COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAY

                           ROSE BOWL   ROSE BOWL - PASADENA, CA

                    **** OREGON  -8    vs    FLORIDA ST

I will start this off by saying that I think there has come a time for these Seminoles of 2014 to be exposed.  For all who have watched them play this year, we have seen that they don't play really good defense at all, like they did last season.  They also don't run the ball as effectively as last year, and they don't have a big physical WR like Benjamin.  They do have WR, Rashad Green, who is pretty good, and they have Winston, the best player in college football.  So, they have been able to be very resilient and come back and win some nail biters.  They also play a not so tough, ACC schedule, and have struggled against running QB's.  I think their schedule is a big part of why Winston has gone 27-0 as a starter. I also think that these Noles have not faced any teams that are actually better than them.  Until now.  These Oregon Ducks have been very dominant, especially after their loss to Arizona.  They have become a better team because of it.  Heisman trophy winner, Marcus Mariotta, has had an unbelievable year and only thrown 2 INT's all season.  Speaking of INT's, Jameis has thrown 17 this year, compared to only 6 last year.  What does that tell you?  I don't know what it tells you, but it tells me his team is not as good and he has had to do a lot more.  I don't know why I need to keep saying this, but these are NOT the Noles from last year!  They dominated every team they played last year, beating everyone, by at least 14.  They have struggled and barely pulled off wins this year, against teams that don't even rank in the top 15.  No one they have played this year is even close to as good as Oregon is.  We have also seen that to beat the Ducks you have to be very physical, play great, disciplined defense and run the football very well, to keep that offense off the field.  That is not at all what Florida State does.  I also think the defense of Oregon is being underestimated.  Yeah, thy have given up a lot of points, but some of those points were just garbage points and they played several explosive offenses.  What explosive offense has Florida St played?  I think when I saw Oregon play Michigan St this season, I saw that this team is special.  I saw their defense make key stops and big plays.  They bent, but they never broke, and the Ducks were down by two scores, and came back to win by 19.  Oregon has 25 takeaways on defense and 34 sacks.  I am very impressed with their D line and I smell some turnovers by Winston.  I say he throws at least two picks and loses at least one fumble, and the Noles get exposed as the one dimensional team with a weak defense, that they are.

PREDICTED SCORE : DUCKS  41   SEMINOLES  27

You could wait and see that the line may go down.  You could see if it goes down to 7, or even buy it down to 7, as an insurance policy, but I don't think you really will have to. The Ducks will win by at least 10, in my opinion.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL PLAY

              OUTBACK BOWL   RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM - TAMPA, FL


** AUBURN  -7    vs     WISCONSIN

I think, just like the LSU match up in week one vs the Badgers, there is a talent gap here.  Auburn has had top 5 recruiting classes in the last few years, and I think Gus Malzahn is a great coach.  I really think the Tigers want this bowl win for their program, for it is on a big rise.  I don't really care about the suspension of WR, D'Haquille Williams, because I think they have a lot of other guys who can contribute there.  Plus, they have a great rushing attack and that's what they do, really.  Wisconsin is really just a one-dimensional team, and QB, Stave, is not good at all, and could struggle vs the Tigers' D.  The Badgers lost their coach, and didn't even show up for their conference championship game, which he coached in.  RB, Melvin Gordon has announced he is leaving and I don't think he is too mentally involved, at this point.  I'm not saying Wisconsin will not show up for this game, I just think Auburn is clearly the better team.

PREDICTED SCORE :  AUBURN  38   WISCONSIN  24

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL PLAY

                       ORANGE BOWL SUN LIFE STADIUM - MIAMI GARDENS, FL


***** MISSISSIPPI ST    -7     vs     GEORGIA TECH

The Mississippi St Bulldogs were finally a part of the SEC's elite, under Dan Mullen as coach.  It has been a long time since they were a top team in the SEC, much less, the whole country.  This has not been something that is easy to do with this football program.  As far as good recruits go, you would probably go anywhere else in the SEC, except for Vanderbilt or Kentucky.  So I think Mullen has done a great job, and he put together a really good Bulldogs team this season.  They weren't good enough to knock off the top dog Alabama or rival, Ole Miss, but they have a great offense and a heck of a front seven on defense.  As for Georgia Tech, they play in a conference that can't really compare to the SEC and they don't play defense.  The fact that they beat Georgia means nothing, because that is an arch rivalry game, and they beat Georgia in '08, and there was an overreaction, because Georgia had beat LSU bad that year.  So, Tech was a 3.5 point favorite against LSU in the Peach Bowl that year and bettors were all over the Yellow Jackets.  LSU destroyed them 38-3.  Not that that year has really anything to do with this game, it's just that beating Georgia this year is not that impressive, neither were the Georgia Bulldogs.  I  think this Mississippi St  Bulldogs team is just much better than what the Yellow Jackets have.

PREDICTED SCORE :  BULLDOGS  45    YELLOW JACKETS  24

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAY

                 FIESTA BOWL  UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX STADIUM - GLENDALE, AZ

*** ARIZONA   -3     vs    BOISE ST

I will start off by saying that this is not the same Boise St team that they had in the late 2000's or early 2010's.  Coach, and magnificent play caller, Chris Petersen was gone after last season.  Even then they didn't have the kind of talent they did for a few years there when they were a legit contender.  They just lost by 15 to a Pac 12 team in last year's bowl.  What do you know?  Now they play a very good Wildcats team, who was runner up to Oregon in their conference.  Rich Rod has had more  balance on this season's squad.  Arizona's offense is very high powered and I don't see Boise being able to stop it.  Coach Rodriguez has always been good in bowls, with extra time to prepare, for pretty much his whole career.  I could see this being an easy win for his team.

PREDICTED SCORE : WILDCATS  48  BRONCOS  28

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL PLAY

                PINSTRIPE BOWL YANKEE STADIUM - BRONX, NY

** BOSTON COLLEGE  -2.5    vs     PENN ST

If I told you two years ago that Penn St would be playing in a bowl game in two years, after all the stuff that happened with their football program, you may have laughed.  Well, I still think it's a joke.  They went 6-6, this season, in the worst BCS conference, and  I don't think they have one signature win all year.  I guess you could say they play good defense, but their offense is terrible.   Boston College had an alright year, in a better conference.  They play some good defense and have a balanced team.  They beat USC and almost beat Florida St.  I think they are the better overall team and program.

PREDICTED SCORE :  GOLDEN EAGLES  24   NITTANY LIONS  14

NFL PLAY

**  JACKSONVILLE   -3.5   vs   TENNESSEE

This is the only prime time game for the Jaguars, and a spot to shine for them, I think.  The Titans are one of the worst teams in football, and will be playing with really a third string type of QB, in Charlie Whitehurst.  The Jags are one of the worst teams, as well, but they have a lot more going for them than Tennessee.  The Jags' D is not all that bad, and Bortles is a stud, who doesn't have much around him.  Doug Marrone will have them playing very tough to bring some motivation in for next season.

PREDICTED SCORE : JAGUARS  23   TITANS 13

NFL POWER PLAY

*** NEW ENGLAND   -7.5    vs    MIAMI

The Patriots are playing at home for the first time in three weeks and get to play Miami for a little revenge.  The Dolphins beat the Pats 33-20 in week one, and since then, New England has made a complete 360 in this bitch.  They have been almost a completely different team since their week 3 loss to KC.  Bill Belichek definitely wants his revenge and the Patriots almost always get it.  They haven't been swept by a division opponent since 2000.  The Dolphins are also about to have their annual, late season collapse.  This will be the third straight year, with Tannehill at QB, that they are falling late in the year.  They really should have won that game at home last week vs the Ravens.  Well, it isn't going to get any easier going into Gillette Stadium, playing a great Pats team, who wants revenge.

PREDICTED SCORE : PATRIOTS  34   DOLPHINS  13

NFL WEEK 14 PLAYS

** ST. LOUIS  -2    at    WASHINGTON

The Washington Redskins have really been just a complete mess this season.  They have one of the worst owners in football, who has made, yet another, dumb decision for a coach hire.  There is a reason that Jay Gruden stayed a coordinator for so long in this league, having the name he has.  This guy is just terrible and now they are down to their third string QB, because the first two, which they drafted, are just busts.  Colt McCoy may give the Skins the best chance of winning, but he is still just a good back up, in my opinion.  Alfred Morris has really been a disappointment this year, along with the whole offense, which has talent.  The Rams started slow this season, but now are now 2-1 with Shuan Hill, and are really starting to come on.  Their defensive line is finally living up to its potential and they have just been sack crazy.  I see them being able to get some serious pressure on McCoy and their offense should be able to score as well.

PREDICTED SCORE : RAMS  28   SKINS  17


**  KANSAS CITY  -1    at     ARIZONA

Even when the Cardinals were completely healthy, I didn't think they were anything special.  They don't do anything great on offense.  Andre Ellington is a good player, but I don't think he brings the complete package, for a RB, to the table, and now hes banged up for this game.  They have now been playing with, back up QB, Drew Stanton, who isn't terrible, but shows why he isn't a starter.  I don't think its going to get much easier for this team.  The Chiefs are coming off of a bad loss at home to a team that just owns them, right now.  I think K.C. could play Denver 10 times in a row and the Broncos would probably win all 10.  The Chiefs have just not been good against their divisional teams, but have been good vs the rest of the league.  Andy Reid is a really good coach and he usually has his teams bouncing back after losses.

PREDICTED SCORE :  CHIEFS  16   CARDINALS  13

NFL THURSDAY NIGHT PLAY

* CHICAGO  +4   vs    DALLAS

I really love the energy and motivation teams get from playing at home on prime time, and I also think that the Cowboys may be in store for a December slump.  They just got down right embarrassed at home by their rivals, Philly on Thanksgiving Day.  Jay Cutler is actually 3-0 vs Tony Romo and the Cowboys, and I know these aren't exactly the same teams, but I really like Jay and the Bears' chances tonight.  I know people may be worried about the Bears' rushing defense vs Demarco Murray, but they did a great job vs the Jets, who have a top 5 or 6 ranked rushing attack.  That was also a prime time game, what do ya know.

PREDICTED SCORE :  27-24  Either Way

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAY

** WISCONSIN   -4.5    vs     OHIO ST

The Badgers and the Buckeyes will face each other Saturday for the Big 10 Championship Game, and Ohio St will be starting their third string QB.  I'm sorry, but a third stringer for a game this big against a legit team is bad news.  Now, I know Urban Meyer will have his kids pumped and ready to go and believing that they can, too, win this game.  I actually think the Badgers were at least a TD better vs the Buckeyes, if they had Barrett in at QB.  Wisconsin is very hot right now and has something coming for the Buckeyes, because they have lost three in a row to them.   I think the Badgers just might rout 'em.