Welcome to College Football's Elimination Saturday

Remember when the College Football Playoff was supposed to ruin the regular season? About that. 

In fact, there's a case to be made that college football's regular season has actually been enhanced by the addition of two more spots in the championship field. No other Saturday illustrates that point better than this one, which features six games between Top 25 teams. All but one of those Week 11 games features at least one Top 10 team jockeying for one of two remaining playoff spots.

Here's what's on the schedule (point spreads courtesy of OddsShark.com): 

Game	Spread
No. 4 Oregon at No. 17 Utah	Oregon (-8)
No. 5 Alabama at No. 16 LSU	Alabama (-7)
No. 7 Kansas State at No. 6 TCU	Kansas State (+6)
No. 14 Ohio State at No. 8 Michigan State	Ohio State (+3.5)
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 9 Arizona State	Notre Dame (+2.5)
No. 12 Baylor at No. 15 Oklahoma	Baylor (+5)

Under the BCS, No. 1 Mississippi State and No. 2 Florida State—which play home games against UT-Martin and Virginia, respectively—would have a clear path to the national championship. Meanwhile, a half-dozen or so teams would be waiting in the wings hoping for a loss.

Thanks to the four-team playoff, though, the stars aligned on Nov. 8 to create what could be a de facto elimination weekend for those other teams—unless, of course, all hell breaks loose and every Vegas favorite loses. The conversation could then shift to the possibility of a two-loss team making the playoff field. 

But let's cross that bridge if and when we get to it. For now, every weekend from here on out has a must-win feel to it. Here's how Saturday breaks down.

Team with the Most to Prove: Notre Dame

STEVEN CANNON/Associated Press

By this point in the season, we should have teams generally figured out. An exception is Notre Dame, which has arguably the "best loss" of any team, falling just short at Florida State, 31-27.

However, good losses don't equal a playoff spot—at least not without a quality win to balance it out. The selection committee has shown it believes the Irish have more work to do because their best win is over a 5-4 Stanford team that just got its doors blown off by Oregon. Additionally, Notre Dame has narrow escapes over a pair of 4-5 teams: North Carolina and Navy. 

Surprise, but Irish head coach Brian Kelly doesn't quite see it that way (via Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune):

"

In 2012 I think we started the season with the No. 1 schedule in the country. I think we started that way this year, too. That's all we can do. We go into this putting together the toughest schedule in the country, right?  Nobody else does it that way. They put on teams that are clearly glorified byes.  

We don't operate that way. That to me is strength of schedule in terms of the way we put it together. If it's not evaluated that way, there's nothing I can do about it.

"

The Irish can start to rectify that for good by beating a team—on the road—ranked one spot ahead: Arizona State. The committee thinks highly of the Sun Devils, who are 7-1. That's good news for Notre Dame. 

In the end, Notre Dame seems like a team that needs to win out and get help. But that only happens if the Irish pull the upset.

Team That Can Knock the Earth Off Its Orbit: LSU

Let's be honest about this: LSU isn't getting into the playoff. You know this. I know this. The Tigers have losses to Mississippi State, the score of which (34-29) did not reflect how easy the Bulldogs made it look, and Auburn, a 41-7 blowout.

USA TODAY Sports

But because head coach Les Miles has sold his soul for some dark magic that even the occult won't touch, you'd be most unwise to count him out of any game...especially at home...at night. Ask Ole Miss.

That's what Alabama is facing. As ESPN's SEC reporter Chris Low points out, the Tigers could get the ball rolling on a potential five-way tie atop the SEC West:

"

It would take total carnage for the SEC to be completely shut out of the playoff, but imagine a five-way tie in the West with everybody having two losses and all those losses coming to each other.

Good luck figuring out that tiebreaker.

"

A lot would have to happen, but the top of the SEC West is deep enough that future games among Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama and Auburn could resemble cannibalism. If there's any team that would throw a wrench into the established order, it's LSU.

Team That Needs to Be on High Alert: Oregon

B/R colleague Jason Gold touched on this, so be sure to read his piece on why Oregon's trip to Utah is the ultimate trap game.

On paper, Oregon should be fine if last weekend is any indication. The Ducks dismantled Stanford 45-16, and the Cardinal have one of the best defenses in the country. Utah, when looking at the major defensive stats side by side with Stanford—yards per rush, yards per passing attempt, points allowed and the like—isn't as stingy but still solid and comparable.

So long as Oregon can score, the Utes haven't shown they have the offensive capabilities to keep up.

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

The other factors are what need to be taken into consideration. The Ducks snapped a two-game losing slide against Stanford, and quarterback Marcus Mariota played his best game ever. That weight has been lifted. What Oregon can't afford to do is relax, especially traveling to what will surely be a raucous environment.

The Ducks are one win away from securing at least a share of the Pac-12 North and a spot in the conference championship game. Oregon has been there, done that before, so pressure probably isn't a factor. Still, it's one week after a big win and the schedule gets considerably easier (vs. Colorado, at Oregon State). This game has a "one final hurdle" feel. Can Oregon clear it?

Conference Most Likely to Knock Itself Out of the Playoff: Big 12

Remember in the offseason when Baylor at Oklahoma was the Big 12 game of the year? That game still matters, but it has been overshadowed by an even bigger game that no one saw coming: Kansas State at TCU.

It would appear the Wildcats or Horned Frogs are the Big 12's best playoff bets. Baylor holds the head-to-head game over TCU, but the selection committee hasn't valued anything the Bears have done to date. In the latest CFP rankings, No. 12 Baylor is behind eight other one-loss teams and two-loss Ole Miss, and six spots behind the Frogs.

That's subject to change given Baylor's backloaded schedule, but the Bears probably need help over the next few weeks to climb at least eight spots. If Oklahoma beats Baylor, then forget about the Bears altogether.

Team	Nov. 8	Nov. 15	Nov. 22	Nov. 29	Dec. 6
Baylor	at Oklahoma	--	Oklahoma State	Texas Tech (Arlington)	Kansas State
Kansas State	at TCU	--	at WVU (Nov. 20)	Kansas	at Baylor
TCU	Kansas State	at Kansas	--	at Texas (Nov. 27)	Iowa State

TCU is going to be rooting for Oklahoma too. If Baylor and TCU win out, it creates a potential conundrum, as explained by David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest. If a playoff spot was on the line, would the committee value the head-to-head result, or the entire body of work? TCU would rather not have to find out.

Of course, the Frogs have to get by Kansas State first, and the Wildcats have the Big 12's best scoring defense.

Speaking of K-State, this team has the chance to close as well as any team in the country. The Wildcats play at TCU, travel to West Virginia on Nov. 20 for a Thursday night game and finish the season at Baylor. If K-State wins out that stretch, it would have to be a serious contender in the playoff conversation, would it not? Its only loss is by six points to Auburn in September.

Similar to the SEC West, the top of the Big 12 is deep with quality teams. However, there isn't a single team that truly stands out above the rest—at least not yet. Whether the top of the conference knocks itself out of the playoff conversation remains to be seen, but it's a possibility.

Put Your Rear on the Record Picks

Here are my picks for the above games straight up. (If you're looking for picks against the spread, check out our weekly feature here.) Keep in mind that these picks are subject to change at any time, including once the games are over. Do not, under any circumstances, put money on these games based on said picks, as you will surely lose that money and maybe your house in the process.

Oregon at Utah: Oregon

Alabama at LSU: Alabama

Kansas State at TCU: TCU

Ohio State at Michigan State: Michigan State

Notre Dame at Arizona State: Arizona State

Baylor at Oklahoma: Baylor

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All rankings reflect the latest College Football Playoff standings. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.