GRRRRR LeSean McCoy

Good morning.  The worst thing that I did in preparation of my fantasy football matchups this week was notice the status of LeSean McCoy.  McCoy was my 2nd overall pick for my 8-4 team in this year's draft (after Tom Brady).  I noticed that he was listed as questionable with a toe injury this week, so I replaced him in my starting lineup.  I never went back to check his status before the game, but I know that toe injuries can be tricky.  You get one shot to guess who scored 25.30 points last night against the Seahawks...  On a totally unrelated note, I vote that we start employing this flex scheduling that is available on Sunday night games for the Monday night ones as well.  The New England/Indianapolis game was moved to a daytime start this week because the Colts are not competitive this year.  Well folks, on the next two Monday nights, we get Chargers @ Jaguars and Rams @ Seahawks...  YAWN...

It appears that I should not have gone with my gut last week when picking a couple of the college games.  After looking at the in-state matchups last weekend, I decided to take two of the underdogs, and they were responsible for my only defeats as I went 4-2 last week.  Virginia and Clemson were not able to upset Virginia Tech and South Carolina, but LSU, Stanford, Georgia, and Wisconsin did come through for me.  The NFL was again a source of frustration for me as I managed to go 1-2 during a week that I was sure I would register a winning record.  Carolina -3 came through with flying colors (27-19 over Indy), but I managed to lose my other picks.  I took Texans/Jaguars over 37 1/2, and there were ALREADY 27 points scored by halftime.  One field goal scored during the whole 2nd half of the Texans/Jags game - YEP...  I also took the Steelers -10 against the Chiefs, thinking that Kansas City couldn't score.  The Cheifs only scored 9 points, but the defense really showed up at Arrowhead for K.C., and the final was 13-9 - YEP...  My records for the season are now 29-12 on the college games (straight up) and 15-12 on the NFL picks (against the spread).  Maybe not moving back to Vegas worked out well...  :)  On to this week's games...

It looks like we have 5 college games involving matchups of teams that are ranked in the Top 25 this weekend.  We'll start with #22 Texas at #17 Baylor.  The Longhorns are coming off a huge Thanksgiving win over Texas A&M in a matchup of teams that may not be repeated for a while on the football field.  While that victory may or may not provide a hangover, I think that Heisman candidate Robert Griffin III will just pose too many problems for Texas, as he has for many opposing defenses this year.  I am picking the Bears over the Longhorns.  #15 Wisconsin at #13 Michigan State:  I got this one right the first time around, when the Spartans hit on a 'Hail-Mary' pass to defeat the Badgers (I still haven't bothered looking this one up on the YouTube).  I am going to take the Spartans again in the rematch, which this time is for the Big 10 Championship.  #5 Virginia Tech vs. #20 Clemson:  I'm going to go with the Hokies in this one.  The Tigers have seemingly lost some of their magic, having dropped 3 of their 4 games, while the Hokies have quietly (at least it's been quietly in Texas) climbed into position for a big bowl game this year.  #10 Oklahoma at #3 Oklahoma State:  A very big game north of the Red River.  The Sooners have won 7 or 8 straight in this matchup (hey, it was 20 minutes ago when they said how long the streak is on ESPN - how am I supposed to remember TWENTY minutes ago?).  I like the Cowboys in this matchup because they are playing at home, because they are taking on a Sooners team that has more often than not looked unimpressive to me this year, and because I think that their loss to Iowa State had a lot to do with the melancholy feeling on the Stillwater campus after Oklahoma State lost a couple of its women's basketball coaches in a plane crash during the week preceding the game.  #14 Georgia at #1 LSU:  I am going with the Tigers in this game, but I have a lot of respect for the way that the Bulldogs have played this year after starting the season out slowly.  To go against the Tigers in this game would be rooting for a huge upset I think.

Baltimore - 6 1/2 over the Browns is my first NFL pick.  I swear, if the Ravens can't beat the Browns by more than a touchdown...  :)  I am also going to go with the Titans + 1 1/2 against the Bills.  It seems to me that Chris Johnson has found his running game, and the Bills haven't looked very sharp lately.  I'm really not sure why Buffalo is favored in this game, but I like the Titans.  I am going to take the under 53 in the Packers/Giants game for my final pick.  It's simply the temptation of the high number, and whatever possibility there is of inclement weather that could adversely affect the passing games.  I think that at home the Giants will show up for this game and that it will be a very competitive contest.  The anticipated return of Ahmad Bradshaw for the Giants should mean more handoffs and more clock being ticked off.  Hopefully I won't be ticked off next week after another 1-2 weekend... (Ba dump, ching!)

Remember that the college bowl selection special will be televised early Sunday evening.  I hope that you have a great football weekend, and I'll see you again on Monday for the ramble...