I used to bet Central Michigan often during Cooper Rush’s career because of him, but this is much different. He took most of the first-string snaps this week in practice, but I can’t undo what I saw last season when the Cowboys were without Dak Prescott. Even if Prescott plays, he's had no practice and his calf injury limits him from rollouts and scrambling. He won't be the same. Dallas will really struggle without Prescott. I take the Vikings.

The Cowboys are a much worse team without QB Dak Prescott. They went 4-7 last year after Prescott’s injury. The Cowboys' struggles on defense have been hidden by their spectacular offense, but that won’t happen in this game. The Vikings are a good team that has been inconsistent this season. Expect them to get on track against a backup quarterback and one of the worst defenses in the league.

Actually thought the Vikings could win this game regardless, but with the news that Dak Prescott is trending toward not playing, this spread flipped from Cowboys -1.5 on Thursday night to Minnesota -2.5 ... and now some books have it at -3. So, let's jump on the Vikes now against Central Michigan alum Cooper Rush.

Early in the week, this line was set in a spot that made me think Dak Prescott would definitely play, as I'd make the line Cowboys -1.5 in that scenario. But when that started looking less sure on Thursday, the market moved to Vikings -2.5, what I consider close to the midpoint of the drop between Prescott and Cooper Rush. As of Friday morning, it sounds like Prescott is trending in the wrong direction, so I'm hopping on this now before it moves close to Vikings -7 or higher. I wouldn't be interested in playing the Cowboys unless they were catching at least 7.5 points, but the Vikings are the play at -6 or better.

Both teams will be coming off bye weeks, rested and ready to go. That means we should get a very good, competitive game. In games like this, you have to look at the QB matchup and that definitely favors the Cowboys. Also, out on the perimeter, the Cowboys match up really well against the Vikings receiving corps. Dak Prescott over Kirk Cousins is what really sways this one for me. One you can trust in the clutch (Prescott), while the other (Cousins) has played well, but I can't trust him in this prime-time spot.