RIVALRY WEEK CAN BE SO MUCH FUN

Enjoy your holiday get-together

It's Thanksgiving week and we're headed into a weekend of games that feature bitter rivals. These games always make for delicious Thanksgiving dinner banter especially if different foes are represented at the table.

So tighten your seatbelt because things could get contentious and interesting, especially if ole Uncle Joe has one more vino...

Last Saturday we hit a speed bump, going 4-4 for the day.

Yale jumped up to bite Harvard, ending a 9 year drought. LSU's miserable red-zone performance gave Florida the SEC East. Colorado beat its first ranked opponent in over a decade, and the Golden Gophers tripped up Northwestern.

Mo Wins. Mo Money

But we're sitting at 66% and that means we're MAKING MO' MONEY...with more to come.

FROM THE MAIL BAG....

From Boomer Sooner: With regards to Tennessee, "...respectfully, if praying, hoping, and "if" is involved, it doesn't seem to me like that qualifies as "earning" a trip to the Ga Dome. By the way, congrats on your winning percentage. Impressive." (editor's note: very astute observation. Thanks for sharing)

From Doctor R. Allen in Charleston: "Good grief WWW!!!! Specatular! Incredible! Amazing! Impressive! (editor's note: we do our best. Hope you're making money)

From Buffy in Boston: "You finally feature an Ivy League game. And you get it wrong. Ha ha ha. LMAO." (editor's note: glad we could make you laugh)

WHAT WE LEARNED IN Week Twelve...

...the Coaching Carousel is already spinning...

• With LSU losing to Florida it's a pretty safe bet that Ed Orgeron lost his audition to be the permanent head coach in Baton Rouge. So the LSU booster braintrust is counting its dollars to go after a big name like Jimbo Fisher at FSU. Which will open up the FSU job which will open up another job and so on and so on...

Happy trails to you...

• The days at Texas are drawing to a close for Charlie Strong as his Longhorns were upset by lowly Kansas. That appears to be the final straw for Strong who was never fully embraced in Austin. Look for Tom Herman to be the new man at Texas.

• Notre Dame is suffering through another disappointing season. Brian Kelly will survive this year but not next if his Irish continue to underperform. It's not a question of talent in South Bend; they have no problem in recruiting the best. So it's gotta be about the coaching. And Notre Dame has more disposable cash than any other school to go after big name coaches who can't resist the allure of the Golden Dome. 

Bama's odd couple

• How much longer will Lane Kiffin be content to be Nick Saban's lap dog? He's arguably the best offensive coordinator in the business but that doesn't necessarily translate to being an effective head coach. But somebody, somewhere, some day will give him another shot. And it will happen sooner than later. He's too good of a coach despite his weenie personality.


THE GREAT EIGHT™ for Week Thirteen...

#3 Michigan @ #2 Ohio State...if you know of two teams that hate each other more than these two schools please let me know. The stakes for this game could not be higher as both teams jockey for CFP consideration. The Buckeyes have dominated this series over the last decade, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings and could send a strong message to the committee by beating the Wolverines for the fifth straight time overall. Urban is 18-1 in the month of November.  Make that 19-1. Bet on the Buckeyes to win the 113th edition of this bitter rivalry.

Georgia Tech @ Georgia...Clean Old Fashioned Hate returns for the 109th time but it's not the rousing rivalry it should be given that the Dawgs have dominated in recent years. But every few seasons the Yellow Jackets beat the mutts to make things interesting and this could be one of those years. The Jackets return several players from injury so they should be at full strength. This will be a good one. In an UPSET SPECIAL, the Bees sting the Dawgs in Athens.

#13 Florida @ #15 Florida State...the Seminoles are 8-1 against SEC teams since Jimbo took over, and 5-1 versus the Gators. Despite beating LSU 16-10 with a gutsy goal line stand, Florida is still banged up and missing key players. Meanwhile 'Noles rb Dalvin Cook has rushed for 100+ yards in seven of the last eight games to become FSU's all time leading rusher. Look for another big game Saturday night from Cook as the Seminoles scalp the Gators.

Kentucky @ #11 Louisville...after getting blown out 36-10 last week by Houston, the Cardinals will be anxious to beat someone up this Saturday, and Kentucky is the perfect get-well opponent as they meet for the 29th Governor's Cup. If Stoops is smart (and he is), he's studied Houston's game tape and seen how the Cougars handcuffed Louisville's qb Lamar Jackson. If the Cats can somehow contain Jackson they have a chance of knocking off the heavily favored Cardinals. The spread is just too tasty to ignore (26 points). So take Kentucky and the points in another UPSET SPECIAL.

South Carolina @ #4 Clemson...the Gamecocks have made great strides defensively in Muschamp's first season but they'll have their hands full with Clemson's dangerous Deshaun Watson who only needs two more TDs to join Tajh Boyd as the only players in Tiger history to account for 100 touchdowns - passing, rushing or receiving. If Carolina can slow Watson they have a shot. The spread (24 points) is too tempting to resist. Take the Cocks and points in an UPSET SPECIAL.

#16 Auburn @ #1 Alabama...as we've said before, until someone beats Bama we stick with the Tide. And this game is no different. The Crimson defense has been stellar and ranks second in scoring defense (11.4 points per game). Look for Alabama to make it a perfect undefeated season and move closer to securing the top spot in the CFP. Take the Tide over the tiggers.

#24 Tennessee @ Vanderbilt...can Botch Jones get his crew excited to beat Vandy which will give them the inside track to a Sugar Bowl berth? We're not so sure given his team's failure to beat South Carolina when the SEC East title was at stake...after a bye week. If qb Dobbs rolls like he did last week versus Mizzou, then the Vols win. But we think the Commodores will make this a long long day for the Vols. Take Vandy in this UPSET SPECIAL.

Mississippi State @ Ole Miss...this is the 89th Egg Bowl that features two programs that have returned to mediocrity in the SEC West. Just two years ago both Magnolia State teams were in the Top Ten and playing great football. But alas, they have relapsed to their former selves in a division dominated by Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M. Nevertheless, this game will be hard fought and the loser heads to the SEC West basement. Take the Rebels in this one in a close one.

MAKE MO' MONEY with MARK™