Here’s this week’s Top 25, covering the NFL, college football, the NFL, and the financial speculation that accompanies the games.

1. In handicapping the Alabama/Auburn game, you’ve got to make a decision on the mental state of Alabama’s players, and on the statements Nick Saban made this week that have since been overshadowed by his September 11th/Pearl Harbor kerfuffle. Is Nick Saban’s ranting and raving about his players’ lack of commitment going to spur them on to a peak performance? Or has the tuneout factor already contributed to the three-game losing streak, including Saturday’s Louisiana-Monroe disaster?
2. Alabama and Georgia compete in recruiting quite a bit. If you’re a senior in high school you can spend the next four or five years playing where the assistants feel compelled to advise players to let the verbal attacks of the head coach go “in one ear and out the other.” On the other hand, you could play for a coach who lets you run on the field after TD’s and decide what color uniform you want to wear. Which would you choose?
3. And where was Mark Richt’s sudden motivational wizardry when I bet on his Bulldogs at Tennessee a few weeks ago?
4. When Oregon lost dual-threat QB Dennis Dixon, the offense all but ground to a halt behind big, immobile backup Brady Leaf. It is a very similar situation to earlier in the year, when Utah’s dual threat Brian Johnson got hurt and the Utes struggled behind big, immobile backup Tommy Grady. I understand that offensive systems change while players are in the program, but how are these teams stuck with backup quarterbacks incapable of running the offense?
5. Poor Oregon. Before Dixon’s injury the Ducks looked unstoppable, going for 186 yards on their first 18 plays from scrimmage. The rest of the game saw 277 yards on 79 plays. That’s 10.3 yards per play before Dixon’s injury, 3.5 yards per play afterwards.
6. Yes, the Ducks had 97 snaps, with 54 passes and 43 runs. How about those clock rules?
7. You knew in August that Kansas vs. Missouri was going to be the game of the year, didn’t you?
8. Kansas didn’t “sell” their home game to have it at Arrowhead, it just happens to be the first year of an effort to make Kansas City the host of this rivalry every year. While the Oklahoma/Texas, Georgia/Florida environments are a lot of fun, I’m sure the Jayhawks would love to have this game in Lawrence. There will be more Kansas fans at the game than Mizzou fans, as this was part of the Kansas season ticket package, but not Missouri’s.
9. A lot of wise guy money has gone down in flames trying to beat both Kansas (easy schedule) and Missouri (annual November collapse), as the expected corrections never materialized.
10. Tennessee is playing for the SEC East title, and has beaten Kentucky 22 straight times, the longest series streak in the nation, yet the Volunteers are the slight underdog on the road, though favored by less than the home field advantage.
11. If Kentucky wins, the longest losing streak in a series will belong to…..Kentucky. The Wildcats have lost to Florida 21 consecutive times. As you know, Navy’s win over Notre Dame broke the previous longest streak.
12. If you played with Mark Read of what was then called Darwin All Sports back in the mid-to-late 90’s, you won’t be surprised to hear that he’s still complaining about the Australian government’s regulation of bookmakers.
13. Things continue to heat up in the US government’s battle with the World Trade Organization over internet gambling.
14. Five NFL games are lined in the double digits this week, and it won’t take a lot of betting action to make it six, with the Chargers favored by 9 over the punchless Ravens.
15. The big spreads seem warranted, as it just happens to be a week where the best are meeting the worst, but the scoring margins are outside historical norms as well. In the past, usually around 39% of NFL games were decided by 6 or less, this year fewer than 32% of games have a final margin of less than a touchdown.
16. Eli Manning takes a lot of heat in the media cauldron of the Big Apple, but he made just about every right decision on Sunday. In the win over the Lions he hit seven different receivers in the first 21 minutes of the game. That’s Bradyesque.
17. I think the professional gamblers who have been fading the Patriots on a weekly basis are probably finally ready to get off a sinking ship. This may be a team that simply defies all situational handicapping logic. Without the wise guys keeping things in check (remember the huge line move on the Redskins three games ago?) the Patriots lines may really get into the stratosphere…at which point the pro gamblers will say, “you know….”
18. Ron Jaworski’s commentaries on poor quarterback scouting, and his complaints about “former defensive linemen” evaluating quarterbacks were interesting. And unless Alex Smith gets coached up in a hurry he looks like a colossal bust.
19. Or you could just let other teams develop quarterbacks for you. When Brodie Croyle got the call for the Chiefs on Sunday it was the first time that Kansas City had started a quarterback that they drafted since Todd Blackledge’s last start for the Chiefs in 1987.
20. With Mario Williams starting to show that he does actually have some potential, and DeMeco Ryans one of the better young players in the league, the Texans D has some good young pieces. They could use some veteran leadership, but with every starter in his twenties, this looks like a unit with a future. Dunta Robinson’s absence (torn ACL, injured reserve) hurts, but there are some definite building blocks in Houston.
21. Stay classy, New Jersey.
22. After 13 years of trying, legislation allowing slot machines at racetracks in Maryland has passed, but must be approved by voters in a referendum. Surrounded by slot-fueled purses in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, Maryland horse racing is fighting for its life.
23. And you horse guys won’t want to hear this, but a sport that requires subsidies to simply exist doesn’t have a bright future.
24. Bookies will tell you that guys who haven’t bet since last year come out of the woodwork at Thanksgiving. There’s just something about sitting around on Turkey Day that brings out even the most casual bettor, I guess.
25. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.