The BYU Cougars host their 2nd straight Friday night primetime spectacle this week when they host the Utah State Aggies at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Last week in front of the entire nation, the Cougars forced some big turnovers to rally from behind to beat Central Florida 24-17. The Cougars played a tough schedule this year and I look for a big blowout win for them on Friday night!

BYU looks to build off that momentum when they take the big stage against a competitive Utah State Aggies football team.


This week BYU would love to get more help from the offense. Running back JJ Di Luigi almost reached the 1,000 yard plateau in 2010, but has managed to compile just 164 yards rushing in 4 games this season.
Utah State beat BYU last year for the first time since 1982. Look for BYU QB Jake Heaps to have a big game against this weak Utah St defense.
The big advantage the Cougars have this Friday will be playing in Provo where they are an outstanding 28-4 SU in their last 32 home games and should man handle Utah St like they've done over the years.
5*

South Florida didn't really get much time to prepare for this game.
The Bulls racked up 575 yards - 373 on the ground - in beating UTEP 52-24 on Saturday, but didn't seal it until a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.


The short week presents another challenge for South Florida, which normally uses Monday to focus solely on academics. A very late-night practice Monday was to be followed by a normal session Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's travel day and trip to Pittsburgh.

The Panthers blew a fourth-quarter lead in their second straight loss. They let a 17-point advantage slip away in a 31-27 defeat at Iowa on Sept. 17 before allowing Notre Dame to score the winning touchdown with 6:48 remaining last weekend.

Tino Sunseri is a very good QB and coming off his worst career game.
Sunseri completed 22 of 30 passes for a season-low 165 yards with one touchdown.

The Panthers have won three straight in the series and Pitt has the better defense and playing a home in possible rain storms gives Pittsburgh more of an advantage. Take the home underdog with Pittsburgh plus the points. 5*

With USC ineligible for the postseason, Arizona State could be the favorite to reach the inaugural Pac-12 championship game out of the South Division.

The Sun Devils begin conference play Saturday night when they try to end their 11-game losing streak to the visiting No. 23 Trojans and I beleive they have the athletes and talent to win big at home here on Saturday night.

Arizona State (2-1) was ranked 22nd last week before a 17-14 loss at Illinois, but coach Dennis Erickson is focused on quickly turning the page to conference play against an opponent the Sun Devils haven't beaten since 1999.I'm not a big beleiver in Lane Kiffin and this is USC's first road game.Look for Arizona State to come up big at home behind their huge QB and lead them to a comfortable win. 10* LATE BURIAL

The Clemson Tigers come off one of their biggest wins in recent memory while the Seminoles travel to Death Valley with a bad taste in their mouths after losing to Oklahoma at home last weekend. The positives far outweigh the negatives for the

BYU has played the much tougher schedule and in my eyes the much better team. Now playing in high altitude and C Florida will get winded in the fourth quarter. BYU had 7 turnovers in their last game and it was ugly. Expect a much better and focused effort tonight on the National TV stage.
BYU with a prime time Friday night double digit win here. 5*

The Cincinnati Bearcats have already been embarrassed once this year on national television. Now, they get to stand all by themselves on the Thursday night football betting slate, as they host the NC State Wolfpack.

Things in the ACC are getting rough this year, and the Wolfpack are really no exception. The truth of the matter is that Head Coach Tom O

The Seminoles come into this game with an inflated ranking thanks to a few good recruiting classes under Jimbo Fisher and the fact that the other Florida programs are in either a small rebuilding process or completely in turmoil.

The Sooners are built to win now and are looking for a signature win to kick start a championship season. Quarterback Landry Jones leads an explosive offense than can score in a hurry, while the Sooners defense is a force on their own. Even though Florida State is out for revenge after a 30-point pounding at the hands of Oklahoma last season, they

5*

Auburn coach Gene Chizik knows he has a resilient team with a flair for the dramatic.
Coming off a second straight thrilling victory, Chizik's 21st-ranked Tigers look to shore up some glaring defensive shortcomings Saturday when they visit a Clemson team that is also not fully satisfied with its first two wins.

Auburn has won 14 straight over Clemson since a 34-0 loss in 1951, but the last two have each gone to overtime.

While Auburn's run defense still looks vulnerable, its rushing offense made major strides from the first game to second.Clemson has played a few cupcakes, while Auburn has been battled tested and proved they can win the big games.
TAKE AUBURN PLUS THE POINTS In the early kickoff on Saturday. 10*

5*

Like Oregon, MSU prefers to run the football and the Tigers have the size and speed to
bottle up one dimension and stop the run. The Bulldogs QB Chris Relf hit for only 5.9 yards per attempt last
week vs. an average Auburn group and carried the offensive load with his legs carrying
it 27 times.
LSU is coming off a blowout 49-3 win over Northwestern St and most of the starters rested the 2nd half, while MISS ST battled Auburn in a heated game.
That

Notre Dame dominated last week with over 500 total yards, but 5 turnovers killed them.
They out-gained USF 508-254, shame on us. Fool
us twice, shame on us. Michigan

First of all we

The Stanford offense and talent will be way too much here.
The trip to Duke represents a good test for the Cardinal secondary before going up against Arizona QB Nick Foles and WR Juron Criner. Vernon and Varner are a couple of skilled route-runners who are going to force cornerbacks Barry Browning and Johnson Bademosi to play tighter in coverage than they had to a week ago.

Stanford will be focused and and playing with motivation.
Luck and his supporting cast will be no match for a Blue Devils defense that

Missouri first-year starting QB Franklin is a good athlete, but against Miami-OH last
week he couldn

BYU is the more balanced team and I think Mississippi is still a few years away.

BYU sophomore QB
Heaps struggled early last year, but finished with 14 TDs to just 3 picks in his last six
games. New offensive coordinator Doman played at BYU and tailored the passing game
to Heaps

Backing Pat Fitzgerald in this role has been a recurring theme on these pages
through his time at Northwestern, with a 10-2 ATS run as road underdogs or bowl
underdogs on neutral fields the past three seasons.
I beleive we are getting a major edge at QB, with Dan Persa healthy again after completing 73.5 percent of
his passes, with 15 TD

The Memphis Tigers were one of the worst teams in college football last season and things might be even worse this year.
The Tigers lost nine straight games to end the season last year on their way to a 1-11 record. The Memphis defense was horrible and this season they must also replace their QB and a majority of the offensive line.

Its gonna take time for the Memphis team to start to play together. Miss St has won and covered the last 5 in this series.
Senior quarterback Chris Relf along with 16 returning starters will be allowed to open up the passing game more this season to go along with the punishing ground attack that the Bulldogs feature. Last season Mississippi State knocked off the Tigers 49-7 as they piled up 569 yards of offense and I look for another BIG BLOWOUT here on FSN TV Thursday night. 5*

With all of this production and talent on offense, it

The Boston College Eagles (7-5, #5-7) are a major underdog on Sunday night as no one is giving them a chance against the 12-1 Nevada who beat Boise St this year.
However- Boston College is well coached and has a very good defense!
They also have a big line advantage and a solid rushing attack. BC has some of the besst linebackers in the country along with Penn St. Nevada hasn't seen a defense this good on their schedule and with plenty of time to prepare, I see BC keeping this one tight.5* BOSTON COLLEGE.

Shortly after the regular season concluded, Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt announced his resignation. Wannstedt was named the 34th head coach in Pitt football history in 2004, and he compiled a 42-31 record over six seasons at the helm of his alma mater.


The Panthers decided on a new leader for the program, hiring Michael Haywood as head coach. Haywood joined the Panthers after orchestrating the biggest turnaround in major college football this past season as head coach at Miami of Ohio. Unfortunately, Haywood never got to coach a single game for Pitt, as he was arrested just a couple of weeks after being hired and charged with domestic battery in the presence of a minor. As a result of the pending legal trouble, Haywood was fired on New Year's Day.


Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pederson has named defensive coordinator Phil Bennett the team's interim coach, and he will lead the Panthers into action on January 8th.

Pitt is averaging 26.2 ppg and 367.8 total ypg. The Panthers have scored 37 offensive touchdowns through 12 games, 22 of which have been rushing scores. Dion Lewis didn't have as great a season as most expected, but his 956 rushing yards and 12 rushing scores are impressive nonetheless. He gets plenty of help from Ray Graham, who brings 832 yards and eight scores into this bowl game. While Lewis averages 4.9 yards per carry, Graham owns a far more impressive mark of 6.4 ypc.

As for Pittsburgh's passing attack, Tino Sunseri has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 2,476 yards with 15 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. His top target is clearly Jon Baldwin, who has hauled in 52 receptions for 810 yards and five scores. The Panthers have a very good 3rd down conversion rate too.
If QB Mike Hartline was playing for Kentucky, it would be a different story, but without him, I really like PITT in this game.

Defensively, the Kentucky Wildcats are surrendering 353.9 total ypg and 28.5 ppg. They have given up 41 touchdowns to opposing offenses, 28 of which have been rushing scores. Pittsburgh should be able to run the ball well against the Kentucky defense.
The Panthers will rally around their hard working defensive coordinator and get him a win on Saturday.
10* PITTSBURGH on Saturday at 12 Noon ET.

The top team in the MAC and one of the most underachieving teams in the Sun Belt meet up at the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, AL on Thursday night

Ohio St's only loss was on the road at Madison to the Badgers (31-18) has relegated their season to the Sugar Bowl, even though they won their final five games of the season and topped it off with a, 37-7, victory over rival Michigan in their finale.

Ohio State still has some making up to do for their previous BCS game blunders on national television too, so you can bet the Buckeyes will come ready to play against the Razorbacks.

Both teams averaged over 37 points per game, but its Ohio St who has the better defense.
Ryan Mallett is a very good QB for Arkansas, but Terrelle Pryor is no bum! You can expect a BIG game from Pryor and Ohio St since he and other starters are suspended for the 1st five games of next season's schedule.
Ohio State

The VT Hokies roll into Miami on an 11-game win streak, 10-1 ATS yet they are underdogs against Stanford. Frank Beamers boys lost to 1-AA James Madison early in the season and I don't recall any bowl team who won their lost and lost to a 1-AA football school.

Andrew Luck the Stanford QB is the REAL DEAL. Luck only threw 7 INTs all season, and has a HUGE offensive line in front of him averaging 301 pounds/player facing a quick but small VT defensive front at 270/player.
It's no secret Stanford offensive coordinator David Shaw will try to establish the running game behind the legs of RBs Stepfan Taylor and Anthony Wilkerson and an experienced offensive line. Shaw's rushing attack features multiple formations and personnel packages along with several pre-snap shifts, and the Cardinal are doing a great job of executing the counter lead play to the weak side. Shaw will overload one side with a multiple-tight end set, forcing defensive fronts to reduce to the strength of the formation, then try to exploit the weak side.



Virginia Tech is 1-26 vs.Top 5 ranked teams and Stanford is currently ranked #4 in the nation.

Hokies coach Frank Beamer announced Saturday that he has suspended tailback David Wilson and safety Antone Exum for the first quarter of Monday night's Orange Bowl against Stanford.
Both players were disciplined for their failure to adhere to the team's 1 a.m. curfew Saturday , New Year's Day.




VT won most of their games on Special Teams and in the Turnover margin as I believe they were + 18. However, Stanford doesn't turn the ball over.
Stanford coach Harbough is very good and smart coach and coming off a bowl loss last year against Oklahoma in which they were a big underdog.
Stanford is making its first BCS appearance since 1999 in the Rose bowl and I expect a big game from Luck with the extra practice and in the National Spotlight.

It's been a tremendous season for the Cardinal,and they'll cap off a 11-1 season with a win in the Orange Bowl.
10* BOWL GAME OF THE YEAR ON STANFORD.

TCU is taking on a superior class of an opponent. They did not face a difficult late-game situation
all season (the scoreboard vs. San Diego State was closer than the game
flow), and because of that there can be a real lack of development in some key areas.
Wisconsin brings no such issues, and the Badgers may have been the best team in
the nation in November, leading Indiana, Michigan and Northwestern by 84
points at halftime in the last three games. Usually those scoreboard explosions
would leads to a market over-reaction, but in this case it did not. WISCONSIN has been HOT and I think they pull out the win here in the Rose Bowl and knock off the undefeated TCU team. 5*

So here we have a team that was 3-5 in the
Big 10, with every one of the losses in double figures, and a defense that was #102
in points allowed and #108 in yards allowed, playing on New Year

Historically, Penn State does very good in the bowls when they have this extra time to prepare.

Penn St. The Nittany Lions are playing in their 37th bowl game under Paterno, who is the all-time leader in bowl wins (24) and appearances. Paterno's team is appearing in its 25th New Year's bowl game, having compiled a stellar 17-7 mark. Penn State is 3-0 in the Outback Bowl, beating Tennessee in the 2007 version in its last appearance





The Penn State offense has seen better days as well, but the unit isn't totally devoid of talent as the school's all-time leading rusher, Evan Royster, prepares for his final game as a Nittany Lion. Royster carried the ball 188 times this season, producing 916 yards and six TDs for a Penn State team that averages 142.8 ypg on the ground and has scored 14 rushing TDs.

The PSU aerial attack accounts for 231.2 ypg, with Matt McGloin, having been given the keys to the ship midway through the season, hitting 58 percent of his passes for 1,337 yards with 13 TDs and only four INTs. Rob Bolden earned the starting QB job in the summer, but threw just five TD passes while being picked off seven times. Derek Moye is Penn State's top receiver with 48 grabs for 806 yards and seven scores, while Brett Barrett is next with 37 receptions for 497 yards and five TDs.


Penn State is probably the more physical team and traveling to warm Tampa always helps. With the health of Joe Paterno he may not see another bowl game and his players and coaches realize that. I think it will be a tough battle, but love Penn St plus the TD on Saturday.
10* Barking Dog.

The oddsmakers have made a clear statement here about
just how good the Spartans really are. It took some unique bounces to get past
Notre Dame, Northwestern and Purdue, which could have meant an 8-4 and a
bowl appearance several days before this one. Michigan St is 11-1 yet they are 9 pt underdogs here.

The non-conference schedule was
abysmal, so a team that has yet to win a bowl game under Mark Dantonio has plenty
to prove. They have been granted the opportunity against this high profile
opponent, but we are not sure they belong. The Crimson Tide simply do everything
better across the board

SC QB Garcia of Gamecocks can look awesome to mediocre in games, but the speed of FSU will frustrate him. The Seminoles defensive line will cause problems for SC front five.
For the Seminoles they now have Christian Ponder back healthy and he will be the difference maker here. Their backup QB Manuel took more snaps at all the extra practice and is a very athletic QB who will be ready if needed.
The only edge I could find for SC was their tall WR's, but overall FSU has more talent and speed and they'll get the win here Friday night.
5*

Led by freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey, Central Florida coach George O'Leary hopes his team is primed to finally earn its first bowl victory.

Georgia coach Mark Richt is looking to redshirt freshman QB Aaron Murray to help the Bulldogs avoid their first losing season in 14 years.

The Knights make their second Liberty Bowl appearance in four seasons when they take on the Bulldogs in Memphis on Friday.

Godfrey completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 2,042 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions this year, going 9-2 as a starter to earn Conference USA freshman of the year honors. Godfrey, the eighth-highest rated quarterback in the FBS at 165.3, also ran for 546 yards and nine TDs, helping the Knights (10-3) score 33.8 points per game ? 24th in the FBS.

He didn't even begin the season as the starter, backing up junior Rob Calabrese before taking over by the third game.

"I think he's progressed each week," said O'Leary. "I think the offensive staff has done a great job of not overloading his plate. I think they've put enough on the plate to win the game and not overburdening him with a lot of mental capacity that he couldn't handle at this stage."



-------------

The Bulldogs face another tough test against the Knights, who average 192.5 yards on the ground, 25th in the FBS. Also Georgia hasn't played since Nov. 27th and could be very rusty.

That attack is led by Ronnie Weaver, Latavius Murray and Godfrey, who ran for 2,178 yards and 30 TDs.

Washaun Ealey, who paced Georgia with 751 yards rushing and 11 scores, could have a difficult time picking up yards against UCF. The Knights are surrendering 110.4 yards per game, 10th in the nation.

O'Leary's defense, 12th in the nation with 18.0 points allowed per game, is anchored by two-time conference defensive player of the year Bruce Miller. The end has seven sacks ? four in the last two games ? to rank second on the team to Darius Nall (eight).

However, they will be without junior running back Caleb King. The Bulldogs' second-leading rusher with 430 yards, King will not play in the Liberty Bowl after missing his fifth academic-related meeting. He missed two games during the regular season with a high ankle sprain and two others for failing to appear in court to deal with a speeding ticket.

Georgia will try to shut down Quincy McDuffie, second in the nation with 32.7 yards per kick return.

I highly respect HC George O'Leary and he'll have his boys ready on Friday afternoon as I really like their team and their edge on Special Teams as well. Play on U Central Florida plus the points......
10* selection.

You have to give the edge to Syracuse playing in their home state with all of their fans. Kansas State comes in averaging nearly 34ppg, but are one dimensional with their running game.

Syracuse offers a strong defense ranking #5 in total yards, 6th in passing D and 18th in rushing D and finally 13th in scoring defense. Again. How bad was the Big East this year. The Orange only gives up 18 ppg and 270 yards. and Kansas St and everyone else in the Big 12 doesn't play any defense at all. Syracuse played well on the road this year and I like them in this spot on Thursday now that they are almost 100% healthy on both sides of the ball.
10* Pinstripe Power Play

This is another bowl game being played in the back yard of one of the participants as Houston should have a huge home crowd advantage with 30,000 fans expected for Baylor, but that doesn't always equate to victory as the Hawaii Warriors found out on Christmas Eve.

Illinois fields a rush-heavy,
Run first-Pass offense which was the nation

A big factor in handicapping early bowl games is trying to find reasons for team motivation. In today's game the Maryland players are motivated to send off their coach Ralph Friedgen a winner.
I expect the Terrapins to be well represented in the stands since their campus is nearby the stadium and Maryland has a nice following.



Maryland closed strong this year, rebounding from a 2-10 campaign as season ago to go 8-4 this year, and the Terps did cover 4 of the 5 times this season they were laying points.

The Turtle is also 4-2 against the spread in 6 previous bowl games under Friedgen.

East Carolina's defense is among the worst in the nation, and eventually will lead them to yet another loss.
EC gives up an average of 38 points/game and Maryland should have their way and pull away to a big win in the 2nd half. 5*

The Missouri Tigers (10-2) started the season just outside the Top 25 but nearly reached their third Big 12 championship game in four years. Consecutive losses at Nebraska and Texas Tech prevented them from accomplishing that feat.



Iowa has a great coach in Kirk Ferentz. He stated this week "We're anxious to get back on the field and have a chance to compete again."


Iowa senior Ricky Stanzi had a career-low 4 INTs this season while registering a career-best 25 TD's.

With Johnson-Koulianos out, Stanzi could rely more on another St. Louis native, Marvin McNutt, who led the Hawkeyes with 51 receptions for 798 yards. Coker had 403 yards and two TDs on 81 carries.

While Iowa will try to win its third straight bowl game, Missouri will attempt to bounce back from last season's 35-13 loss to Navy in the Texas Bowl.

IOWA will be ready here and use this game and the extra practices to prepare for next season. Don't let Iowa's record fool you as they could be undefeated this year. PLay IOWA to notch a win on Tuesday night's late game.
10*

The Mountaineers are led by superstar running back Noel Devine. His Heisman campaign never developed, but he still remains a threat out of the backfield as a rusher and pass receiving specialist. Quarterback Geno Smith is ok and this is about all the West Virginia team has to offer.



The Wolfpack are an amazing 21-8-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 30 games as an underdog and 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 bowl games. The Mountaineers are 4-12 ATS in their last 16 against the ACC and just 2-6 ATS in their last eight bowl games.

Wilson will be able to offset the Mountaineer pass rush with his legs and the Wolfpack will win the Champs Bowl. 5*

The top two rushing teams in college football meet in the Independence Bowl tonight, but defensively, I think these teams are a world apart. GT will be without their starting QB.
Ga Tech is also dealing with their share of suspensions. It seems like Ga Tech loses players to suspension almost every time they reach a bowl game. Two of the four are starters.
Ga Tech also suspended three more players for the first half.

While Air Force closed out the regular season with three straight blowout wins (42-22, 48-23, 35-20), Georgia Tech limped to the finish line by losing four of its last five (the Yellow Jackets

Detroit may not be the most exotic locale for a bowl game, but Toledo and Florida International are thrilled to be making the trip.
While reaching this bowl is a great reward for Toledo, it's a remarkable achievement for FIU, which is in just its ninth season of play at any level and sixth year in the FBS. The Golden Panthers' six wins this season comprise one-fifth of their 30 victories all-time. They claimed a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship with Troy, which they beat 52-35 Nov. 13 on the road. Flor-INT is loaded with speed and played a tough schedule. The Golden Panthers hit their stride down the stretch, averaging 38.0 points while winning four of their final five games. Their offense leans heavily on a pair of running backs, junior Darriet Perry (707 yards and 14 TDs in 2010) and sophomore Darrian Mallary (669 yards, two TDs). Quarterback Wesley Carroll, a transfer who played two years at Mississippi State, completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 2,483 yards with 15 TDs and 13 interceptions.

Toledo got a lot of breaks in their games forcing 33 turnovers, but Florida-Int is a solid club who gets this bowl win on Sunday night.
5*

This is an interesting contrast in styles between Navy

It wasn

The favorites in the Bowl season are 3-0 so far and I like the chalk again tonight.

This L-Ville Cardinals defense will likely be one of the best groups the Golden Eagles have faced this season. Coach Charlie Strong really made a huge difference in his first season on the defensive side of the ball. The former Florida Gators defensive coordinator turned a Cardinals defense that ranked 69th in 2009 to one of the best defenses in the entire country in 2010. Louisville ranks in the top 15 in both total and scoring defense.


On offense the Cardinals Senior quarterbacks Adam Froman and Justin Burke have both shared time behind center. Froman started the season, but has battled some injuries during the 2nd half of the year. Burke has started the last 4 games and has been fairly solid. The Southern Miss secondary has just been horrible against the pass this season so Louisville will have the chance to fire some shots down the field.

The Cardinals offense does have a star running back in senior Bilal Powell. Despite being slowed by a knee injury during the latter part of the season he has enough time off to get healthy and recover. I like Louisville who with the 28 days off to let the injured get healthly to get the job done on Tuesday night in the BOWL GAME as a 10* play.

Ohio will match up well on defense and this game has the potential to be one of the most entertaining bowl games of the season.

The Trojans are 2-7 against the spread (ATS) in their last none games as a favorite and 1-4-1 ATS in their last six non-conference games. The TROY defense is AWFUL especially against the run. WE'll take the better rushing team and defense on Saturday night.

The Bobcats are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog, 5-1 ATS against a team with a winning record, and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games overall.
Look for Ohio U to bounce back after an ugly performance in their previous game. 5*

At first look I liked Fresno, but this game is being played in Boise where cold weather and snow is projected.
I never like the California teams in the cold. N Illinois is used to that and its a huge advantage for them. After all they are called the Huskies.

I like the fact No Illinois lost their conference championship and a coach in the process, as they will be hell bent on redemption come Saturday. Its usually tough for an opponent to prepare for a new HC as they don't know what to expect.
Fresno allowed 31 ppg and 4 yards per carry their last 3 games against a team who averaged 8 yards per carry on the ground in their last 3 games, especially with your best linebacker out for this game.

Northern Illinois pulls away on the smurf turf with their strong rushing attach of Chad Span and QB Chandler Harnish.

A couple of .500 programs kick off the 2010 bowl season this weekend, as the BYU Cougars clash with the Miners of Texas-El Paso in the fifth annual New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.

BYU, a program that has been one of the elite in the Mountain West Conference for several years, fell on hard times in 2010 and almost appeared to be preparing for a long, hard rebuilding campaign. Following a 23-17 win against Washington in the opener, the Cougars dropped four in a row and the question about the direction in which they were headed began popping up on a regular basis. However, despite having a fresh-faced quarterback, head coach Bronco Mendenhall refused to give up and thus began the great reclamation project that led to a 6-6 overall record and a 5-3 mark in conference play thanks to a string of four consecutive triumphs over the likes of Wyoming, UNLV, Colorado State and New Mexico before bowing at Utah in the regular-season finale by just a single point, 17-16.



Coach Mendenhall has the Cougars in the postseason yet again, despite the team operating with a freshman quarterback for much of the season. Initially the plan was to go with a combination of Jake Heaps and Riley Nelson, but once the latter went down with an injury all the pressure was placed on the shoulders of Heaps. In the second half of the season when the Cougars really needed a boost, Heaps came alive with four straight passing efforts of at least 225 yards and he tossed nine touchdowns against just a single interception in those outings, showing tremendous growth down the stretch.



I believe BYU is better in all phases of the game and should roll by 14-24 points on Saturday afternoon.
5*

Virginia Tech has been the ACC's dominant team since joining the league in 2004, winning three championships and favored to capture a fourth.

The one team the Hokies haven't dominated is Florida State.

The 20th-ranked Seminoles - who beat Virginia Tech to win the 2000 national championship and the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference title - are again poised to spoil another Hokies season when the teams meet in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday. Virginia Tech has been very slow starters this year and against FSU and their athletes on both sides of the ball, that spells trouble.

This years FSU team is balance and very good and playing better each week.




Florida State hasn't been to a BCS bowl game since 2005, and Ponder, a fifth-year senior, relishes the opportunity to lead his team to the Orange Bowl with a victory on Saturday.

FSU will dominate with their running game against VT which is ranked 68th in rushing defense.
Then FSU's running attack will result in long time consuming drives.
FSU's time of possession is nearly 2 minutes a game higher than VTechs.
The running game will opening up the play action passing game and I like Ponder in these spots with his experience and mobility.
As long as Ponder doesnt turn the ball over, FSU wins this one outright! 10* GAME OF THE WEEK

Illinois is most likely going to run the ball for most of the game with Leshoure but I'd expect at least a couple long pass attempts in the later stages of the game once the run is established. Scheelhaase has the arm and Illinois has revenge from last year.
Illinois is a lean, mean, fighting machine compared to last years squad. The Illini defense is going to put on the smack down!


A lot is on the line here. Both teams will probably get into a lower-tier bowl game as things stand now, but a win here could increase either team

Rest and revenge game for the Wildcats here on Saturday afternoon.
They have a vision of a good bowl game and are healthy after their BYE.
Kentucky is talented and also hungry due to the 25 year losing streak against the Vols.
A bowl game is extra practices for a young Kentucky team and I think they'll be fired up here.
and the extra practices with such a young team.


Although there is the appearance of a late-season Tennessee turnaround to get the
Vols back to within a win here of being bowl eligible, some of those results have to
Be taken with a grain of salt.
Memphis did not even bother to compete; Vanderbilt
Was a badly depleted side; and it was a 5-0 TO differential that produced that pretty
Scoreboard vs. Ole Miss, including two INT

In their last visit to Tuscaloosa two years ago,AUBURN lost 36-0 and remember that game well.
It was the game's widest margin in 46 years and the end of a six-year Auburn winning streak.

Popular coach Tommy Tuberville resigned under pressure a few days later, and athletic director Jay Jacobs hired Gene Chizik.

It was a lowpoint. for the team, coaches, players, and fans. This afternoon is their chance to get some revenge on the road.
Auburn is looking to stay in contention for the national championship game. Auburn is simply too good this year led by Newton who has been unstoppable. 10* Black Friday Burial.

Andrew Luck of Stanford has been dynamite all season, and I expect him to light it up Saturday. California can score but their defense is poor. I also expect a major letdown from last weeks tough loss to Oregon, where several players got injuried for Cal.



Andrew Luck didn't throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season in Stanford's latest game, but that didn't matter after the sophomore led his team to a come-from-behind win that kept its Rose Bowl hopes alive.

Look for Luck to light it up on Saturday!
Last year he also played poor against California, which he would love nothing more a little revenge payback!
Luck has still thrived, accounting for 25 touchdowns with a completion percentage (69.6) and passer rating (159.7) that are among the top 10 nationally.Look for STANFORD to come up BIG and get a double-digit win with our REVENGE GAME OF THE YEAR!

A whole season of hope and expectation rides on 8th-ranked Ohio State's game at No. 21 Iowa on Saturday.

The Buckeyes know that all those offseason workouts, the grueling two-a-days in the heat of August, the close calls and the big wins will be for naught if they lose to the Hawkeyes. A defeat would most likely mean an end to Ohio State's five-year run as Big Ten champion and maybe even a trip to a second-tier bowl game. Ohio St's defense is the best in the Nation and I think Prior will carry them to victory here.


The Buckeyes have almost always played well at Kinnick Stadium, winning six of their last seven there. The only setback in that string is Iowa's 33-7 victory in 2004.
Look for the Ohio St defense to keep Stanzi in check and the Ohio St offense and special to take advantage.
10* Oddsmaker Mistake SUPER PLAY

5*

The Sun Devils lost a heartbreaker against USC last weekend and look to get back on track against the Cardinal. Unfortunately for ASU, the Cardinal have their eyes on a BCS Bowl and continue to creep up in the BCS standings. Jim Harbuagh continues to tell his squad that they still have an outside shot at a spot in the National Championship and will not allow them to ruin that opportunity on their own. Stanford is very good and almost beat OKLAHOMA at OKLAHOMA only losing by 3 points. Stanford wins this one big, by 10-20 points. 5*

Steve Spurrier

The Nittany Lion offense managed just three points at both Iowa and Alabama in their only serious road challenges, and while Matt McGloin was not yet at QB in those defeats, this is a huge step up for him on the road against probably the Nations best defense. This is not the Penn State of yester years. The defense is not as talented as in past years, and they are in trouble on saturday afternoon. Last week they got Joe Pa his 400th victory. I just cannot see the Lions scoring more than 10 points in this contest. The Ohio St Buckeyes offense and rested off their BYE should roll here. I say OHIO ST WINS 38-10. ****10* BLOWOUT

5*

TCU won by 27 last year and i expect more of that this time around. Two years ago, TCU gift-wrapped the game in Salt Lake which ended their perfect season and propelled the Utes to their own 13-0 mark. TCU won

Army is off FCS entry VMI, and a bye before that. Army really prepared for this game during their BYE week. Air Force just played in the Mountain West at TCU and home vs. Utah, two of the nation

Like Central Fla tonight. They have a pretty good defense and Houston can't stop the run. Central Fla loves to run it so they win by at least 10. Pretty simple here in my eyes.
5*

Word is that CU coach Hawkins could get canned as early as Tuesday of this week. With that floating over the program that has dropped three straight and seen a bunch of starters lost to injury, and players fighting among each other. Hawkins has lost control of his team.
QB Landry Jones will have a field day against a Colorado defense that will be without three starters in the secondary and their starting middle linebacker due to injuries. OKLAHOMA is a very very good team and off a loss will want to run up the score and they will in a big win!
10* Saturday night CRUSHER

I think UTAH absolutely crushes the Air Force Falcons on Saturday night. The curtent price on this game stands right around a touchdown, but the Utes will take this one by double-digits.

I have a feeling that past history in this series is playing a large part in why this line is priced around a TD. You see, Air Force is just 1-6 straight up the last 7 series meetings, BUT the Falcons have covered the last 3, and 5 of the last 6 meetings.

Air Force just got trampeled by TCU, 34-7 and now they must face a Utah squad that is averaging close to 50 points per game. The Utes have also been able to stop the Force cold in their tracks, holding them to under 3 yards per carry the last 2 times the schools have faced one another.

Utah is on an 8 game winning streak, and they have covered 6 in a row and are now 9-0-1 against the spread their last 10 games.


Double-digit win and cover for Kyle Whittingham's team tonight

5*

At 8-0 SU and sitting in first place in the Big Ten after way too many little things have fallen their way, Michigan State plays a second straight road game, this time against an opponent that matches up well with them physically, and is better-coached.
Iowa

5*