Before unleashing a barrage of football info, let’s take a look at a baseball, and see if we can extract a lesson on isolating teams that are likely to go on a roll.

Traveling in New England this summer, it was stunning to hear a radio ad featuring Kevin Millar of the Red Sox pushing a “Reverse the Curse” flavor of ice cream for a local creamery. Despite a disdain held here for those who earn a living as Red Sox fatalists, it was surprising to hear an athlete blatantly using the so-called Curse of the Bambino for commercial gain. It wasn’t until this week that I realized what a positive it actually was.

There have been dozens of talented Red Sox teams that have failed, and most had guys saying some version of the following, “The Yankees are just another team. They’re professionals just like we are. We just need to play our game. History doesn’t matter. We don’t care about what happened in the past, we weren’t here then, it doesn’t matter.”

You could read between the lines a devastating truth about those teams. They were terrified by the intensity of the fans in Boston and the rivalry with the Yankees. The incredible 2004 Red Sox team is different. They embraced the passion of fans. They openly admitted to the existence of a bitter, passionate rivalry and mixed it up with the Yankees. And it was Kevin Millar himself who told all who would listen before game 4, “The Yankees better beat us today. We’ve got Pedro tomorrow and then Schilling in game 6. Who knows what could happen then. They’ll be in trouble if they don’t win today.”

That’s a paraphrase of his brash statement, and not his direct quote. But what kind of a crazy man would go out of his way tell everyone your team still had a live shot in a series where you were down 0-3 and played some of the worst baseball imaginable in a 19-8 loss the previous day?

These Red Sox have an attitude, and it is an attitude that holds a lesson for other teams and players. Embrace the fans passion and the history of your team, like Schilling and Ortiz do. Don’t let a slump bother you, just get back out there the next day, like Johnny Damon did. Say you have a chance when everyone knows that you really don’t, like Kevin Millar did. As handicappers and bettors, it behooves us to find teams in all sports that share some of these qualities. They’re the ones most likely to continually overcome public perception and get on a winning roll.

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Talk about being “in the zone”. Michigan State QB Drew Stanton had it all clicking Saturday as he broke the MSU record for total offense in a single game. The Spartan triggerman turned Minnesota’s defense every which way but loose as he became just the 14th player in NCAA history to pass for 300 yards and rush for more than 100 in the same contest. Heck, he even caught a pass for a grand total of 414 yards on the day. A week after their stunning loss in Ann Arbor, the Gophers were feeling that old Michigan hangover again. Minny has now lost 12 straight times the week after losing to the Wolverines.

After getting smoked by Utah in their opener, Texas A&M has quietly strung together 5 straight wins (covering each game) following Saturday’s 36-20 whipping of 16th ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The reasons are simple. QB Reggie McNeal has been playing top-shelf football and nobody takes better care of the pig. Amazingly, the Aggies have turned the ball over only once all season and have a +14 turnover margin; which is tops in the land. McNeal deserves most of the credit. He has 0 interceptions in 161 passing attempts thus far. He’s also the only quarterback in the country to average 200 yards passing and 70 yards rushing per game. The “Who’s Your Daddy” award this week goes to FSU as they continued their decade long dominance over Virginia. Despite being lower ranked, the Noles showed the Cavs who’s boss by totally paralyzing UVA’s vaunted running game to a paltry 20 yards (255 below their avg.). Over their last 4 meetings, FSU has now outrushed the Wahoos 1,087 to 111. The 36-3 thrashing helped FSU halt a personal 6 game losing skid to Top 10 opponents. Virginia still has never beaten a Top 10 club on the road.

Speaking of dominance, there may not be a team in the nation with a bigger roar right now than the Tigers down at Auburn. Auburn is 7-0 for the first time in a decade after Saturday’s 38-20 dismantling of Arkansas. Although The Cadillac (RB Carnell Williams) and The Escalade (RB Ronnie Brown) get most of the pub, it’s the defense that has Auburn already packing their bags for the SEC title game in December. The Tigers lead the SEC with 11 interceptions and have yet to allow a single rushing touchdown. They held Arkansas (top offense in SEC) 18 points and 125 yards under their season average. From the “you never know when your number will be called” file - South Carolina’s late win over Kentucky Saturday should offer hope to every scout teamer and walk-on from coast to coast. Trailing 7-6 late with 2 QB’s down and another ineffective, 4th stringer Michael Rathe stepped in and became an unlikely hero. The senior led the Gamecocks on an 88-yard drive capped by a game winning 19 yard TD pass with just under 90 seconds left. Rathe had but a single completion all year on his resume, but he hit on 5 of 7 for 57 yards on the final march. SC won in spite of itself (5 turnovers), mostly due to the ineptness of the Wildcats (4 miscues themselves). Tough beat if you had the Cats on the ML.

When it comes to ugly numbers, they just don’t get any more gruesome than those posted by the Maryland offense the past 2 games. Two weeks ago against Ga. Tech, the Terps amassed a laughable 81 total yards in a 20-7 loss. They followed up that “effort” with 91 in a 13-3 home loss to NC State. The Wolfpack held Maryland to 31 yards after their opening drive of the day and a single first down over the final 52 minutes. Terp quarterbacks went a combined 7-18 for 24 yards. Not the type of numbers offensive guru Ralph Friedgen has come to know over the years. Safe to say that North Carolina would like to eliminate this past week from their memory. We told you last week about the suspensions of 3 prominent Tar Heels for marijuana possession following a big upset of NC State. This week the Heels were saddled with a 46-16 pummeling at the hands of 10th ranked Utah – a game that saw the Utes roll up 669 yards of offense, the most ever allowed by a UNC team. Utah QB Alex Smith threw for 341 yards and 4 TD’s and rushed for 2 more. The icing on the cake for UNC was the loss of 6 players to injury during the game including QB Darian Durant and leading rusher Jacque Lewis. Oh by the way, Miami visits Chapel Hill in 2 weeks.

How vital is QB Dustin Almond to the fate of Southern Miss? With Almond under center the Golden Eagles were unbeaten, averaging 29 points per game and ranked in the top 25. With Almond on the sideline due to injury against Alabama, the Tide rolled to an easy 27-3 win. Southern Miss tried a pair of back-ups, neither of which were remotely effective. Damion Carter and Jeremy Young went a combined 6 of 23 for 23 yards and a pick. Wonder if Coach Jeff Bower is mixing up some magical bayou brew for Mr. Almond with E. Carolina headed for Hattiesburg this weekend. The Pirates have been bet down pretty quickly from the opener of +20. Teams like Boise St. have always longed for greater national exposure and more respect from the “Big Boys” of college football. Boise has become quite the Cinderella story over the past few years (and rightfully so winning 17 straight and 30 of 31), but with success comes greater expectations. Forced to lay at least 3 touchdowns in their past 4 games, the Broncos failed to cover all 4 and barely squeaked out a pair of SU wins including a last minute job this week against lowly Tulsa. Boise is only – 11 this week and should be sky high with Fresno St. set to tackle the famed “Smurf Turf”. Boise has won and covered the past 3 against the Bulldogs. Win, and Boise may truly be poised to wreck the BCS if the chips fall the right way.

Week 6 in the NFL saw Philadelphia continue their amazing run to open the 2004 season. The Eagles are 5-0 (SU and ATS) with all 5 wins coming by double figures. Only 5 teams in league history have achieved that feat – the last being St. Louis in 1999, the first the 34 Bears. Andy Reid also improved his spotless record after a bye to 6-0. Phily takes to the highway this week to battle Cleveland as a 7 to 7 ½ point pick. It’s their first non-conference game this year and a role they have traditionally struggled in.

The only remaining winless team against the number is those sick kitties in Cincinnati. Carson Palmer and the offense continued to struggle, gaining just 189 yards and going a wretched 1 for 13 on 3rd down in a 34-17 loss to Cleveland. The defense was even worse. Never confused with Air Coryelle or Marino’s Dolphins, the Brownies O shredded Cincy’s D for 449 yards, including a record tying 99-yard TD pass from Jeff Garcia to Andre Davis (just the 10th in NFL history). ABC must be thrilled as they have the good “fortune” of Denver at Cincy in the Monday Night affair.

The NFL’s new “Cardiac Kids” and “Captain Comeback” both reside in the Sunshine State these days. Thanks to Byron Leftwich, Jacksonville is 4-2 and has found a way to pull out 3 games where the winning points were scored with 45 seconds or less remaining. Kansas City was the Jags latest victim as Leftwich orchestrated the winning drive on very gimpy leg. The Chiefs now find themselves 1-4 and bucking the history of just 8 other teams to rebound from that start and still make the playoffs.

Something has to give this week when 2 of the remaining 3 undefeated teams square off in Foxboro. The Jets are 5-0 for the first time in franchise history thanks to a defense allowing just 18 points a game, an AFC best +9 turnover ratio and Curtis Martin running like his early days in a Pats uni. But we all know about the sensational run that New England has been on since last September. The Pats 30-20 win as a 4-point favorite over Seattle pushed their recent ATS tally to a ridiculous 18-3-2 mark over the past 23 games (17-1-2 ATS in the regular season). NE has covered 4 of the past 5 against NY, but are a lousy 1-6 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Foxboro.

The weak effort award has to go to the Raiders in last week’s NFL. The Broncos dominated Sunday in every fashion – outgaining Oakland 444 to 175 and winning the rushing battle 254 to 31. Although Denver leads the NFL in rushing (152 yds./gm.) it is their defense that has them atop AFC West. The Orange Crush allows just 225 yards per game and an AFC best 12.8 points. And they sure know how to close things out, as evidenced by the measly 3 points allowed all year in the 4th quarter. Finally, how pathetic the final chapter of Jerry Rice’s unparalleled career has become. Rice was traded this week from Oakland to Seattle for a conditional 7th round draft choice. It would have been more dignified if the Seahawks offered up a couple of old jocks and a case of ankle tape. Please Jerry, do us all a favor and hang em up.

Let’s leave you with some college football analysis. UAB’s Watson Brown is a very underrated coach and has a talented offense that is gaining 32.7 points per game. Junior UAB QB Darrell Hackney is a solid NFL prospect, with good size, Healthy after earlier injury problems in his career, look for Hackney and UAB’s offense (9.3 yards per pass attempt) to enjoy a big game in the perfect conditions and non-intimidating atmosphere of the Superdome.

Tulane is weak across the board, their offense gains only 3.1 yards per rush and only 5.9 yards per pass attempt, with total yardage of only 261 yards per game against 1-A opponents. Their defense gives up 34 points per game and has allowed every 1-A opponent a rusher of over 100 yards. The special teams have allowed 60-yard punt returns in successive weeks. With the only win of the season against hapless 1-AA Florida A&M, Tulane has the distinction of being the only win this season for two terrible dreadful teams, Mississippi State and East Carolina. Tulane is going nowhere while UAB has very legitimate Conference USA title hopes and rolls here.

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