While pondering the odds – the Glantz-Culver Line as it were – my eyes drift down to the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s soccer polls and I get to forming some honest questions which no credible answers probably exist.

How would you like to be (like the Brigham Young women) 20-3-0 and ranked 23rd in the nation when the University of Connecticut is 15-7-0 and ranked 12th in the nation? Or when Virginia is 12-8-0 and ranked 16th in the nation? Or when Duke is 12-9-0 and ranked 22nd in the nation?

How would you like you be (like the University of Maryland Baltimore County men) 19-0-1 and ranked 17th in the nation when Maryland is 14-4-0 and ranked sixth in the nation? Or when the University of Connecticut is 14-4-0 and ranked ninth in the nation? Or when St. John’s is 11-5-3 and ranked 16th in the nation?

Outrageous – but I guess the strength of schedule has a lot to do with it.

And speaking of strength of schedule, how would you like to be the University of Buffalo heading into a NCAA football game down in Virginia this weekend and knowing that the dudes out in Las Vegas list you as 47-point underdogs?

SUNDAY

INDIANAPOLIS (-3) at NEW YORK GIANTS: The Giants have had a week off, but it doesn’t mean they are going to be any better than they have been. Peyton Manning is still the best quarterback in the league right now and Edgerrin James is a solid, solid runner. The only chance the Giants have is to run back a couple of punts against the poor special teams of the Colts. (KH – Colts; SB – Giants)

 

MIAMI (+3) at BUFFALO: Damon Huard is proving to be a credible replacement for Dan Marino and while the ‘Fins still have trouble putting points on the board, the defense is coming up big. (KH - Dolphins; SB – Bills)

 

SAN FRANCISCO (-1) at NEW ORLEANS: Even the Forty-Niners should be able to win this game? Shouldn’t they? Yeah, Steve Stenstrom and Jeff Garcia didn’t look so good at quarterback last week, did they? Well, they could just run the ball 60 times and bore us to death. (KH – Forty Niners; SB – Forty Niners)

 

MINNESOTA (-5) at CHICAGO: When the Bears can beat the Packers, things have gone from bad to worse in the NFL. (KH – Vikings; SB – Bears)

 

WASHINGTON (-6) at PHILADELPHIA: The Redskins can’t stop anyone on defense and the Eagles can’t score on offense. Just what the ‘Skins needed. Gives their offense a chance to come up with another 40 points. (KH – Redskins; SB – Eagles)

 

CLEVELAND (+14.5) at PITTSBURGH: With all the breaks the Browns got in the drafting procedure, the money made available to them, they are the worst expansion team since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost the first 26 games in their existence. If it wasn’t for one lucky bounce, the Browns would in all likelihood have finished this season at 0-16. (KH – Steelers; SB – Browns)

 

KANSAS CITY (+3) at TAMPA BAY: Have the Buccaneers got an offensive threat in QB Eric Zeier? Could be, but their defense is still the reason why they are 4-4 in the NFC Central and still a good bet for the playoffs. With KC’s solid D, this should be a 10-9 game. (KH – Chiefs; SB – Chiefs)

 

TENNESSEE (-10) at CINCINATTI: It was a fluke, the Titans won’t get shutout again like they did against the Dolphins. What makes that even more certain, at least this week, is that the Bengals are hosting the game and they couldn’t shut the Titans out even if they had an extra 15 guys on the field. (KH – Titans; SB – Bengals)

 

CAROLINA (+10) at ST. LOUIS: The Rams are into the soft part of their schedule now, having lost two in a row, and even though they should beat the Panthers I’d be surprised if they covered. (KH – Panthers; SB – Panthers)

 

BALTIMORE (+13) at JACKSONVILLE: You gotta like the Jaguars when they get on a roll like this. With an amazing defense (only 71 points allowed in eight games) and a powerful offense, they are clearly the favorites in the AFC. (KH – Jaguars; SB – Ravens)

 

SAN DIEGO (+7) at OAKLAND: Two California teams get to go head to head to determine which one of them is more mediocre. (KH – Chargers; SB – Raiders)

 

GREEN BAY (-4) at DALLAS: Things can’t get much worse for the Cowboys than this – losing their fullback to concussion, their running back to a broken hand, their top wide receiver to a devastating spinal cord injury, and now their quarterback to a scrambled brain. Now I feel guilty for hating them so much. You can’t wish this kind of stuff on your enemy. (KH – Packers; SB – Packers)

 

DETROIT (-4) at ARIZONA: The Cardinals were one of those teams I picked to go far in this league. But, man, did they ever let me down. Losing to the Jets? That’s a stimga if I’ve ever heard of one. (KH – Lions; SB – Cardinals)

 

DENVER (+6) at SEATTLE: Joey Galloway returns to the Seahawks this week after an extended holdout and he will quickly discover one thing (if he hasn’t already) – they don’t need him. The team is 6-2 without their star receiver . . . which is probably why he came back. That, and the million dollars or so in salary that he’s lost. (KH – Broncos; SB – Broncos)

 

MONDAY

NEW YORK JETS (+6) at NEW ENGLAND: It really was the beginning of the end for the Jets when, way back when, the Patriots beat them on that last second field goal. If they had won that game after losing Vinny Testaverde, it might have bolstered their confidence a little more. Now they are just playing out the string. (KH – Patriots, SB – Jets)

 

SCOREBOARD

KIM_HARMON                          9-5-0                         66-58-4

STEVE_BIGHAM                                  9-5-0                                   73-51-4