College

1. Missouri – Proved on Saturday in front of a primetime national television audience that they are for real.  Chase Daniel is no doubt in the Heisman trophy race.  His performance showed what kind of special player he is.  He goes to show everyone that it’s not all about size.  He’s an NFL quarterback.  But despite their ranking and performance against KU, they are still a 3 point underdog going into their game against Oklahoma.  Though Missouri really impressed me, I still like Oklahoma with a healthy Sam Bradford in the Big 12 Championship game.

2. Georgia – Playing hotter than any other team in the country right now.  Moreno at running back has been the difference maker down the stretch for the Dawgs.  Since the Florida game, Richt has his players performing at an elite level.  This was the one team LSU didn’t want to play in their former run to the national title.  It doesn’t look like there is anyway for Georgia to play in the national title game, but I guarantee they would be a favorite against almost anybody.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a Georgia/USC match up in a BCS game.

3. West Virginia – Easiest game left out of all the national title contenders (unless you count Ohio State).  However, and it is a big however, being the number 2 team in the country has been the toughest job for anyone this year.  White, Slaton, Reynaud, and Devine look near unstoppable and though Saturday’s game is nicknamed the “Backyard Brawl”, I can only picture one team doing most of the brawling. Putting up 66 against a Connecticut team that was only allowing 18 points a game says something, even though it is the Big East. Missouri/West Virginia national title game?  I wonder how many prognosticators had that game before the season started.   

4. Ohio State – This is another example of a team that didn’t play their way into this spot the last couple of weeks.  But, they have only lost one game this year to a much improved and dangerous Illinois team.  There will also be some that argue that the Illinois game was the only tough game they played this year.  Akron, Youngstown St, and Kent St. doesn’t exactly scream out brutal non-conference schedule.  Big 10 has been weak this year, considering the expectations it had at the beginning of the year (i.e. Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State), but going undefeated in a BCS conference should garner some National Championship consideration  Athletic teams are seem to be their weak spot (Florida last year, Illinois this year).  West Virginia would be a tough match up in January.

5. USC – They are playing like everyone thought USC would be playing all year.  If I had had National Championship game wish, it would be USC/Georgia, as mentioned above.  Their loss to Stanford still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but Booty was playing hurt that game and they were looking ahead.  Booty seems to be healthy and back to playing like he did most of last year and Washington, Gable, Johnson, McKnight, and company are all contributing.  Fred Davis is an absolute freak on the field and is their best receiver, despite playing the TE position.

                NFL 

1. Patriots – Just because of a close victory doesn’t mean anything will change.  Did anyone else see how many dropped passes they had? 

        2. Cowboys – Looked extremely good against the Jets, at no surprise. If they keep getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers in Owens and Whiten then winning 14 or 15 games isn’t farfetched at all.  What a match up this week against the Packers.  Even though only 18 people will get to watch the game, I’m sure it will be something.  Make sure you stay up for Sportscenter late Thursday night to catch the highlights.  Playing in Big D is an obvious advantage and I look for the Cowboys to win in a close one.

        3. Packers – It’s hard to believe that I would have 2 NFC teams in two of the top three spots.  They have definitely played their way into this position.  Last week I said they had found a little bit of a running game in Ryan Grant.  Now it seems like Grant is a legitimate weapon in the Packers offense.  This makes them not just contender for the NFC but for the Super Bowl as well.  Their defense might be young, except for Woodson and Harris, but they have really stepped up their play throughout the year and their bump and run philosophy will either reward or burn them against the Cowboys receivers.

        4. Colts – The score might have been 31-13 but it was another less than spectacular win for the Colts.  I’m also not sure if any win against the Falcons could be considered a good win.  But a win is a win, and they keep doing it.  A huge test against the Jaguars this week, with the winner having the upper hand in claiming that division.  Dungy is hopeful that they will be getting Harrison back in the lineup, and if that happens, look for the Colts to come out on top.  It sure doesn’t hurt that their playing in Indy with all the “fake crowd noise”.

        5. Jaguars – David Garrard is the only starting QB in the NFL this year not to have thrown an interception.  Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor provide a lethal one, two punch.  Their front four does well against the run, allowing less than 100 yards a game.  However, the pass defense is what will give them problems, not just this week, but the rest of the season.  No matter what, this game should no doubt provide some excitement this week and the best part about the game is that we’ll get to see it on CBS, and not NFL Network.