Birmingham, AL plays sponsor to the Compass Bowl on January 7th with the Pittsburgh Panthers taking on the Southern Methodist University Mustangs. The Pittsburgh Panthers come in following the 1-year Todd Graham experiment at head coach. Graham quit his post on December 14th to take the head coaching position at Arizona State. Defensive Coordinator Keith Patterson will wear the headset for the Pittsburgh Panthers in this clash of titans. SMU comes into play with the threat of the “Death Penalty” handed down in the 1980′s still being talked about today. Former Nfl and Hawaii coach June Jones is already in his fourth year on the side lines of Southern Methodist University. The wagering line has this established at Pittsburgh (-3) with an over-under of 47 points.
It all boils down to this as the #1 ranked Tigers face the #2 ranked Crimson Tide in the BCS National Championship Game at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA on January ninth. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is no stranger to this game, winning the national tournament in 2009 and furthermore winning it with LSU as a head coach in 2003. LSU head coach Les Miles is furthermore no stranger at this time as he has won the national tournament in 2007. 2 fantastic teams and head coaches clashing on a collision course in what is sure to be a great game. The oddsmakers currently have this at Alabama (-1) with the over-under set at 40 points.
The Pittsburgh steelers are matched up vs the Denver broncos in the nfl post-season. The Denver broncos concluded up with an 8-8 record narrowly claiming champions of the AFC West, while the Pittsburgh steelers finished as a wild card with an outstanding record of 12-4 in the AFC North division. The Steelers will be visiting Denver to face off vs them at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The Falcons trust that slipping into the playoffs undetected in 2012 will allow them better results, after finishing with the greatest record in the league a year ago, and getting dismissed in the 1st round by the Green Bay Packers. Atlanta ended 10-6 this year, earning them a 1st round wild-card game with the NFC East winning New york giants (9-7).
In terms of scheduling, maybe the Lions just are unlucky. 1st, they conclude their regular season against their division foe Green Bay Packers, who also boast the league’s best record. Then they follow that up by getting the New orleans saints in the 1st round of the playoffs.
The Cincinnati Bengals will be facing off vs the Texans in pro football playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Reliant Stadium in Houston for the game. Cincinnati concluded their year with a record of 9-7 and achieved the playoffs this year as a wild card in the AFC North division. After coming out ahead as the leading team in the AFC South this year, Houston concluded with a record of 10-6.
The Seattle Seahawks (7-8) will be visiting challenge the Cardinals (7-8) in an NFC West divisional competition. Each individual squad has fallen just shy of playoff competition this season as they were looking for a wild card berth, but there’s a little bit of reason that a victory will allow either squad a winning record. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has yet to lose a game vs the Arizona Cardinals in his stint, but Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb may return and start for his squad following recovering from a concussion.
This game between the Pittsburgh steelers and the Cleveland Browns will highlight 2 teams who have distinct goals for the last 2 competitions of the season. The Steelers are now in the playoff race and are basically only getting set for the playoffs. Alternatively, the Browns are only attempting to salvage their season with a few more victories following having had a pretty negative season. Both teams however will be competing hard even with the difference in their records. If both teams play hard, it’ll be a pretty close game.
The Eagles (7-8) are going to visit the Washington Redskins (5-10) in an NFC East divisional contest in their final game. Both squads have been eliminated from playoff competition this season and are at the bottom of the division standings. Philadelphia had a huge amount of media buzz previous to the start of the season being branded the dream team with their impact in the free agent market.
Week 17 of pro football Year is often full of trap games. The match between the Lions and Green Bay Packers in Green Bay is one of this sort of game.