Time once again to look at what NCAA 09 on my PlayStation 2 has to say about three of this week’s more interesting games. If last week was any indication, you might want to do exactly the opposite of what it says – the machine was an ugly 0-3 ATS. We’ll see if it can do better before we give up on it entirely. As with last time the machine will do all of the work, and I have updated the rosters accordingly.  Without further ado:

Auburn (-4) at Vanderbilt – This one didn’t entirely mirror an Auburn game – there was actually scoring. It also wasn’t entirely typical because Auburn’s offense was more effective through the air than on the ground. QB Chris Todd had a ruthlessly efficient game, ending up with three TDs and a gaudy QB rating. Chris Nickson wasn’t nearly that effective, but that fits with reality – he is not a passing machine. In the end, Auburn came from behind to win 28-21 and cover the spread.

Oregon (+16.5) at USC – USC needed to bounce back in a big way from a terrible effort last week. Though it wasn’t pretty, they pretty much did. The final score was 20-0, so their fearsome defense was actually fearsome again. Oregon was truly terrible, managing just 75 yards in total offense. Their quarterback problems finally caught up to them. Mark Sanchez only completed 55 percent of his passes, and had just one TD, but at least he eliminated the mistakes that were so costly against the other team from Oregon.

Ohio State (-1) at Wisconsin – The Badgers shouldn’t have lost to Michigan last week, and they played like they were still too ombarrassed by that to focus. They got behind early to the Buckeyes, and though they fought hard they just couldn’t come back to win. Ohio State ended up winning 24-17. They did it mostly on the ground. Beanie Wells had a solid game, complete with a touchdown. The star, once again, was Terrelle Pryor. He threw for a touchdown, and scampered 75 yards for another one.

So there it is – according to my wise piece of video game technology, Auburn, USC, and Ohio State are going to cover. It’s like a window into the future.