RATING THE TV GAMES
**** Whoa, Nellie
*** Order some pizza
** Channel-surf ... or get out of the house
* A fine time for chores
* Wake Forest (6-5) at No. 25 Maryland (9-3), 9 a.m., ESPN: Terrapins blew their chance for a BCS bowl when they lost to Virginia last week. Peach Bowl, anyone? LINE: Maryland by 13 1/2.
** No. 1 Miami (10-0) at Syracuse (4-7), 10 a.m., Channel 7: Monitor only, in the unlikely case Syracuse threatens a monumental upset that could open a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. LINE: Miami by 20.
** Grambling State (10-1) vs. Southern (5-6), 11 a.m., Channel 4: It’s the Bayou Classic, and one-time Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams’ Grambling team has won 10 in a row. LINE: No line.
*** No. 3 Oklahoma (10-1) at Oklahoma State (6-5), 11:30 a.m., Fox Sports Net: The Sooners, knocked out of national contention by rival Oklahoma State last season, still have a chance at the Fiesta Bowl, but need a Miami loss. LINE: Oklahoma by 14 1/2.
*** Georgia Tech (7-4) at No. 5 Georgia (10-1), 12:30 p.m., Channel 2: USC fans should be pulling against Bulldogs -- No. 4 in the BCS rankings -- today and in SEC title game. LINE: Georgia by 9.
** Virginia (8-4) at No. 22 Virginia Tech (8-3), 12:30 p.m., ESPN; KSPN (1110): Hokies have lost three in a row, and Cavaliers upset North Carolina State and Maryland the past two games. LINE: Virginia Tech by 7.
* Ball State (6-5) at Marshall (8-2), 1:30 p.m., ESPN2: Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich returned to action last week but still isn’t 100% after a shin injury. LINE: Marshall by 14.
** No. 14 Alabama (9-3) at Hawaii (9-2), 4:45 p.m., ESPN: Not a bad season-ending trip for a Crimson Tide team that can’t go to a bowl game because of NCAA probation. LINE: Alabama by 11 1/2.
**** No. 7 Notre Dame (10-1) at No. 6 USC (9-2), 5 p.m., Channel 7, KMPC (1540), XPRS (1090, Spanish), KPLS (830): At last, the great rivalry as it should be: Biggest USC-Notre Dame game since 1988, when No. 1 Irish beat the No. 2 Trojans, 27-10.
LINE: USC by 11.
*
-- Robyn Norwood
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