USC driving down the wrong Lane.

I wasn't one bit surprised the other night when I saw on the wire that Lane Kiffin was leaving Tennessee after one season to take the head coaching position at USC. I reported on my blog back on Sept. 21 of this past season that I thought the Vols had make a mistake by hiring Kiffin. I also mentioned in the post that I didn't think the marriage there in Knoxville would last very long. At that time, he was running his mouth a lot and most of the negativity was aimed at Urban Meyer. I said it once and I will say it again, Lane Kiffin's biggest claim to fame is being the son of the intelligent and well respected Monte Kiffin. Shame on USC for making such an impulsive decision. In my opinion, Kiffin hasn't shown anything at any level as of yet. In his prior stint at USC, he was the benefactor of a stocked roster and surrounded by other great coaches. The people at Tennessee are upset, but I think it will be good for them in the long run. I don't know how Kiffin does it, but he could give David Copperfield a run for his money. At best, he is a master illusionist. In Hollywood, people talk about the A-listers like Denzell Washington, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Mel Gibson. They are A-listers for a reason. In the world that is college football, the A-listers are guys like Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Brian Kelly, Joe Paterno. In my opinion, Coach Kiffin doesn't even rate as a B-lister. Since we are doing the Hollywood analogy thing, I would place him in the category of extra. How an "extra" gets a job coaching one of the most storied programs in college football history is beyond me. If you can wait a minute, I will be right back. I am going to put my resume together and see if the Buffalo Bills still need a head coach for next season.

Now on to more important things. Here were my other observations back in September just two weeks into the NFL season.

I said the Tennessee Titans were the best 0-2 team in the league. The Titans did make a nice run down the stretch, but it ended up being too little too late.

I said the Denver Broncos were the worst 2-0 team in the league. The Broncos would go on to post several more wins in a row, but they were overrated from the start. They imploded down the stretch and failed to make the playoffs.

I said the Jacksonville Jaguars window had closed and Del Rio would be out. The Jags did falter and played poorly this year, but Del Rio is still owed 15 million, so the team made the decision to keep him around. The team has lost some 17,000 season ticket holders, so they will have to do some damage control as they move forward.

I posted that I thought the Saints would be the darkhorse of the NFC and said they were poised to make a run this season. They are certainly sitting pretty right now.

I offered the opinion that the Vikings would win their division, but then falter in the playoffs. I hope I am wrong on this one, but the Vikes may have the toughest game out of all of the favored teams this upcoming weekend. The Cowboys are no pushover.

I said the Lions and Rams would battle down the stretch for next years number one draft pick. That wasn't exactly going out on a limb, but I think the Rams did come through for me on this one.

Finally, I said the Redskins would have a new coach and his name would be Mike Shanahan. That is now a reality and I expect the Redskins to make some big strides next season.

Well, that is the end of my fortune telling for now. If only I could pick the outcomes of the games this well. I was incredibly accurate during the college bowl season, but I took a turn for the worse last weekend and only went 1-3 on my NFL picks. Here are my picks/scores for this weekends games.

Saints 333 and Cards 314 No, this is not a typo. I think there will be 9,000 yards of total offense and each QB will lock up a trip to Canton by halftime. Okay all kidding aside.

Saints 37 and Cards 27

Colts 26 and Ravens 19 The Ravens will stay in it early, but once again Manning will be the difference.

Cowboys 30 and Vikings 26 This is my upset special and it pains me to say it. The Steelers are my favorite team, so the Cowboys are naturally our enemy. Think B. Favre will fall just a bit short in this one.

Finally, Chargers 30 and Jets 16. The Jets are a good story, but they will struggle if they have to play catchup football and I think that is what they will have to do this weekend. Sanchez is due for a poor performance and while he has been more steady lately, he is no Phillip Rivers yet. The Chargers will make a statement with this game.

Now, if you are smart, you will go against everything I just said and go 4-0 for the weekend.

Lights out.