Weekend Football: The Doldrums

Cold, hard reality set in last week for Miami's two most notable football squads. The Fins lost their rematch to the Pats, and the Canes saw their ACC title hopes evaporate. Hopefully they'll be able to put their disappointment behind them and not squander seasons that are, by last year's standards, pretty damn successful.

Miami Dolphins @ St. Louis Rams, Sunday 1 p.m. on CBS
The Rams are a two-win team, but the Fins were upset earlier in the season by the then-winless Texans. Joey Porter and company need about every win they can get to make it to the postseason. If they lose this, it's not mathematically impossible, but you can pretty much count the Fins out. Luckily they're hardidly favored.

Miami Hurricanes @ NC State Wolfpack, Saturday noon 
Then we came to the end of a somewhat surprising and dramatic regular season. Just eight days ago, the Canes found themselves atop the Coastal division; now they're relegated to second place with no hope to come out on top. The Wolfpack is at the very bottom of the Atlantic division and has been there the entire season. But they've had a surprising second wind, winning all of their last three games, including a lopsided victory against rival North Carolina, a team that beat Miami earlier in the seaon. A bowl berth is pretty much assured for Miami, and with a young team and promising new recruits, fans are looking forward to next season, but a loss would be a pretty sorry way to end the current one.

-- Kyle Munzenrieder