BCS Qualifiers

Notre Dame almost lost out on $15 million with its 4th quarter letdown against Stanford. I don’t know why HC Charlie Weis sent the injured PK (after 2 missed kicks, 1 XP and 1 FG) onto the field after the backup had made a FG. It almost cost the Irish big time.

Colts: 11-0 and looking unstoppable.

Vikings: 4 game winning streak after losing starting QB Daunte Culpepper for the season, the boat party, the Whizinator, HC Mike Tice selling Super Bowl tickets, original new ownership faked being a former NFL player on his resume. With a win over the Lions, the Vikings could actually be tied for the final wild-card spot in the NFC.

Type/Last Week/Season
NCAA/0-2/9-6
NFL/3-3/17-18-1
Invest/+1*/-3.7*

INVEST
**#12 UCLA 30 (+24) #1 USC 45. The Trojans haven’t slowed good offenses recenctly… Fresno State put 42 on the board 2 weeks ago. Southern Cal should win, but I can’t see them covering, they’ll need to get into the 60’s to do that.

SATURDAY (All Times ET)
1:00 ABC HD #2 Texas 58 (-27) Colorado 2. Why are they even playing this game? Iowa State tanked it in the 4th quarter at Kansas and gave Colorado its spot back.

2:30 CBS HD Navy 30 (-6 ½) Army 23. This series is going to move back to a field goal spread soon. Army HC Bobby Ross is restoring the program. Navy might be distracted after earning a 3rd straight bowl appearance, to the Pointsetta Bowl in San Diego.

4:30 ABC HD #1 UCLA 30 (+24) USC 45.

6:00 CBS HD #4 LSU 23 (-1) #13 Georgia 20. Because it’s on TV. LSU might be able to move into the title game if either Texas or USC falters earlier in the afternoon.

SUNDAY
1:00 FOX HD N.Y. Giants 27 (-3) Dallas 23. Both teams suffered tough overtime losses last week and the winner takes sole possession of first place in the NFC East. NY QB Eli Manning is playing better than Dallas QB Drew Bledsoe right now.

1:00 FOX HD Atlanta 19 (+3) Carolina 16. Atlanta QB Mike Vick hasn’t been that consistent throwing the ball; Carolina QB Jake Delhomme is turning the ball over than the Panthers can allow. Incompletions are better than interceptions.

1:00 CBS HD Pittsburgh 24 (-3) Cincinnati 16. The Steelers can effectively take a 2-game lead on the Bengals in the AFC North with a victory in this one. They will need to run the ball much better than they did on MNF against the Colts. RBs Bettis, Parker, and Staley were all active, but none was effective. QB Ben Roethlisberger looked rusty against the Colts but his presence is needed to give the Steelers offensive balance. The Bengals can win if they get a solid outing from QB Palmer, RB Johnson, and WR Johnson.

4:15 CBS HD Denver 24 (+3) Kansas City 20. The Chiefs have a great December home record in recent seasons and need this one to pull within 1 game of Denver in the AFC West. The Broncos get RB Tatum Bell back this week and have had 10 days to prepare for this one.

7:30 ESPN HD NFL PrimeTime Oakland 24 (+11) San Diego 31. The Chargers will keep rolling towards the playoffs but the Raiders will cover the points as WR Randy Moss finds the end zone in a prime time game.

9:00 ABC HD Philadelphia 22 (+4) Seattle 17. The Seachickens haven’t proven their toughness yet and the Eagles aren’t ready to quit just yet.