This year's college season has been on of the most exciting years ever. It has also been a difficult year to handicap college football, at least for this writer.

So who really is No. 1 in the nation? Is it two-time National Champion Southern Cal? Or possibly Texas, Alabama or Virginia Tech? Last week the BCS slated Texas ahead of Southern Cal. But after a poor performance by Texas against Oklahoma State, S.C. has returned to the top and they will stay there if they win out.

True the sports writers and coaches should be the ones to make these choices; however, in reality, who really has the insights as to who should be at the top? If you guess the oddsmakers, you would be right! These people along with the betting public really have a handle on who is the best team in the land. If Texas played S.C. on a neutral site, who do you thing would be favored? Of course the answer is S.C. and they would come in at just over a field goal favorite. Texas would be favored over Virginia Tech and using this logic; S.C. would be about a touchdown favorite over the Hokies. Whether a team wins big in upcoming weeks, in most cases will not change the line in these potential match-ups. The oddsmakers know more then the media or coaches would ever dream of knowing. Who do I think is No. 1? No question, S.C. is the answer. They are like a heavyweight champion and until someone knocks them out, they will sit atop the charts in my book.

Speaking of being No. 1, the Hokies will get a real test this week in Blacksburg when they welcome in the Hurricanes. The early line has Virginia Tech as a 6 ½ point favorite, as the 'U' has lost the last two meetings despite being favored. Could this be the year the Canes get it done in Blacksburg? An interesting statistic has developed in this game, as the favorite is just 2-8 ATS in the last years and the 'U' is 10-5 ATS in November road games over the last 15 meetings. With the before mentioned information, I like the Canes feeling their defense will make the difference.

Normally the big showdown in the Big Ten takes place during the last week of the season when Michigan and Ohio State do battle. That is not the case this year, as the big game occurs this week when the Badgers travel to State College. The Nittany Lions have been tagged as a 10 ½ point favorite; certainly, this is a lot higher then what I had expected. As for the Badgers, I try to keep my emotions in check, but under Alvarez, Wisconsin has thrived in the role of the underdog. Despite losing heavy to graduation and injuries, the Badgers are 8-1 and having an outstanding season. This team is well coached, but if someone had said this team would only have one loss with just three games to play, I would have wagered the farm against it. Wisconsin has earned the spot atop the conference; however, in my opinion, this is a trap game, and a reality check for Bucky. This is not the 14th best team in the country and this team will be exposed.

Under Alvarez, this team has always won games with a powerful running game and a strong defense; however, that has not been the case this year. Wisconsin has rushed for over 200 yards just two times and that came against two terrible teams (Temple and Illinois). The defense has given up 500 yards four straight games and allowed 85 points in two of their Big Ten road games (Minnesota and Northwestern). In my opinion, Penn State has the defense to stop RB Brian Calhoun and this will put the pressure on QB John Stocco. Stocco has yet to be in this type of an environment this season with 100,000 fans cheering for the Lions. Wisconsin pounded Penn State last year in Madison and QB Michael Robinson was knocked out of the game by DE Erasmus James. In closing, I feel the oddsmakers have made a good line here, and as a handicapper I will not fall into the trap. The only choice here lies with the home team, but one still has to remember this is college football and anything can happen. As a Badger fan, I hate to see it happen; however, I think the dream season is about to hit a major speed bump.

The most difficult part of running this business is dealing with cold streaks. Whether one is a player, a sports service, or someone who simply loves to predict outcomes, winning and losing streaks will certainly occur. That being said, college football this past October has been one of the worst cold streaks that I have ever experienced. If one takes pride by this service (those of you that know me personally, know how much I do) it is difficult to swallow because of the damage it has done to our loyal customers. It even goes beyond that, as our staff, which may be the best in the business are also affected because their salaries are determined in accordance with our record. Losing is never fun and it snowballs beyond what people see.

Last week four of our losses happened in the final two minutes of the game with turnovers being the culprit. This is how most losing streaks occur, when one cannot seem to get the breaks. We lost four out of five Saturdays in college football during October. If that were basketball, losing four out of five nights would not cause the panic button to be pushed. Many profitable nights lie ahead in the near future and that is how we are approaching the football season. There is still two months of Saturdays remaining and we will turn this around and have a profitable season. The turnaround will start this Saturday, as thankfully the month of October has passed.

The college basketball season is just around the corner. One of the best publications is the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. This books sells for $21.95 and it is well worth your investment. If you need information about this publication, visit blueribbonyearbook.com.

I felt for sure we would be going with our Big Ten Game of the Year this week; however, the line did not qualify and the schedule next week looks very promising. A six-unit play has developed this Saturday and it will come from the Big Ten.

What a game it should be this week when the Detroit Lions invade Minneapolis. Or maybe just how ugly can it get, as both teams have numerous problems. The Vikings are a 1 ½-point underdog due to the loss of QB Daunte Culpepper. This game will probably be the least wagered on game on the 14 played this weekend because of the unpredictability of both teams.

Home field is a big factor is college, but some teams take that to the extreme. One team that would qualify for this is the Hawaii Warriors. At Aloha Stadium, they should be your only choice, but on the road always go against them. This is especially true in November, when the weather takes a turn for the worse. This week sets up nice, as the Warriors travel to Reno.

I cannot seem to get the Wisconsin - Penn State game out of my head. I have just been informed that the early total for this game is 55 points. Wow! Seems high since the Lions have a great defense and like to establish the run on offense. If this game goes over, State should have no problem covering this number.

I constantly check the schedule to see what teams may have a flat spot. Two teams have surfaced this week in Florida and UCLA. The Gators are coming off a big win in the cocktail party and are at the swamp, installed as a 19-point favorite against the Commodores. The Bruins are coming off of a big comeback win against Stanford and now head to the desert to take on the Cats. The early line has Los Angeles as a 9 ½-point favorite. You may want to take a look at both barking dogs.

My blood pressure cannot take much more and we need a great week in college football. We will get it in a big way and finish out the season in style with our Big Ten Game of the Year. Do not forget this ten-unit selection will go Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005.

That's it for this week,
Doc

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