Which coach will hoist the Crystal football tonight? Find my pick and reasoning here with the rest of the Strek for the Cash Picks. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly (left) shakes hands with Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban during a press conference for the 2013 BCS National Championship game at Harbor Beach Marriott Resort

It’s a slower day today on ESPN’s Streak for the Cash, but there’s a huge game tonight as all eyes turn to Miami where the NCAA College Football National Championship will be decided as defending champion Alabama takes on unbeaten Notre Dame. That pick is joined on the board by the Fighting Irish basketball team taking on Cincinnati in a good Big East matchup as well as some afternoon international soccer and props from tonight game. Here’s the picks I like the most:

Streak Picks for 1/7

12:30- Skoda Xanthi win: Skoda opened as slight underdogs but has become the favorite since OFI Crete are expected to be without some key players. Both teams are near the botton of the Super League table but Skoda is in better form as of late. Confidence Meter: 2 (out of 10. Stay away unless you’re in the red or going all in on most wins) 

2:45- Cheltenham Town win, draw, or lose by 1: Cheltenham is fourth in League Two as they host Everton. The Toffees, as Everton is known, have played four matches in just 12 days and although they’re playing well will most likely not have their top lineup on the pitch. While an upset is hard to call straight-up, getting the goal makes Chelteham a solid pick. Keep an eye on Shaun Harrad who’s their leading goal-scorer and typically plays well on the big stage. Confidence Meter: 4

Jan 5, 2013; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Jack Cooley (45) grabs a rebound in front of Seton Hall Pirates forward Brandon Mobley (2) in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 93-74. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

6:35- Notre Dame: The Cincinnati Bearcats will look to right the whip after dropping two of their last three with both losses coming at home by one point to New Mexico and St. John’s. Their road win sandwiched between those losses was a nice win on the road against then-#24 Pittsburgh. Tonight, they host the Irish who come in with a 13-1 record with their only loss coming in overtime to St. Joe’s back on November 16. They’ve won 11 games since then including big wins over then-#8 Kentucky, Purdue, and their Big East opener against Seton Hall on Saturday. They’ve been crushing oppenents and lead the nation in assists. Look for them to continue their torrid play and go against the rankings in this one. Take the Irish for the Green in the warmup, although I think Crimson will be the color of choice later today. Confidence Meter: 3

6:36- Cashmere Wright or tie: In this first-half prop, Wright goes head-to-head to Jack Cooley. Cooley averages 15.5 points per game while Wright is at 14.9. In his late five games, Wright has scored 23, 18, 12, 6, and 15 while Cooley has put up 19, 24, 14, 14, and 18. As you can see, their numbers are almost identical and the prop could easily go either way. I’ll take Wright and the tie since I think Cooley might have more trouble against the bigs of Cincinnati than Wright will have with the guards of the Irish. Confidence Meter: 3

Dec 1, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron (10) passes against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second quarter of the 2012 SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports

8:10- Alabama Crimson Tide:  Alabama has the experience and played a tougher schedule. I think it will be close and would take the points if this was an against the spread type of prop. However, since this is straight up I’ll go with the Tide to get a win behind a seasoned A.J. McCarron who I trust much more than Irish QB Everett Golson.  Both defenses are extremely talented, but I think the Bama offense has enough to get the win. Notre Dame will make this close, but I don’t see their offense pulling it out. Confidence Meter: 8

Record for January So Far

Yesterday’s picks (click here to review): 4-4

Overall Record: 27-23

Confident Picks (5+): 12-6

Current Personal Streak: W3

Longest Personal Streak of January: W5

The Kent State Golden Flashes will try to ride running back Dri Archer to their first bowl win in school history tonight in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. That’s just one of the picks you can find here for today’s ESPN Streak for the Cash options. Photo by Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday’s are always good days in ESPN’s Streak for the Cash and today is definitely no exception as the board features 16 total picks from the sports world. Things get started with English FA Cup action this morning and continue through the afternoon with men’s and women’s college hoops accompanying the second pair of NFL Wild Card games. Tonight the day wraps up with more basketball from the NBA and college as well as the GoDaddy.com Bowl featuring two solid offensive teams.

Saturday was an up-and-down day for my picks, but hopefully todayI can string some wins together. I had my longest streak of the month snapped when NC State couldn’t beat the Eagles by more than 10. Here’s how I’m bouncing back today:

Streak Picks 1/6

8:30- Arsenal win: Arsenal is supposedly focused on the FA Cup as they head to Swansea City in the third round. The Swans are playing well in the EPL but will be likely focused on a mid-week showdown at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semis. Arsenal has won four of their last five games but six games ago suffered a 2-0 defeat at home at the hands of Swansea. They’ll be out to avenge that loss and move on in the FA Cup this morning and I think they’ll win 2-0. Confidence Meter: 3 (out of 10)

Nov 25, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

1:10- Ravens Winning Margin or Tie: As I detailed in my preview post on this game (click here for full post), I think the Ravens ride Ray Rice to a two-score victory. Confidence Meter: 4

1:11- Ray Rice Rushing Yards: The Colts are 29th in the league in Confidence Meter: 7

4:04- Seattle Seahawks: My full post will be up shortly, but the Seahawks defense and RG3′s injury will make the difference in this one as Seattle goes on the road to get the win. Confidence Meter: 7

5:30- Wichita State: An early matchup of Missouri Valley Conference favorites sees the Shockers of Wichita State visit the Bradley Braves. Combined the teams are 4-0 in conference ans 23-5 overall. Wichita State’s won the last five meetings between the two schools and has a much higher RPI (18 over BU’s 148). Going on the road in conference is never a sure thing, but WSU is a solid pick as the six point favorites. Confidence Meter: 6

9:05- Kent State Golden Flashes: Kent State forced NIU to double overtime in the MAC Championship game and was that close to crashing the BCS themselves. Instead they’ll face the Sun Belt Champion Arkansas State Red Wolves in tonight’s GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile. Don’t expect them to be too disappointed though since this is their first bowl game in 40 seasons and the Golden Flashes have never gotten a bowl win. Their head coach Darrell Hazell is headed for Purdue but has elected to stay to coach this game. The Red Wolves also lost their head coach Gus Malzahn who is the new coach at Auburn. Both teams can score in bunches based on powerful rushing games, and both teams played well at the end of the season. Before their loss to Northern Illinois, Kent State had reeled off ten in a row and Arkansas State won their final seven. Don’t let the rankings fool you, the Red Wolves are actually 3.5 point favorites and they feature a potent and more balanced attack behind QB Ryan Aplin. The Red Wolves scored 34 points or more in each of their last seven games. The three losses for Arkansas State were at Oregon and Nebraska before dropping a game at home to Western Kentucky. Kent State will be motivated, so it’s hard to pick against them, but ultimately I think their defense that forced a FBS leading 38 turnovers will make the difference and Kent State finishes their breakout season with a win. Confidence Meter: 5

9:30- Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets and Lakers have split home-and-home games already this season and meet tonight in LA. Denver rolled over Utah last night, but meet a Lakers team that has dropped three of four and continue to struggle against athletic attack-the-rim teams like the Nuggets can be at times. Denver may be without Ty Lawson and/or Kenneth Faried which would change the pick, but barring one of them missing the game I’m taking the Nuggets on the road over the quickly fading Lakers. Confidence Meter: 4

Dec 31, 2012; Corvallis, OR, USA; Oregon State Beavers forward Jarmal Reid (32) dunks the ball during the second half of the game against the Texas-Pan American Broncs at Gill Coliseum. The Beavers won the game 84-59. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

10:00- Oregon State: The Beavers host the Ducks in their heated in-state rivalry out West in our last straight up pick of the night. Oregon is off to a solid start with just losses to then-#22 Cincinnati and a triple-overtime loss at UTEP on their record. The Beavers ave 10-3 with losses on neutral courts to Purdue and Kansas and an ugly home loss to Towson in overtime. The two teams split last year’s two games and both should have a good shot of making the tournament if they can put together a good conference run. I’ll go with the Beavers at home, but this game will be a close, hard-fought game that will probably come right down to the end. Confidence Meter: 2

January Results

Yesterday’s picks (click here to review): 6-6

Overall Record: 23-19

Confident Picks (5+): 10-5

Longest Personal Streak: L1

Current Personal Streak: W5