Barrett Ruud and company will be the subject of ESPN's hype machine all week long. The 9-3 Bucs head to Carolina to face the 9-3 Panthers one week from Monday.

Deserved or not, with a Monday Night Football game comes major league hype. The Bucs will bask in that national glory in their next game, a Monday night contest in Carolina on Dec. 8.

Both teams are 9-3 and deserve the media attention. It’s been a long time coming for the Bucs this season. Weeks ago, Joe told you the teams should face off at 9-3 next week. (Hey, there’s always time for a good, “I told you so.”)

If the Bucs win, they’ll open up a two-game lead over the Panthers and virtually lock up the division and the No. 2 seed in the postseason, by virtue of having the tiebreaker advantage with Carolina.

Expect the national media to focus its attention on the Bucs defense. Frankly, there’s not enough sizzle to the offense for most locals to get excited, let alone the national talking heads.

Let’s hope this all propels team-leading tackler Barrett Ruud, and safeties Tanard Jackson and Jermaine Philips to the big time. Joe asks, would you want any two other safeties patrolling the field for your team? …Didn’t think so.