Thanks to Turkey Day our football weekend gets off to an early start this week. That means we need to bring in our football guru, D-Sweet, from Campus Pigskin to give us some of this weekend's winners.
Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State
Bad Sign:Vegas is begging you to be on Oklahoma. The Sooners are just -6, which isn't much coming of a solid win while the Cowboys were beat by Texas Tech. The Sooners are definitely the better team; however, Oklahoma State is much better at home and the Sooners' emotional state could be in limbo after Friday's Texas-Texas A&M game. Remember, if the Aggies win, OU can win the Big 12 South with a victory at OSU.
I think the Sooners fall behind early but come back to win a close one.
Texas A&M (-12.5) @ Texas
Let's be realistic - no way does Texas lose this game.
The Aggies can't pass, and passing is the only way to beat the Longhorns. Neither Ohio State nor Kansas State did much damage on the ground while beating Texas this year.
Trust me, I'll be doing my best to cheer for A&M and their unwarrantedly (yes, I made this word up) cocky QB Stephen McGee. But I'm not expecting them to actually perform.
LSU @ Arkansas
Most college football fans still probably think LSU is the better of these two teams. They probably have more talent, but never take Les Miles' ability to veer his team to an L lightly. Arkansas is scrappy, willing to take risks and very creative on offense. LSU tightens up under pressure.
I like Arkansas to win - they'll find a way around the stingy Tiger defense and ride Darren McFadden all the way to the SEC championship.
Notre Dame @ USC
Like any decent OU fan, I hate USC. But I also realize they are really, really good.
But the Irish are on a tear of their own recently and have the added benefit of feeling slighted by the pollsters most of the season. But they've been slighted for a reason - their defense can't stop the pass and they haven't beaten anyone of note in the Charlie Weiss era.
It's not all bad, however: the game is in LA, and the Irish have yet to lose on the road under Weiss. The Trojans have a soft spot for good passing teams, so Notre Dame should be in the game until the end. I like the Irish to take a little more time on their final drive of the game this year and win with some kind of Brady Quinn miracle.