Our Big Ten Game of the Year will go this Saturday. The situation has developed perfectly and it's definitely time to pull the trigger. We will put a huge guarantee behind this selection and feel free to call our sports office direct at (800) 356-9182. It's a call I am sure you will be glad you made.

Speaking of the Big Ten, what a turnaround it has been in 2008 for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Under Coach Tim Brewster, the Gophers went 1-11 in his first year. They were competitive in 2007 but just could not find anyway to finish the job in the fourth quarter. That has not been the case this year and they have carried their momentum over from the non-conference portion of the season that features cupcakes into Big Ten play. They enter this week's game with a 7-1 record and now face Northwestern at the Dome. Will this success continue? Not in this writer's opinion, although they do have a shot to win this Saturday. After this game it gets much tougher with Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa on deck. True, two of these three games are in Minneapolis. However, Michigan continues to play better each week and Iowa appears to have found themselves. As I previously mentioned, other than Ohio State, the Gophers are played a very week schedule. We will likely be going against them in the future because playing teams like Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic eventually catches up with you. That being said, Coach Brewster has done a remarkable job and a win this week will lock up his Coach of the Year honors.

For those of you that were on our top selection last week, I hope you did not have to put yourself through the pain of watching this game. After a sluggish start, the Huskers dominated the second half and were on the two-yard line with a first and goal leading by 10 points. But two straight fumbles did us in, as Baylor recovered the second one on the two-yard line only to be tackled in their end zone on the next play for a safety. That would be the final score of the game and with Nebraska winning, 32-20. For those of you that got in early or had bookies that do not change lines during the week, you likely won the game as Nebraska opened as a 10 ½-point favorite. But most of us got lines of 12 ½ or higher and just missed the cash, as the late fumble did us in. Even though this should not have been a factor, it was, and once again I cannot stress how important it is to shop around for the best lines for each game. Our Web site features six of the best sports books in the country and I would encourage you to check them out by clicking here. Back to the Nebraska game, the Huskers had a big edge in yardage, 497-350, and held onto the ball 17 minutes longer, but sometimes games are just not meant to win.

How long can Texas keep their emotional high going? They have beaten Oklahoma, Missouri, and Oklahoma State the last three weeks and now must travel to Lubbock to take on the undefeated Red Raiders. Sooner or later this will catch up with them and my money is on it happening this week. The Raiders can score point at will and a +140 money line to win straight-up may be worth a serious look this Saturday. Texas deserves to be ranked No. 1 in the country and will continue to stay there unless someone knocks them off. This is their last major hurdle and they will be heavy favorites the rest of the way.

Coach Leach has always been able to score point with Texas Tech, but he has always had trouble stopping his opponent. He really puts his defense in tough situations since they are often on the field much more then the offense and thus become very tired during the fourth quarter of games. Texas Tech is undefeated and if they can pull the upset will they be able to run the table? That answer is an easy no, as they still have Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and likely Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game. They will be underdogs in two of those games and I believe will lose at least two of them as well. Much like Minnesota, a weak non-conference schedule will catch up with them.

At this time of the year one should always be looking for a team that may show up flat on Saturday. In my opinion, Alabama fits that mold. The Tide have just come off of four tough conference games that included a road win in Knoxville. Now they step out of conference to face Arkansas State, a team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain. The Red Wolves are not in the class of the Tide, but will enter this game off of a bye having not played a game since Oct. 18. Parlay this with Bama playing at LSU the next week and getting 23 points makes the dog very inviting. This is a side I will surely consider.

It never hurts to look ahead and one game I will be looking ahead to next Wednesday is Northern Illinois traveling to Ball State. The Huskies have played a much tougher schedule and were beaten by Ball State, 27-21, last year. NUI was really hit hard by injuries last season but I look for them to give the Cardinals all that they can handle, especially if they are getting double digits. The Cardinals are undefeated yet have not received the same notoriety as Utah or Boise State. You may hear from us on this game.

Moving to the pros, the Titans showed why they are the best team in the NFL, scoring 25 unanswered points to beat Indianapolis, 31-21. This team has the best defense in the land and has all but clinched the AFC South Division, as they currently have a four game lead. That being said, they are still not getting much respect when it comes to the oddsmakers, as they are just a five-point favorite against Green Bay this weekend in Nashville. Part of the reason for this is that are not a flashy team on offense, especially with journeyman Kerry Collins under center. They have three tough games the next three weeks (Green Bay, Chicago, and Jacksonville) and I would not be surprised if they lose two of those games. Complacently will step in and especially when playing teams that are desperate to keep their season alive. We nailed two of our three NFL picks last weekend and are planning a Superfecta on this weekend.

This is the week I have been waiting for, as our Big 10 Game of the Year is the game this company has been founded upon. We nailed it 19 years in a row during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and I have confident that this game will get us back into the winner's circle. For complete details about this legendary game give our sports office a call, as we are confident that this game will make us all lots of money.

Best of Luck this week,
Doc