After taking in an exciting day of college football action, here a few thoughts on the games and teams that made huge statements on “Separation Saturday.”

-Auburn clearly is the second best team in the country. Hopefully if they finish the year undefeated, the Tigers will not be left out of the national championship game again (they were left out in 2004 when they went undefeated). Auburn displayed it had enough offense to get past an extremely physical team in LSU and managed to only give up three points to a top-10 team. I like Auburn’s chance to run the table and play in the title game.

-Is this the year for Michigan? The way it ran Notre Dame off the field, it very well could be. Michigan showed that when it is focused, Big Blue can play with anybody. Chad Henne played extremely well and the defense shut down the very explosive Notre Dame offense. They made Brady Quinn look very pedestrian and caused five turnovers that they turned into points. I like Michigan’s chance to compete for the Big Ten title.

-Larry Coker might want to be looking into some retirement plans or start to update his resume because he will not be in Miami next year. Coker was lucky enough to get off the hook with the Hurricanes’ embarrassing loss last year to LSU in the Peach Bowl (40-3). Miami is a top program and it looked horrible against the Louisville Cardinals. The ‘Canes have no offense in Kyle Wright and the defense supposedly one of the best in the country gave up 31 points. Miami could very well be looking at a four- or five-loss season which will not be accepted. We all know when expectations aren’t met, people lose their jobs.

-USC continues to churn out NFL talent year after year. John David Booty already looks very comfortable running the offense. Dwayne Jarrett is easily the best receiver in the country. The Trojans’ defense is a little susceptible but with the stars on the offense, it really does not matter. USC also has the privilege of playing in the soft Pac-10 conference. USC will be in the national championship talk all year long and is very deserving.