By Marc Nesseler, nesseler@qconline.com

How hot is the Ness Guess in football prognosticating?

Less than five of the over thousand entries in the weekly pick-'em contest have fared better in the past two weeks running. That, in turn, has led the Ness Guess to a commanding 6-3-1 lead over WQAD-TV sports director Matt Randazzo in the '12 Challenge.

Yet, there's no time for becoming complacent.

It was just a year ago that Randazzo maintained that exact same three-week edge. Yet, December came and Randazzo's predicting ability went as cold as the weather, and he wound up losing by a two-week margin. That got him a pie in the face on local television on a Sunday night.

Thus, there will be not Ness Guess bravado. Randazzo remains quite the formidable foe.

This past week, there were only four entrants with a better mark that the Ness Guess' 11-3 (with 1 tie). Winning the $100 prize was Jeff Myers, of Moline, who was 12-2 and off on the Bears-Texans total points tie-breaker by 16 points.

Honorable-mention 12-2s were Roger Reno, of Rock Island (off by 23); Dave Sackett, of Giahanna, Ohio, (off by 27); and Harvey Baker, of Milan (off by 38).

Now, on to this week's games

1. Iowa at Michigan
Ness: Michigan: Top of the Legends vs. the bottom of the Legends.
Dazzo: Michigan: Iowa already has one upset win in Michigan; won't happen again.

2. Ohio St. at Wisconsin
Ness: OSU: Defense vs. offense, I'm taking the high-powered offense.
Dazzo: Wisconsin: Madison makes the difference.

3. Eagles at Redskins
Ness: Redskins: Eagles can't click with or without Vick.
Dazzo: Redskins: Mismatch at QB the difference.

4. Packers at Lions
Ness: Packers: Told Dazzo the Pack will sweep the Lions.
Dazzo: Lions: I HAVE to pick the Lions here, right Ness? (Answer: Yes.)

5. Cardinals at Falcons
Ness: Falcons: Pressure to go unbeaten is off.
Dazzo: Falcons: Won't lose twice at home or to the Cardinals anywhere.

6. Bucs at Panthers
Ness: Bucs: Becoming a very good road team.
Dazzo: Bucs: Hottest team in the NFC.

7. Browns at Cowboys
Ness: Cowboys: Romo getting better and better.
Dazzo: Cowboys: Game Dallas is supposed to win, so probably won't.

8. Jets at Rams
Ness: Rams: Sanchez getting worse and worse.
Dazzo: Rams: No OT needed this week.

9. Colts at Patriots
Ness: Patriots: Just when the Colts start to make their move ...
Dazzo: Patriots: Colts come back to earth.

10. Jaguars at Texans
Ness: Texans: Mismatch of the season.
Dazzo: Texans: Don't see too many 16-point spreads in Vegas.

11. Bengals at Chiefs
Ness: Bengals: Chiefs just can't score. Period.
Dazzo: Bengals: Just can't pick the Chiefs again; they've killed me this year.

12. Saints at Raiders
Ness: Saints: Could use them holding Palmer in check. Please.
Dazzo: Saints: Red hot offense vs. terrible defense.

13. Chargers at Broncos
Ness: Broncos: Manning get January primed.
Dazzo: Broncos: Remember when Rivers used to make plays to win games.

14. Ravens at Steelers
Ness: Ravens: Might have picked Steelers had Big Ben not gotten hurt.
Dazzo: Ravens: Another NFL team turning to a backup this week.

15. Bears at 49ers
Ness: 49ers: Bears' record vs. teams with winning records makes this pick.
Dazzo: 49ers: Cutler haters will see reality if he has to sit.


You can enter the Ness Guess Football Contest, and have a chance at winning the $100 prize, until midnight tonight at www.qconline.com, clicking on the contest icon.