Penn State Nittany Lions (8-3)At Michigan State Spartans (6-5)

 

Date & Time: November 17, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

The Penn State Nittany Lions and Michigan State Spartans wrap up their respective schedules, as the two are set for a Big Ten Conference clash. Penn State is coming off its second shutout of the season, a 31-0 triumph at Temple last weekend. The Nittany Lions have gotten hot down the stretch, winning five of their last six games. Their only loss in that span was a lopsided defeat to then top-ranked Ohio State on October 27th.

As for the Spartans, they enter the tilt on the heels of last weekend's much-needed 48-31 win at Purdue. The victory snapped a three-game skid for Michigan State. Although they are bowl eligible, the Spartans may need a home win this weekend in order to officially lock up a bowl game, considering how tight the Big Ten standings have become. Should they do so, the Spartans would be bowl bound for the first time since 2003. In terms of the head-to-head series, Penn State holds a slim 12-11-1 advantage over Michigan State.

TAKE PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS MINUS -3 POINTS

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Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-3)At Army Black Knights (3-7)

 

Date & Time: November 17, Saturday, 12:00 p.m.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane shoot for their fourth straight victory this weekend as they take on the Army Black Knights in their first-ever meeting at Michie Stadium in West Point. Tulsa posted a huge win last Saturday with a 56-7 thrashing of Houston at home, putting the team ahead for the Conference USA West Division title, a honor that the Hurricane can celebrate with a win over Rice in the final game of the regular season.

As for the Black Knights, they were at home for the first time in more than a month last Friday night, but Rutgers refused to be gracious guests in what became a 41-6 setback for the service academy. Following this contest, Army will take off a week before emerging in Baltimore for the annual battle against the Naval Academy to close out the 2007 campaign.

TAKE TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE MINUS -15.5 POINTS

 VS.

 

#3 Oklahoma Sooners (9-1) At Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-4)

 

Date & Time: November 17, Saturday, 8:00 p.m.

The third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners remain in the hunt for the national title, but they figure to be tested this weekend by the Texas Tech Red Raiders when the two meet for a Big 12 tussle in Lubbock. Oklahoma needs to win either this weekend or next against Oklahoma State to clinch a berth in the Big 12 title game opposite either undefeated Kansas or Missouri. The Sooners trail only LSU and Oregon in the AP poll, and they are fourth in the BCS standings. The lone loss for Oklahoma came against Colorado, and the Sooners have won five straight games since that point, including a 52-21 romp over Baylor last weekend.

This game for Texas Tech represents its regular season finale, and while the Red Raiders are bowl eligible at 7-4, they can greatly strengthen their postseason prospects with a victory. Tech has lost three of its last four games, including last weekend's 59-43 setback at Texas. Oklahoma owns an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series with Texas Tech, including a 34-24 decision over the Red Raiders in Norman last season.

TAKE THE OVER 66 POINTS

TAKE TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS PLUS +8 POINTS

 

(UCF) Central Florida Knights (7-3) At (SMU) Southern Methodist Mustangs (1-9)

 

Date & Time: November 17, Saturday, 3:00 p.m.

For their first-ever meeting on the gridiron, the SMU Mustangs and the Knights of UCF meet up in Dallas this weekend for a Conference USA showdown. Polar opposites as far as their respective successes this season, UCF is currently first in the C-USA East Division with a mark of 5-1 and is 7-3 overall thus far. Since losing to in-state rival and nationally-ranked South Florida the second week of October, the Knights have rolled off four consecutive victories, the most recent being a 45-31 triumph over UAB last Saturday in Birmingham.

As for the Mustangs, a team that has already announced that head coach Phil Bennett will not return following the conclusion of this season, they were on the cusp of snapping an eight-game slide last Saturday, but a last-second field goal by Rice provided the Owls with a narrow 43-42 victory in Dallas. With the setback, the Ponies are still winless in Conference USA play this season, leaving them at 0-6 and last in the West Division.  

TAKE (UCF) CENTRAL FLORIDA KNIGHTS MINUS -12.5 POINTS

 

#6 Missouri Tigers (9-1) At Kansas State Wildcats (5-5)

 

Date & Time: November 17, Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

The Missouri Tigers have climbed to the sixth spot in the most recent AP poll, and they hope to keep their Big 12 and national title hopes alive this weekend as they battle the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan. Missouri is coming off a 40-26 victory over Texas A&M, and the Tigers have clinched their first winning record in conference play under seventh-year head coach Gary Pinkel. They are in second place in the Big 12 North, trailing undefeated Kansas by one game in the standings. Those two teams will meet in Columbia next weekend. The lone loss on the schedule for Missouri is a 10-point setback to national powerhouse Oklahoma in Norman. Kansas State is 5-5 overall this season and needs one victory in the final two games to become bowl eligible.

The Wildcats have lost their last two games, including an embarrassing 73-31 setback to Nebraska last weekend. They lost to a inferior Iowa State team the week before, and it is hard to belive that this K-State squad crushed Texas in Austin back in late September. In regard to the overall series between these long-time foes, Missouri leads by a 56-31-5 margin. Last season, the Tigers snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Wildcats with a 41-21 victory.

TAKE #6 MISSOURI TIGERS MINUS -7 POINTS

 

San Jose State Spartans (4-6) At Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (4-6)

 

Date & Time: November 17, Saturday, 7:00 p.m.

Tied for fifth place in the Western Athletic Conference standings entering this week, the San Jose State Spartans and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are set to collide at Aillet Stadium in Ruston on Saturday night. The Spartans, a team that played in and won the inaugural New Mexico Bowl last season, still has a slim chance to fight their way back to the postseason, but they're going to have to come up big in the last two games. Last Saturday, SJSU proved it could turn up the intensity by crushing New Mexico State in a 51-17 decision at home. The victory snapped a three-game slide for SJSU, which is 3-3 in conference play and has Nevada looming to close out the regular season.

As for the Bulldogs, they took a break from WAC play last week and instead opted to be beaten down by then-second-ranked LSU in a 58-10 decision. The tough loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Bulldogs, who are now also 4-6 on the season overall. San Jose State leads the all-time series against the Bulldogs with four wins in six meetings. Last season, the Spartans crushed LaTech at home in a 44-10 decision.

TAKE SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS PLUS +6 POINTS

 VS.

 

Chicago Bears (4-5) At Seattle Seahawks (5-4)

 

Date & Time: November 18, Sunday, 4:15 p.m.

After stumbling for a few weeks, the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks put together their most complete victory of the season their last time out. The Chicago Bears, meanwhile, may have received a potentially season-saving performance from the highly criticized Rex Grossman in their win last week. The Seahawks and Bears each look to carry some momentum from those victories when they meet Sunday at Qwest Field in a matchup between the last two NFC champions. Following a stretch when it lost three of four, Seattle (5-4) defeated San Francisco 24-0 on Monday night in dominating fashion.

Matt Hasselbeck threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns for the Seahawks and the defense held the 49ers to just 173 yards and only six first downs, tying the team record, set against San Diego in 1987. Backup running back Maurice Morris rushed for 87 yards on 28 attempts in his first start of the season for Shaun Alexander, who was out with an accumulation of injuries. Alexander has been mostly ineffective lately, rushing for just 139 yards on 58 carries in his last four games, and may miss this game. With last Sunday's victory, Seattle improved to 3-1 in the NFC West and maintained its one-game division lead over second-place Arizona. The Seahawks, who have won the last three NFC West titles, marched to a 13-3 finish in 2005, advancing to the franchise's first Super Bowl before losing to Pittsburgh 21-10.

Last season, Chicago (4-5) went 13-3 in the regular season before losing to Indianapolis 29-17 in the Super Bowl. En route to the Super Bowl, the Bears defeated the Seahawks 37-6 at home on Oct. 1 and beat them 27-24 in overtime in a divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. Hasselbeck, who has thrown for 1,153 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in his last four games, threw for 391 yards, one TD and three picks in the two games against the Bears last season.

That was a year ago, though, and much of this season has been a struggle for Chicago. The Bears' once-vaunted defense is ranked 21st in the league, and Grossman, who led the Super Bowl run, was benched after throwing six interceptions and only one touchdown pass in Chicago's first three games. Grossman got another opportunity last Sunday against Oakland as he replaced an injured Brian Griese, and threw a 59-yard pass to Bernard Berrian for the go-ahead score with 3:11 remaining, leading the Bears to a 17-6 victory. Grossman finished 7-for-14 for 142 yards and a touchdown, and most importantly, had no turnovers. Bears coach Lovie Smith is giving Grossman another chance, naming him the starter on Wednesday.

Grossman was 38-for-69 for 514 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the two games against Seattle last season, while Berrian had eight receptions for 213 yards and two TDs in those games. Although Chicago won its first game after the bye, it still has plenty more to do to make it back to the playoffs. Cedric Benson carried 29 times but managed just 76 yards against the league's fourth-worst rushing defense last week. He has rushed for 542 yards on 178 attempts for a paltry 3.0-yard average.

Seattle has the NFL's 10th-best rushing defense (99.4 yards per game), and has allowed an average of just 65.3 yards on the ground in its last three contests. The Seahawks have given up just two rushing touchdowns in five games at home, where they have won four of those contests. Seattle has won 30 of 37 home games since 2003, and in the only meeting between these teams at Qwest Field on Oct. 19, 2003, the Seahawks won 24-17.

TAKE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS MINUS -6 POINTS