Another big week in the NFL at 5-2 bringing my season total to a spectacular 44-25-1 (63.8%) ranking amongst the top handicappers in the country as documented by The Sports Monitor. After a 4-5 week in College my season total is dipping near the 50% mark. I have made some adjustments to my NCAA analysis in hopes of the turning the season around for a profit.

NCAA:

(1.) Michigan St. (+3) v. Penn St.

Michigan St. will be fired up for this game and is coming off an excellent performance versus Purdue. The Spartans need this game to lock up a bowl game while the Nittany Lions are playing for a January 1 bowl. Morelli has had a rough career at Penn St. and he won't be going out with a bang. Take the Spartans at home with the points.

Pick: Michigan St. by 6

Result: Michigan St. 35, Penn St. 31 (Win)

(2.) Temple (+1) v. Kent St.

Temple has been playing pretty well at home while Kent St. has fallen off the map in the MAC hitting rock bottom losing to a terrible N Illinois team. Temple has a solid defense and should shut down the Kent St. offense. I expect a low scoring defensive battle in this one.

Pick: Temple by 5

Result: Temple 24, Kent St. 14 (Win)

(3.) Buffalo (+1.5) v. Bowling Green

Keeping it in the MAC I like the way Buffalo has been playing this year. The team has shown vast improvement from a year ago when they were just terrible. Coach Gill could be heading to Lincoln next season and this may be his last home game with Buffalo. Buffalo will play inspired in front off the crowd and for their coach.

Pick: Buffalo by 5

Result: Bowling Green 31, Buffalo 17 (Loss)

(4.) Virginia Tech (-16.5) v. Miami, FL

The Hokies are playing excellent ball and Miami has fallen apart. Randy Shannon has lost control of the ship at Miami and things will get worse before they get better. The Hokies will look smash their rival and push forward to the ACC title game.

Pick: Virginia Tech by 28

Result: VT 44, Miami 14 (Win)

(5.) Boise St. (-34) v. Idaho

Boise St. is prone to blowing out WAC competition, especially at home. Idaho hasn't showed much improvement over last year and has been playing very uninspired ball. Boise is making a push for a better bowl game and will not hesitate to run the score up. This one will be ugly.

Pick: Boise St. by 45

Result: Boise St. 58, Idaho 14 (Win)

(Blowout of the Week) Utah (-14) v. N Mexico

Utah is on a roll and will continue their excellent play at home this week versus N Mexico. The Lobos have tailed off lately and these teams appear to be heading in different directions. Utah wins this one in a rout.

Pick: Utah by 24

Result: Utah 28, New Mexico 10 (Win)

(Underdog play of the Week) Marshall (+11.5) at Houston

Houston has really tailed off lately while Marshall has been slowly improving. I expect Marshall to stick around in this on and keep Houston's offense on the sideline. Marshall looked great in their upset of a talented E Carolina. Tulsa demolished the Cougars last week continuing Houstons suspect play.

Pick: Houston by 4

Result: Houston 35, Marshall 28 (Win)

Other Games:

  1. N Mex St. over Utah St. by 2
  2. Cal over Washington by 3
  3. Wash St. over Oregon St. by 1
  4. La-Lfy over Florida INT by 1
  5. WV over Cincinnati by 3
  6. LT over SJ St. by 3
  7. Rice over Tulane by 4
  8. Ohio St. over Michigan by 8
  9. Clemson over BC by 14
  10. GT over UNC by 5
  11. Tennessee over Vanderbilt by 20
  12. Illinois over NW by 23
  13. Memphis over UAB by 18
  14. Missouri over Kansas St. by 12
  15. UGA over Kentucky by 12
  16. Wisconsin over Minnesota by 21
  17. Oklahoma St. over Baylor by 21
  18. Ball St. over Toledo by 4
  19. Miami, OH over Akron by 12
  20. UConn over Syracuse by 28
  21. BYU over Wyoming by 15
  22. Arkansas St. over N Texas by 11
  23. Rutgers over Pitt by 16
  24. Oklahoma over Texas Tech by 6
  25. WF over NC St. by 8
  26. Navy over N Illinois by 19
  27. Oregon over Arizona by 13
  28. Iowa over W Mich by 17
  29. Kansas over Iowa St. by 32
  30. UCF over SMU by 15
  31. Arkansas over Miss St. by 9
  32. C Mich over E Mich by 16
  33. Florida over Florida ATL by 42
  34. TCU over UNLV by 21
  35. USF over Louisville by 8
  36. Florida St. over Maryland by 8
  37. ND over Duke by 6
  38. Purdue over Indiana by 2
  39. Alabama over UL-monroe by 25
  40. Tulsa over Army by 15
  41. LSU over Mississippi by 19
  42. Air Force over SD St. by 11
  43. Hawaii over Nevada by 7
  44. S Miss over UTEP by 3

NFL:

(1.) Green Bay (-10) v. Carolina

The Pack are rolling and the Panthers are fading fast. Over the years the Packers always seem to play the Panthers tough and in most cases the Panthers has a superior team. The Pack will shut down the Panthers offense and Favre will continue his strong play torching the Panthers once dominant defense.

Pick: Packers by 14

Result: Packers 31, Panthers 17 (Win)

(2.) San Diego (+3) at Jacksonville

I have a feeling the Chargers are really going to turn it on during the second half of the season. Rivers has played terrible and doesn't look much like an NFL QB. However, the Chargers have a lot of weapons and enough definsive talent to stump the Jags. The Jags are up and down, so after an up week last week versus The Titans they should be down this week. This one will be tight throughout, but take the Chargers and the points.

Pick: Chargers by 3

Result: Jaguars 24, Chargers 17 (Loss)

(3.) New Orleans (Pk) at Houston

New Orleans needs this game after their home loss to the Rams last week. I am not impressed with this Texan team and am quite surprised by this line. The Texans do get star WR Johnson back after a long layoff which should help their sputtering offense. However, Bush will look to show up the Texans for passing on him in the draft. Bush and Brees lead the Saints to a big win.

Pick: Saints by 18

Result: Texans 23, Saints 10 (Loss)

(Blowout of the Week) St. Louis (-2.5) at San Francisco

The Rams might get on a roll after a terrible start. The Niners are simply terrible and Nolan should be canned. The Rams offense should start clicking with Jackson back and a healthy Bulger leading the team. The Rams are a frustrated team which makes them dangerous down the stretch. The Niners will feel their frustration this week.

Pick: Rams by 14

Result: Rams 13, Niners 9 (Win)

(Upset Special) Chicago (+6) at Seattle

The Seahawks aren't very good and the Bears may surprise in this one. Grossman is back at the helm and may have good game in him in an attempt to regain his job. The one-dimensional Seahawks will stuggle to put points on the board against the Bears defense. This one should be close and could be a shocker.

Pick: Bears by 3

Result: Seahawks 30, Bears 23 (Loss)

(Under 47.5) New Orleans at Houston

New Orleans will jump on Houston early and build a big lead, which will lead to second half lag as the points slow once the game is out of hand. The Saints defense will play better after last weeks poor performance.

Result: 33 points -- Texans 23, Saints 10 (Win)

(Under 40.5) Pittsburgh at NY Jets

I think the Jets will show up in this one and the Steelers may get off to a slow start after last weeks big comeback. The Jets are coming off a bye week and are at home and the Steelers can't keep up thier high flying play.

Result: 35 points -- NY Jets 19, Pittsburgh 16 (Win)

Other Games:

  1. Indianapolis over KC by 9.....the loss of Freeney will hurt this defense
  2. Dallas over Washington by 5....this may be tighter than expected
  3. NY Jets over Pittsburgh by 4....upset special
  4. Oakland over Minnesota by 3...Peterson was the Viking offense
  5. Tennessee over Denver by 6....The Titans get back on track
  6. Atlanta over Tampa Bay by 3....Are the Falcons actually getting better
  7. NY Giants over Detroit by 9....the Lions are fading fast
  8. Cincinnati over Arizona by 13....the Cards on the road equals loss
  9. New England over Buffalo by 10....Pats win again
  10. Baltimore over Cleveland by 7...are the Browns really favored in Baltimore
  11. Miami over Philadelphia by 3...Beck becomes a hero with the upset