Playing in their last-ever game in the Orange Bowl, the Miami- Florida Hurricanes host the 23rd-ranked Virginia Cavaliers for an ACC showdown. Virginia grinded out a 17-16 win over then 21st-ranked Wake Forest last weekend to catapult back into the national rankings. The Cavaliers currently stand at 19th in the BCS rankings. Since a season-opening loss at Wyoming, Virginia has gone on to win eight of nine, with the only loss a narrow defeat two weeks ago at NC State. Statistically, the Cavaliers do not dominate in any one particular area, but they depend on disciplined defense and a few key plays to win close games.

Aside from a 44-14 trampling over Pittsburgh in late-September, Virginia has won all but one of its games by less than a touchdown, including five victories of two points or less. The Cavaliers run into another tough hurdle this weekend, facing an emotional Miami team that waves goodbye to the stadium the program has called home for 71 seasons and 468 games. Next year, the Hurricanes play in Dolphin Stadium. Though they suffered a tough 19-16 overtime loss to NC State last weekend, the Hurricanes are still in search of a victory that would make them bowl eligible for the 10th straight season.

TAKE #23 VIRGINIA CAVALIERS PLUS +3.5 POINTS

Nearly half a century of dominance over the Navy Midshipmen has come to an end for Notre Dame, but now it is time for the Fighting Irish to focus their energies on another of the service academies as the Air Force Falcons fly into South Bend this weekend. Last weekend, UND's NCAA-record run of 43 straight victories against a single program finally broke as the Midshipmen survived a wild 46-44 triple-overtime event in Indiana. The loss not only dropped Notre Dame to just 1-8 on the campaign overall, it marked the squad's fifth consecutive home loss, a school record that the Irish are hoping they can stop in its tracks this weekend.

As for the Falcons, they continue to play impressive football under first-year head coach Troy Calhoun. Some modifications to the run-heavy offense for the Falcons has made the team into a player on the postseason scene thanks to four wins in the last five games. Last Saturday, Air Force earned a split of this year's Commander-in-Chief's Trophy outings with a 31-10 triumph over Army at home. Unfortunately, a loss to Navy earlier in the campaign means the trophy will not be making its way to Colorado Springs. The Irish lead the all-time series with Air Force by a count of 22-5 entering this matchup. Notre Dame has captured three straight and 11 of the last 12 encounters, most recently posting a 39-17 victory on the road last season. The only win for the Falcons in the last two decades took place in 1996 in a 20-17 overtime affair in South Bend. Aside from having had such a lengthy winning streak against Navy, the Irish have also gone more than 60 years since losing to two service academies in the same season. It was 1944 when the Middies posted a 32-13 win over UND in Baltimore the first week of November, and the Black Knights followed that with a 59-0 thrashing of the Irish at Yankee Stadium the following weekend.

TAKE AIR FORCE FALCONS MINUS -3 POINTS

With first place in the West Division of the Conference-USA on the line, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane will host the Houston Cougars this Saturday afternoon at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The Cougars head into this matchup red-hot, winning four consecutive games, including a solid, 38-28 victory over SMU this past weekend. Since the beginning of last season the Cougars have been tremendous in conference action, posting an 11-2 ledger against league foes. After this weekend, the Cougars will close out their season with two straight home games.

As for the Golden Hurricane, they have won two consecutive games, including an impressive, 49-25 victory over Tulane this past weekend. Tulsa has been very tough to beat at home, as the team is 4-1 at Chapman Stadium this year. The Cougars hold a slim 17-15 edge over the Golden Hurricane in the all-time series and have won the last two matchups on the gridiron.

TAKE TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE MINUS -1.5 POINTS

The East Carolina Pirates will try to remain atop the East Division of Conference-USA when they battle the Marshall Thundering Herd this Saturday afternoon at John C. Edwards Stadium. The Pirates head into this matchup red-hot, winning five of their last six games, including two in a row. The last time ECU was on the field, the team collected a convincing, 56-40 victory over Memphis on the road. This is the second consecutive season the Pirates have won five league games. The last time ECU posted back-to-back seasons with five victories was during the 2000 and 2001 campaigns.

As for the Thundering Herd, they have been dreadful this year, as the team has lost eight of its first nine games. The most recent setback came this past weekend, as the Herd ware destroyed by UCF, 47-13. Since the beginning of the 2005 campaign the Thundering Herd have struggled in league action, posting an 8-13 conference mark. Next up for Marshall will be a road matchup against Houston, followed by a home contest against UAB. The Pirates have won the last two meetings against Marshall and hold a solid 6-2 edge in the all-time series on the gridiron.

TAKE EAST CAROLINA PIRATES MINUS -7 POINTS

The Boston College Eagles were in the driver's seat for not only the ACC's Atlantic Division title, but also a spot in the national title game had they stayed the course and finished the season strong. What a difference a week makes, as an upset loss at home to Florida State (27-17), has dropped the Eagles from being ranked second in the nation to eighth heading into this week's action. Boston College will attempt to remain atop the Atlantic Division standings this week, as the Eagles travel to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins.

The Eagles won their first eight games of the season, but last week's loss to the Seminoles dropped the team to 4-1 in league play. Finishing strong can still land BC an ACC crown and BCS bowl bid. Maryland has no conference title aspirations at a mere 1-4 in league play. The Terps have dropped three straight games, including a 16-13 decision at North Carolina last week. Things don't get easier for the Terrapins to close out the year, with road trips to Florida State and NC State. This is just the fifth all-time meeting between these two teams. BC holds a 3-1 series edge and has won both meetings as ACC opponents.

TAKE #8 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES MINUS -6 POINTS

After coming up short in one of the most-hyped regular-season games of the last decade, the first-place Indianapolis Colts don't have much breathing room atop the AFC South. The Colts try to bounce back from their tough loss on Sunday night when they visit the underachieving San Diego Chargers, who are coming off their most humiliating defeat of the season. Indianapolis (7-1) fell to New England 24-20 last Sunday in a matchup featuring the NFL's final two unbeaten teams.

The Colts took a 20-10 lead with 9:42 left in the game on Peyton Manning's 1-yard sneak into the end zone, but the defense allowed two long pass plays in the final minutes as the Patriots took over. Indianapolis' lead over second-place Tennessee in the division is down to one game, and the Colts must now avoid any further letdowns - something they struggled with last season. The Colts started the 2006 season 9-0 before losing 21-14 at Dallas on Nov. 19. Indianapolis ended up losing four of its final seven games and missed out on a coveted first-round bye in the playoffs.

The Chargers (4-4), meanwhile, are trying to get back on track following last Sunday's 35-17 road loss to a Minnesota team which entered with a 2-5 record. Vikings rookie Adrian Peterson rushed for an NFL single-game record of 296 yards, while reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson was held to 40 yards on 16 carries. San Diego entered last Sunday's game with the seventh-best rush defense, but has since dropped all the way to 22nd, allowing an average of 125.0 yards on the ground. The loss to Minnesota also snapped a three-game winning streak for the Chargers, leaving them tied with Kansas City atop the weak AFC West.

San Diego was considered by many to be a Super Bowl contender this season, but it hardly looks like one. The combined record of the four teams the Chargers have beaten is 12-21, while their four losses have come against teams with a 23-10 record. Tomlinson has been unable to duplicate the success he had last season when he scored 31 touchdowns. He ran for 113.4 yards per game in 2006, but is averaging 82.1 yards on the ground this year with eight total TDs. Tomlinson has rushed for 157 yards and one touchdown on 45 carries in two career games against the Colts.

In the last meeting on Dec. 18, 2005, the Chargers won 26-17 to end the Colts' 13-0 start. Indianapolis ranks third in the NFL in total offense (396.0 yards per game) and scoring (30.5 ppg), but finished with season lows in points and yards (329) against the Patriots. Running back Joseph Addai, though, had an outstanding performance, becoming the first Colts player to gain more than 100 yards both rushing and receiving in a game. Addai ran for 112 yards on 26 carries and had five receptions for 114 yards, including a 73-yard score on a short pass from Manning right before halftime to put Indianapolis up 13-7.

Manning threw for 225 yards against New England, but also had an interception and a costly fumble with 2:25 left in the game. Manning, who won his previous three games versus the Chargers before the last meeting, has thrown for 1,260 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions in four career games against them.

TAKE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS MINUS -3.5 POINTS

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