LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said early this week that if he and/or his linemates got the opportunity to knock quarterback Tim Tebow out of their game Saturday against Florida, they would do so.

Not only did the Tigers fail to knock Tebow out of the game (Jean-Francois didn’t even play due to an injury), they failed to do much of anything as the Gators routed their SEC rivals 51-21 in Gainesville Saturday night.

Tebow completed 14 of 21 passes for 210 yards and also threw two touchdowns with zero interceptions. On the third play of the game, Tebow found Percy Harvin for a 70-yard touchdown pass after an LSU defender tipped the ball up while trying to make an interception. From there, the Gators mounted a 20-0 lead before the Tigers made a small rally to cut the score to 20-14 early in the second half. But the comeback was short lived as Florida scored touchdowns on their next three possessions and the rout was on.

An outcome like this proves how broke the college football voting system is. LSU was ranked seven spots higher than Florida in the polls, yet was smoked by 30 points. Remember LSU’s big win over Auburn a couple weeks ago? Looks pretty weak after Auburn lost to Vanderbilt (who lost to Mississippi State Saturday) and unranked Arkansas the past two weeks.

Florida proved tonight that they’re still the team to beat in the SEC. Furthermore, this game might have proved that the SEC is weak as a whole this season.

Coming into Saturday’s action, people were wondering whether or not No. 17 Oklahoma State was for real or not. Sure their offense was averaging 530 yards and over 50 points a game, but their toughest opponent prior to this week was arguably an unranked Troy team.

But no longer do we have to wonder if the Cowboys are for real after they beat No. 3 Missouri 28-23 in Columbia. They picked off Heisman candidate Chase Daniel three times in the second half, including on MIZZOU’s final drive when the Tigers were in range to possibly take the lead late in the fourth quarter. The job OK State’s defense did in getting pressure on Daniel was outstanding and the trio of QB Zac Robinson (19 of 28 for 215 yards, 2 TDs), RB Kendall Hunter (154 yards rushing, 1 TD) and WR Damian Davis (3 rec., 76 yards, 2 TDs) came up with big plays all night.

Now that Missouri, LSU and Oklahoma all lost, the top 10 in college football will undergo a major shakeup. It’ll be interesting to see how everything takes shape when the new polls are released. How far will MIZZOU fall?

Not to take anything away from No. 6 Penn State because they continue to play fantastic football this year, but Wisconsin’s effort in a 48-7 loss to the Nittany Lions on Saturday night was ridiculous. The Badgers came out and ran the ball on their first 10 offensive possessions and it wasn’t until they fell behind 10-0 early in the second quarter did they attempt a pass.

What exactly was Wisconsin’s game plan? Run the ball and rely on their defense to stop a PSU offense that is one of the best in the nation?

Bret Bielema’s decision to play conservative blew up in his face. I understand the idea of trying to keep the Lions’ explosive offense off the field by establishing the run, but it made Wisconsin too predictable. And once Brad Nortman returned a punt 42 yards for a score to make it 17-0 in the second quarter, the game was basically over because Bielema had no backup strategy for when his brilliant original game plan failed.

Penn State might be the best team in the Big Ten, but it was hard to get a read of how good they were tonight with how brutal Wisconsin was. And considering Toledo just beat them in Ann Arbor, the Badgers win over Michigan a couple weeks ago looks even worse now.

Just three days after firing offensive coordinator Tony Franklin due to their inept offense, Auburn managed just 193 yards of total offense in a 25-22 loss to Arkansas on Saturday. The Tigers had just 137 passing yards and 56 rushing, while also turning the ball over three times and finished just 4 for 15 on third downs.

After firing Franklin, Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said that his team’s offensive philosophy wasn’t going to change because it “is a good offense”, the players like it and that they are “getting better at it.”

Here’s a thought: If you don’t have the personal to run the spread offense, don’t run it. You don’t just fire a guy and think that all of a sudden your players are going to magically fit into the system. Maybe Franklin wasn’t the problem after all. Or maybe he was. But you can’t fit square pegs into round holes.

On a related note, isn’t it about time for Bobby Petrino to bolt Arkansas? My God, it’s been six games. Considering Petrino used to be the former offensive coordinator at Auburn, maybe he can leave Arkansas, become the new OC for the Tigers and eventually weasel his way into AU’s head coaching spot when Tuberville is eventually shown the door. That seems like the Bobby Petrino path to success.

It’s amazing what oddsmakers know. For example, entering Week 7, they established No. 13 Vanderbilt as a 2.5-point favorite over unranked Mississippi State.

Why on earth would the Commodores only be 2.5-point favorites? They were 5-0 for the first time since Moses parted the Red Sea, were coming off a huge win over SEC rival Auburn and they were playing a Bulldogs team that was 1-4 on the season.

Mississippi State 17, Vanderbilt 14. That’s why.

I don’t want to get into a huge gambling discussion because this isn’t the forum, but whenever a point spread looks too good to be true, it probably is. Vandy was clearly the better team coming into the game and should have been favored by at least two field goals, even with them playing on the road and against a conference foe.

It never ceases to amaze me how good these oddsmakers are at setting the lines for sporting events.

On to a more football-related topic – what a game by the Bulldog defense. They held the Commodores to only 107 yards of total offense, forced two turnovers and didn’t turn the ball over themselves. (Which is significant because Vandy led the nation in turnover margin coming into the game.)

Coupling this one with Ole’ Miss’s win over Florida two weeks ago, the state of Mississippi is the king of the upset this year.

Oklahoma’s reign as the best team in the nation lasted only one week as the top-ranked Sooners fell at home to Big 12 rival Texas 45-35 on Saturday. Below are six quick-hit observations from the game.

1. Colt McCoy has become more than a fantastic player. The Longhorns’ junior QB has been one of the more talked about players in college football since his freshman year. But it was evident in UT’s win over OU that McCoy has become much more than that - he’s also become a leader for Mack Brown. Despite being down 11 on two separate occasions in the first half and playing through four lead changes, McCoy never panicked. He also didn’t make a mistake and while fellow candidate Sam Bradford had flashier numbers, McCoy proved why he should be the front-runner for the Heisman this year. McCoy certainly benefited from Chris Ogbonnaya’s (15 carries, 127 yards) as well, who had one of most pivotal plays of the game when he broke a 62-yard run to set up a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

2. While it was in a losing effort, Sam Bradford’s performance was phenomenal. It’s easy to forget that he’s only a sophomore with how mature he has looked this year. And while he did throw two interceptions (one was on the last play of the game on a desperation pass), his performance isn’t why OU won’t find themselves at the top of the rankings when the new polls are released.

3. Where was the defense? For being the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Oklahoma’s defense just wasn’t that good to begin with and it showed today. The Horns racked up 45 points and 438 yards of offense sure, but the bottom line is that the Sooners’ defense couldn’t come up with the big play when it mattered most. And they allowed UT wideouts to roam free too many times in the secondary.

4. What was the game plan again? Speaking of OU’s defense, coordinator Brent Venables continues to make zero adjustments when his unit is being scorched. The amount of openings that McCoy and the Longhorns had offensively couldn’t have only been because the Sooner defenders were missing assignments. OU’s overall defensive game plan was weak from the start.

5. The officiating in his game was brutal. Blown calls were the norm and there were two plays that were inexcusably not reviewed. At least it was bad on both sides.

6. The Big 12 is still up for grabs. Looking ahead, Texas certainly isn’t in the clear yet to win the Big 12. The Longhorns host No. 3 Missouri and No. 17 Oklahoma State the next two weeks, then are at No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 16 Kansas in November. OU hosts Kansas next week, but doesn’t have to face Missouri and gets Texas Tech at home before facing in-state rival Oklahoma State to wrap up the season.

…you lose to an unranked MAC school as Michigan did Saturday when they were upset by Toledo, 13-10 in Ann Arbor.

I realize that this isn’t the best Michigan team in school history, but they’re still expected to beat a MAC school at home. Especially one that’s not even that good. This was the same Toledo team that got blown out by Ball State (albeit a very good Ball State team), 31-0 on their home turf. And before this loss, UM was 24-0 all-time against MAC schools.

Rich Rodriguez doesn’t have “his” players in place yet and once he does, the Wolverines are expected to rebound. But his first year in Ann Arbor has been nothing short of a disaster. They were a complete mess in a loss to Notre Dame, they were blown out at home last week by Illinois, and then today they lose to a sub-par MAC school. It’s almost incomprehensible. This is one of the most storied programs in college football and they’ve absolutely crumbled this year outside of one good half against Wisconsin.

If you listen closely, you can hear the entire state of West Virginia laughing.

In a minor trade, GM Larry Bird sent Shawne Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for Eddie Jones and two second round draft picks.

Bird, the Pacers’ president, has made it clear he plans to repair the team’s image after several negative off-the-court issues in recent years. Williams, Indiana’s first-round draft pick in 2006, was dogged by three incidents involving police in the past 13 months.

“He’s got a lot of potential,” Bird told the Associated Press. “You hate to give up on those type of players, but with what we’re trying to do here, we felt it was best to move Shawne. This trade wasn’t made because he wasn’t talented enough, it was because of the other things.”

The Pacers already have traded Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson in the past three years for damaging the team’s reputation, and the Pacers have told Jamaal Tinsley not to show up to training camp after several scrapes with the law.

Williams will be reunited with new Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who coached the Pacers when Indiana drafted him out of Memphis in the first round in 2006.

“There’s no question Rick wanted him,” Bird said. “He was there when we drafted him. He knew the talent, he knew the kid.”

The writing was on the wall for Williams. It was just a matter of time before Bird sent him packing. He has talent, but needs a fresh start. Maybe he’ll get it with Carlisle and the Mavs.

Early this week, LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said that if he and his fellow linemates got the opportunity, they would take Florida QB Tim Tebow, “out of the game” when the two teams meet Saturday evening.

Turns out Jean-Francois won’t get the opportunity to back up his words because the Tiger defensive lineman won’t even make the trip to Gainesville due to a groin injury.

“He wasn’t able to do much on it,” LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette said Friday night at the team hotel in Ocala, Fla., according to USA Today. “He practiced during the week, but the trainers ruled him out. And the coaches didn’t want to dress him out if he wasn’t going to be able to play.”

Bonnette said Jean-Francois’ absence had nothing to do with what he said this week about going after Tebow.

“Of course not,” Bonnette said, according to The (Baton Rouge) Advocate. “He’s still injured … There’s no point in letting Florida know … We thought he would be recovered by now.”

Granted Jean-Francois later backpedaled and said that LSU “had great respect for Tim as a player,” but I’m sure that was hand-fed to him by someone in the program. But still, he made those comments knowing he might not even play? Way to go champ.

Here are five things I noticed when watching the Dodgers and Phillies square off in game two of the NLCS on Friday:

1. The Phillies have a new 1-2 punch. Ok, not quite. But you would think so after watching pitcher Brett Myers and CF Shane Victorino carve up Dodger pitching on Thursday. The two combined to drive in six of the Phillies’ eight runs. It’s one thing to have guys like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins beat you, but Victorino and Myers? Shocking stat of the playoffs: Myers has more RBI (three) this postseason than Ryan Howard (one).

2. Don’t piss off Manny. Granted, this guy will hit a home run in whatever mood he’s in. But its especially fun to watch when Ramirez gets ticked off. In the first inning, Myers nearly hit Manny with a pitch that went sailing behind him. So what does M-Ram do when Myers challenges him again in the fourth inning? He smacks the ball into the stands and gives Myers a few choice words while walking into the dugout.

3. James McDonald is a stud. The Dodgers rook pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, struck out five and gave up just two hits. They say you can tell what a player is made of by the way he performs in October. Well, McDonald looks like he’s got it.

4. 2-out Ribbies. It’s probably the most important stat you’ll find in playoff baseball. Nothing is more discouraging for a pitcher - and more clutch for a hitter - than driving in a run with two outs. Six of the Phillies’ eight runs came with two outs in an inning. The Dodgers scored four of their five runs with two outs.

5. Tommy Lasorda givin’ up on his boys too early. If you were watching the game when the Phils were pushing across four more runs in the third inning, FOX cameras caught Tommy Lasorda taking an early exit from the game. I know it was 8-2 at that point, but shouldn’t Lasorda at least stick around a little longer?

Series heads back to LA on Sunday where I’m predicting the Dodgers get back into this series. Or at least let’s hope so we can see a decent series…

Unlike the division series that began in 1995, the ALCS and NLCS has been played since 1969. Before that, there was just a World Series. Anyway, with the two series underway to determine who will play in the 2008 fall classic, we’ll take a look at the career Top 5 in LCS play in both batting average and starting pitching ERA. Enjoy, and hope you’re enjoying the games…..

Batting Average

1. Kevin Youkilis (.531)—Okay, so Kevin Youkilis has only played in one full LCS, last year’s ALCS with Boston, and he just began his second, against Tampa . Last year, Youkilis went 14 for 28 with a double, a triple, three homers, and 7 RBI. And last night he went 3 for 4 with two doubles. Sox fans not surprisingly love this guy as well as, or in spite of, his facial hair.

2. Mark Grace (.515)—Mark Grace played in two league championship series—in 1989 with the Cubs and in 2001 with the Diamondbacks. Despite the fact that Gracey hit .647 with a homer and 8 RBI in the 1989 NLCS, the Cubs lost to the Giants. Are you surprised?

3. Will Clark (.468)—First baseman Will Clark has played in three NLCS—1987 and 1989 with the Giants and 2000 with the Cardinals. He hit .360, .650 and .412 in those series, respectively. It’s worth noting that the .650 was against Mark Grace’s Cubs. That, and a billy goat, partially explains the result of that series.

4. Craig Counsell (.400)—“Screech” is lights out in the LCS (with Florida in 1997 and Arizona in 2001), but has a .212 average in the NLDS and .130 World Series mark. Huh?

5. Mickey Rivers (.386)—Talk about consistency. In three straight ALCS appearances for Rivers’ Yankees against the Royals (1976-78), he was almost impossible to pitch to, hitting .348, .391, and .455. Considering Rivers was the Yankees’ leadoff man, do I have to tell you who won each series?

Starting Pitching ERA (note: we only included those who have started more games than they relieved)

1. Gary Nolan (1.35)—Gary Nolan pitched in four NLCS for the Reds—1970, 1972, 1975 and 1976. In four starts, he went 4-0 with a 1.35 ERA, and 16 strikeouts. Though Nolan was a very good 3.08 in his career during the regular season, he clearly knew how to turn it up a notch when it counted most.

2. Orel Hershiser (1.52)—Orel Hershiser was almost unhittable in 1988, but in all he pitched in five LCS—1985 and 1988 with the Dodgers; 1995 and 1997 with Cleveland, and 1999 with the Mets. His record in championship series play? 4-0 with the 1.52 ERA and 47 strikeouts.

3. Jeff Suppan (1.69)—Jeff Suppan has pitched in three NLCS, all with the Cardinals—2004-06. His numbers are aided mostly by those two ridiculous starts in 2006 against the Mets when he gave up one earned run in 15 innings of work. And as a Mets fan, I do mean ridiculous literally.

4. Randy Johnson (1.72)—The Big Unit has been lights out in LCS play—in 1995 with Seattle and in 2001 with the D-Backs. In those two series, he went 2-1 with 32 strikeouts and just 5 walks in 31 innings. The man is just sick.

5. Fernando Valenzuela (1.95)—Fernando Valenzuela was like a cult hero for the Dodgers and pitched for them in three LCS—1981, 1983 and 1985. Over that time, Valenzuela, who’s out pitch was a screwball, went 3-1 with 28 strikeouts.

Source: Baseball Reference

As play-by-play announcer Chip Caray said during the final inning of Boston’s 2-0 win over Tampa in Game 1 of the ALCS Friday night, “Experience trumped exuberance tonight.” (I can’t believe I’m quoting Chip Caray, but the comment was spot on.)

For six innings, Boston ace Daisuke Matsuzaka was un-hittable. Literally.

The Rays didn’t record their first hit until Carl Crawford singled to lead off the top of the seventh. But once Crawford reached, Cliff Floyd followed with a single of his own, moving Crawford to third and all of a sudden Tampa was in business despite trailing 1-0 since the top of the fifth.

This is the situation where good teams – World Series contender or other – score that runner from third with less than two outs. But the Rays failed to do so as Dice-K got Dioner Navarro to fly out to left, then struck out Gabe Gross before finishing off Jason Bartlett with a fielder’s choice to the shortstop.

Inning over.

Again the Rays struck in the bottom of the eighth after the first two batters reached safely to start the inning. Yet once again they came away with nothing as the Boston bullpen got Carlos Pena to fly out to right and Evan Longoria to ground into a double play.

In nine innings Friday night, the Sox showed what it takes to be a champion. They’ve still got a long way to go in their chase to defend their title, especially with how good Tampa is. But great teams separate themselves in these types of games and the performances by Matsuzaka, Dustin Pedroia and the BoSox bullpen were outstanding.

That said, Rays’ starter James Shields was phenomenal and on a normal night when the Rays’ bats are on, he walks away from such a masterful performance with a victory. And Tampa will learn a lot from a game like this and it’ll be interesting to see how they respond in Game 2 on Saturday night.

With Brandon Lloyd sidelined with a sprained PCL, Rashied Davis figures to get most of the targets of all the Bears’ wideouts. Last week against the Lions, he turned nine targets into six catches for 97 yards. He’s more valuable in PPR leagues since he’s not a big WR (5′9″), and the team is more likely to go with Matt Forte or one of their TEs at the goal line.

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Ryan Grant is not winning his one-on-one matchups when he gets into the secondary.

Almost every time running back Ryan Grant got into the secondary and faced a safety or cornerback one-on-one last year, he won the matchup and went on for a big gain.

This year, Grant isn’t winning those matchups. He had one with Atlanta safety Lawyer Milloy on Sunday and Milloy took him down easily after a 14-yard gain.

“That should have been a touchdown,” Grant said. “If I have a guy one-on-one, that should be a touchdown. That’s how I look at it.”

I’ve watched just about every Green Bay snap this season, and it seems to me that it’s not so much that Grant is losing these matchups as much as he’s not getting as many opportunities to reach the third level of the defense. He’s averaging 3.7 ypc in 2008 after averaging 5.1 ypc last season. Some of this has to do with the lack of the big runs that Silverstein is talking about, but I think it has more to do with the fact that the offensive line just isn’t run blocking like they were last season.

Regardless of the cause of Grant’s struggles, this week’s game against the Seahawks will be a good barometer of the Green Bay running game. Seattle is 24th against the run, allowing 130 yards per game on the ground (and 4.6 ypc). If Grant doesn’t manage to at least hit the 4.2 or 4.3 ypc mark, it might be time to get worried.

NBA legend Magic Johnson is outraged that a pair of Minneapolis talk radio host accused him of faking his diagnosis of acquiring the AIDS virus.

KTLK’s Chris Baker and Langdon Perry made the remarks during their conservative talk show on Wednesday. The context of the remarks are unclear, as Perry was responding to a caller complaining about using common sense in treating diseases. (Click here to listen to the radio segment).

Johnson issued a statement on Thursday:

I am outraged that Chris Baker and Langdon Perry would minimize such a serious and deadly issue. Millions are dying from HIV/AIDS, and the fact that they would make jokes about my status is unbelievable. Chris, Langdon and KTLK should use their power in a more positive light by encouraging people to get tested for this disease instead of making up such ridiculous lies.

Johnson tested HIV-positive in 1992 and retired from the NBA at 32.

The KTLK program director declined to comment on the segment.

Sometimes, a wedding reception can get out of hand and Brandon Backe can testify to that. The Houston Astro pitcher was among 10 people arrested during a brawl with police last weekend at a reception in Galveston, Texas. According to the Houston Chronicle, he ignored police orders to back away from a hotel barfight involving members of the wedding party.

Backe struggled with officers. One officer stated in the report that he hit Backe twice in the face before handcuffing him. The officer also reported that Backe smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. Both the officer and Backe sustained minor injuries during the fight, according to the police report.

Backe was charged with interfering with a police officer and resisting arrest. The Galveston County district attorney office announced that both charges are misdemeanors and he was released on a $1500 bond.

In a surprise move, the Bengals are going to go with Ryan Fitzpatrick over Carson Palmer. The word is that Palmer could play, so one wonders why Cincy would go with Fitzpatrick instead. This is a downgrade for Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh…Kellen Winslow was hospitalized on Thursday with an “unspecified illness” (ProFootballTalk.com reports that it is “swollen testicles.” Oi!) and is questionable for Monday Night Football. The fact that he plays on Monday is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, he has an extra day to recover. On the other, it leaves fantasy owners wondering on Sunday morning who to start at TE. Keep an eye on the news on Saturday and if it looks like he’ll play, keep him in your lineup. For what it’s worth, “team insiders” expect him to play…Both Brian Westbrook and Reggie Brown are going to miss Sunday’s game against the 49ers. Correll Buckhalter is a good start in Westy’s place and Desean Jackson should see the bulk of extra work with Brown out…Marques Colston will return this week against the Raiders. Jeremy Shockey is very iffy. I wouldn’t count on him this week…Matt Hasselbeck continues to sit out of practice, but the team is expecting and hoping that he’ll play. He has a decent matchup this week, but if you have a similar option, it’s probably best to go with it…Roddy White missed practice on Thursday, but will likely play against the Bears on Sunday…Bernard Berrian has a tantalizing matchup with the Lions, but he has missed practice and is iffy. Keep an eye on this over the weekend…Jon Kitna is doubtful, and it looks like Dan Orlovsky will get the start.

You betcha, Sarah Palin will drop the ceremonial first puck when the Philadelphia Flyers open the regular season against the New York Rangers on Saturday night. And New York Post hockey columnist Larry Brooks is not too pleased that Flyers CEO Ed Snider is using the sport to advance his own political agenda.

Snider was host for a Sept. 26 Palin campaign event at the Irish Pub in Center City in Philadelphia. According to records of the Federal Election Commission, Snider donated $50,000 to the Republican national campaign effort between June 24 and June 30, 2008.

Now he is donating the stage of an NHL pregame ceremony for use as a pep rally for McCain’s presidential effort. Now he is intent on transforming a sports arena into the political arena. He is creating an environment in which partisan politics, not hockey rooting interest, might well create dangerous disruption in the stands.

The Republican vice presidential nominee will join the team’s “Philadelphia’s Ultimate Hockey Mom” contest winner on the ice for the opening faceoff.

I wonder if the Philly fans will boo her like they boo’ed Santa Claus at the Eagles’ game.

On his blog over at Yardbarker, Donovan McNabb expressed embarrassment about how he and the Eagles have played thus far this season. Here’s an excerpt:

I’ve made mistakes and I’ve owned up to them. I’m sure that some of my teammates and coaches might feel that they also could have done better. But a play here and a play there is costing us precious division and conference games that can bite us down the stretch. We didn’t start playing well last year until it was too late. It’s not too late to turn it around now. But to do so, we have to be embarrassed enough as a team to do something about it.

I’m better than this and I’ll prove it. I know my team is too. Now we have to prove it.

McNabb will be without the services of Brian Westbrook and Reggie Brown this Sunday against the 49ers. Still, this is pretty much a must-win game for the Eagles, and I expect that he’ll play well.

Sunday’s Best: Panthers (4-1) at Buccaneers (3-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX
This isn’t the sexiest matchup on the Week 6 schedule, but it’s a battle for first place in the NFC South. Carolina is coming off a 34-0 rout of the Chiefs, a game in which they held Larry Johnson to only two yards rushing, while Tampa dropped a close one in Denver. The Panthers can thank a healthy Jake Delhomme and a stingy run defense for their hot start this season. With Delhomme back under center and a nice 1-2 punch of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart in the backfield, the Panthers’ offense has been incredibly balanced this season and therefore, hard to stop. And Carolina’s front seven has kept opponents from averaging over 100 yards on the ground. The Bucs will go back to Jeff Garcia at quarterback with Brian Griese nursing an injured arm. It’ll be interesting to see if the Panthers take away Tampa’s 8th-best rushing attack, because the last time the Bucs couldn’t run the ball was against the Bears – a game in which Griese attempted 67 passes. Will Garcia have to do the same this week?

Upset Watch: Cowboys (4-1) at Cardinals (3-2), 4:15 PM ET FOX
I’m going right back to the well. In my primer last week, I warned to watch out for the Cards upsetting the previously unbeaten Bills. I’ll do the same this week as the Cowboys roll into the desert after almost blowing a 17-point lead to the Bengals last Sunday. Dallas has more talent than any other team in the NFC, but they’ve proven to be as fragile as T.O.’s emotions. Arizona flat out plays a different brand of football at home and could have wideout Anquan Boldin back this week, although it’s doubtful. Even without Boldin, the Cards have more than enough weapons to score on a Dallas defense that is giving up close to 23 points a game. The key obviously will be whether or not Arizona can stop the Cowboys’ high-powered offense. Dallas is racking up over 400 yards and 30 points a game and the Cards are just two games removed from surrendering 56 points to the Jets. Even if ‘Zona can’t pull off the upset, I would expect one wild shootout.

Intriguing Matchup: Patriots (3-1) at Chargers (2-3) 8:15 PM ET NBC
Remember when New England mocked Shawne Merriman’s “Lights Out” dance after a playoff win in San Diego a couple of years ago and hurt LaDainian Tomlinson’s feelings? The Pats return to the scene of the crime and no team plays with a bigger chip on their shoulder (and for really no reason) than the Chargers. Even though they won in convincing fashion against the 49ers last week, this is clearly a different Patriots team without Tom Brady. (What a statement, I know). It’ll be interesting to see if Matt Cassel can have a coming out party this weekend, because no team in the entire NFL is playing worse against the pass right now than San Diego.

Other Notable Games:
Bears (3-2) at Falcons (3-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX
The last time rookie QB Matt Ryan faced the Tampa 2 defense he had his worst outing as a pro, throwing two interceptions in a loss to the Bucs in Week 2. He’ll get a chance for redemption this week against Chicago, a team that has typically owned Atlanta in the past.

Jaguars (2-3) at Broncos (4-1), 4:15 PM ET FOX
Big Ben and the Steelers lit up Jacksonville’s defense last week. Will Jay Cutler and the Broncos’ offense do the same on Sunday?

Ravens (2-2) at Colts (2-2), 1:00 PM ET CBS
Peyton Manning vs. Ray Lewis is always fun to watch.