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December 5, 2010
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com

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This weekend I found myself in Illinois visiting my girlfriend's relatives. Luckily I get along well with them, so it was a pleasant experience. Unfortunately they aren't quite the hardcore football fans that I am, though I did have an interesting conversation with my girlfriend's uncle Bill about Raiders punting legend Ray Guy. Plus they let me watch the college games on Saturday in peace; when I'm wielding the remote (and not being micromanaged on it, like what happened trying to watch NFL Sunday Ticket in New Orleans in September) I tend to be happy. Plus I'm good at keeping track of the action during multiple games.

Leonard Hankerson
Miami WR Leonard Hankerson is receiving some attention from scouts. (Icon SMI)
From a draft standpoint, there wasn't much to be revealed on Saturday that wasn't already known about the top NFL prospects on the teams either playing in championship games or playing in their regular season finale. The performance of Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara against Oklahoma lead Russ Lande to write this strong article for the Sporting News about how Amukamara might make a better safety in the NFL than a corner, comparing him to how the Saints have worked former Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins into a starting safety role.

Also noteworthy is Lande's article is him ranking Georgia WR A.J. Green (the near consensus top WR prospect), Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin, Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd, and Miami WR Leonard Hankerson all ahead of Alabama WR Julio Jones. I'll be the first to admit that I'm more bullish on Jones than most as a pro prospect, but it's interesting to see him list so many other receivers ahead of Jones. It's also possible (albeit highly unlikely) that none of those wideouts will be in the 2011 NFL Draft, as all are underclassmen.

As for the results of the games on Saturday, we will end up with Auburn vs. Oregon playing for the BCS Title. The BCS Title is not a real championship as one would normally think of it; as I've written before, it's as arbitrarily set up as a WWE Intercontinental Title match. But, as maligned as the BCS is (and rightfully so), at least it allows us to have Auburn vs. Oregon. I remember in 1997 when Nebraska and Michigan both finished the regular season unbeaten but weren't able to play because of the Big Ten and Pac-10 being locked in with the Rose Bowl. The system in place now is poor, but it's better than it used to be, if you can believe that.

Younger readers might not remember this, but there was a time not that long ago when college football games could end in ties, even bowl games. As capricious and arbitrary as the BCS is, where TCU could beat Wisconsin and win the Rose Bowl and finish the regular season unbeaten and get nothing for their trouble, it's better than it used to be. I'll spare you a history lesson, but suffice to say that Auburn vs. Oregon for the BCS Title is better than we used to have it as college football fans.

On the pro level, I did my best to follow the early games on the radio until we made it into radio range for the Titans Radio Network, which proved to be a depressing game for Titans fans. But it could be worse for the 5-7 Titans; with the exception of Dallas, all of the NFL teams with just 1-to-3 wins through last week that I mentioned in my last article on here lost today. Carolina, at 1-11, has a home-and-home with Atlanta and a road game with Pittsburgh (all likely losses) looming along with a home game with Arizona on the remaining slate.

Things will settle themselves out with the draft order soon enough, but it definitely looks like Carolina, Detroit, Buffalo, and Cincinnati will be in the mix near the top of the 2011 NFL Draft. In particular it will be interesting to see how Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick plays down the stretch, since he could potentially push Buffalo down the draft board far enough to be unable to draft Stanford QB Andrew Luck (should he declare for early entry into the NFL Draft), thus protecting Fitzpatrick's spot as Buffalo's starting quarterback going into the 2011 season.


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