Shockingly enough, we are now into the double digits as far as weeks are concerned into the football season, and only four more weeks from Sunday until we find out who will be playing in the national championship game in college football. The winner of number 1 LSU versus number 2 Alabama will most likely play in that game in the heart of SEC country. The game on Saturday is being hyped by CBS, the network broadcasting the game, as "the game of the century." It very well could be that too, as both teams are so very evenly matched, I don't even know who to pick.
Then, in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles could be coming back, following two straight victories over division rivals Washington and Dallas, now possibly a win over a quality Chicago team would have them in prime position to make a run. So, the final month of the college football season should be fun to see who is going to play in the title game and also in the final two months of the NFL season, to see who will make the playoffs.
College
# 1 LSU at #2 Alabama, 8 p.m., CBS
This game is way too close to call, both teams have outstanding defenses, top five in the nation for both. Both teams have quality offenses, which are good, but not overtly great like Oklahoma State's offense. This game is just way too close to call, but here are some reasons as to why I think Alabama will win: four of the five regular season games involving 1 vs. 2 have been won by the number two team, Alabama is at home, where they have gone 24-1 over their past 25 games there, with the only loss being the blowup against Auburn last season. Finally, Alabama is 45-24 over the course of the rivalry.
Pick: Alabama 20, LSU 17
#9 South Carolina at #7 Arkansas, 7:15, ESPN
This week proves the depth and also probably the bias of most to the SEC, as four of the top nine teams in the BCS are from the SEC. However, South Carolina should not win this game at all, or even have a chance. South Carolina lost its starting quarterback to his stupidity and rampant drug use, and they lost possibly the second best running back in the SEC in Marcus Lattimore to a torn ACL. Arkansas has a great quarterback in Tyler Wilson, can mix it up with running back combo Denis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo. Plus, Arkansas is looking to rebound from their horrible performance against Vandy a week ago.
Pick: Arkansas 44, South Carolina 13
#14 Kansas State at #3 Oklahoma State, 8, ESPN2
Kansas State proved last week why they never should have been ranked in the top ten, as they were thoroughly dominated by Oklahoma at home no less. The final score was 58-17 in favor of Oklahoma. Expect the same kind of shellacking at the hands of Oklahoma State this time. Kansas State just doesn't have the athletes to keep up with the high powered offenses of Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. Expect Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon to light it up at home.
Pick: OSU 61, K-State 21
Notre Dame at Wake Forest, 8, ABC
The formula for Notre Dame is simple, have a turnover margin of -1 or a positive one, they win, if they turn the ball over more than twice, you will probably lose. Simple as that, and since there is no way to predict that, I'm going with Notre Dame, because they've got better athletes and while Wake is a good team, they're nowhere close to Notre Dame's level.
Pick: Notre Dame 35, Wake 21
#8 Oregon at Washington, 10:30, Fox Sports Net, or Comcast SportsNet
This is actually a fairly interesting game, as while Washington may be unranked, their only two losses came against very quality opponents in Nebraska and Stanford. However, those are the only two quality opponents that the Huskies have played. But, both were on the road. So, this game could be tricky for Oregon. Oregon has been in relative obscurity ever since their opening week loss to LSU, Oregon has been rolling, scoring at least 41 points in each of their seven victories. So, while Washington may put up a bit of a fight at the beginning, Oregon should pull away in the second half for a nice victory.
Pick: Oregon 46, Washington 28
NFL
Tampa Bay at New Orleans, 1, Fox
New Orleans played pitifully last week against St. Louis, when they lost to a winless team. Tampa meanwhile is coming off a bye, which is helpful, as they are coming back from London, and a loss. This will be the second and final time in four weeks, when Tampa won in a tightly contested affair in Tampa. My gut feeling is that New Orleans should bounce back from their awful performance against St. Louis and establish themselves as the class of the NFC South again.
Pick: New Orleans 31, Tampa 17
New York Jets at Buffalo, 1, CBS
Interesting game, as New York is coming off a bye, and Buffalo is coming back to the states after thoroughly destroying reeling Washington in Toronto last week. Buffalo is continuing to win, somehow, but, the main force behind their wins has been their defenses ability to create turnovers, as they have a 2:1 ratio with turnovers. New York should be trying to take advantage of Buffalo's fairly weak rushing defense, as they've allowed nearly 120 yards per game. New York should be refreshed and run Shonn Greene plenty throughout the game.
Pick: New York 27, Buffalo 21
New York Giants at New England, 4:15, Fox
A rematch of that infamous Super Bowl XLII, where New York merged victorious and ruined New England's perfect season. Both teams are pretty equally matched here as well, as New England has their usual potent offense led by Tom Brady and his wide array of receivers. New York has its own nice blend of receivers, including two up and comers in Victor Cruz and tight end Jake Ballard to go along with their solid 1-2 punch of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. So, it should be one heckuva game, and relatively high scoring.
Pick: New England 34, New York 24
Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 8:20, NBC
After week one, most were already crowning the Ravens as the best team in the AFC, but since that opening week thumping b the Ravens, Pittsburgh has gone 6-1, with their only loss to another division leader in Houston. Now, this game is just going to be hard hitting, pure smashmouth football. Plus, it should be a lot closer than what the first one was. Both teams just plain dislike each other and both fanbases can't stand each other. This should be one close and filled with defense.
Pick: Pittsburgh 14, Baltimore 13
Chicago at Philadelphia, 8:30, ESPN, Monday
Philadelphia has looked sharp in their past two games, not turning the ball over, and last week they played a very solid full 60 minutes of football. Chicago is somewhat of a mystery team, as they can play really well one week, and not so much the following. They played fairly well in London against Tampa in their victory. Chicago has two big weapons, those being return man Devin Hester, who can run one back at any time, as he is the all-time return leader. Then, their all purpose running back in Matt Forte, who can rack up 200 all purpose yards in any game.
Philadelphia has their own all purpose back in LeSean McCoy, who leads the Philadelphia rushing attack. Philadelphia is much like Notre Dame in the fact that if they do not turn the ball over, they're pretty good. Then, on the defensive side of the ball, their "wide 9" defense seems to be working better, with maligned defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and defensive line coach Jim Washburn making the proper adjustments in running and passing situations. So, things seem to be coming together, and just at the right time.
Pick: Philadelphia 24, Chicago 23
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