College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It’s the second straight edition of Thursday night football as the Miami Dolphins (4-5) are in Carolina to take on the Panthers (4-5). These teams are very similar. They have the same record, they love to run the ball and they play punishing defence. Also both teams are coming off big wins in week 10. Miami jumped out to a big lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and held on at the end to win 25-23. The Dolphins got a balanced running attack from explosive backs Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown. Williams ran for over a hundred and Brown had 82 and a touchdown. What makes this duo so tough is that they’re good in a conventional offence and even deadlier in the wildcat formation. Yesterday the Dolphins were dealt some bad news. Brown is gone for the rest of the season with a foot injury. It’s the second time in three seasons he has dealt with an injury that cost him the remainder of the season. Brown is the focal point in Miami’s wildcat so it will be interesting to see how they adapt. Rookie Lex Hilliard takes his spot in the line up. Carolina is another team that relies on two very good running backs. The Panthers beat their division rivals Atlanta Falcons last week 28-19 thanks to the running of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. This duo combined for 174 yards on the ground and Stewart had two touchdowns. Carolina also got a boast from the return of 14-year veteran receiver Muhsin Muhammad. Atlanta chose to double team wide out Steve Smith, so Muhammad had single coverage for most of the game and pulled in 6 catches for 91 yards. It’s a toss up who’s going to win this game, but one thing is for sure – if you like the ground game, this is one game you won’t want to miss.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

The last time the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts met was back in week 17 of 2006. Peyton Manning threw for two touchdowns and the Colts won 27-22. Out of the last six times these two teams battled the Dolphins have the edge of the Colts, beating them four times. Tonight in Florida these teams go it with a lot to prove. For Indianapolis they want to show the rest of the league that they’re still the dominant team that won the Super Bowl three years ago and should not be overlooked. Future Hall-of-Famer receiver Marvin Harrison is no longer on the team and his replacement, Anthony Gonzalez is out for two to eight weeks with a knee injury. Manning still has go-to wide out Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark. Both should expect many throws their way and will factor into the decision of this game. Defensively Indianapolis will miss the services of safety Bob Sanders for this one as he too is dealing with knee problems.

Miami wants to show everybody that last season was no fluke. They surprised the NFL by winning the AFC East relying heavily on the wildcat formation. Last week they looked bad, committing  four turnovers en route to a 19-7 lose to the Atlanta Falcons. For the Dolphins to be successful Chad Pennington needs to eliminate mistakes and they need to get the ball into the hands of running back Ronnie Brown as often as possible. Last season Brown was the key factor in the Dolphin’s wildcat offence, rushing for 916 yards, scoring 10 touchdowns along with 254 receiving yards. Miami also has to play sound defence, limiting the big plays and getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. A year ago linebacker Joey Porter had a career year leading the team with 17.5 sacks.