10* NFL GAME OF THE YEAR!

The Bengals should not be under-estimated. Many people are writing them off due to having been blown out at Minnesota last week. One bad game does not make a season though. Prior to last week, the Bengals had won five of six games.Following the stunning death of receiver Chris Henry, the Cincinnati Bengals will take the field with heavy hearts - a situation all too familiar to them this season. When the players received word Henry had died, quarterback Carson Palmer called them together in the locker room and said they should dedicate the game and rest of the season to Henry and Zimmer's wife and will find a way to get the win today!


The Bengals face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, three days after Henry died from injuries sustained from falling out of the back of a pickup truck during what police said was a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

Though it has LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles in the backfield, San Diego (10-3) has had trouble running the ball. The Bengals have outrushed the Chargers by 45 yards/game this year and will be a key factor in this game as the Bengals defense is hungry and coming off a bad loss versus the Vikings.

I'll take the better defensive team, better running game, and the team playing with a heavy heart as a 7 pt Underdog. I expect the entire Bengals team to elevate its level of play, in Henry's honor, taking this game down to the wire and getting us the ATS cover.
CINCINNATI BENGALS are the call here.

5*
Dallas has the ability to stop teams and pressure quarterbacks and they will get after Drew Brees tonight and stop the Saints' running game, which is really the catalyst for the passing game. New Orleans has failed to cover in five of their last seven and two of their last three at home. Dallas is in a must-win and even if they fail, it won't be by more than a TD as Tony Romo is playing great and they can control the tempo and run the ball with Barber, Jones, and Choice. Grab the points and play the Cowboys.

Grab the points with Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl against Fresno State.

Fresno State was in this very bowl last year, playing Colorado State, a team it should have dominated with a superior offense, and the Bulldogs crapped themselves. They lost 40-35 as a two-point favorite. When the Bulldogs have something to prove and come into a bowl game as an underdog, they are 5-0 ATS in the last 13 years. But when they come in as a favorite, expected to deliver, they are 0-4 ATS. Teams playing in the same bowl game as the previous year usually suffer a letdown emotionally as well.


Wyoming has to rely on its defense to win and cover and they have gotten the cash in seven of the last nine overall, including that season finale against Colorado State, winning 17-16 on the road as a 2 ½-point

According to the history book, Jacksonville has been at its best when priced as a home underdog posting a solid 22-14-1 ATS record. As a winning team in this role, actually .500 or better, the Jaguars improve to a superb 8-2 ATS. Head coach Jack Del Rio will have his troops ready for this primetime divisional TV Game.

Manning did not look himself last week throwing 3 INT's and struggling in the redzone. Jacksonville is very physical and can run the ball constantly. This is a absolutely essential game for Jax to have any shot at all at making the playoffs.

Niners (13-5-2 last 20 vs. spread) must win or kiss their playoff hopes good-by and the last 8 meetings with Arizona has been an average margin of victory of just 3 points. I like the defense of SF and Mike Singletary will have his troops ready! Take the home underdog and the SF 49ers.

Sunday night action:

10* NY Giants +1

The Giants look like they are a team that is ready to make a run for the postseason. They beat Dallas last weekend and now they have a primetime home game against a team that they have a whole bunch of revenge against. Philadelphia blew out the Giants last month and the last time they were in New York the Eagles sent the Giants out of the playoffs. Everyone is jumping on the Eagles here this week because they blew out the injured Falcons last week?

Brandon Jacobs finally broke out of his season-long slump with a 74-yard touchdown reception last Sunday when he caught a four-yard pass and took it 70 yards down the sidelines. A year after shoving the NFL around with two 1,000-yard rushers in their backfield, they're averaging 124.6 rushing yards per game, good for just 10th place in the league. I love teams who can run the ball, put pressure on the QB and good defense. People are starting to count the Giants out of the NFC East race. Even after a win over the Cowboys last week the media said the game could have gone either way and the Giants were outplayed for most of the game. But the reality is that the Giants are starting to make the plays that they didn

Denver dominated a bad KC team last week in their 44-13 victory. They out rushed the Chiefs 5.4ypr to 3.6ypr, out passed them 6.0yps to 2.8yps and overall 5.7yppl to 3.1 yppl. Indy jumped out to a lead over Tennessee and the Titans could never get back in the game. Indy and Manning will beat up on this young Denver team and cruise to a double digit win!

Indy has played the much tougher schedule and it will show today!
COLTS by 16

5*

5*

The Arizona Cardinals are a very good football team and will have the intensity today to knock off the Vikings.
70% of all bets are pouring in on Minny but the line is moving the opposite way down from -4. See this one before, smart money is all over the Cards and public perception is the sole reason the Vikings are road favs of more than a FG vs. a solid team. Arizona should have Warer back and Lienart got his act together in the 2nd half last week. Arizona has playmakers on offense, home field, and a much improved D. Minny hasn't seen the road in a month and now playing on the road in the heat!
Take ARIZONA as a strong 5* Sunday night selection.

10*

10*

10*

Texas is a great team and at 12-0 is playing for more than the Big 12 Title. The National Title is obviously on the line here. Nebraska has earned the right to play in this game. At 9-3, this is a fine team. Sure, no National Title for the Cornhuskers. Just a nice Bowl game. But wouldn't the Big 12 Title be sweet while at the same time putting a kink in the Longhorns plans.

Nebraska was 5-1, averaging 21 points per game and, like Texas, giving up 15 on average. The total yards tells the same story. Texas has an easier time moving the ball and also held opponents to fewer total yards. Simple numbers can tell us simple things. The conclusion, Texas is a better football team. But are they 14 points better?

Nebraska has a ypp offensive number of 12.9. Not as good as Texas, but 12.9 is a good number. Defensively, Texas has a 17.1 while Nebraska has a very nice 19.6. Since Texas held opponents to fewer total yards on average, those numbers suggest Nebraska did a good job in the red zone. They gave up a few more yards but managed to keep teams out of the end zone.

Subtracting the defensive numbers from the offensive numbers, Texas is a +7.2 while Nebraska is a +6.7. Fairly even, with Texas having the offensive edge and Nebraska having the defensive edge.

Nebraska matches up well against Texas with their stout defense and physical defensive line. This line has risen dramatically in favor of Texas, but I feel that the line moved in the wrong direction. Look for a tight game here with the underdog Nebraska getting the call in a low scoring game. 5*

The only thing i can say here is Tim Tebow how many times he has come up big.
If he plays well, executes the spread against Alabama's defense, no doubt in my mind Florida wins this game by 10 points or more.

Alabama has injuried on the offensive line and when they cant run the ball, they will be in trouble.
I like the # 1 overall defense in the entire country in the Florida Gators.

Last week at Auburn the Crimson Tide struggled in their running game to the tune of just 72 yards rushing and that was against the # 80th run defense in the entire country. Now they step up to face the 8th best run defense in the country.Look for a 7-14 point win for the Florida Gators here!

A last-second win over its biggest rival offered West Virginia some consolation after being eliminated from the Big East title race, and also put it in position to play in a more prestigious bowl game if it can win its season finale.

Based on its history against Rutgers, that shouldn't be too difficult.

A trip to a New Year's Day bowl could be the 24th-ranked Mountaineers' reward if they can beat Rutgers for a 15th straight time Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J.



West Virginia opened as a 2.5 point favorite but now find themselves getting points in this game. I think the oddsmakers had it right the first time. WVU is 2-1 ATS this season as a dog and they are coming off a confidence-building win over Pittsburgh. West Virginia has won 15 straight vs. Rutgers and are 30-4-2 all-time in the series. I like the Mountaineers to get it done here behind Noel Devine running all over Rutgers early Saturday afternoon. 10*

This game is a bad match-up for Cincinnati as Pittsburgh has the DE's and secondary to shut down Cincy.
However, now the team has to travel away from Cincinnati and play a Pittsburgh team that has the best defense they have faced all season. The Panthers have a very strong defense with top NFL prospects on the defensive line. The Bearcats haven