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One of the most anticipated match-ups of the week. Miami is unbeaten in 2017 and hasn't lost to the Irish in 27 years but the Hurricanes were lucky a numerous times this year. The biggest problem for Miami is the rushing defense. Hurricanes are ranked 82nd and just happens to face the second best rushing attack in the country. Irish OL is monstrous and gives every week tons of space to Josh Adams. This may very well turn into a very long day for Miami.

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I am probably missing something. Since the 13:7 loss to FIU in September Rice hasn't been competitive. Owls has lost since then 10:42, 12:49, 7:20, 28:42 and 21:52. Defensively Southern Miss is ranked 14th in the country in S&P+ and is averaging 25.4 PPG on offense in C-USA play. Everybody scores on Rice so Southern Miss should too. Plus Golden Eagles will become bowl eligible with a win.

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FAU didn't disappoint and I'll go for the third straight week to the well. Unbeaten in C-USA play Owls visit a team that lost to Southern Miss and North Texas in back-to-back home games. Technically FAU can clinch C-USA East without beating the Bulldogs but Lane Kiffin needs the win to further establish the program.

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Cooper has 5 or more receptions in each of his last three games which coincides with QB Derek Carr getting healthy. He draws a match-up against CB Xavien Howard (113th of 114 players at the position) and rookie Cordrea Tankersley. Cooper averages almost 8 targets/game so he should have plenty of chances to hit the number.

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Jaguars are alternating wins and losses. They won in Indianapolis and are due to lose, right? Well they are coming off bye week so maybe it's time to win again. Seriously, the sack masters of the league just got a new shiny toy in Marcel Dareus ready to debut today. Against a team with very questionable OL that has allowed 22sacks to QB Andy Dalton already this season.

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Red Raiders need to win to keep bowl hopes alive. Sitting at #5 in passing offense in FBS (348.1 YPG, 70.5% completions) Texas Tech will face one of the worst defenses in the country. K-State is ranked 123rd allowing 282.1 YPG and they gave up more than 500 to incredibly awful Kansas. Texas Tech is pretty bad against the pass too however Kansas State don't throw often at all (174.9 YPG).

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Winless in conference play, unbeaten outside SEC Vanderbilt need to win at all cost to keep hope for a bowl game. Commodores lost five straight but facing a bad Western Kentucky should help end it. Hilltoppers are 2-2 away from home with ugly wins over terrible UTEP and Old Dominion. They won at Vanderbil 14:12 in 2015 but it was with Jeff Brohm as a coach. Current staff is nowhere near him as a capacity and the OL is pretty terrible too.

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Owls will become bowl eligible with a win and playing a nationally televised game is the perfect PR opportunity. It's the perfect strength vs. strength match-up. FAU offense is 14th in the country in scoring (39.5 PPG), 17th in YPG (482.4) and 8th in rushing (295.9 YPG). Marshall defense is 14th in scoring (17.6 PPG), 23rd in YPG (325.6) and 24th in rushing (124.1 YPG). The Hers has no wins against a team with positive record while FAU throttled Western Kentucky (5-3) last week. FAU has never beaten Marshall in school history, it's time to change the tide.

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Redskins have the entire OL on the injury report. C Spencer Long and T Ty Nsekhe are out. G Tyler Catalina has a concussion, G Brandon Scherff has a bad back and an injured ankle, T Trent Williams has a swollen knee and T Morgan Moses has an injury to both ankles. Neither of the five practiced this week except Moses who had some some light drills on Friday. Weather forecast is for rain and a very muddy field. I don't know how will Redskins move the ball in such conditions.

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Western Kentucky is on a three-game winning streak but the combined record of their opponents during the streak is 3-19. They had enormous troubles finishing the game against Old Dominion led by 17-year old QB. Now they are facing the gauntlet. FAU outscored opposition 165-79 in its last three games. WKU don't have the offense to survive in a shootout and neither have the defense to prevent it.

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South Florida just broke the AP Poll Era record by scoring 30+ points in 24 consecutive games. Can they prolong the streak? Against a team that allowed 42 points in one half against Memphis last week and is in the bottom third in rushing TDs allowed I bet they can.

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Incredibly talented yet extremely inconsistent Jaguars are yet to win or lose back-to-back games. They win in odd numbered weeks so it's time to get a W.
Jokes aside - even with Andrew Luck Colts needed an OT and a last minute drive to win the last two home games against the Jags. Now rushing offense #1 comes to town with Jacksonville averaging 165.8 YPG facing the 20th ranked defense on the ground with 114.2 YPG allowed.

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Rams manhandled the upcoming Jaguars to go 4-2 and top of NFC West while Cardinals just reached .500 with a flukish win over Tampa Bay. Arizona has no adequate OL and I won't be surprised if Aaron Donald (LAR) spends most of the time in their backfield. Rams are the only team apart from Buccaneers who played more than once in London and is yet to win. This will change today.

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Rams are 3-1 in a down year for NFC West. Niners are in a rebuild, Cardinals don't have an OL and although Seahawks think very high of themselves they are pretenders, not contenders. With NFC West facing AFC South and Rams having just two visits in Eastern time zone I think they at least will end up with a Wild Card.

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MLB played it perfectly. With all playoff teams already decided there are no other stories on last day of the season other than Stanton's quest for 60. He already homered this month off Braves starter Max Fried who lokks like a perfect matchup.

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Yellow Jackets lead the nation in rushing with 393.7 YPG. The triple option is hard to defend and ranked 88th in NCAA against the run North Carolina may very well spend the day on defense. Apart from last year Georgia Tech has scored at will under Paul Johnson against Tar Heels and I expect them to do the same today.

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A Big Ten opener for both teams and a conference debut for the Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck. Minnesota is 3-0, coming off a bye week and facing a team down to its third QB already. Max Bortenschlager starts for Maryland who were schooled by UCF last Saturday and enter a gauntlet of a schedule. Terrapins were bad with Kasim Hill and now with a probably temporarily solution until transfer Caleb Henderson learns the system I don't see them being competitive against a team who crushed them 31:10 last year and is mostly unchanged since.

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Don't try to find logic here: Stanton is 0-for-2 career against Rockies starter Tyler Anderson. Who has given up just four HRs at home compared to 12 on the road. Which tells me that Stanton is due to deliver one.

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Stanton is three homers shy of the coveted 60 making him just the sixth player in history with that many in a single season. He will face Tyler Chatwood against whom Stanton is 2-for-3 with a home run. Plus it's a game at Coors Filed where he has three home runs in his last six games. At such altitude the ball travels much further and no wonder this is the ballpark with most home runs year after year .

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The O/U line is based on the fact that East Carolina is dead last on defense averaging 51.3 PPG. However Pirates were trounced by Virginia Tech and Virginia - two teams that are ranked 27th and 3rd in scoring. Connecticut is outside Top 100 and is not exactly a firepower. Huskies have more yards on the ground than through the air and are 24th in time of possession. And head coach Randy Edsall is a defense first guy so expect the team to handle well an opponent averaging just 17 PPG in 2017. Both teams need a win badly and I think it won't be a pretty game.