The second of the three Thanksgiving Day NFL games features one of the best teams in the league against one that has seen better years. Still, it’s very hard to think of many better ways to spend your day after the last piece of turkey has been cut and the last bit of pie ate.

The Cowboys are undefeated against any “normal” NFL team, with the one loss coming against the undefeated New England Patriots. Many experts are predicting a rematch with the Patriots at the Super Bowl, so this is a good chance for the entire country to seem them strut their stuff for national television audiences. Terrell Owens has done a great job this year keeping the attention on his team, and not himself, and its paid dividends. Even the quiet Owens is having a great season, catching 50 balls for eight touchdowns. It helps when you have Tony Romo throwing the ball to you. Romo is on pace for over 4500 passing yards. His five games over 300 yards in just this season alone had threatned the all-time streak by Cowboy legend Troy Aikman. He has thrown for 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His completion percentage of over 65 is also among the tops in the league. Other emerging stars on the team include tight end Jason Witten with 47 catches and five touchdowns, and Marion Barber III averaging a very nice 5.1 yards per carry while scoring six times.

The New York Jets have been in disarray all season. They’ve had multiple injury problems, and been having even more trouble picking a starting quarterback. One of the few bright spots on their team has been Jerrico Cotchery. Cotchery has caught 51 balls, but has only been able to score once. He has made at least four catches in every game, showing he is also one of the most consistent players on the team. It is unclear which quarterback will start for the Jets. Chad Pennington has been constantly booed by fans for the past couple of years. Fans also are concerned with his arm strength, or his lack there of. Kellen Clemens has been waiting in the wings for a while. He has appeared in three games. Most recently he took the helms against Washington in their 23-20 overtime loss. He played fairly well that game, compiling a passer rating of 78.1. He passed for a touchdown, but was unable to make any big plays when they really needed to.

I don’t think you need to be a fortune teller to predict the winner of this one. The Jets will be away in Dallas and on Turkey day. Upsets are always possible, but the Jets are just so banged up it’s really hard to imagine them leaving the Big D with a W in this win. I’m guessing Cowboys 38, Jets 10.

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One week ago the Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten) thought this game would be one more en route to a national championship bid. Instead, the Buckeyes were shocked at home by Illinois. This game still has huge implications, because it will most likely determine the champion of the Big Ten and a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Michigan Wolverines (8-3, 6-1 Big Ten) know all about tough loses, as they became the highest ranked team to ever lose to a non-BCS game when they lost to Appalachian St. After losing their next game to a very good Oregon team they had won eight games in a row before losing a close game to Wisconsin this past week.

Injuries particularly hurt Michigan in their last loss. Superstar running back Mike Hart was unable to complete the Wisconsin game. Hart has been credited as single handedly keeping the Michigan ship afloat after suffering those two early season debilitating losses. If Hart is unable to play in this huge game the Wolverines will have to find a way to make up for his 5.5 yards per carry and twelve touchdown runs. Quarterback Chad Hennne was also injured by the end of the Wisconsin game. As of this writing it is unsure weather or not either of these two integral parts of the offense will play on Saturday.

It’s always tough to gauge if a team will be able to bounce back after a tough loss, especially one that has to go on the road the next week. The Buckeys clearly have the talent to beat the Wolverines, but will the proper emotion needed to do it still be there. The Buckeyes are led by junior quarterback Todd Boeckman. Boeckman has thrown for 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. One of those interceptions was the deciding factor in the Illinois loss. Running back Chris Wells is averaging 5.8 yards per carry and has scored twelve times, numbers comparable to Mike Hart, and he’s just a sophomore. On the year the Buckeys are allowing only teams to score 11 points per game and they are outscoring them by over 20 a game. This team is actually ahead of schedule in many experts eyes because they will return many of their key players next year. To think they were very close to playing for national championships on a “down” year imagine how they will be when they are primed for a title run. A Rose Bowl victory is nothing to sneeze at though.

This is a very tough game to call. They will be playing at the “Big House,” one of the largest and most exciting stadiums in the country. But, Michigan will also be most likely coming in not at full strength. The only thing hurting on Ohio State is their pride. If the Ohio State that showed up for their first 11 games shows up in Michigan I believe they will win this one by a score of something close to 31-21.

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Over the last couple of years the Chicago Bulls have started to make some noise in the eastern conference. But, the Bulls are struggling a bit to start of this year, winning only one of their first six games. What the Bulls need to get back on track is a couple games against less than spectacular teams. Problem is, they won’t get that at Phoenix. The Suns are led by two time NBA MVP Steve Nash. This season Nash is averaging 22.9 points per game and just under nine assists per game. The nearly 23 points per game is almost ten points above his career average of 14 per game. To say he’s off to a great start would be an understatement. The Bulls are led by former sixth man Ben Gordon. Gordon is off to a good start, averaging 18 points a game, but he isn’t getting much help from teammates at this point. Their one win of the year came against a decent team, the Detroit Pistons, so Bulls fans know the potential is there, they are just waiting for it all to click. Chicago currently lacks a defensive presence, mainly because Ben Wallace has been battling injuries all year, and even before that he has struggled to be the force he once was. Tough game for Chicago here. As long as Phoenix doesn’t take the Bulls for granted, which would be hard to believe with a leader like Nash, I think the Suns take this one fairly easily.

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A great early season match-up pits the defending champions San Antonio (6-1) Spurs against the team that finished with the best record last year, Dallas Mavericks (4-2), in a battle of Texas. Dallas continues to be one of the most exciting teams in the league to watch. One of last years biggest surprises, Josh Howard, currently leads the team in points with 23 a game. Dirk Nowitzki is right behind him with 19 points per game. Both of the Mavericks losses have come on the road, in this one they will have the benefit of home cooking.

Manu Ginobili leads San Antonio with just under 20 points a game. When he isn’t scoring, it’s long time Spurs captain Tim Duncan taking over. Duncan is averaging a double-double this year, 17 ppg and 10 rpg. If Duncan is beginning to lose a step in his tenth season, he has failed to make that public. The Spurs-Mavericks game is an interesting battle because it pits an up tempo team like Dallas against a team that looks to execute more in a more deliberate manner. As their record indicated, the Spurs have only lost once, as they continue to show that the West division starts with them. Despite playing the Mavericks at home, I think the Spurs will take this one in a close game. This game is just the beginning of back-to-back games against Texas teams. They play Houston after this one.

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If the Oregon Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) are able to get by Arizona this Thursday they will further strengthen their bid for a national championship game. They are already close to securing a Rose Bowl bid, which would be a huge accomplishment in itself, but with this “topsy turvey” season playing out the way it has, they are now credible contenders for the big game.

Heisman trophy candidate Dennis Dixon has been on a mission all season, putting up great numbers game after game. Dixon’s quarterback rating is an amazing 163.1, among the tops in the nation. He has passed for 20 touchdowns with just three interceptions and already over 2000 yards passing. The 6’4 200-pounder is also running more than he ever has. In 104 carries this season he is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He hasn’t fumbled once, and has found the end zone on foot an additional eight times. Junior running back Jonathan Stewart is already being called a Heisman trophy prospect for next season, and for good reason. He has ran for 1142 yards so far, including six of his nine games over 100-yards. Stewart has scored 11 times, ten of them on the ground. Oregon’s lone loss came to California, in California, when the Bears were among the top teams in the nation.

Arizona is 3-4 in the conference and 4-6 overall. While their record doesn’t indicate it, they Wildcats have been on a bit of a roll lately, winning two in a row against Washington in Washington, and UCLA, at home. There is no better time then now for Arizona to try their luck at one of the best teams in the country. The Wildcats are led by a very good quarterback that is getting somewhat overlooked because of their record. Willie Tutiama, a junior, has passed for over 3100 yards with 24 touchdowns and just nine interceptions, numbers comparable with Dixon. Against Washington, Tutiama passed for 510 yards, with five touchdowns and one interception. It would be safe to say this he is a dark horse to win next years Heisman. What Tuitama lacks, and what Dixon has, is a steady balance of firepower surrounding him. His main wide receiver threat, Mike Thomas has had a good season. Thomas has a team high 67 catches with 9 touchdowns with an average of 12 yards per catch. Next year will be the year to look for this team to reach the upper echelon of the Pac-10.

As I said, if Arizona has a chance, it’s now. They are playing Oregon at home, and Oregon is coming off a bye, which could mean the Ducks may have a little rust. The Ducks could also be looking ahead to bigger games down the season. I don’t think this will happen, but it could be a closer game then expected. I like a score of about 38-28.

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When the people in charge of the Monday night football schedule made this game they most likely thought it would be a battle of a young up and coming team in the 49ers against a proven team in the Seahawks. Instead, San Francisco has struggled to start the season, mainly due to injuries, but also maybe because they were a bit overrated to start the season. Seattle is right at .500 but was expected to do better. A lot of their non success can be attributed to their pro-bowl fullback retiring, and that one of the best running backs in the league over the last decade may be finally slowing down, Shaun Alexander.

San Francisco fans are hoping that Frank Gore can return after sitting out a 20-16 loss to Atlanta, in Atlanta, last week. Gore was off to a decent start, rushing for 435 yards on four yards per carry and three touchdowns. If Gore is unable to return to the lineup then the job will be taken over by two separate running backs, Michael Robinson and Maurice Hicks. Combined they ran for 116 yards in the Falcons loss. Third year quarterback Alex Smith is also battling the injury bug, and in the process, struggling through another season. His 57.6 passer rating is among the worst for NFL starters. He has passed for over 200 yards only once this season. Smith started off decent, taking the team to a 2-0 start, but as their record indicates they have been unable to get a win since then, despite coming close against Baltimore and Atlanta.

Shaun Alexander is having his worst season of his career, finding the end zone only twice in eight games. In this past weeks 33-30 OT loss to the upstart Browns he carried the bowl 14 times for only 32 yards. He has been only able to average 3.3 yards per carry, far below his normal average. It’s getting so bad for Alexander that he is now close to becoming the second option behind running back Maurice Morris. Still playing fairly well at the quarterback position is Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselback has a completion percentage of over 61 percent and has thrown for 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He has put up better numbers than that for his career, but right now he is the most reliable player on the squad. The overall most concerning factor in all of this is that the Seahawks are unable to find a way to win games they would have won in years past. They have two three point losses, to Arizona, and of course the Browns. The Seahawks will most likely still wind up in the playoffs because they are in the NFC West, and because they are the only team with a .500 record, they are in first place.

I think the Seahawks can win this one. They will be at their friendly confines of home, and are looking to bounce back from their narrow loss in Cleveland. Smith, for the 49ers, has struggled mightily as of late, and I don’t expect it to get any better on the large stage of “Monday Night Football.” I’m taking the birds 30 to 13.

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Another week in the SEC and another meaningful game, what’s new?  This week the two teams that will be beating up on each other will be the Auburn Tigers (7-3, 4-2 SEC) and the Georgia Bulldogs (7-2, 4-2 SEC).  Georgia is currently in first place in the SEC east while Auburn is second in the west.  The SEC is considered by many to be the best conference in the NCAA and if you put a handful of SEC teams in other divisions they would have better records and some of them could even be undefeated, challenging for a championship.  LSU is currently slated to play in the championship now, and they are in the SEC, but even they have lost a game in this crazy season.  They all might beat up on each other, but they make for one hell of exciting football games.

Georgia is led by amazing redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno.  Moreno has been on a tear of late, including rushing fo196 yards and three touchdowns in Georgia’s last game against Troy.  While Troy isn’t a top team, it was just a continuation of his hot streak, where he rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns against Florida, at Florida.  It’s hard to imagine a true freshman having a much better start than Moreno to a college career.  If he is able to gain 100 yards against Auburn, it will be the fourth game in a row.  On the year he is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and had found the end zone nine times.  The fans of Bulldogs football have found a diamond in the rough that they hope can take them first to an SEC title and maybe later in his career, a national championship.

The Tigers have had a bit of an up and down season.  Their loss to Southern Florida, the second game of the year, isn’t that bad, but the one following that to Mississippi State was.  After that loss they won four in a row, including games against Florida and Arkansas.  Three games ago they lost to LSU by a touchdown in one of the best games of the year so far.  They’ve rebounded well against less than stellar competition, but have looked good in the process.  The name of the game for the Tigers is defense.  They are outscoring their opponents by 11 points, and allowing only just over 14 points a game.  If they have a chance against Georgia, at home, the D will need to show up.

I’m leaning towards Georgia in this one mainly because of the recent play by Moreno.  Auburn’s defense is very tough, and among the tops in the nation, but their offense can be stagnant at time.  I take Georgia is a tougher than sounding score of 21-10.  However, I would not be surprised if Auburn took it, because they have been known to surprise this season. 

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The Cleveland Cavilers have just as brutal of a schedule you can have to start a season.  They started with a game against powerhouse Dallas, at home, and then faced New York at home, going 1-1.  They have since hit the road, losing to Phoenix.  They face Golden State and Utah in consecutive days, and then face Sacramento, all on the road.  As of this writing the Cavs have only won one game, but many believe that this tough schedule will prepare them for the rest of the season, and another run at the playoffs.  James, of course, is leading the team in scoring.  Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is off to a good start as well, averaging 15 points and 14 rebounds a contest.  Ilgauskas has always been a solid player, but continuous injuries have sometimes made him unreliable.

The Sacramento Kings are having what some people would call a “rebounding” year.  They are off to a bad start, going zero for three, so far.  In the talent laden western division they can’t afford to get off to a bad start and expect to make any type of run that involves a playoff position. 

The Kings have some young talent, but not enough to be a serious contender.  With that, I think they may have enough here to take care of a team that will most likely be tired, having started the majority of the season on the road.  I’ll take the Kings in a mini-upset by just a few points that could go either way. 

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Washington is off to a 0-3 start (as of this writing) and it doesn’t look to be getting easier.  There are already talks of the team trading away some of their start talent, including Gilbert Arenas, if they are not able to turn it around, fast.  With the exception of the blowout to Boston, they have been competitive in every game.  In the opening game of the season they lost in overtime, and this past Saturday they took a lead into the fourth quarter against the Magic before being outscored 30-15 in the final frame and losing 94-82.  It’s sort of strange that they off to this bad start, because Arenas is off to another hot start, and Brandon Haywood has shown aggressiveness that lacked in his first few years in the league, averaging 13 rebounds a game.  The Wizards are not performing well on defense, a trend they have dealt with for the last few seasons. 

Denverv (2-1) is among an entire slew of teams in the west that could make a championship run.  Ever since Allen Iverson arrived in Denver he says he feels like a new man, and is playing like one.  Early on this season, along side superstar Carmelo Anthony, he is averaging 24 points per game and an unselfish ten assists per game as well.  Marcus Camby is also off to a fabulous start, averaging an amazing 19 rebounds per game.  It’s unlikely that he will be able to maintain that pace, but Camby has always been a very good rebounder, and a good start like this helps a ton.

I think Washington will still make a playoff run, but I don’t think they’ll start it here.  Denver has too many weapons for “Agent Zero,” and the gang. 

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When this game was originally seen on the schedule at the beginning of the college football season it was believed that this match-up could possibly play a major role in who plays for the national championship.  Now with Louisville (5-4, 2-2 Big East) struggling to finish above .500 and West Virginia (7-1, 2-1 Big East) just hanging on to an outside shot at a championship, this has turned into a more normal game.  But that doesn’t mean the game can’t be exciting.  After all, both teams have a few offensive weapons to choose from.

Louisville’s Brian Brohm was an early season candidate for the Heisman trophy, and still could possibly be the first quarterback taken in the NFL draft next year.  He has completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 3229 yards, a career high.  In those 3229 yards he has passed for 26 touchdowns (also a career high) and just seven interceptions.  His quarterback rating is an outstanding one of 161.42, just behind his sophomore season numbers, but he has thrown a lot more passes this year then in that one.  Brohm still make get an invite to the Heisman trophy awards, but he most likely won’t win it because of his teams declining performance.  They’ve lost four games, and two of those came unexpectedly against a Syracuse team that has struggled to win any kind of game the last few years, and Utah.  It isn’t Brohm’s fault they are losing.  The defense has been pretty much nonexistent, giving up more than 35 points four times. 

A team that will most likely be bringing two players to the Heisman trophy banquet will be West Virginia.  Pat White, the Mountaineers quarterback is a dual threat both through the air and on the ground.  After struggling with accuracy early in his career he has rebounded to complete 70 percent of his passes, including nine touchdowns with just two interceptions.  Where he is even more fun to watch is on the ground because he is averaging 6.8 yards per game, and has added an additional nine touchdowns.  His partner in crime is also most likely a first round draft pick in the NFL in two years, Steve Slaton.  Slaton has gained 100 yards or more in five of the first eight games.  In two of the three games he didn’t gain 100 it was because he was replaced early in the game because of his team being so far ahead.  Slaton is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and has found the end zone 13 times. 

If West Virginia would have been able to sneak past South Florida earlier in the year they would be sitting pretty on top of the rankings.  Instead they have had to battle back, which they have done well.  A national championship may be out of the picture, but a Big East championship and a big bowl game are now.  I expect the Mountaineers to roll here by a score of 38-21, with the Cardinals Brohm having another solid game in the process. 

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