Worst NFL Game of the Week – It could be argued that we get this one out of the way tonight when Oakland visit San Diego. That one could be ugly, but there are, sadly, worse. St. Louis at Arizona should be ugly – the Rams were blown out once already by the Cards, and they were better then than they are now. New England at Seattle could be ugly unless we see a much improved Seattle team suddenly. We won’t. The ultimate choice is clear, though – Cleveland at Tennessee. Ken Dorsey against the most ferocious defense in the league. Good luck with that.

Best NFL Game of the Week – Lots to choose form here, too. Dallas at Pittsburgh features two solid teams that both desperately need a win. It should be rough, tough, and a lot of fun. Washington at Baltimore is a good regional rivalry with high stakes for both teams. Baltimore is playing great football recently, and we are watching Joe Flacco evolve right before our eyes. You can never be sure what you will get with Washington, but when they are good they are really good. My choice, though, is the Monday night special. Tampa Bay and Carolina are two of my favorite teams this year. Neither of them play pretty, but they both play tough, feisty football, and they both do what it takes to win. The stakes couldn’t be bigger here – the division lead and a good shot at a first round bye for the winner. The teams just plain don’t like each other, either. This has a good chance at being a classic grudge match.

Game With Teams With The Most To Prove – Jets at 49ers. New York needs to prove that that debacle against the Broncos last week was just a fluke. Niners need to prove that they aren’t just a joke, and Mike Singletary needs to prove that he deserves to be more than just a place filler.

Oddest Line – Given the expectations for both teams coming into the season, it seems hard to believe that the Titans are fully justified being almost two touchdown favorites over the Browns.

Best College Game – There is a clear and obvious winner and, for once, it isn’t from the Big 12. I’m talking, of course, of Cincinnati at Hawaii. Just kidding. Florida is heavily favored against Alabama, with a spot in the national championship game on the line. The question is whether they are too heavily favored. My hunch is yes (see, Al, I can be nice to your team), but only time will tell if that’s the case.

Biggest Lines – We’ll look at two, because they both show us just how bad the Pac-10 is. USC is favored by 32 at UCLA, and Cal is favored by 36 over Washington. The Bruins could play spoilers and instantly become heroes in Oregon, but that won’t happen. Washington is all but certain to secure two things in ths game – their winless and essentially hopeless season, and the end of Ty Willingham’s career as a big time head coach. It would be hard to believe if he got another shot at a real program after this mess.