S. Mississippi –3½ over Mid Tennessee State

The first ever meeting between these two teams will feature plenty of offense, as both teams racked up over 30 points a game during the regular season. The main difference between these two schools is that Southern Mississippi did it while playing in the strong Conference USA while Middle Tennessee State did it while playing in the worst conference in College Football. This isn’t to say that the Blue Raiders will have trouble scoring, but it’s important to recognize that Southern Mississippi will be the best team they have played since conference play started. The step up in competition from the dregs of the Sun Belt to the high-powered offense of Southern Mississippi will surely play a factor this Sunday. Consider that against horrific Memphis at home and Sun Belt champion Troy, Middle Tennessee State managed to score 31 and 7 points. That simply won’t win the game against a Southern Miss squad that put up 43 points against Houston, 44 against Tulsa and almost upset conference champion East Carolina in the season finale. Middle Tennessee State’s QB Dwight Dasher put up some ridiculous numbers throwing and running the football but one could make the case Martevious Young is just as good a quarterback at this point in the season. Young took over when Austin Davis went down and had a 13-1 touchdown to interception ratio while throwing for 1577 yards in seven games. Southern Mississippi lost the three games he played in by a combined 14 points. Both these teams will trade touchdowns and one of them may open up a significant lead but at the pace and efficiency they both play at the final score should be relatively close. Southern Mississippi played a much better schedule and won’t be surprised by the talent level of the Blue Raiders. They played the two toughest opponents on their schedule very close and even if the defense plays poorly they should be able to name the score on offense. Play: Southern Mississippi –3½ +1.02 (Risking 2 units).





PITTSBURGH –2 over Green Bay

If you’re a regular reader of this section than you know an angle I love to use is buy low and sell high and this game fits perfectly. The Steelers have cost a lot of people money over the past few weeks and those that bet on them week after week probably can’t wait to bet against them here after that awful performance against the then 1-11 Brownies. The Steelers aren’t just coming off one bad performance either. They’re coming off back-to-back losses to Cleveland and Oakland, one as a 10-point favorite and the other as a 14½-point favorite. They also lost to the Chiefs and when you lose to Oakland, Kansas City and Cleveland in the span of a month, that’s about as low as you can go. Meanwhile, the Packers are gaining steam with five straight wins. They recently crushed the Ravens on a Monday Night Football game and last week they won in Chicago, 21-14 and that’s a very flattering score for the Bears. The Bears were dominated. So, the Packs stock is soaring, the Steelers stock is reeling and that has created a very beatable number here. The Steelers have also had 10 days to prepare and you know they’re absolutely steaming to get back out there and get this thing right-sided. Buy low and sell high. Play: Pittsburgh –2 (Risking 2.18 units to win 2).




Cincinnati +7 over SAN DIEGO
Sure, the tale of Chris Henry is a sad one but nobody forced him to go Indiana Jones on a moving vehicle. The guy was a loose cannon anyway and he hasn’t played in a month so while his death is a shocker for sure, it’s unlikely to affect the Bengals in a negative way. They’ll dedicate the game to him and likely play extremely well. Now that it’s out of the way, let’s move on to the game. The Bengals are dangerous as hell with a terrific defense and an efficient offense. They were buried in Minnesota last week but they’re still 9-4 and have only lost by more than the offered points here twice this season. They simply came out flat and it happens to every team over the course of a season. Now that the Bengals got that one out of its system, they’re a solid bet to bounce back in a big way. The Chargers have reeled off eight in a row and because of that, combined with the Bengals 20-point loss last week, the Chargers are overpriced here. Fact is, they’ve had a rather easy schedule, beating Kansas City, Oakland, a reeling Giants team, K.C. again, Cleveland, Denver minus Kyle Orton and last week a reeling Cowboy squad by the slimmest of margins and they were fortunate to get that win. So, while the W’s in the win column are impressive, the opposition was not and frankly, this edition of the Chargers does not impress me in the least. An efficient QB like Carson Palmer can do a lot of damage to this team and it says here the Chargers finally get exposed for being an average team, just like they were in the first five weeks of the season when they lost to Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Denver and barely beat the Raiders. Play: Cincinnati +7 (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).






KANSAS CITY –2 over Cleveland

Well, this might not be the most exciting game on the board but a win with the Chiefs pays exactly the same as a win with the Saints. In fact, this one will draw less interest than Siegfried and Roy would have at a nanny convention. Nonetheless, this one has to mean a lot more to the Chiefs than it does to the Brownies. Cleveland is coming off that highly charged, emotional win over the Steelers and that was its signature win this season. Lost in that signature win is that Brady Quinn went 6-19 and looked like he usually does, which is confused. The Brownies had its glory game and now they’ll travel to play a team that would be absolutely roasted by the local fans and media should they lose another home game to a weak team. Incidentally, the Chiefs also beat the Steelers four weeks ago and subsequently lost its next game by 30 points. That win is a distant memory however, and the Chiefs need this one badly to avoid a flurry of scrutiny. The good news is that they’ll get one of its key offensive players back in Dwayne Bowe. RB Jamaal Charles is an absolute factor every time he touches the ball. The whole team is being challenged and frankly, they couldn’t have handpicked a riper opponent that’s coming off that Super Bowl like win over the hated Steelers. Play: Kansas City –2 (Risking 2.14 units to win 2).