Friday, 3 a.m.
Power shifts. Dynasties end. Success fades.
For the Tampa Bay Bucs, that's a good thing.
If you judge two franchises by the success of our lifetimes, there is no way the history books would pick the Tampa Bay Bucs over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Bucs have had their successes, sure, but the Steelers have had had 32 playoff seasons. They've won six Super Bowls. They've had 29 Hall of Famers. They have grown from a laughable franchise to one of the gold standards of the NFL.
But today, the Bucs don't have to play against Terry Bradshaw, or Franco Harris, or Jack Lambert, or Joe Greene. They have to face a rookie quarterback and a team on a losing streak.
The Steelers rank 28th in the league in offense, 30th in defense. They've scored the 30th most points in the league.
Still, the Bucs are on the road, and they aren't playing very well. They struggled to put away a bad Atlanta team last week. Their defense seems to be always on its heels.
So can the Bucs go into Pittsburgh and come away with a win?
Put it this way: If they are serious about being a factor this year, they had better.
The Steelers rank 31st in the league against the pass. Yes, they've played Cincinnati and Buffalo, but it also includes the Jets and Browns.
It'll be more of a struggle than it should be, but the Bucs should win.
Prediction: Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 17.
And in other NFL games:
New England 35, Miami 14.
Cincinnati 21, New Orleans 20.
Baltimore 23, New York 17.
Buffalo 30, Kansas City 28.
San Francisco 27, Atlanta 13.
And college games:
Michigan 26, Penn State 21.
Alabama 27, Tennessee 26.
Clemson 30, FSU 20.
LSU 24, Florida 14.
Tulane 26, USF 10.