Saturday, 4 a.m.
With a regular team, your confidence would be going throuh the roof by now.
The New Orleans Saints, alas, are down to a warm body at quarterback. They'll turn to the immortal Spencer Rattler, a fifth-round draft choice who never expected to play this soon, if at all.
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Easy challenge, right?
Maybe not.
Over the years, these fresh-out-of-the-box quarterbacks have been a test for the Bucs. They often play above their heads. Then, there is the secondary of the Bucs, who play so deep you’d swear the were four punt returners. They are particularly vulnerable to the blitz.
In other words, this won’t be easy. Rattler will play well.
Still, the Bucs should survive.
Barely.
Prediction: Tampa Bay 21, New Orleans 20.
In other NFL games:
Atlanta 28, Carolina 17.
Baltimore 30, Washington 14.
Green Bay 20, Arizona 14.
Detoit 30, Dallas 24,
Buffalo 31, N.Y. Jets 21.
And in the college games:
Memphis 30, USF 13.
Tennessee 39, Florida 10.
Ohio State 27, Oregon 24.
North Carolina 27, Georgia Tech 20.
Penn State 38, USC 22.