The Wolverines have ripped off 7 straight wins as they head into East Lansing this weekend to take on instate rival Michigan State. The Spartans are in the perpetual rebuilding process and have first year coach Mike Dantoni at the helm.

Michigan comes in still a little dinged up. Chad Henne and Mike Hart both missed the last game against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. The backups Ryan Mallett and the tandem of Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor filled in for the injured starters. Hart and Henne are expected back for the MSU game.

Michigan State is really over-matched in this contest. They have held it close against some really good teams but haven’t been able to pull off a Big Ten except against a weak Indiana team. All of their losses have been within 7 points. So Michigan State isn’t as terrible as their record. But they don’t have the offensive fire-power to stay with Michigan. The Spartans feature a two-headed rushing attack of Javon Ringer and Jehuu Caulcrick. Ringer does most of the running inbetween the 20’s but Caulcrick has pounded out 16 TDs. The Spartans also feature the leading receiver in the Big Ten Devin Thomas. Hopefully the Wolverine DBs will be able to control him.

The real key to this game is whether or not Michigan State can stop the rushing attack of the Wolverines. It really doesn’t seem to matter who Michigan starts at tailback. Obviously Mike Hart is a dominant player when he’s in there, but Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor have proven themselves worthy as well.

My prediction:
Michigan - 27
Michigan State - 21

“The world’s largest outdoor cocktail party” and my SEC game of the week. This annual match up is played in Jacksonville at a “neutral” site. This is not really a neutral site as the Heisman hopeful quarterback of Florida, Tim Tebow, is from a Jacksonville native. Tebow will be wearing a target on his sore right shoulder as the Bulldogs are sure to key on the player upon which the entire Florida scheme hinges.

That’s been the problem that no one has solved yet this year. Tebow runs the spread option to perfection each week and it will be the mission of defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and the Georgia defense to disrupt, confuse and stop the complicated, multi-faceted, dangerous offense of Florida. Urban Meyer is one of my favorite coaches and he will have a strong game plan. Georgia is hurting in the backfield as senior Thomas Brown will miss the the remainder of the season with an injury which will send most of the carries to freshman Knowshon Moreno. Moreno has a bright future and this could be a big game for him if he can help keep the Florida offense off the field by giving the Dawgs some quality carries. I see a great game coming this weekend in Jacksonville.

My prediction:
Florida 24
Georgia 14

Ask the Georgia Bulldogs about playing in Neyland Stadium, it is no picnic. After getting beaten at home by Vanderbilt last week, the Gamecocks go to Knoxville to face a reborn Tennessee Volunteer team. Erik Ainge is back after his finger injury and is throwing the ball well, the defense of Tennessee is as nasty as ever and they have a head of steam. Spurrier’s Gamecocks are hoping to avoid a shooting match because his personnel does not support an explosive offense that can rack up big points. The key will be the South Carolina defense stepping it up and showing everyone that their hot start was not a fluke.

My prediction:
Tennessee 31
South Carolina 17

Ed Orgeron will have Mississippi ready to face the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. Tommy Tuberville’s Tigers had a shot to beat LSU last week and let it slip away, so I expect a very fired up team to show up for Auburn. I think it will take a solid effort on their part to beat the Rebels though because they are a proud team and have taken some pretty bad beatings this year.

My prediction:
Auburn 34
Mississippi 17

This is a sleeper upset waiting to happen. Kentucky is spent after LSU and Florida and this is a Mississippi State team that beat Auburn. They have something to prove and a tired beat up Kentucky team better bring it.

My Prediction:
Kentucky 28
Mississippi State 20

The Fall Classic is upon us. One team was expected to be here, the other had to string together one of the hottest streaks in baseball history to even make the playoffs (winning 21 of their last 22). These teams are built differently and for different reasons.

The Red Sox are built to dominate. They have a big, strong, smart lineup and a pitching staff of power arms (save for Tim Wakefield, but he was left off the World Series roster). The Rockies are a team that is young, and put together based on character (not that the folks in Boston don’t have solid character). They have publicly stated that when evaluating talent, a players character and faith play into the equation a lot more than other teams.

Colorado doesn’t have a lot of All Star caliber pitchers. Jeff Francis, who will start Game 1, emerged this year as their ace. Before this year he was a middle of the road, .500 pitcher. And he’s their ace. Boston will be sending Josh Beckett to the mound in Game 1. He is 5-2 in post season for his career with a 1.78 ERA. Scary. He has been dominant and whether or not he is able to maintain that dominance is the key to this series.

Colorado has a very potent offense led by Matt Holliday and rookie sensation Troy Tulowitzki. Their lineup is really well-rounded. It has youth (Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe and Ryan Spilborghs) , speed (Willy Taveras and Kaz Matsui), power (Holliday, Garrett Atkins and Tulowitzki) and veterans (Todd Helton). Can they handle the overwhelming pitching staff of the Red Sox?

There is the question of who has momentum? The Red Sox are coming in on the heels of coming back from a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland. Colorado is definitely riding high on their 21 out of 22 streak, but they haven’t played in eight days. That’s the longest layoff for a team between a League Championship Series and the World Series. How will that affect them? Can they maintain the intensity.

The Red Sox seemed like a team destined to win the World Series in 2004. It’s starting to feel that the Rockies are the same type of team this year.

My Prediction: Rockies in 6

 Loading …

No. Rutgers came into this season ranked 16th in the AP Poll. Their season took slide when they lost 2 in a row against Maryland and Cincinnati, but this is a good team.

South Florida was way overrated. They beat a good Auburn team on the road. That’s a good win, but that doesn’t make you the number 2 team in the country.

I’m not opposed to a program rising from obscurity to gain national attention. But it is hard for me to see a team that came into the season unranked, and in a weak conference rise to the number 2 spot. Obviously it’s due to the craziness that has marked this college football season.

Image courtesy of Getty Images

Congratulations to Clint Hurdle and all of the Colorado Rockies. They’re headed to the first World Series in franchise history.

Obviously I missed the boat on the Rockies. I haven’t picked them in a playoff series yet. And what have they done? Won every single game. Don’t they know they’re making me look bad?

The Colorado bats and pitching have continued to be on fire throughout the playoffs. Timely hitting, and a strong bullpen have carried the Rockies over their past 22 games. The Rockies have won 21 of those.

It’s too close to call who the Rockies will play in the World Series, but it’ll be hard to pick against the Rockies.

This matchup pits two teams that have been put together very differently. Boston is an established team with dominant veteran pitching, and Cleveland is a young team whose young pitchers have led the way for them this year. The lineups for each of these teams are similar to their pitching staffs. The Red Sox have a veteran lineup led by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, and the Indians have 2 young hitters who are establishing themselves as stars (Travis Hafner, and Grady Sizemore). Both teams can hit, both teams can pitch. Who is playing better now? Let’s look at the Key Matchups.

Key Matchups

• C.C. Sabathia vs. Josh Beckett - Both pitchers had CY Young caliber years. Beckett dominated in his outing in the Division series. Sabathia is going to have to bring his A game against such a strong and experienced pitcher like Beckett.
• Big Papi and Manny vs. Pronk and Grady - The Red Sox has the post season experience and the Indians have big strong young players who are hungry to prove they belong. Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore are destined to be stars in this league. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are currently the gold standard for post season production. Will we see the young kids over take the veterans?
• Spark plugs - The Indians have Kenny Lofton who will provide key hits and to just, generally be a pest on the basepaths. The spark plugs for the Red Sox are extra base hits. They rely on their slugging to get runs across.
• Managers - Terry Francona took the Red Sox to the promised land. And Eric Wedge seeks to do the same for the Indians. Management at this time of year is always important.

My prediction: Indians in 6

 Loading …

The team with the best record in the NL (Diamondbacks) will face the hottest team over the last month (Rockies) in the 2007 NLCS. Arizona holds home field advantage due to their better record. This should make for a very interesting story. I still have doubts about both teams. Granted, they pretty much dismantled the Cubs and the Phillies respectively, but these teams are not (or should not be) much competition for the winner of the ALCS. The NL is a weaker league right now and these 2 teams are representative of that. Neither team sports both a dominating lineup and a shutdown group of pitchers. Below, I’ll highlight some key matchups and then make my prediction. Obviously my NL predictions haven’t been too hot so take the poll at the bottom of the post to share who you think will win this series.

Key Matchups

• Brandon Webb (ARZ) vs. Jeff Francis (COL) - This is the pitching matchup that will define this series. The pair will duel in Game 1 as well as Game 5 (if necessary). I have no reason to believe that Brandon Webb will falter. He’s a dominant starter who has the mental makeup to shine in the post season.
• Arizona’s bats - The lineup for the Diamondbacks shouldn’t scare anyone. Seriously, how did this team win 90 games. Their best offensive player is Eric Brynes. He’s a nice player, but he’s not the person you want leading your lineup. The thing is, they’ve been getting it done all season. They get the timely hit, and they don’t seem to make mistakes offensively.
• Colorado’s bats - Here is the flip side of the coin. Colorado has been lighting it up since the beginning of September. The middle of their order didn’t dominate in the NLDS, but it definitely did on their road to the playoffs. Tulowitzki, Holliday, and Helton are all mashers who have been hitting both at home at Coor’s Field and on the road.
• The bullpens - Both teams have innings 7-9 taken care of in terms of the bullpen. Arizona with Pena, Lyon and Valverde and Colorado with Hawkins, Herges, Fuentes, Corpas. Both teams had better strike early.

My prediction: Diamondbacks in 5

 Loading …