Browns in the hunt Believe it or not, the Cleveland Browns are thinking about the playoffs. That’s the furthest thing from the minds of the St. Louis Rams. The Browns try to maintain their surprising early season success on Sunday when they visit the woeful Rams.
Author: Anthony Rome
Six-straight v. Carolina? A slow start contributed to the Carolina Hurricanes missing the playoffs last season. They’ve made sure not to repeat that mistake in 2007-08. The Hurricanes look to continue their early season success and snap a five-game losing streak against the Buffalo Sabres when the teams meet at the RBC Center on Wednesday.
Well rested & ready to go Boston College and Virginia Tech will have had 12 days to get ready for their key ACC matchup. They’ll earn themselves much more preparation time later this season if they qualify for a Bowl Championship Series game. The second-ranked Eagles face the No. 8 Hokies on Thursday night to start a big weekend that could reshape the BCS standings and national title race.
Defense anyone? Led by its vaunted defense, undefeated Ohio State is in a familiar position – at the top of both the AP Poll and BCS standings. The top-ranked Buckeyes have not lost a regular-season game in more than two years, but will revisit the site of that defeat Saturday night when they visit 24th-ranked Penn State at Beaver Stadium.
UK looking for a repeat of ’06 Kentucky was a struggling football team last year before a narrow victory over Mississippi State helped turn its season around. The 14th-ranked Wildcats hope this year’s rematch will serve as a similar springboard when they conclude a three-game homestand Saturday against the Bulldogs.
Inspired Huskers Texas has bounced back from its longest conference losing streak in more than 50 years with back-to-back wins over the only two teams in the Big 12 that don’t have a conference victory. Taking advantage of another struggling Big 12 rival might not be as easy on Saturday, when the 17th-ranked Longhorns host a Nebraska team that hopes to be rejuvenated by legendary coach Tom Osborne’s return to the program.
Keeping tabs on Simpson Mikell Simpson got one carry in his last game of 2006, failing to pick up a yard against North Carolina State. This time, accounting for Simpson will be a major priority of the Wolfpack defense. Coming off one of the best performances in ACC history, Simpson may again be needed in the backfield for No. 21 Virginia as it tries to set a school record for consecutive wins in a season when it faces N.C. State on Saturday.
Party in the Swamp A sore right shoulder isn’t going to keep Tim Tebow from playing for the first time in his hometown for the defending national champions. Tebow looks to continue his outstanding play for No. 9 Florida when it meets No. 20 Georgia in the arch-rivals’ annual showdown in Jacksonville. The winner will maintain at least a share of first place in the SEC East division.
Not so favorite Since it began its unprecedented run of five straight Pac-10 titles, Southern California has been favored to win each of its 45 conference games. That streak will come to an end this weekend. The ninth-ranked Trojans will be underdogs when they visit No. 5 Oregon on Saturday in the first matchup between top-10 teams in the 41-year history of Autzen Stadium.
Road woes Vaclav Prospal is off to the best start of his 11-year career, but that still hasn’t helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win a road game this season. Prospal looks to continue his stellar offensive start and help the Lightning avoid opening with three straight road losses for the first time in seven years when they visit the slumping Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.