Guys, I have watched these two teams play several times each this year and I can without a doubt say that West Virginia is the better football team. Statistically, these two compare favorably, but make no mistake, the Mountaineers are the more physical and consistently better prepared football team and they will play well in this win and cover tonight. West Virginia always comes to play, right out of the gate, and that will happen once again this evening.

Now don't get me wrong, Louisville is a very solid football team, but I don't feel that this Cardinal bunch is as good as its lofty ranking. This defense, while very good, does give up big plays. It's ranked last in the Big East and 78th nationally in pass defense. West Virginia is king at ripping off big plays. They will get them both running and passing tonight. Yes, WV will go up top and get some huge gainers against this burnable Card secondary. Since coming off the bench last year versus Louisville to rally the Mountaineers to victory, quarterback Pat White has not slowed down. Neither has tailback Steve Slaton and this dominant Mountaineer line. Louisville gave up 322 yards last time at Syracuse. In the previous game, Cincy ran at will against the Cards with 212 rushing yards. West Virginia will blast huge holes and huge runs against the Cards tonight.

In my opinion, Cardinal quarterback Brian Brohm came back to quickly from his thumb injury. He did not look crisp in his first game back against the Bearcats, and made some bad decisions (most notably the fourth quarter red zone pick he tossed) last game at Syracuse. This is a very good Louisville offense, but they do miss Michael Bush and Brohm (4 TDS, 3 INTS) is not operating at a high level. West Virginia has a monster defense that is equally strong stopping the run and the pass. They've got 10 picks on the year and they'll get at least a pair tonight. West Virginia's offense gets a lot of the headlines, but this Mountaineer stop unit is dominant, too.

The Mountaineers thrive in these national TV games. They blasted UConn and Maryland earlier this season under the lights. Last year in the Sugar Bowl, they rocketed out of the gate and routed Georgia in Atlanta. They are the contender among these two Big East beasts. Louisville has not made winning easy of late against inferior opponents and has failed to cover in three straight. They're good, but not great. West Virginia makes all the plays tonight. The Mountaineers score first and lead at halftime. Then they capilalize on second half Cardinal mistakes and this game is over by the fourth. West Virginia makes a huge statement tonight and wins going away!

200 Dime NBA TOP PLAY....DENVER NUGGETS

Denver is amped up to finally get its season underway tonight against a Clipper team that knocked them out in the playoffs last year. The Clippers will be a bit slow after the Suns ran away from them last night in Phoenix, and Denver is the play here. The Nuggets win this one outright as they're a healthy team breaking camp. Carmelo Anthony and new guard J.R. Smith thrived during the preseason with George Karl's new upbeat tempo. Even Kenyon Martin seems happy. Last Friday night, in the exhibition finale for both teams, the Nuggets blasted the Clippers 112-86 at Staples. Expect more of the same tonight as Denver wins this outright.