference. The title picture won't become clear but some teams will get a chance to pull out in front of their fellow conference members and others will have to play catch up to get back into the conference title mix.

Beware the small guys

Army is still looking for win one of the season but they get a Boston College team that only has one win so far this season. The Black Knights get a chance to give the ACC another bad loss if the Eagles can't find a victory this this game.

Cincinnati is undefeated and in the thick of the Big East race. The Bearcats better beware this weekend when Miami (OH) comes to town out of the MAC. If there has been one mid-major conference that has not been a pushover this season it is the MAC.

Biggest non-conference big game

Those are the two best small teams playing against major conferences. Most of college football is in conference play this week, so there is few chances for the little guys to make statements.

The beauty of this weekend is those conference matchups with one major exception. Miami and Notre Dame meet in Chicago as the Catholics vs. Convicts rivalry heats up once again.

Yes, the Hurricanes have a loss but are at 4-1 and staring down major sanctions from the NCAA but still finding ways to win. The Fighting Irish are undefeated and just finished beating up on the Big Ten and the state of Michigan.

This game is so good, NBC decided to put it in prime time instead of another episode of Dateline or Law & Order. If the Irish want to be considered as a title contender this game would go a long way for Notre Dame. Miami even in a loss could show the rest of the ACC that they are the team that Florida State must worry about in conference.

Big East

The only game in the Big East worth keeping an eye one (unless your a Big East fan) is Rutgers against Connecticut. The Scarlet Knights are undefeated and looking for respect but they won't get it any in a win against the Huskies.

There has been a ton of parity in the Big East in recent years and this game is one of those in conference that the favorite tends to lose that leaves you scratching your head.

Big Ten

There are two big games in the Big Ten this week. Northwestern, the only undefeated team that can play for the conference title and the national title left in the Big Ten, faces an fighting Penn State squad. Ohio State faces a Nebraska team that is trying to get back into the title race after a loss.

It is hard not to say, Ohio State is the best team in the conference but Nebraska can change that perception with a win tonight. Don't sleep on the Cornhuskers but can they stop the Buckeyes do everything quarterback Braxton Miller.

Penn State started with two straight losses but the Nittany Lions are rolling now. Northwestern hasn't beat a ton of big named teams but they are putting up big numbers. This game will be the first true test for the Wildcats this season.

PAC-12

There is a nice schedule of games in the PAC-12 this weekend. After being a top heavy conference for the last decade, it looks like the conference is going to have a strong middle this season.

Oregon State puts its undefeated season on the line against Washington State. The Beavers have been one of the biggest surprises this season but the Cougars gave Oregon all they wanted for a half last week.

Specking of Oregon, the Ducks face a Washington team that is coming off a major upset of Stanford last week. The Ducks look like a national title contender and the get the Huskies at home.

If you are looking for a trap game in the PAC-12 there could be two such games. Arizona heads to Stanford after the Cardinal offense was shutdown on the road against Washington and UCLA hits the road to face a reeling California team in a rivalry game.

Don't sleep on the Wildcats against Stanford but the Bruins, unless they play extremely sloppy, should defeat the Golden Bears. UCLA isn't used to success lately so they could have a letdown against a 1-4 Cal team.

Big-12

Now we are getting to the meat of our college football day to go along with our nice vegetables from the rest of the slate. The spotlight will be on the Big-12 and the SEC as both conference feature marque matchups.

In the Big-12, has three games that could be interesting and a big rivalry game. Kansas State should roll Kansas but never sleep on rivalry game. Wildcats beware of being overconfident against the Jayhawks.

Oklahoma looks to bounce back after their first loss (to Kansas State) against undefeated Texas Tech. The Sooners offense has been terrible to start the season but the Red Raiders have played no one just about this season. We will find out a lot about both teams after this game.

TCU host Iowa State in their second ever Big-12 team. The Horned Frogs have looked shaky on defense at times but the Cyclones failed their first test of the season against Texas Tech last week.

Time for the main course of this Big-12 slate. Texas hosts West Virginia in one of the biggest games this Saturday.

Can the Longhorns defense stop the video game like offense of the Mountaineers? Can West Virginia's defense stop the Texas offense even once? This game will help decide which team is the pretender and which is the contender after both teams escaped in their last outing.

SEC

The true main course of the day, is the SEC games that features two games with top ten teams. Even the other games have some interesting possibilities.

Auburn faces an Arkansas team with their backs against the wall. The Tigers better not sleep on the wounded Razorbacks who want to prove they haven't given up on this season.

Missouri is looking for their first ever SEC win against Vanderbilt, who is looking for their first SEC win of the year. The Tigers will be short handed after suspending five players following a drug arrest. Offense has been a struggle for the Commodores but their defense is not terrible.

All the other games of the day will be looking to steal the spotlight from the final two SEC games, we will discuss. LSU travels to The Swamp to face Florida and Georgia hits road looking to defend their East crown against South Carolina.

LSU has looked very uninterested for the most of this season and the Gators are trying to wake up the program after a few sub par seasons for Florida folk. Both these teams play defense and points will be at a premium in this game. A win by Florida singles the Gators are ready to get back to the top of the SEC and a win by LSU shows they are the team Alabama must be wary of this season.

South Carolina and Georgia both play offense but the defense hasn't been bad either for both teams. The Gamecocks and the Bulldogs are going to run the ball and run it some more with a talented group of running backs on the field.

If you can only watch two games on Saturday, make sure you find time for LSU versus Florida and South Carolina against Georgia.

Week Six Picks (winners in Bold)

Kansas at Kansas State

Connecticut at Rutgers

Northwestern at Penn State

Arkansas at Auburn

Arizona at Stanford

Virginia at Duke

LSU at Florida

Georgia Tech at Clemson

Iowa State at TCU

Oklahoma at Texas Tech

Washington State at Oregon State

Georgia at South Carolina

West Virginia at Texas

Vanderbilt at Missouri

Miami (FL) at Notre Dame (in Chicago)

Nebraska at Ohio State

Florida State at North Carolina State

UCLA at California

Washington at Oregon

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