Texas A&M, coach in trouble

Inside information on Texas A&M games, once accessible for a fee via an e-mail newsletter from coach Dennis Franchione, no longer is available.

The fifth-year Aggies coach disgracefully sold secrets to boosters who were paid subscribers. In late September, he was forced to shut down his profitable business operation that helped finance his Web site, and soon he probably will be asked to stop coaching.

Texas A&M, 6-4 straight up and 3-6 against the spread, has lost three of its past four games, and the slide figures to continue with Franchione resembling a lame-duck coach.

Northcoast Sports handicapper Phil Steele is backing Missouri as an 181/2-point home favorite over the Aggies on Saturday and expecting Franchione to get blown out at least once more before he gets a contract buyout.

“It’s not a question of if Franchione is going to be fired, it’s when,” Steele said. “This team has failed a lot of gut-checks, and I really think this team is cooked.”

The Aggies took another punch to the gut last week, when they trailed 42-0 in a

42-14 loss at Oklahoma.

Behind junior quarterback Chase Daniel, the Tigers are 8-1 straight up and 7-1 against the spread and coming off blowout wins against Colorado, Iowa State and Texas Tech.

Daniel is completing 69 percent of his passes with 23 touchdowns, and Steele ranks Texas A&M 85th in the nation in pass efficiency defense.

Missouri’s defense is holding Big 12 Conference opponents to 84 rushing yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry.

“I’m impressed with Daniel, and the defense is playing better than I expected,” Steele said. “I picked Missouri to win the Big 12 North while most of the other magazines picked Nebraska, and I took a lot of heat from people in Nebraska when I did that.”

Steele is releasing his five-star College Game of the Year on Saturday, and he is 20-5 on his top play since 1982.

Steele (philsteele.com) analyzes two more of his plays (home team in CAPS):

• NOTRE DAME (+31/2) over Air Force — The Irish led most of the game in a three-overtime loss to Navy last week, and Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis made a questionable decision by not trying a 41-yard field goal in the final minute of regulation. The Irish defense could not stop Navy’s option but will be better prepared for the Air Force option.

I see many flaws in the Falcons, who are 7-3 straight up but have fortunate victories over Texas Christian, Utah and Wyoming on their resume. Air Force lost by 11 at Navy in September. Notre Dame has a talent edge and rarely is an underdog to a service academy.

• IOWA (-141/2) over Minnesota — The Hawkeyes looked bad in road losses to Penn State and Purdue, but they bounced back to beat Northwestern and Michigan State the past two weeks. At 5-5 and with Western Michigan on deck, Iowa is looking at a 7-5 season and a decent bowl. I rank Iowa’s defense 20th in the nation, and Minnesota’s defense ranks last, allowing 549 yards per game.

The Gophers allowed 434 yards in the first half last week in a 44-17 loss to Illinois. The Hawkeyes are 12-2 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in this series. Minnesota is 2-9 against the spread in November away games.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.