The key for the Bengals tonight on offense will be protecting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick from the blitzing Steelers who sacked Ryan seven times in their last meeting back in Week 7.

Fitzpatrick is making his sixth consecutive start and understands he must get rid of the ball quickly and with the weather he will be looking for quick outs and short slant patterns.

The Bengals defense held the Eagles to 13 points 14.9 points below their season average of 27.9 points per game. They also held Philly to 3 of 18 on third-down conversions which is only 17 percent and well below their average.

The Steelers will field the number 1 ranked defense in the league on Thursday night. The seven sacks the Steelers had back in the first game between these two teams all came from their linebackers, this is something the Bengals should make adjustments for in this contest. QB Fitzpatrick will be more prepared for their blitz schemes and should be able to get the ball out to the right person much quicker than in their first meeting.

Pitt QB Ben Roethlisberger has thrown only one touchdown pass and has been picked off eight times in just the last four games. There has even been talk by the pundits and some Steelers fans about replacing him because of his poor play recently. Of course that is not going to happen anytime soon but he seems to lack any confidence in his throwing ability right now.

Pitt is 1-7 ATS off a win facing an avenging opponent who has won at least one game on the year. They are also 0-4 ATS their last four games at Heinz Field this season.

The Bengals are 24-8 ATS when they allowed at least 100 more yards passing last week than their season-to-date average. The Bengals are 6-0 ATS versus a divisional opponent before playing against a divisional opponent.

NFL teams are 14-4-1 ATS as a road dog the week after they had at least three times as many passing yards as rushing yards at home as a dog.

NFL teams are 0-8 ATS as a home 7+ favorite after a win at home as a favorite against a non-divisional opponent in which they were losing at the half. NFL teams are 0-9-1 ATS as a 7+ favorite the week after a straight up win as a favorite in which they had at least 3 more penalties than their season-to-date average. NFL teams are 7-20-2 ATS as a home favorite when their passing yards increased in each of the last two weeks.

As we stated earlier the Steelers are 2-2 SU at home this season but 0-4 ATS and have not won a game by more than 3 points at home this season. We also note that NFL Underdogs of 10 or more points are 14-1 ATS this year for 94% winners on the season!

We have two NFL Power Systems that are active for tonight’s contest and they tell us to Play AGAINST a division home team with a TOTAL under 48 points off a non-OT home SU win scoring less than 14 points last week vs. an opponent not off a home underdog SU win in its last game, 17-0-1 ATS since 1982. In Games 2-15, play AGAINST a favorite of 6-12 points off a SU win against San Diego last week vs. an opponent not off a SU loss of 46+ points, 15-0 ATS since 1995.

With the chance of bad weather and the issues with Big Ben and the fact that the Bengals have confidence coming off their tie with the Eagles we are backing the double-digit underdog here tonight.

GRADED PREDICTION: 3* Cincinnati Bengals +11

Cowboys Head Coach Travis Ford is 2-0 SU to start the 2008-09 campaign. Ford uses a four guard offense and an up and down style of play which is new in Stillwater but so far so good.

The problem with the 2-0 record is they have not faced a stiff defensive front so far this season and that will change tonight as the Golden Hurricane will be the toughest to date.

Tulsa’s 7-footer Jerome Jordan will certainly cause the small ball of Stillwater some huge problems on both ends of the floor tonight. This kid has NBA type skills and they will be evident on the hardwood in Stillwater.

Tulsa is also led by guard Uzoh who will have no trouble in hostile territory as he directs the Golden Hurricane offense. The combination of Uzoh and Jordan will be too much for the Cowboys on Thursday night.

Tulsa is 14-5 ATS after a non-conference game over the last 3 seasons and 8-1 ATS after allowing 60 points or less over the last 2 seasons. OSU is 2-10 ATS off a home win by 10 points or more over the last 3 seasons, 4-15 ATS off a home win over the last 3 seasons, 4-13 ATS after scoring 95 points or more since 1997, 3-12 ATS after playing a game as a home favorite over the last 3 seasons and 7-17 ATS after playing a home game over the last 3 seasons.

Tulsa is 27-15 ATS after playing one home game while OSU is 1-5 ATS as a favorite of 7 to 10 points and 0-5 ATS as a home favorite in the same price range.

Finally we have a system that says to Play Against CBB teams with a winning percentage from last season of 51% to 60% playing a team that had a winning record, team from a major division 1-A conference against a team from a second tier conference, 34-10 ATS the last five seasons!.

GRADED PREDICTION: 3* TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE +9

After starting the season just 2-3, Miami, FL has got things rolling and have won five straight games to climb into the Top 25 for the first time in 2 years. The most recent of the victories came this past Thursday, a 16-14 squeaker over Virginia Tech.

The Hurricanes are closely followed in the Coastal Division standings by four teams and most likely will need to win their last two contests to advance to the ACC championship game.

One of the those teams chasing Miami is Georgia Tech, which owns a 4-3 ledger within the conference. The Yellow Jackets though, are coming off their worst game of the year, a 28-7 loss at nationally ranked North Carolina back on November 8th.

Georgia Tech is a run-based team, gaining 250 of their 358 total ypg on the ground this season. In the squad's prior outing, Tech rolled up 326 rushing yards, but committed three costly turnovers, including two fumbles, in the 28-7 loss to North Carolina.

This is a huge game for both programs, as each has aspirations of playing in the ACC Championship game. Miami has been on a roll, but Tech will be more than ready for this game, coming off their poor performance at North Carolina and having extra time to get ready for the Hurricanes.

Miami does have a full week to get ready for this game; however, they are 0-5 ATS (-12.1 ppg) in non-Saturday games with 5+ days rest. The ‘Canes also qualify for an NCAA Football POWER SYSTEM which reveals that non-Saturday road underdogs have been exposed after a victory in which their offense didn’t do much. Specifically:

From Game 4 on, play AGAINST a non-Saturday road underdog off a SU win scoring less than 23 points vs. an opponent not off 2 SU wins scoring less than 27 points in each game.

Over the past decades, these road pups are 0-16 SU (-22.7 ppg) & ATS (-14 ppg)!

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is 3-0 SU & ATS vs. Miami, 2-0 SU & ATS off a SU loss this season, and 5-0 ATS off scoring less than 21 points.

This is the Jackets final home game, and we have another POWER SYSTEM that shows teams have finished strong at home in highlighted, non-Saturday games when facing a foe on a winning streak. It states:

In its Last Home Game, play ON a non-Saturday favorite of 1½-15½ points with less than 12 days rest vs. an opponent off 2 SU wins (not both non-Saturday).

This has NEVER suffered a spread loss, going 13-0-1 ATS while beating the spread by more than 11 points per game.

This games figures to be close for 3 quarters, but we expect the Yellow Jackets to wear down the Hurricanes and dominate the final period for a SU & ATS win.

PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: GEORGIA TECH 30 MIAMI, FL 20