Saturday Predictions: Week 13

The Tar Heels look to upset Duke in Durham tonight and
recapture the Victory Bell. Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

This Saturday will be the final (relatively) calm week of the regular season. Only two games feature a pair of ranked teams (AP) and both of those games are between two Pac-12 South teams. Most SEC teams will be expected to blow away their lesser competition, though there should be enough entertaining games from the other conferences.

Let's start with tonight's games; both should be fun to watch. First to kick off will be Kansas State and West Virginia. Kansas State is highly ranked and has a better record than WVU, but they're not the favorites coming into Morgantown. Actually, both teams appear evenly matched, with West Virginia's stronger schedule accounting for their higher loss total. The game's a toss-up, so home field advantage may determine the victor. Next will be an important ACC match-up, Duke versus North Carolina. Duke must win it's next two games to clinch their division. North Carolina needs a win to become bowl eligible. These rivals usually provide close, hard-fought games. Don't anticipate this year's contest to be any different.

For Will Muschamp to earn a victory in his final home game at Florida, he must overcome the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels are one of the best teams in the FCS and are currently ranked sixteenth in the Coaches Poll of that subdivision. EKU has already defeated one FBS team this year (Miami of Ohio). Despite this, the Gators should be too talented for their competition, but, as any Gator fan knows, no win is assured under the current coaching staff. The Colonels have a balanced offensive attack that needs to put forth their best effort to score on this Florida defense. The Gator offense, on the other hand, needs to improve it's scoring efficiency in order to put away Eastern Kentucky.

Minnesota needs a little luck to win the Big Ten West. Of
course, this necessitates defeating Nebraska in Lincoln.
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

After falling to Wisconsin last week, Nebraska has another chance to pick up a conference win this Saturday against Minnesota. Both teams greatly prefer to run the ball, though Nebraska is the more effective passing team. This shade of a second-dimension should prove an advantage for Nebraska. Later, Melvin Gordon and Wisconsin face the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. The junior running back needs another impressive performance to keep himself atop the Heisman discussion.

Coming off their epic clash with the Hurricanes last week, the Seminoles get to play Boston College at home. The challenge for the Florida State defense is to contain Tyler Murphy; if this is accomplished they should win with relative ease. Meanwhile, Miami gets a test against a rested and hungry Virginia team in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers need to pull the upset here and win again against Virginia Tech at the end of the season to reach bowl eligibility.

The first of two SEC games that are expected to be competitive will be played Fayetteville. Ole Miss is coming to town to face an Arkansas squad that has never lacked for confidence. Anticipate a low-scoring, defensive struggle between these two teams. It should remain close even in the final quarter. The second game will be in Knoxville, where the Volunteers take on Missouri. This game should also be close, though you could probably expect a bit more scoring. A win gives Tennessee bowl eligibility, but also eliminates Missouri from the SEC East championship. Georgia will be travelling to Atlanta this December if Mizzou doesn't win its next two games.

Saturday's a critical day in the Pac-12 South, as USC plays UCLA and Arizona plays Utah. Each team is ranked an each can win the division (though Utah needs the most help). Neither game has a clear-cut favorite, either. In Los Angeles, UCLA appears to be the better, though less consistent team. Utah and Arizona are both talented and incredibly scrappy, having both played in and won many close games. Utah is more defensive while Arizona is more offensive; both teams are well-matched for another close one this Saturday in Salt Lake City.

State of Florida:

• Florida (5-4) over Eastern Kentucky (9-2), 45-10
• UCF (6-3) over SMU (0-9), 45-10
• #1 Florida State (10-0) over Boston College (6-4), 31-20
• FIU (4-7) over North Texas (3-7), 31-24
• Memphis (7-3) over South Florida (4-6), 34-13
• Miami (6-4) over Virginia (4-6), 27-21
• Middle Tennessee (5-5) over Florida Atlantic (3-7), 35-17

Southeastern Conference:

• #9 Georgia (8-2) over Charleston Southern (8-3), 66-6
• South Carolina (5-5) over South Alabama (6-4), 45-17
• #8 Mississippi (8-2) over Arkansas (5-5), 17-14
• #2 Alabama (9-1) over Western Carolina (7-4), 52-0
• #16 Auburn (7-3) over Samford (7-3), 45-7
• Tennessee (5-5) over #19 Missouri (8-2), 38-31
• #4 Mississippi State (9-1) over Vanderbilt (3-7), 45-14
• Kentucky (5-6), BYE
• #20 LSU (7-4), BYE
• Texas A&M (7-4), BYE

Top 25:

• West Virginia (6-4) over #12 Kansas State (7-2), 35-34
• #25 Duke (8-2) over North Carolina (5-5), 27-24
• #21 Nebraska (8-2) over Minnesota (7-3), 34-31
• #10 Michigan State (8-2) over Rutgers (6-4), 45-17
• #18 Marshall (10-0) over UAB (5-5), 42-17
• #23 Oklahoma (7-3) over Kansas (3-7), 35-21
• #7 Ohio State (9-1) over Indiana (3-7), 52-14
• #13 Arizona State (8-2) over Washington State (3-7), 34-27
• #22 Colorado State (9-1) over New Mexico (3-7), 38-28
• #20 Utah (7-3) over #15 Arizona (8-2), 23-20
• #14 Wisconsin (8-2) over Iowa (7-3), 31-14
• #3 Oregon (9-1) over Colorado (2-8), 59-21
• #6 Baylor (8-1) over Oklahoma State (5-5), 55-14
• #11 UCLA (8-2) over #24 USC (7-3), 38-35
• #17 Georgia Tech (9-2), BYE
• #5 TCU (9-1), BYE