(George Richardson photo)

We’ve dubbed it ‘Super Saturday’ and we think it should be obvious why.

No fewer than three conferences will determine their 2010 champions and seeds for the Round of 16.

Win on Saturday and you’re in, lose and all of your hopes and aspirations for the season go down the gurgler; it’s that big of a deal.

Depending on the results, players and coaches will start to have an inkling of the joy felt by Canada or the despair that Team USA felt after the Olympic ice hockey gold medal game.

Okay, explanations aside, here’s what’s going on. Months of competition in the Mid-Atlantic, South and Western Conferences will come to a head in Saturday’s semifinals.

There are some excellent matchups on tap (see below) with every team figuring in those games being ranked, which suggests that the cream has risen to the top in each conference.

Both Mid-Atlantic semis are evenly balanced, which should come as no surprise as not much separates all four teams on ARN’s Top 25.

Delaware perhaps could be slightly favored against Kutztown, but only because they’re hosting, while the Penn State v Navy matchup is a coin toss as always.

The two semis in the West make for a slightly different story. True, no team really dominated in the regular season, but Colorado State, which had to come through an extra play-in game last week, will be the underdog against Texas A&M, who pulled off a big upset against LSU a couple of weeks ago.

The Tigers, the defending Western champs, must first get past Colorado, who got ‘er done the year before, to set up a potential series decider against the Aggies. LSU won the first encounter between the two in early March.

In the South, the Florida v Tennessee semi could go either way, especially as the Gators beat the Vols back in January, whereas conversely Arkansas State will be heavily favored against South Carolina as per their respective rankings.

As noted, it’s all or nothing on Saturday with six berths in the Round at stake and you can see what everyone is playing for by checking out the full national playoffs bracket on USA Rugby's website.

One other game that on any other weekend would be a no-brainer as our Game of the Week is #2 BYU hosting #3 San Diego State.

While both teams are already into the Round, it’s a replay of last year’s Big Four showdown and would normally be a headline grabber, but this week it’ll probably be consigned to the back pages by Super Saturday’s results.

Speaking of which, we’ll have it all covered for you right here as you’ve come to expect from us.

ARN’s coverage of the 2010 college playoffs is proudly presented by Down Under Rugby.

Take your game to the next level by experiencing rugby in Australia. For more information visit www.downunderrugby.com

Weekend schedule:
#6 Army v Mystic River
#19 Bowling Green v St Bonaventure
#13 Delaware v #16 Kutztown
#17 Penn State v #20 Navy
#14 Florida v #15 Tennessee
#6 Arkansas State v #21 South Carolina
#10 Texas A&M v #22 Colorado State
#11 LSU v #18 Colorado
#2 BYU v #3 San Diego State
#12 Arizona v Washington
Arizona State v Washington (Sunday)
Mid-Atlantic final (Sunday)
South final (Sunday)
Western final (Sunday)