Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (-3)

ATS: Volunteers 3-7, Commodores 7-3

Home: Vandy 3-2, Away: Tennessee 0-4

Pick: Vandy

Tennessee is just plain bad.

Vanderbilt 17-12

Air Force @ (17) TCU (-20)

ATS: Air Force 7-3, TCU 7-3

Home: TCU 5-0, Away: Air Force 5-0

Pick: Air Force

Seems like too many points for an Air Force team that can control the clock.

TCU 30-20

(2) Texas Tech @ (5) Oklahoma (-7)

ATS: Tech 5-2-1, Oklahoma 7-2

Home: Sooners 5-1, Away: Red Raiders 4-0

Pick: Oklahoma

Graham Harrell against Sam Bradford.  Should be a great matchup.  Tech’s magic runs out against Stoops and the Sooners

Oklahoma 37-24

NCAA:

Florida (-21.5) beat S. Carolina 56-6 (L).  Worst defeat for a Spurrier team ever.  Tebow threw for two and ran for one.

Louisiana Tech (-14) beat  Utah State 45-38 (L).  Back and forth game.  Utah State actually led with 11:30 left in the 4th quarter.

Oklahoma State (-17.5) beat Colorado 30-17 (L).  A perfect end to a horrible day.

NFL:

NY Giants (-7) beat Baltimore 30-10 (W).  The Giants led 20-0 in the 2nd quarter and they ran all over Baltimore.

Indy (-9) beat Houston 33-27 (L).  The Texans Slaton had a monster day, 156 yards.  Indy looks to be getting into a groove but not enough to help me.

Dallas (-1) beat Washington 14-10 (W).  Portis did end up playing but was out in the 4th quarter.  Romo was a bit shaky but Marion Barber made up for it.

I'm better than you!

Last week for some strange reason I found myself watching The Oprah Winfrey Show.  Before I even started watching the show I loathed her.  I don’t think I’ve ever watched a whole episode in my life but I have been in front of the tv when she has been on.  My sister loves the show and my mom would watch it while making dinner.  The thing about Oprah is that I’ve always found her to be a phony.  I guess the more someone tells you that they are like you, the less they really are.  Oprah isn’t like us, she’s way better.  She feels more than we do, she cares more than we do and, I almost forgot, she’s worth about $2.7 billion.  I’m sure she can relate.  I don’t begrudge anyone being mega rich, I just wish they wouldn’t insult our intelligence by pretending to be like us.  Sure, Oprah grew up like so many of us but that’s long gone. 

What drove me to write this?  What was on that episode?  This is the best part.  I’m watching the show and it’s Oprah all teary eyed telling us about how her palatial mansion is threatened by the wildfires in California.  She also called her good friend, actor, Rob Lowe and they talked on the phone about how scary it is that their “houses” are in the area of the wildfires.  Then Oprah goes on to tell us a story about how she called her neighbor, producer and director, Ivan Reitman to see if he was ok.  What’s the problem with this?  I’m not saying that Oprah shouldn’t be emotional about this because it is real and scary but do you think it’s the right time to be going on television and telling us about these problems that we cannot relate to?  

The economy is getting worse every day and I believe the average Oprah viewer is an average middle to lower middle class housewife.  Do you really think that a housewife in Indiana cares about one of Oprah’s many houses?  Can she relate to Oprah’s plight when her husband may be losing his job, they can’t pay their mortgage and their future is uncertain?  I don’t think so.  I found Oprah’s show and her act to be highly inappropriate for the time we’re in now.  I would have had less of a problem with this episode last year or previous years but not now.  Oprah, know your audience and stick to interviewing your Hollywood friends about anything but this and keep on pretending that everything they say is interesting.  You’re not like us, you’re better, and we know it. 

Baltimore @ NY Giants (-7)

ATS: Ravens 7-2, Giants 7-2

Home: NYG 5-0, Away: Baltimore 3-2

Pick: Giants

The Giants are the class of the NFC and they should have an easy time here.  They dismantled the Eagles last week and Joe Flacco is no Donovan McNabb.  More of the same from the Giants, a balanced offense and solid defense.

Giants 31-20

Houston @ Indianapolis (-9)

ATS: Colts 4-5, Texans 2-7

Home: Indy 2-2, Away: Houston 0-4

Pick: Indy 21-10

Indy seems to be finding their groove and that doesn’t bode well for the Texans who have disappointed this year.  Indy all day here.

Colts 21-10

Dallas @ Washington (+1)

ATS: Dallas 3-6, Washington 5-4

Home: Redskins 3-2, Away: Cowboys 2-3

Pick: Dallas

Romo’s back and Portis is out.  That’s all I need to know. 

Dallas 24-21

(23) S. Carolina @ (3) Florida (-21.5)

ATS: Gamecocks 5-3-1, Gators 7-2

Home: Florida 4-1, Away: S. Carolina 2-1

Pick: S. Carolina

Florida is scoring a ton points lately.  They are 7th in points scored and 4th in points allowed.  Tim Tebow looks very comfortable passing and running the ball.  South Carolina has a decent offense, nothing spectacular but their D is 3rd in total yards allowed.  This looks to be a physical game.  Stats aside, I think 21.5 are too many points to be giving to Steve Spurrier in this game.  Florida wins but doesn’t cover.

Florida 24-13

Utah State @ Louisiana Tech (-14)

ATS: Utah State 5-4-1, La. Tech 4-4

Home: La. tech 4-0, Away: Utah State 0-5

Pick: La. Tech Bulldogs

Louisiana Tech has beaten the Aggies in the last three meetings.  Utah State is bad on offense and defense.  teams can score on them.  The Bulldogs shut out San Jose State on the road last week and also have beaten Fresno State.  La. Tech can run the ball and should be too much for Utah State.

La. Tech 44-14

(13) Oklahoma State @ Colorado (+17.5)

ATS: Colorado 2-7, Oklahoma State 8-1

Home: Buffaloes 4-1, Away: Cowboys 2-2

Pick: Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State got spanked by Graham Harrell and Texas Tech last week so look for them to bounce back in a big way this week.  Colorado is 106th in points scored and 83rd in points allowed.  The Cowboys are 6th in points scored and I don’t think Colorado can stop them. 

Oklahoma State 44-17

NCAA:

Texas (-27.5) beat Baylor 45-21 (L).  Colt McCoy had 5 TD’s but Baylor scored a late touchdown to ruin this play.

Texas Tech (-3.5) beat Oklahoma State 56-20 (W).  Tech had this in control the whole time.  Graham Harrell had 456 yards passing and 6 TD’s.  Can you say Heisman Trophy?

Rice (-9.5) beat Army 38-31 (L).  Thanks Rice, for letting Army score on a 43 yard run with four minutes to go and not only ruining this play but my parlay.  I think it’s twice in consecutive weeks that a team named the Owls (Temple) screwed me.

NFL:

San Diego (-15 beat Kansas City 20-19 (W).  Too many points for an iffy Charger team.  Tyler Thigpen 266 yards, 3 TD’s and no INT’s.  Chiefs, say hello to your new quarterback.  The Brady Croyle era has ended.

Carolina (-10) beat Oakland 17-6 (W).  This game wasn’t as easy as it should have been.  So much for Jake Delhomme having a huge day.  He had 72 yards passing with 4 INT’s.  How did they win.  Oh yeah, they played the Raiders.  Oakland tried a field goal as time expired for what reason?  If they would have hit it and broken this play I would have shot the television.

Arizona (-9.5) beat San francisco 29-24 (L).  Kurt Warner (MVP?) had a good game but San Fransisco was up for this game.

The Very Funny Colin Murray

I don’t know how many people still watch Around The Horn on ESPN but if you’re one of them, you should stop watching and start listening to Fighting Talk hosted by the very funny Colin Murray.  Around The Horn came first but Fighting Talk is definitely the superior show.  Sure, I enjoyed it when Max Kellerman hosted ATH but since he left many, many years ago, I lost interest.

On both Around The Horn and Fighting Talk, the host asks guests questions that involve sports and pop culture (more on Fighting Talk) and guests earn points on the content and cleverness of their answers.  Points are awarded by the host at his discretion.  The guest with the most points wins.  Simple.

I’ve been listening to Fighting Talk since Colin Murray started hosting in 2006 so I don’t know how much better or worse the previous hosts were but Murray is hilarious.  Sometimes I don’t get what or who the guests or Murray are talking about but his delivery and wit make me laugh.  To be honest, all the guests are funny on the show, even Greg Brady.  I say that because I’m familiar with Brady from his days doing sports radio on 1130 WDFN in Detroit and he was a bit of a nerd.

If you haven’t already listened to it, check out Fighting Talk.  It’s available as a free podcast on iTunes or you can listen to it on the BBC 5 Live website.  You can thank me later.

Kansas City @ San Diego (-15)

ATS: Chiefs 4-4, Chargers 3-4-1

Home: SD 2-1, Away: KC 0-4

Pick: Kansas City

Way too many points to lay for San Diego against a suddenly game Kansas City team.  Tyler Thigpen has brought a spark to the Chiefs and the Chargers are just not that good.  Ten points maybe but not fifteen.

San Diego 26-17

Carolina @ Oakland (+10)

ATS: Panthers 4-3-1, Raiders 3-5

Home: Oakalnd 1-3, Away: Carolina 1-2

Pick: Carolina

If Atlanta can embarrass Oakland, why can’t Carolina do it coming off a bye?  Oakland is 32nd in points scored.  Look for Delhomme to torch the Raider’s secondary.

Carolina 23-9

San Francisco @ Arizona (-9.5)

ATS: Cardinals 6-2, 49′ers 2-6

Home: Zona 3-0, Away: San Fran 1-2

Pick: Arizona

Arizona is 1st in points score while San Francisco is 39th in points allowed.  Do the math.  The Arizona offense has been on fire.  Warner will throw for 400 yards.  Poor Mike Singletary, he didn’t know what he was getting himself into.

Arizona 38-13

Baylor @ (7) Texas (-27.5)

ATS: Baylor 5-3, Texas 7-2

Home: Texas 5-0, Away: Baylor 0-3

Pick: Texas

Don’t need any stats here.  All you need to know is that Texas owns Baylor and Texas is coming off a disappointing loss to Texas Tech.  I feel sorry for the Bears.  This game could get out of hand early.

Texas 56-3

(8) Oklahoma State @ (3) Texas Tech (-3.5)

ATS: Cowboys 8-0, Red Raiders 4-2-1

Home: Texas Tech 5-0, Away: Oklahoma State 2-1

Pick: Texas Tech

Look at my picks from last week if you want the Texas Tech stats.  Just remember that Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree are awesome and Oklahoma State’s defense is ranked 98th against the pass.  This will be another high scoring game for Tech.  Harrell threw five touchdowns last year at Oklahoma State.

That Cowboy ATS record looks pretty impressive and to be honest, Oklahoma State is getting lots of love in this one but how can you go against Tech?

Texas Tech 37-33

Army @ Rice (-9.5)

ATS: Army 5-3, Rice 6-3

Home: Owls 3-0, Away: Black Knights 1-2

Pick: Rice

Rice is 7th in passing yards and 9th in points scored.  Army is 117th in points scored but they have a decent defense.  Rice can put up points.  They scored 56 v SMU, 35 v Memphis, 49 v UTEP, 77 v North Texas, 45 v Southern Miss and 42 v Tulane.  If Army had a better offense I’d give them a shot but their defense can’t do it all.  Rice quarterback Chase Clement has a huge day.

Rice 30-10

NCAA:

Navy (-7) beat Temple 33-27 (OT) (L).  Temple led this game 27-7 early in the fourth quarter but Navy tied it with 37 seconds left in regulation.  Temple should have never been in this game.

Alabama (-23.5) beat Arkansas State 35-0 (W).  Never in doubt.

Texas Tech (+3.5) beat Texas 39-33 (W).  Tech led this one 19-0 and 22-3.  Texas stormed back to take the lead at 33-32 with 1:29 left but Tech scored with :01 to win.  Graham Harrell threw for 471 yards and took over the Heisman lead over Colt McCoy but don’t count out McCoy.

NFL:

Tennessee (-4) beat Green Bay 19-16 (OT) (L).  Good back and forth game.  Aaron Rodgers is the real deal.

Philadelphia (-6.5) beat Seattle 26-7 (W).  No Seneca Wallace magic this week.  All Eagles all the time.

Miami (+4) beat Denver 26-17 (L).  In case you didn’t know, Denver’s defense sucks.  Jay Cutler had 3 INT’s.