Baltimore pissed the bed on Monday night after Northwestern did the same in the second half on Saturday but another winning week was highlighted by Oklahoma State beating Mizzou by 21-points like we called it. A 3-2 record last week keeps us hoovering above the 60 percent mark for the season with a 23-15-2 overall record. This week we’re only gonna make one play against the 
spread on Saturday but I’ve got such a strong feeling on an Over/Under that I can’t let it slide. We’ll also focus on a mismatched NFL docket that should bring us some good ching and keep us collecting from the book. Here we go!……-Fireman Mike
The Commodores have become relevant in the SEC this season, something that most coaches in the conference never thought would happen during their tenure at their respective universities. But they’ve recruited well and actually added a little pop on defense to go along with a coach that plays second fiddle to nobody on the recruiting circuit. That said, after a win against an undermanned Army team last weekend, Vanderbilt welcomes in an Arkansas team that is arguably the third-best team in the SEC after proving themselves worthy inside the conference with their only loss coming against Alabama. Tyler Wilson leads a powerful offense that should have no problem taking advantage of a Vandy squad that will be overwhelmed with the speed difference they’re going to find from last week to this. Joe Adams, Ronnie Wingo and Jarius Wright provide WIlson with too many weapons on the offensive side of the ball for an erratic Jordan Rodgers to stay on pace with. Vandy will be in it in the first half but once the emotion wears off the Razorbacks will take hold of this game with a firm grip.
Arkansas wins 44-20 and starts to realize they could be tied for second place in the SEC after next weekend.
Stanford @ USC -OVER 59.5It’s not too often that two legitimate Top-5 NFL Draft picks line up against one another in college football. Now throw in the fact that each plays quarterback and have scored over 37-points a combined eight times and you have a recipe for a close shootout that could be close to the over at halftime. The Cardinal have no problems lining up with six or seven offensive linemen and running the ball down your throat but that usually sets up Andrew Luck for huge chunks of yards to his tight ends, who all have big play ability. 
Factor Luck’s deadly accuracy with Matt Barkley’s ability to rise to the occasion and answer the opposition’s scores with touchdowns of his own and you have all the makings of a shootout that only gets out of hand in the fourth quarter once one team capitalizes on the other’s mistake. The biggest key to the OVER play here is the fact that both QBs handle the ball with great care and neither is prone to turning the ball over and it comes as a shock when either makes an inaccurate throw, never mid an interception.
Stanford pulls away late and comes out with a win in their toughest road test of the season with a big 47-31 victory at Southern Cal.
Giants -9.5 vs. DolphinsThe Giants return a few of their injured starters to the field this weekend which should provide a spark to a team that has found itself in the driver’s seat for the NFC East title. They have a lot of work to do and have a brutal schedule to conquer but they have put themselves in a good position at this point in the year. The Giants will be able to force a number of undesirable throwing lanes upon Miami’s Matt Moore throughout the game Sunday and once you combine that along with a few turnovers, that both the Dolphins and Moore’s opponents over the years have become accustomed to, this game can get out of control in a hurry. With those negative plays comes constant chaos, which the Giants not only expect but thrive on. A team like Miami -in total shambles right now- usually fold under those circumstances and when you have no motivation or anything to play for it usually gets ugly, especially on the road!
New York gives Miami a rude welcome and beats the floundering fish 31-17.
Steelers +3 vs. PatriotsThe public is really high on the Pats right now and it’s not hard to understand given the constant hype the national media give to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. But the Steelers are happily riding under the radar with a 5-2 record and coming off one of the more dominant wins of the season, granted it was against a piss poor Cardinals squad. The Steelers bring a lot of dimensions to the table that the Patriots haven’t necessarilly been hit with yet, mostly the ability to sit back in the passing game and stop the weak New England running game with their front four and a strong linebacking crew that won’t have to rely on stacking eight men in the box in order to do so. Brady and Co. will be strong after the off week but Pittsburgh is hitting its stride and is in desperate need for a signature win against a good opponent to spark them in the second half of the season. Never bet against a desperate teams with a punishing defense and a great coach. The Pats haven’t been able to play the “Us Against The World” card for a while and it has resulted in zero Super Bowls over the past seven years despite having the best QB-Coach tandem in the league.
Pittsburgh wins 23-21 on a last second field goal after Big Ben leads yet another historic comeback drive with under a minute to go in the fourth. But we’ll take the points because they’re free.
Everybody is ready to sell their Lions stock but when the public does it’s the right time to hop in and buy. Their defense is now set up to succeed, from their coaching staff to their personnel they have the right people in place to become one of the more impactful crews in the league. The Broncos on the other hand don’t have enough help on the offensive side of the ball to keep them off the field long enough to play every down with 100% intensity. If they think they are going to be able to give Tim Tebow the abridged version of the playbook and sneak away with a win against the Lions they are going to be out of luck, or in it depending on how bad they finish and where they stand at the end of the year with the other miserable teams in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Regardless of how they have been torched over the past few weeks, the Lions have enough talent on the defensive side of the ball to stop the run when that’s the only thing thrown at them. I fully expect the Lions to get back on track offensively, mainly because great players have a tendency to slow the game down when they have an injury the way Matt Stafford does with his ankle this weekend. He’ll take advantage of a mismatched Denver secondary and hit the long ball a few times before taking what the defense gives them later in the game.
Detroit beats the shoes off of Tebow and the Broncos and get back into the conversation in the NFC with a 27-10 victory.
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