FRIDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!

Last week I was only 5-8-1.  Time to improve...

COLLEGE PICKS

Oklahoma at Kansas State.  MY PICK:  SOONERS.  Yes, K-State is riding high and unbeaten, and at home.  Yes, the Sooners are coming off what was for them a terrible loss at home.  But Oklahoma has too much talent, and too much good coaching, to lay an egg two weeks in a row.  Go with the Sooners.

Michigan State at Nebraska.  MY PICK:  CORNHUSKERS.  MSU had an amazing, emotional victory last week at home against Wisconsin.  But now only one week later they must go on the road against a tough opponent.  Can MSU get emotionally up sufficiently to do it two weeks in a row?  I doubt it.  Go with the Cornhuskers.

NFL PICKS:

Indianapolis at Tennessee.  LINE:  Titans by 8.5.  MY PICK:  TITANS.  A chance for Tennessee to get well; and the Colts just appear to have been beaten down, demoralized by this horrendous season they're going through.

Jacksonville at Houston.  LINE:  Texans by 9.5.  MY PICK:  TEXANS.  I think the Texans may be ready to get back on their roll.  Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has kept his unit playing together; and last week the offense got Arian Foster going.  Look for that to continue this week.

Minnesota at Carolina.  LINE:  Panthers by 3.5.  MY PICK:  PANTHERS.  A battle of rookie QBs--Cam Newton vs Christian Ponder.  But I suspect that Newton is further ahead at this point; plus, rookie QBs like Ponder often struggle in their first road game, though Ponder shows promise.

St. Louis at New Orleans.  LINE:  Saints by 13.5.  MY PICK:  SAINTS.  They showed last week they won't let up against bad teams; I see no reason for that to change against the sad-sack Rams.

Arizona at Baltimore.  LINE:  Ravens by 12.5.  MY PICK:  CARDINALS.  Not to win.  But to make this a closer game.  The Ravens have issues offensively.  For the past 3 games, Joe Flacco has been off, and they have not been executing.  Meanwhile AZ and Kevin Kolb put up 20 points last week against the Steelers in a losing effort.  If they can put up those kind of numbers this week, they will beat the spread.

Miami at NY Giants.  LINE:  Giants by 9.5.  MY PICK:  GIANTS.  The Giants are playing better football lately.  The Dolphins have not.  Look for the downward slide of the Fish to continue.

Washington at Buffalo (played in Toronto).  LINE:  Bills by 6.  MY PICK:  BILLS.  This remains a Bills teams vastly improved; meanwhile, the 'Skins, with major injuries to Chris Cooley and Tim Hightower, appear to be facing a long rest of the season.

Detroit at Denver.  LINE:  Lions by 3.  MY PICK:  LIONS.  Because 4 minutes of good play by Tim Tebow doesn't negate the 56 minutes of poor play he displayed last week.  The Lions D-line and blitz packages will give Tebow more trouble, and Calvin Johnson can help the Lions get back on track by riddling the Broncos' secondary.

New England at Pittsburgh.  LINE:  Patriots by 3.  MY PICK:  PATRIOTS.  Tom Brady has a history of good performances against the Steelers; I see no reason why that would be halted this week.

Cleveland at San Francisco.  LINE:  49ers by 8.5.  MY PICK:  NINERS.  One especially has to be impressed with the recent play of the 49ers defense.

Cincinnati at Seattle.  LINE:  Bengals by 3.  MY PICK:  BENGALS.  It's always a dicey proposition when a rookie QB (like Cincy's Andy Dalton) goes on the road.  But remember--he's won on the road already this year (at Cleveland).  And the Seahawks' offense appears to be a mess.

Dallas at Philadelphia.  LINE:  Eagles by 3.5.  MY PICK:  EAGLES.  This will be a tough game.  But:  the Eagles appeared to me last game to find some things against the Redskins offensively, especially with DeSean Jackson.  And the Cowboys consistently have been mistake-prone on the road.

San Diego at Kansas City.  LINE:  Chargers by 4.  MY PICK:  CHARGERS.  Another tough one.  San Diego has talent.  But most would agree they haven't played all that well yet this year.  The Chargers have played two really good teams--the Patriots and Jets--and lost both.  Meanwhile KC has improved and gotten back to .500.  But...while the Chiefs have improved, they're not yet ready to be called a good team; so look for the more talented Chargers to win and to cover here.

"Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success.
A whole clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!"
-Andrew Carnegie