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Oregon is averaging 14.5 PPG in the first quarter this season, Arizona – just over 14. Usually to cover a total of 14 points means at least three scores but there’s the catch – in tight games, as this one is expected to be, Oregon usually goes for two after the first TD!

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A year ago Bowling Green beat 12-0 Northern Illinois to knock them out of BCS bowls. This year the MAC title rematch will probably be very different. Bowling Green won the East Division without having to beat a team with a winning record. Northern Illinois finished 7-1 in MAC play and clinched West Division title with a convincing 31-21 away win again Western Michigan. Huskies are #5 on offense (30.6 PPG) and #4 on defense (24.2 PPG allowed) while Bowling Green is good on offense (30.8 PPG) but their defense is ranked 101 st in FBS! I think Drew Hare will lead Northern Illinois to a convincing victory but because of last year's memories will be just a little cautious with the handicap.

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UCF could claim a share of American Athletic title with a win. They are top defensive team in the conference although their stats are helped by the fact that they haven't faced any of the Top 3 offenses. Until tonight. East Carolina is averaging 19.4 PPG before halftime. And the only time they haven't covered it at home was on October 23rd against UConn (14-7). This is the Seniors Night and the last chance for QB Shane Carden to add to his school records (11167 yards, 81 TDs).

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Dallas is the clear favorite and need desperately to win to stay in touch in both the division and the wild card races. Tony Romo is 1-3 against the Bears but unlike the previous years with the emergence of RB DeMarco Murray he's no longer asked to beat the opponents by himself. Chicago is practically out of the playoff picture and is playing only to keep head coach's Mark Trestman job. Or maybe to lose and climb up the draft order...

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Miami is a team Rex Ryan has little to no success against. During his tenure which will probably end in four weeks he managed to beat the Dolphins at home only once – in 2011 when Miami were in a middle of a seven-game losing streak. The other four games ended 30:25, 10:6, 30:9 and 23:3 in favor of Miami. Jets hit the bottom last Monday against the Bills and the QB change back to Geno Smith will probably not make a difference. Their best defensive player DE Muhammad Wilkerson is out with a toe injury while Miami QB Ryan Tannehill is completing 71% of his passes in the last seven games.

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In their home games this season Buccaneers scored 14, 17, 17, 13 and 17 points. And the bookies expect them to reach a season-high against a defense that allows 21.3 PPG? After the home debacle against Cleveland Cincinnati conceded 23 points combined in the next two games playing on the road with only one offensive TD.

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The all-time worst NFC South has a hard time to stay competitive against any team outside the division. In their previous five home games Steelers led by 24, 7, 11, 15 and 12 points at halftime. In LeVeon Bell they have the fourth best RB in terms of yards on the ground and New Orleans are ranked 23rd against the run with 123.8 YPG. The Saints placed DT Roderick Bunkley on the IR with a torn quadriceps and without him they were gashed for 215 yards by Baltimore on Monday. On defense Steelers will welcome back S Troy Polamalu and they look as healthy as they haven’t been since September.

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Michigan State is the #1 team in FBS in the first half. Spartans are +204 (308-104) and the only time they were behind at halftime was against #7 Ohio State. Penn State has the fourth best scoring defense in the country (16.2 PPG) but these stats are misleading as the Nittany Lions have faced only one offense in Top 60! They trailed Ohio State 0-17 at the half and their stats before the break are awful – only 8.7 PPG scored.

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It’s the deciding game in C-USA West Division and the winner will face Marshall for the conference title next week. LA Tech had a terrible second half against Old Dominion squandering a 10-point lead, lost in overtime and ended their five-game winning streak. The Bulldogs are +54 (173-119) in the first half while Rice is -22 (147-169). Owls are definitely a team for the Q4 (+46) and that’s where LA Tech play worst. LA Tech is #1 in scoring offense in C-USA with 35.4 PPG while Rice is averaging 28.5. This is a conference with a lot of high scoring games and I hope this one follows the trend.

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South Florida is one of the worst offensive teams in NCAA. They are ranked 117th with 18.7 PPG and only 8.8 of them coming in the first half. UCF are known for their fast starts. Knights are still in the hunt for American Athletic title. And with a game against East Carolina coming next Saturday this is a good opportunity to decide the outcome in the first half, rest starters and save some energy.

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The only chance for SEC to have two teams in the college playoffs is Mississippi State to win and finish the season 11-1. Bulldogs are fourth in the rankings and probably won't play for the conference title. And they will leave the committee to decide whether to leave them where they are or put Baylor, Ohio State or TCU in. If Bulldogs lose SEC will place no more than one team in the Top 4. This conference is known for manipulating the outcome of matches (typical example is second half of Missouri - Texas A&M last year) to bolster their chances for a place in the national title game therefore no matter how big the rivalry is Mississippi will be sacrificed.

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Niners are Marshawn Lynch's preferred opponent. He have scored 7 TDs against them and found the endzone in each of the last four games and in 5 of the last 6. Lynch is #1 in rushing TDs in NFL with 9 and Seattle is #1 team on the ground in YPG. I expect the Seahawks to rely heavily on Lynch to relieve the pressure off QB Russell Wilson so hopefully he'll have enough carries to score.

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Mathematically covering 9.5 points mean a TD and a field goal. So why the total is so low? Probably because the Ravens are known for their methodical approach as in their opening drive they like to establish the run game and it takes time off the clock. In their last four games first quarter ended 7-0 but since the start of the season the total in Louisiana Superdome after 15 minutes was less than 10 only once.

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Miami will be without TE Charles Clay and RB Lamar Miller injured his knee on Wednesday and hasn’t practiced since. That leaves QB Ryan Tannehill with two deep threats (Jarvis Landry and Mike Wallace) but nothing intermediate. There’s also the loss of LT Brandon Albert (out for the season with torn ACL and MCL) and Denver has led by 7 or more in all home games this season and last seven at Mile High.

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Colts has scored 28 receiving TDs so far but 13 of them (Ahmad Bradshaw and Dwayne Allen) will sit today. And with the awful season Trent Richardson is having Indy has to find alternative targets for QB Andrew Luck. T.Y. Hilton was relatively quiet against the Patriots last week (3 catches for 24 yards) and ended his TD streak. Look for him to start a new one.

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Colts has scored 28 receiving TDs so far but 13 of them (Ahmad Bradshaw and Dwayne Allen) will sit today. And with the awful season Trent Richardson is having Indy has to find alternative targets for QB Andrew Luck. In his NFL career Reggie Wayne has caught passes for 2018 yards against Jaguars who are by far his preferred opponent. And the veteran has scored 7 times against them.

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Bears are second to last is passing TDs allowed and Mike Evans is on a roll. The rookie has three straight performances with over 100 receiving yards catching 5 TDs during that span. He is an enormous deep threat and as Bears showed lately they are susceptible to big passing plays.

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In their three losses Denver finished the half with no more than 7 points. In their seven wins they scored at least 14 before the break. Broncos will win tonight despite being down to just one healthy RB. And QB Peyton Manning must clean his MVP resume from last week's debacle so he'll have to throw early and often to pump up his stats.

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In six straight Atlanta games the first half total was 23 points or lower. In five straight Cleveland games it was 20 or lower. Both teams operate a risk-free and somewhat conservative offense with a lot of plays on the ground. Therefore limiting the number of opponents' possessions. And to cover the 24 points there must be 4 TDs or at least five scoring drives.

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Since the beginning of October only two teams (Denver and New Orleans) scored more than 17 against San Francisco. And you can't compare Washington's offense to any of them. Niners are vulnerable against passes to TEs but Jordan Reed is out today with a hamstring injury. Throw in the absence of the LT Trent Williams and the fact that SF is first in the league in INTs, second in defended passes, fourth against the pass and sixth against the run and Redskins' looked primed for a long and frustrating day on offense.