Usually you have to be careful when you see people in Toronto playing with themselves, but this weekend is going to be a little different. That’s because this Sunday the city will be filled with people playing Rock, Paper Scissors in an attempt to win the $10,000 grand prize at the RPS World Championships!

And yes, it’s a real thing.

Actually last year, I got a chance to see a really cool documentary about the tournament, the movie was called Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Greek Tragedy. The DVD of the movie is actually going to be launched this weekend at the tournament.

Click here to read more and see a video clip.

Every week T-Roc will share his thoughts on what is going on in college football, make picks and fire back at your nasty comments. Want to learn more about him, check out his first post or visit his archive.

I’m writing this column drunk. I want y’all to know right off the bat. And it’s about time I did so.

I’m 32-32-2 against the spread this year. I’m just as good at handicapping as your dog or your baby, were said dog/baby offered the choice between marbles in the colours of opponent colleges. If you’re following my picks, you have deep-rooted issues about your ability to think independently and shouldn’t be gambling, friend.

I am not drunk because of the Olympic torch ceremony happening outside my fucking office right now, that’s for sure. (Sidney Crosby just ran the torch down Sackville Street, by the way.)

I watched that shit get set up in front of City Hall. Five Coca-Cola trucks and three RBC trucks were there to hand out glowing plastic Coke bottles and Thunderstix to everyone walking by. Yeah, that’s the Olympic spirit - give people cheap plastic shit they’ll throw away once Sid hits the airport.
Sadly, the streets were jammed with Thunderstix-slappers who somehow thought the mayor of Halifax deserved applause for the City of Vancouver’s boondoggle. Fucking sheep.

No. I am drunk because work blows hammer these days and I want to quit but it’s such a fucking gloomy employment environment that I can’t think of a better plan than to take advantage of happy hour prices at various bars then return to my office and drunkenly write a college football betting column. All odds are from Pinnaclesports.com as of Wednesday afternoon.

Duke at Miami, noon ET: Duke +19 ½

Miami has little to play for, likely a near-empty stadium and an injury list longer than my dick.

Or maybe that’s the beer goggles talking.

About Miami’s attendance, not my dick.

No dice, Hurricanes. Other than the debacle against Georgia Tech’s option, the Blue Devils have put up more-than-respectable scores against ACC foes.

UConn at Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. ET: Notre Dame -6

For a long-proclaimed Notre Dame hater, I’ve backed the Irish enough this year… I don’t like myself for it, but drunken T-Roc says the Domers win by double-digits on Saturday in South Bend.

The Huskies are underappreciated hustlers, but Notre Dame, with a visit to Stanford next week, sees a 6-6 record and a shitty bowl game in the near future if the five-star talent doesn’t lay the shillelagh to UConn at home.

Purdue at Indiana, 3:30 p.m. ET: Indiana +3

The Boilermakers are like that douchebag at a party who happens to come up with a great one-liner when everyone’s listening which subsequently shapes everyone’s opinion of them. For those who struggle to read between the lines, the simile refers to Purdue’s win over Ohio State.

Indiana, in the meantime, is no doubt a better provider and likely has a much longer collective penis than Purdue, given recent results against Penn State and Wisconsin. I bet Indiana even cuddles. And that’s neither metaphor nor euphemism.

And that last paragraph is exactly why people shouldn’t follow my picks. But if you do, you won’t be alone - I just laid $50 on a six-way parlay.

Kansas at Texas, 8 p.m. ET: Texas -27 ½

Yeehaw, bitches, layin’ money on the ‘Horns, that’s what I do… wait, what? I’ve repeatedly doubted Texas since the post-Vince Young era? Hmm, is it hypocritical to back Texas now?

Fuck no! I’m drunk! That’s (part of) the beauty of drunkenness - you can say shit, but when you announce your intoxication beforehand, no one really holds you to it!

So hook ‘em ‘Horns and all that shit, because I truly think there’s a royal shitkicking about to occur in Austin this Saturday. KU’s a fucking mess.

Oregon at Arizona, 8 p.m. ET: Arizona +6

ESPN’s College GameDay hits Arizona’s campus this Saturday for the most determinative remaining game in the Pac-10 conference race.

The Wildcats are 5-0 at home with a couple quality wins while the Ducks have been capable of shitting themselves on the road. My drunken self doesn’t like Oregon on the road this weekend.

Nevada at New Mexico State, 8 p.m. ET: Over 58

The Aggies haven’t allowed more than 45 points this year… ‘til now. Drunken T-Roc says New Mexico State gives up at least 300 points come Saturday!

Or at least enough for Nevada, with its fucking ga-ga ground game, to top the total by itself.

Last week: 2-3-1

2009 to date: 32-32-2

Hard to believe the NBA season is almost a month old already. Time flies when you are changing diapers and trying to stay awake past 11pm to catch a west coast game.

For those who have been watching the Raptors this season, there is one glaring thing that is wrong with the team. They seem to of removed defense from the game plan. Sure there have been the odd moments of shock when they beat Cleveland opening night, slowed down the Bulls at home and made a huge comeback against the Clippers but all-in-all the D have been a giant load of dino-dung.

Every week there seems to be a 120 or 130 on the board and right now the Raps are near the bottom of the NBA, giving up 108 ppg.

I saw the Raptors season preview on Raps TV. It was all about a new team that was going to be focusing on defense. All I can say is, if they are actually focusing on “D”, how bad would it be if they were not?

So what do they do? Do they have Antoine Wright play all five positions? Do they hope the team clues in to how hard they have to work? Or do they bring in a defensive guru to remodel the whole team?

I vote for the latter and have five suggestions on who should take over as a defensive only coach.

You may recognize them. They are some of the best defense attorneys in movies and TV.

Perry Mason (Raymond Burr)

Vincent “Vinny” Gambini (Joe Pesci)

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon)

Paul Biegler (James Stewart)

Matlcock (Andy Griffith)

Hey, anyone is better than they got right now.

Share with us who you think the Raps should hire. Tell us on Twitter as well.

By Andy Charles

I know it has been amazing to watch some of Chris Bosh’s play so far in the early days of the NBA season, but it really does come with a touch of sadness that this might just be his last year as a Raptor.

It would be too easy to say that Bosh’s performances are down to the money he can expect to get at the end of the season when he becomes a free agent, but there is no way Toronto will be able to afford him, even if he wanted to stay, if he keeps putting up these numbers.

Of course, the Raptors could go to the playoffs this season, have a lot of success, and even win the NBA finals, but even that would be no guarantee that the sharp-shooting, big rebounding forward would stay at the Air Canada Center.

The market for free agents at the end of this season will be dominated by the agency group of Henry Thomas and Leon Rose, who control the rights to not only Bosh but prized commodities in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – I’m guessing you might have heard of those two guys as well.

Plenty of teams have made trades over the past two seasons just to get expiring contracts for 2010 and open up plenty of cap space, plus there is the fact that Cleveland and Miami are losing their big stars (possibly) and could, if they manage to persuade them to return, both add Bosh as a second big piece.

Well, so far he is doing himself no harm in a market which could be decreasing financially because of the cash troubles a number of franchises are suffering.

After five games, Bosh stands on 29.5 points per game, good enough for fifth in the league behind some well-known names and Kevin Martin, and 13 rebounds a game which is beaten only by the streaky Gerald Wallace.

Sure, with Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu alongside him and Jose Calderon running the show, it’s not as if he is a one-man team but were the Raptors to lose him in free agency he would be one of the toughest players to replace as far as NBA Picks go, in the whole of the sport.

Would there be a chance of a pseudo home-town discount? Unlikely I’d think given some of the markets on offer to him and the amount of money that will be thrown at him. Averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds at the end of the season would certainly put him not as far behind D-Wade and LeBron as you might have expected at the start of November.

Every week T-Roc will share his thoughts on what is going on in college football, make picks and fire back at your nasty comments. Want to learn more about him, check out his first post or visit his archive.

The mid-week day off is a wonderful thing, but it’s so easily wasted by overestimating one’s ability to consume alcohol.

A single post-work beer at the nearest watering hole turned into a steady stream of Stella (thanks Michelle!), which led my motley crew back to the office to hit up the liquor cabinet therein. Three hours of vodka consumption later, I’m walking a staggering co-worker home to make sure he isn’t mugged.

Turns out he’d have been better off being mugged, what with him being married with three kids. I’ve met his wife. She scares me. Anyway, she’d been trying to reach him all night, getting angrier with each passing hour. My co-worker neglected to mention this.

He had the look of a man sentenced to the gallows as he approached his porch. Poor, stupid fuck.

As for myself, I managed to make it downtown for the Remembrance Day ceremony at 11 am today, but reeking of booze and with hair pointing in all directions. Stay classy, T-Roc… you lush.

Point being I’ve accomplished nothing today except polluting my workspace with beer farts. Luckily, no hangover can fuck with how strongly I feel about this week’s pixxx. All odds are from Pinnaclesports.com as of Wednesday afternoon.

Georgia Tech at Duke, noon ET: Over 59

I compared Josh Nesbitt to Reggie Ball earlier this year (ie both were shitty enough passers to cost their respective talented teammates a conference title).

I take it back - Nesbitt’s better than Ball and he’s better at running Tech’s option than I suspected he would be. If Tech doesn’t win the ACC, it’ll be the defence (and not Nesbitt) to blame.

Clemson at North Carolina State, noon ET: Over 58

Another early ACC shootout that should keep the scoreboard operators busy.

Clemson’s averaging 31.8 points per conference game, 39.3 over its last three. And since the 7-3 opening-night snooze-fest against South Carolina, NC State’s scored 31.6 per game against FBS opponents while giving up 39.7 per game over that same span.

Houston at UCF, noon ET: Houston - 4 ½

The Cougars have already cost backers a couple of paydays as a road favourite in C-USA play this season, but did you see Texas rip UCF’s secondary a new one last week?

I did and it gives me confidence in Case Keenum & Co. to easily outscore the Golden Knights on Saturday, no matter how many points the Houston ‘D’ concedes.

Michigan at Wisconsin, noon ET: Wisconsin -8 ½

Having four of my six picks kick off at noon (actually 1 p.m. in my time zone) means my Saturday evening mood will be determined pretty early in the afternoon.

Michigan has suffered three bad losses in a row and I see no reason to suspect a radical turnaround. Wisconsin, on the other hand, is quietly creeping towards a 10-2 regular season record and should likely be a double-digit favourite.

BYU at New Mexico, 2 p.m. ET: BYU - 26 ½

Taking another Cougars squad as a road favourite, eh? Seems I love cougars this week. Who am I kidding - the T-Roc loves the cougars every week.

BYU is 5-0 on the road this season with an average winning score of 51-13 against its four non-BCS conference opponents. New Mexico is winless, losing six games by 20-plus points.

Notre Dame at Pitt, 8 p.m. ET: Pitt -7

Notre Dame’s vertical passing game is great but it ain’t enough to land a BCS bowl spot, in spite of the favouritism the Irish have to their benefit when it comes to such bowl opportunities.

Pitt, on the other hand, has a reasonable shot at a BCS bowl berth, thanks to a ground game that should scare the shit out of Cincinnati fans. Seems I like panthers as well as cougars this week.

Last week: 4-2

2009 to date: 30-29-1

Every week T-Roc will share his thoughts on what is going on in college football, make picks and fire back at your nasty comments. Want to learn more about him, check out his first post or visit his archive.

I don’t know the geographic whereabouts of Cuzoogle readers, but I can’t imagine anyone’s province or state being more of an embarrassment about the H1N1 flu than dear old Nova Scotia.

It started with mass advertising from both the feds and the provincial government, urging everyone to “be responsible” and get a shot. Not surprisingly, given the novelty of such suggestions in a first-world country, this created near-hysteria which swelled once folks realized how small the initial shipments were.

Then the province changed the rules mid-stream about who could receive shots and when. “Did we say ‘everyone’? My bad, we meant preggo women and natives and babies ‘n shit.”

Bad calls for sure, in terms of both the unnecessary hype and the colossal miscalculation of availability. But I can’t shit on either level of government too much when I watch the news and see how people are reacting.

For fuck’s sake, people, grow a stiff upper lip and deal with negative news with a little bit of civility. For the adult dudes out there, don’t get all Cal Hockley on us and butt in on the lifeboat action (yeah, I referenced Titanic…). Stop being such whiny bitches and acting like the world’s against you. Yeah, there’s been a fuck-up, but it’s not like either level of government (or the medical system as a whole) has it in for you and wants your family to suffer.

Heaven forbid Canada had to deal with a crisis on the level of massive food shortages or malaria or a brutal dictatorship. It’s fucking embarrassing, people. And that’s why I have no problem shutting off the news and gorging myself on college football this weekend. As usual, all odds are from Pinnaclesports.com as of Thursday evening.

UCF at Texas, noon ET: Over 48 ½

These schools have played over their respective totals only four times in a combined 16 games. But this is an exceedingly low total the ‘Horns can top by themselves.

Texas put up 64 the last time a C-USA opponent came to Austin and the Longhorns’ defence and special teams always look capable of piling on the points the offence tallies.

Kansas at Kansas State, 12:30 p.m. ET: Kansas State +2 ½

I liked the Jayhawks this year ‘til the narrow home wins over Southern Miss and Iowa State. KU has since shit the bed and I do not want them as a road favourite at all, at all, at all.

K-State can’t duplicate its demolition of Texas A&M from mid-October, but an effort akin to last week’s game against Oklahoma would be good enough for a win against the current Jayhawks.

LSU at Alabama, 3:30 p.m. ET: Alabama - 7 ½

What’s your take on riding gut feelings? Not a lot of analysis behind this pick other than watching both teams all year and genuinely feeling ‘Bama should win by double digits.

I’m also eyeing the over in this one, though the total’s already jumped to 40+.

Vanderbilt at Florida, 7:15 p.m. ET: Under 48

I can’t echo my UCF-Texas sentiments for Saturday night’s game in the Swamp.

Vandy’s offence sucks and is liable to get shut out, while the Gators’ relative offensive impotence has been covered to death in recent weeks. The 41 points against Georgia would be a ‘Wow!’ total most years, but not so much in 2009.

Florida State at Clemson, 7:45 p.m. ET: Florida State +8 ½

Rolling the dice on this one, but only a little. Florida State is only .500, but in hindsight, losing to B.J. Daniels and then Boston College isn’t as embarrassing as it was a month ago.

Clemson’s 6-2 against the spread this season but I won’t lay more than a touchdown against a more talented Seminoles squad.

USC at Arizona State, 8 p.m. ET: Arizona State +10

Who else enjoyed watching Oregon steamroll the Trojans last week? It confirmed what a lot of folks felt even before the non-dominant win at Ohio State: this year’s USC has more weaknesses than we’ve ever seen during the Pete Carroll era.

ASU is no dynamo, but I like the Sun Devils’ ‘D’ to at least keep it close on Saturday night.

Last week: 5-7 (a failed attempt at chasing a nice week by doubling my action)

2009 to date: 26-27-1 (goddamned mediocrity personified)

By Andy Charlies

Can we start the title talk yet? Well, there were certainly some scribes predicting big things after the Raptors opened the NBA season with a fantastic 101-91 win over the heavily-fancied Cleveland Cavaliers at the Air Canada Center.

Even LeBron James, he of the other-worldly stat-lines, couldn’t beat the Raptors on his own as his 23 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists failed to inspire the rest of the roster and meant they dropped to an 0-2 start after losing on opening night to the Boston Celtics.

And it would prove to be supposed draft bust Andrea Bargnani who was the main hero, his 28 points sparking an excellent second quarter run which gave the Raptors enough of a lead to overcome LeBron’s excellent third period.

But the victory was certainly not a one-man show as Chris Bosh again showed his star quality and Hedo Turkoglu opened up with an efficient performance that actually included less in the way of high-scoring and more defense – three blocks for a player who has never averaged more than 0.4 per game in a 10-year career!!

All my criticism from the last pre-season report came back to haunt me as Cleveland repeatedly took bad shots and ended the night shooting only 34.9% from the floor. Indeed, one of the few worries for Raptors fans was that the Cavs actually shot better from beyond the arc, so maybe defending the three might need a little work on off-days.

There was also a nice little cameo from Marco Belinelli, who had his contract option for the 2010-11 season exercised on Thursday – he only scored 10 points but he was on the court when the Raptors went scoring crazy and he produced a +19 efficiency line to lead the team.

So, finally, there was something for fans in Toronto to cheer and those fans who have seemingly deserted the Leafs already this season (one win in 10 games – oh dear!!) might just get cheering for a successful hoops franchise instead.

Let’s hope this one early win is translated into a solid season, the play-offs and maybe even some silverware…long way to go though as far as NBA Picks are concerned.

Every week T-Roc will share his thoughts on what is going on in college football, make picks and fire back at your nasty comments. Want to learn more about him, check out his first post or visit his archive.

All apologies for the absence last week, it couldn’t be helped - overtime at the office, a family member in the hospital and an extended weekend in Montreal.

I did Montreal the proper way, from the early-morning bagels on Saint-Laurent through the cinq à sept on Saint-Denis through the late-night booze and boogie a la discotheque. I ignored sports beyond the pair of Habs wins I caught at the Bell Centre (Olé!) And thought I’d miss it.

Nope. I didn’t pine for the MLB playoffs, didn’t ache over missing the NFL and I sure as fuck didn’t care about missing Nebraska shitting the bed last Saturday.

But now I’m back home and I’m pumped to catch up on college football. Lots of it. That’s why I’m including a dirty dozen pixxx for Halloween.

Cincinnati at Syracuse, noonET: Cincinnati -14 ½

Style points, baby! The Turf at the Carrier Dome will only make Mardy Gilyard look that much faster as he peels away from defenders into the end zone.

UL-Lafayette at FIU, noon ET: ULL +3 ½

The Ragin’ Cajuns have some injury problems and haven’t wowed anyone on the road, but the running game should be fine. Love these guys getting points here.

Ole Miss at Auburn, 12:20 p.m. ET: Ole Miss -4

The Tigers’ offense has gone AWOL just as that of the Rebels has stirred to life. Imagine what the line for this game would have been in August.

Iowa State at Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. ET: Texas A&M -7

The Cyclones’ defence ain’t bad, but there’s no way they get a win handed to them like they did last week.

Florida vs. Georgia (at Jacksonville) 3:30 p.m. ET: Under 48

The Cocktail Party should be a slugfest this year. Not only is the defensive speed there, but neither offense looks overly potent.

Air Force at Colorado State, 4 p.m. ET: Colorado State +5 ½

Goddam, the Rams might be a schizophrenic as the Seminoles this year. I’m obviously banking on a return to early-season form here.

UCLA at Oregon State, 4 p.m. ET: Oregon State -10

Oregon State’s going to be a tough bowl team (again). UCLA hasn’t come within a touchdown of winning a Pac-10 game. Fuck the Bruins.

Washington State at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. ET: Notre Dame -28

You could try to convince yourself to bet Wazzu, seeing as the Cougars are 4-1 against the spread in the last five. But you know they’re junk. Don’t do it.

South Carolina at Tennessee, 7:45 p.m. ET: South Carolina +5 ½

Yeah!!! The ‘Cocks!!! The South Carolina defence will not allow Jonathan Crompton to succeed at Neyland. The ‘Cocks are a fine, fine football team.

Texas at Oklahoma State, 8 p.m. ET: Oklahoma State +8 ½

Having seen Texas struggle out of the game so often this season (last week notwithstanding), I don’t see them blowing away a top-15 school on the road.

USC at Oregon, 8 p.m. ET: Over 47

Both offenses flying, this should be the polar opposite of the Cocktail Party in style. The game I most want to see on Saturday (assuming I’m still sober at this point).

Wyoming at Utah, ET: Wyoming +17

“I wanna be a Cowboy… and you can be my cowgirl!” Boys Don’t Cry might’ve inspired both my costume as well as this pick.

Last week: 4-2

2009 to date: 21-20-1

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Toronto’s undoubted talent has not really come to the party yet in pre-season, but not to worry quite yet because there are still a couple of weeks until the season opener when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers come to town.

But there has been a deal of disappointment so far for the Raptors, not least in the 124-112 home defeat by a Houston side lacking almost all of its star talent and starting a team that would more than likely not even have a chance of starting for the Raptors. Not many NBA Predictions, suggested they would lose – that is for sure.

Although the Raptors shot well, going .500 from the floor, their three-point shooting was well off the pace and the defense was, well shall we say, seriously lacking.

The only real bright spots were 11 points from Sonny Weems, who appears to be getting back to fitness, and 10 from Amir Johnson, who fantasy freaks out there might like to have on their radars in really deep leagues for his blocks potential.

Houston was allowed to hit 13 shots from beyond the arc, with Shane Battier hitting eight of those on probably the hottest shooting night he has had in his career – star performances at Duke included.

And just to rub salt into the wounds, there was a 17-point, seven rebound, five block night from the one and only Pops Mensah-Bonsu, deemed surplus to requirements by Raptors management at the end of last season, just when he looked to be showing the talent off that he undoubtedly has.

Toronto’s loss looks to be Houston’s gain, although they will need it with Yao Ming already out for the season, Tracy McGrady unlikely to play anytime soon and Luis Scola also sidelined.

But that has to be a worry for Toronto, even if this was a pre-season matchup, and even more concerning is that Chris Bosh feels like the Raptors have to go back to the drawing board just a matter of days before the season starts and NBA Picks are assessed.

He said after the game: “It wasn’t our best output and we’re going to have to play a lot better on defense if we want to win a lot of basketball games. There can’t be any slippage. Some nights your shots are going to be off but you can always move your feet and be in the right spot. We have to get back to the drawing board a little bit.”

Every week T-Roc will share his thoughts on what is going on in college football, make picks and fire back at your nasty comments. Want to learn more about him, check out his first post or visit his archive.

I know that talking about weather is normally the domain of older folks and untalented conversationalists, but Sweet Jesus, it’s not even mid-October and I’m already digging out the thermal fucking underwear. Fucking depressing.

I have friends in Edmonton who’ve already developed the winter blues ‘cause of all the snow. A buddy just played a soccer tournament in Saskatoon, where the wind chill pushed the temperature well below freezing the entire long weekend. And the shit finally hit the eastern part of the country - I woke up this morning to a forecast of freezing rain and/or snow.

I can only assume that this cold snap is temporary and there’ll be some warmer days ahead in which my fair city’s female population can bring out the sundresses again.

As it stands, it’s too fucking early for me to be wondering if chicks I see on the street are hot or not under their three layers of Goretex and fleece. I’m a dirty old man in training and I demand six more weeks of practice before I pack it in for the winter.

On to some of Saturday’s biggest games, with all odds are from Pinnaclesports.com as of Wednesday evening.

Ohio State at Purdue, noon ET: Over 48

So Ohio State scores one offensive touchdown against Wisconsin yet covers the double-digit spread. Fucking Buckeyes. They won’t struggle to score on Saturday, even without RB Dan Herron.

The Boilermakers are overdue to recapture some of their early season fireworks. Should be a routine OSU win, but with plenty of points both ways on a nice September day in West Lafayette.

Oklahoma vs. Texas, noon ET: Oklahoma +3 ½

Ignore the double-digit margins of victory if you can, ‘cause Texas has struggled to get started in three of its last four games.

Lost in the Sam Bradford hubbub is the fact that OU’s defence has only allowed 42 points in five games. Given the neutral site, I like the Sooners to (slightly) upset the ‘Horns this time around.

USC at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET: Notre Dame +10

Notre Dame is just as close as USC is to being 5-0 this year, maybe closer. The Trojans have faced a tougher slate of opponents but hadn’t bowled anyone over since opening week ‘til last week’s demolition of collapsing Cal.

I’ve always disliked the Fighting Irish but come Saturday, I’ll lay money on the hottest quarterback in the country getting 10 points at home. Even against USC’s pass rush.

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, 6 p.m. ET: Virginia Tech -3

I’m looking forward to this game in spite of the ugly passes Tyrod Taylor and Josh Nesbitt are sure to hoist at some point in the action.

The Hokies’ results so far this season are that much better than those of the Yellow Jackets, whose defence has indeed been a Ramblin’ Wreck on more than one occasion this year.

Miami at UCF, 7:30 p.m. ET: Under 47

Folks in Orlando are pumped about UCF’s opportunity to knock the revamped ‘Canes off their high horse. It ain’t gonna happen, but the Golden Knights will slow the tempo as much as possible, pounding the ball again and again to keep Jacory Harris off the field.

Brynn Harvey had 42 carries in last week’s win over Memphis and might top that total on Saturday. Coach O’Leary’s never been shy about giving a running back a heavy workload.

South Carolina at Alabama, 7:45 p.m. ET: South Carolina +17

Alabama’s been the most impressive team in the country this year, with only its first half performance against Kentucky failing to impress. But this is too many points to lay against a top defensive opponent, even for a game in Tuscaloosa.

The ‘Cocks won’t get dragged into another road shootout like they had in Georgia. Saturday’s prime-time SEC game should be a hard-hitting, conservative-gameplanned, low-scoring affair.

Last week: 3-3

2009 to date: 17-18-1