What the hell is happening to college football’s top quarterbacks? If you’re a Heisman Trophy contender and your name isn’t A.J. McCarron, you are having problems either on or off the field. Some of the top players at the professional ranks, namely Derrick Rose and Calvin Johnson, also endured rough weeks. This new week may be all about giving thanks, but right now is not the time for it.

Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag unless otherwise indicated.

Heisman hopefuls. Sometimes playing game-manager with mistake-free football is enough. It was for Trent Dilfer when Baltimore won Super Bowl XXXV. It may be for A.J. McCarron, whose Alabama squad has coasted into an Iron Bowl that is virtually the SEC West Championship. McCarron has his own solid play and his rivals to thank. Johnny Manziel lost his third game of the season while completing only 16-of-41 passes to go along with one touchdown and two picks against LSU. Marcus Mariota also threw two interceptions in Oregon's blowout loss to Arizona. Bryce Petty and previously-undefeated Baylor got clobbered 49-17 at Oklahoma State. Jameis Winston is still setting the world on fire for a dominant Florida State juggernaut, but his sexual assault scandal is growing more and more problematic by the day. Winston is a -400 favorite ahead of McCarron (+200), and nobody else has better than +1000 odds. Alabama is a -11 road favorite at Auburn on Saturday.

Aaron Murray. Georgia's senior quarterback deserved better this season. Most of his key weapons fell by the wayside due to injury early and often in 2013, then his go-ahead touchdown run against Auburn was basically erased when the Tigers answered with a miracle game-winner of their own. Things went from bad to worse for the Bulldogs and Murray on Saturday. They took care of Kentucky, but Murray's last home game turned into his last college game—period. The injury bug struck Murray this time and a torn ACL means he will miss UGA's road trip to Georgia Tech in addition to his team's bowl game. Georgia had been a -5.5 favorite over Tech, but the spread currently sits at -3 at BookMaker due to Murray’s absence.

Derrick Rose. Sad to say, but it may not be too early to start lumping Rose into the same sentence with Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum, and Brandon Roy. One of the best players in the NBA when healthy, the guy just cannot catch a break. Rose, who tore his left ACL during the 2012 playoffs and missed all of last season, sustained a meniscus tear in his right knee during Chicago's Friday night loss to Portland. He is expected to miss the rest of the season due to the type of surgery that was performed on Monday. The Bulls are +350 to win the Eastern Conference and +1000 to win the NBA Championship.

Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs lost zero games in the first 10 weeks of the season. They have lost two in the last eight days. A road setback against Denver was acceptable and even expected, but falling at home to San Diego was not. Kansas City allowed fewer than 20 points in each of its first nine games and still had not given up more than 27 prior to Sunday, but Philip Rivers and the Chargers put up a 41-spot. The Chiefs were leading the see-saw battle 38-34 until Rivers threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Seyi Ajirotutu on 2nd-and-15 with 24 seconds remaining. On the bright side for Kansas City, AFC West rival Denver lost a heartbreaker of its own—an overtime thriller at New England after blowing a 24-0 lead. Both teams are 9-2 heading into their second head-to-head showdown in a three-week span. The Broncos are -3.5 road favorites on Sunday and -400 favorites to win the division.

Calvin Johnson. The Detroit Lions had a golden opportunity to be the only NFC North team to win in Week 12...even though two of the division foes were playing each other! Chicago lost at St. Louis, and Green Bay played Minnesota to the NFL's first tie in more than a year and its second tie since November of 2008. A home victory over Tampa Bay would have put the Lions alone in first place. They appeared set up for it when, trailing by three, Johnson got his hands on a Matthew Stafford pass inside Tampa's five-yard line. Instead, Kelcie McCray dislodged the football into the arms of fellow defensive back Johnthan Banks for a game-clinching interception with 50 seconds remaining. Detroit is a -150 favorite to win the NFC North.

Manchester United. Man U suffered a 2-2 draw on Sunday at Cardiff City, which is tied for 14th place in the Premier League standings. Wayne Rooney and company had a 2-1 lead going into stoppage time in part thanks to a Rooney goal in the 15th minute. Cardiff, however, notched the equalizer just before time expired when Kim Bo-kyung found the net after a free kick. United would have moved up to third place alone with three points for a win, but instead it sits tied for sixth—two points back of a rival Manchester City club that destroyed Tottenham Hotspur, 6-0. City is a +175 favorite to win the Premier League title while United is +700.

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