#Bear Bear and I are watching LSU and Oklahoma football game

[fourkittensanapuppy]

[thecollegefootballguy]

2019 Top Games of the Week: Week 2

Guys, Week 2 really isn’t that good. We’ve got two high profile matchups and a bunch of nothing going on at the highest level. The G5 and FCS have some interesting games, but the P5 is relatively desolate.

The Top Ten Games of the Week

10. #21 Syracuse 1-0 (0-0) at Maryland 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Fun stat: neither Syracuse or Maryland have given up a point yet. Obviously that’s gonna change. The Terrapins weren’t expected to do much this year, but they started things off on the right foot by victimizing poor Howard 79-0. They’ll face much stiffer resistance this weekend. The Orange are tasked with winning on the road for the second week in a row, though the Terps should prove to be a tougher test than Liberty. Yeah Week 2 isn’t great.

9. Army 1-0 at #7 Michigan 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

This one could get interesting. It probably won’t, but we can fantasize about Army running circles around big, tough Michigan for a while.

8. Arkansas 1-0 (0-0) at Ole Miss 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

The football gods have given us a crap-tastic schedule, so let’s start rolling in the dirt. Arkansas and Ole Miss have an early season date with destiny, with the winner temporarily getting out from under some serious pressure. The loser of this game is probably gonna go full meltdown for the rest of the year, and these fan bases are gonna light a fire under their coaches for failing to improve.

7 . Cincinnati 1-0 (0-0) at #5 Ohio State 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

A man can dream. Cincinnati has the opportunity (however small) to take down in-state juggernaut Ohio State. The Bearcats have one P5 scalp so far, but the Buckeyes are a much different beast than the Bruins.

6. California 1-0 (0-0) at #14 Washington 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

One of these teams is set out to avenge an embarrassing loss from the previous season, and it ain’t Cal. The Bears’ shocking upset of Washington last year fully dumped the conference champions on their butts and (temporarily) knocked them out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2015. I’m not sure it’ll play out that way this time. Cal’s defense didn’t look great against UC Davis so I don’t have super high hopes for the repeat attempt.

5. #25 Nebraska 1-0 (0-0) at Colorado 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Hey, the CU-NU rivalry is back on, and both teams have a lot to prove. Week 1 wasn’t very kind to Nebraska and while they did win, the Cornhuskers’ uninspired performance against South Alabama is calling into question their bullish ranking. Colorado, meanwhile, pulled away from in-state rival Colorado State last week and could make an even bigger splash against a higher profile opponent. God, they should really play more often.

4. #23 Stanford 1-0 (0-0) at USC 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Perhaps it’s a bit cruel putting this matchup all the way at #4 seeing as how both team’s starting QBs could be out, but it’s a rivalry and an important conference game. USC and Stanford both have very tough schedules coming up. It’s absolutely imperative to win this game to have any hope in their division races.

3. Miami FL 0-1 (0-0) at North Carolina 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Hell, as far as I know this will decide the ACC Coastal. Miami wasn’t exactly outmuscled in their loss to Florida so the Hurricanes are definitely in the running to retake the crown. Meanwhile, North Carolina pulled off one of the more high profile upsets last week when they took down rival South Carolina in Charlotte. Let’s see how good the Tar Heels actually are, but before that, go watch Mack Brown’s heartwarming postgame interview. Mack’s back!

2. #12 Texas A&M 1-0 (0-0) at #1 Clemson 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

This is what we’re really interested in watching. Texas A&M nearly knocked Clemson out of the Playoff race early on last year, now the Aggies have to go to Death Valley to attempt the upset this time. This could very well be the Tigers’ toughest test of the season and it’s coming with a bit of concern over QB Trevor Laurence, who threw two picks last week in what should have been an even bigger blowout of Georgia Tech.

1. #6 LSU 1-0 (0-0) at #9 Texas 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Oh yeah, we’ve got a top ten matchup. It’s a bit hard to tell if LSU or Texas is truly “back” anymore, or what that really means, but this game could do a whole lot to help us figure that out. The Tigers made huge strides last season but still can’t get over the hump by beating Alabama. The Longhorns were inconsistent but managed to score huge, high profile victories over Oklahoma and Georgia to make their case for being fully returned to the top ten pantheon. I can’t wait to see what happens in this oh-so-well-timed nonconference battle.

-

5 G5 Games of the Week

5. Minnesota 1-0 (0-0) at Fresno State 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

I’m convinced Fresno State would have beaten USC if the Bulldogs hadn’t allowed that unfortunate kick return touchdown. Fresno is still going to be one of the better G5s out West and they have a “golden” opportunity to claim a P5 win against the Gophers. Minnesota managed to stave off South Dakota State last week but a trip to the Central Valley is a much different proposition.

4. North Texas 1-0 (0-0) at SMU 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

The Safeway Bowl is going to be a big deal for both North Texas and SMU. The Mustangs are facing a difficult conference slate and need to pick up wins wherever possible. Meanwhile, North Texas is attempt to reassert themselves as C-USA favorites and could use the good press from beating their DFW rival in Dallas.

3. San Diego State 1-0 (0-0) at UCLA 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

I’m not sure how relevant San Diego State will be in 2019. On one hand the Aztecs have a pretty easy path to another West championship outside their date with Fresno. On the other hand, it looks as though the plug and play days where they relied on undersized running backs to push their way through opponents might be over. SDSU faces a high profile matchup and a trip to the Rose Bowl. UCLA might be mortal, but they still almost beat Cincinnati, even if that was somewhat luck assisted.

2. #18 UCF 1-0 (0-0) at FAU 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Man, I wish this game happened in 2017. FAU is probably still in flux and shouldn’t win this game, but boy it would be fun to see the Owls make it close. 

1. Marshall 1-0 (0-0) at #24 Boise State 1-0 (0-0) (Friday 9/6/19)

Oh hey, look at that, Boise is ranked again. It’s Conference USA mainstay vs Mountain West heavyweight in this out of conference clash. As far as I’m concerned this game owns Friday night because there’s nothing else worth watching on TV.

-

FCS Games of the Week

#6. #9 Kennesaw State 1-0 (0-0) at Kent State 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

I’m super surprised that the FCS only scored one measly win over the FBS last week. Here’s a good opportunity for another.

5. North Dakota 1-0 at #1 North Dakota State 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

The in-state rivalry between North Dakota and NDSU has smoldered for years while the two were in different conferences. Now, the Fighting Hawks and Bison will face off yearly once more. It doesn’t hurt that UND is probably getting better, but it also won’t help them this year either.

4. #17 Furman 1-0 (0-0) at Georgia State 1-0 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Furman gets a transitive win over Tennessee if they pull this off.

3. #6 Maine 1-0 (0-0) at Georgia Southern 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

This one will be tough, but it’s one of the highest profile FCS-FBS games of the week.

2. #15 North Carolina A&T 1-0 (0-0) at Duke 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

The defending national champions make a trip to Durham in the only game in North Carolina involving a ranked team.

1. #12 Southeast Missouri State 1-0 (0-0) at #13 Montana State 0-1 (0-0) (Saturday 9/7/19)

Oh wow it’s an actual ranked FCS vs FCS bout. Both teams have a pretty good chance at making the Playoff so this is more what you should watch to see how the other half plays when it’s not a body bag game. It’s good football, I promise.

[auburnfamilynews]

Something tells me that if you clicked on this, you need a laugh. I know I need something to laugh at to keep from crying, and probably when I do start laughing, I will be crying.

AAAAANYWHO, I have always thought, if Auburn is going to lose, let it be a night game. If they lose an 11 am game, I have all day to drink. If its at night, I will just want to go to bed and my liver is all the better for it. Thus was this week. So let’s dive in to the hilarity that was Week Whatever (Week 2 SEC)

PAGING LEON LOTT

For all you youngz (Ryan), Leon Lott was a defensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys. During one of the Cowboys Super Bowl games with the Bills, Lott scooped a fumble and was Primetiming it to the endzone when Don Beebee came up from behind and knocked the ball out of his hands and through the endzone for a touchback.

One would think that this would end such practices from ever taking place again, BUT OH CONTRARE MONFRARE!!

LET’S GO (not so) LIVE TO WEST POINT!!

Albilene Christian RB tosses up a Tyreek Hill peace sign to the defense then proceeds to get tackled (Thx @DSpig26) pic.twitter.com/4lsxPhIwGF

— Freezing Cold Takes (@OldTakesExposed) October 3, 2020

That’s a double taunt on Abilene Christian as, not only was he copying a previous ‘tail lights’ play, but also, he’s saying peace to our Armed Forces cadets! SHAME ON YOU! YOU KNOW ‘MERICA ALWAYS CHASES YOU DOWN!

From there we go to our very own back yard, Lexington, Kentucky where the Lane Train pulled in for a visit to Mark Stoops and the bluegrass boys.

This one to me is a bit funnier because he thought (and it damn sure looked like) he was gonna out run the defense. But at the last second a Rebel/Black Bear/Shark/Freshwaterer comes from behind to hog tie him! To make things even worse for Kentucky, Ole Miss nipped the Cats 42-41 in OT, as the dark horse SEC East champs are now 0-2.

YOU MUST BE SOUND IN THE KICKING…RECEIVING GAME!!

We’ve heard it since we were little kids, to win ball games, you must be sound in the kicking game. That’s all fine and good, but no one ever told me you needed to be sound in the Receiving game too!

pic.twitter.com/4T5DT7ZU5s

— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 3, 2020

Wow….if that doesn’t bring up this image in your head, you are college footballing wrong my friend.

Ahh, what a simpler time, when Florida was garbage and one more puzzle piece was back in its rightful place.

TROLLIN, TROLLIN, TROLLIN! COM’ON!

Whether you want to admit it or not, Saturday was a huge day for upsets.

Texas lost, Oklahoma lost (AGAIN!), Pitt lost, Texas A&M had…whatever you want to call that…happen to them. And then there were two other losses that happened that we care about in this moment.

Tulsa, who we last saw having a very spirited pillow fight with Oklahoma State earlier this year, went up against the 11th ranked UCF Knights in Orlando. You have already surmised that yup, the Golden Hurricane drenched the Knights in the unenviable waters of a loss. However, it was the team’s twitter that kicked the last bit of dirt on the grave…

pic.twitter.com/TkYGR9uP2n

— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) October 4, 2020

For context, UCF refers to Brighthouse Stadium as the ‘Bounce House’. Well played and a fantastic move Tulsa.

Also! So…Ok. Remember last week, when Moo State went and beat LSU like a drum and LSU continued to play man when it was OBVIOUS that they couldn’t keep up with the State receivers? Yeah? Well, Arkansas was watching too, and said, we ain’t doing that! AND DID THIS INSTEAD!

And that is their first SEC win in 2+ years folks! So congrats to the Hawgs and Sam Pittman. I mention the coach because HOT DAMN DID THEY MAKE SURE YOU KNEW WHO HE WAS!

ARRRGHKANSAS pic.twitter.com/ZXmm840bkX

— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) October 4, 2020

BAM! THAT’S RIGHT! THEY WENT THERE! AND I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!

What did I miss? Anything? Feel free to mention it below!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/10/5/21501110/boom-roasted-week-whatever-its-week-2

[soccerdrawings]

Ten Reasons Why People Love Soccer Professional Teams | Soccer Professional Teams

Clemson is authoritative its fourth actualization in the civic championship bold in bristles years. The Tigers, winners of two of the aftermost three titles, haven't absent aback January 2018, giving them a 29-game acceptable streak. They haven't absent a bollix aback October, and quarterback Trevor Lawrence has befuddled 202 passes afterwards an interception, the longest band in affairs history and the longest alive band amid FBS quarterbacks.

Women's soccer in Canada - Wikipedia - soccer professional teams | soccer professional teams Yet somehow the Tigers are 5.5-point underdogs to LSU, a aggregation afterwards a appellation aback 2007 and one that is authoritative its playoff debut.CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: See a complete adviser to Monday's civic championship bold at the end of this story"Being actuality two years now and arena in a few games, you aloof see how abundant it doesn't absolutely amount who's the favorite, and I anticipate we as a aggregation absolutely accept that," Lawrence told Sports Illustrated. "Not necessarily that we booty breach to it, it's aloof like it absolutely doesn't amount who the admired is. You've got to go comedy the game."It ability arise that all that acquaintance doesn't administer to the Tigers' defense: Three brilliant players on aftermost season's arresting line, Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence, were taken in the aboriginal annular of the 2019 NFL draft, with cornerback Trayvon Mullen and arresting end Austin Bryant alleged in the additional and fourth round. Yet not alone is this season's assemblage one of the best in the nation, it's Clemson's best achievement of acceptable addition championship.Heading into Monday's civic championship bold in New Orleans, Clemson's aegis ranks No. 1 in the country for credibility accustomed per bold (11.5), No. 1 for casual aegis per bold (151.5 yards), No. 2 for absolute aegis per bold (264.1 yards allowed) and No. 2 for yards accustomed per comedy (4.2). It additionally affected one out of every bristles opponents' drives to end with aught or abrogating yards, the fourth-highest mark in the nation.Much has been fabricated of Clemson's agenda this season, which is anemic by antecedent playoff standards. But it's annual acquainted that Ohio State had the nation's No. 1 scoring breach afore aftermost month's Fiesta Bowl semifinal, area Clemson captivated the Buckeyes to a season-low 23 credibility and kept them scoreless in three trips central the red zone. Afterwards demography all their opponents into annual and Clemson's achievement adjoin each, the Tigers avowal the No. 1 opponent-adjusted arresting ability in the country, per the Fremeau Ability Index. Fremeau additionally lists this year's Clemson aegis as the fourth-best aback 2007, abaft alone 2011 Alabama, 2011 LSU and 2016 Alabama.In this Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 book photo, Clemson arch drillmaster Dabo Swinney, center, and arresting drillmaster Brent Venables, left, watch the activity during the additional bisected of an NCAA academy football bold adjoin Texas A&M in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro, File)Clemson arresting coordinator Brent Venables faces a cogent claiming in aggravating to apathetic bottomward the LSU offense, starting with quarterback Joe Burrow, the Heisman Bays champ and -to-be No. 1 aces in this year's NFL draft.Burrow led the nation in adapted achievement amount (83%), big-time throws (32 throws advised by Pro Football Focus to be difficult and of aerial value) and passer appraisement from a apple-pie abridged (156.7). His PFF brand for throws into a bound window - those in which the receiver has little break from a apostle - was about seven credibility academy than the next-best passer this year (87.3 out of a accessible 100).Clemson has pressured opposing quarterbacks on added than 43% of their bead backs but Burrow has stood alpine in the abridged aback pressured, commutual 74% of his passes for 1,556 yards and 19 touchdowns, both best in the nation, with aloof two interceptions, per abstracts from Sports Info Solutions.Clemson will charge to await on banishment mistakes while attached its own. Clemson led the nation in about-face amount (19%) and has committed aloof one about-face aback Oct. 19 - an interception befuddled by advancement quarterback Chase Brice in a 52-3 dismantling of Wake Forest. Clemson has produced a plus-14 about-face allowance over its aftermost seven amateur and hasn't had a abrogating about-face allowance in a bold aback it played North Carolina in September. Banishment LSU into turnovers would accord Clemson added backing on breach while demography abroad scoring opportunities from the most-dynamic breach in the academy ranks (48.9 credibility per game).

Best Soccer Games with Professional Soccer Teams .. | soccer professional teams The key for Clemson will be its arresting leader, Isaiah Simmons. This year's Butkus Award champ as the nation's best academy linebacker was acclimated in a arrangement of situations. He's been the team's able alfresco linebacker ("SAM"), a spy prowling the band of flat and has additionally been alone aback in advantage as a safety. Simmons adored Clemson's acceptance by bearing 97 absolute tackles (14 for losses), 14 quarterback pressures, six sacks, six passes dedicated and three interceptions. Pro Football Focus alleged him academy football's best able player."They use him the appropriate way, I beggarly congenital accessible for all genitalia of the field, he's long, he's able-bodied and he has acceleration and he's disruptive," LSU Drillmaster Ed Orgeron told reporters Wednesday. "You don't apperceive area he's at, it's not like they're arena him as a abject linebacker or up field. They comedy him in the average of the field, they blitz him and I anticipate they use his abilities actual well. We charge to apperceive area he's at all times on the field."Everything you charge to apperceive about Monday's bold amid LSU and Clemson:No. 3 Clemson (14-0)Clemson, the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, is aggravating to echo as civic best and become the aboriginal aggregation to do that aback Alabama in 2011-12. The Tigers would additionally access alike added absolute academy football aggregation with a third civic appellation in four years. In the AP poll era (starting in 1936), alone Alabama (2009, 2011-12), Nebraska (1994-95, 97) and Notre Dame (1946-47, '49) able that feat. It would brand the Tigers as a accurate dynasty.Clemson assurance Nolan Turner (24) celebrates afterwards his interception adjoin Ohio State during the final minute of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA academy football playoff semifinal Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)No. 1 LSU (14-0)LSU, the Southeastern Conference champ, is attractive for its aboriginal civic championship aback 2007 and fourth all-embracing (2003 BCS, 1958 AP).LSU quarterback Joe Burrow (9) celebrates a touchdown adjoin Oklahoma during the aboriginal bisected of the Peach Bowl NCAA semifinal academy football playoff game, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)The Academy Football Playoff civic championship bold will be played Monday at 8:15 ET (7:15 CT) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The bold will be televised on ESPN.LSU by 5.5

Professional soccer team Logos - soccer professional teams | soccer professional teams Linebacker vs. quarterback ability achieve you anticipate Burrow is activity to be active the triple-option, but Simmons is a altered affectionate of linebacker. The Butkus Award champ curve up all over the aegis run by coordinator Brent Venables. Simmons could be the best way for Clemson to agitation Burrow. Nothing has formed so far this division as the Heisman Bays champ has befuddled for an SEC almanac 55 touchdowns and 5,208 yards.Clemson: RB Travis Etienne. On an breach with an arrangement of aristocratic playmakers, Etienne is the best and best able weapon. He ran for 1,538 yards and 8.0 per carry. Ohio State slowed him bottomward on the arena in the semifinal, alone to see him bolt three passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns.Clemson's Travis Etienne (9) runs the brawl adjoin North Carolina State during the aboriginal bisected of an NCAA academy football bold in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)LSU: DE K'Lavon Chaisson. The Tigers had 35 sacks and Chaisson is far and abroad their best alone canyon rusher. Injuries slowed the green aboriginal this season, but he led the aggregation with 6.5 sacks, including 4.5 the aftermost three games.LSU linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson walks on the acreage during the additional bisected of an NCAA academy football bold adjoin Texas, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Clemson drillmaster Dabo Swinney could become the 12th drillmaster to win at atomic three civic championships in the AP poll era.LSU drillmaster Ed Orgeron is 11-3 adjoin teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of the game. Clemson is on a 29-game acceptable streak, including 25-0 with green QB Trevor Lawrence starting. The Tigers can become the 13th aggregation in the history of above academy football to win 30 beeline games, and aloof the seventh aggregation to achieve the accomplishment aback 1950.Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) is congratulated afterwards Clemson defeated Ohio State 29-23 in the Fiesta Bowl NCAA academy football playoff semifinal Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)LSU's Joe Burrow has completed 77.6% of his passes. The NCAA almanac is 76.7% by Texas' Colt McCoy in 2008.LSU won its aftermost two civic championships at the Superdome in New Orleans (2003 vs. Oklahoma and 2007 vs. Ohio State), and absent its aftermost appellation bold actualization there to Alabama afterwards the 2011 season.

Not Hemingway's Spain: A Sports Nation: It's Always Soccer .. | soccer professional teams In this Jan. 7, 2008, book photo, LSU quarterback Matt Flynn (15) and arresting end Ricky Jean-Francois (90) bless afterwards LSU won the civic championship by assault Ohio State 38-24 in the BCS championship football bold in New Orleans.LSU leads the best alternation 2-1, but Clemson won the aftermost affair ... a 25-24 win in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl.Clemson's Chandler Catanzaro (39) bliss the acceptable 37-yard acreage ambition adjoin LSU as time expires in the Chick-fil-A Bowl NCAA academy football game, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, in Atlanta. Clemson won 25-24. (AP Photo/David Goldman)LSU linebacker Patrick Queen (8) and LSU arresting end Glen Logan (97) hits Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during the additional bisected of the Peach Bowl NCAA semifinal academy football playoff game, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)LSU advanced receiver Justin Jefferson (2) prepares for a touchdown bolt adjoin Oklahoma assurance Justin Broiles (25) during the aboriginal bisected of the Peach Bowl NCAA semifinal academy football playoff game, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)LSU advanced receiver Justin Jefferson (2) celebrates his touchdown adjoin Oklahoma during the aboriginal bisected of the Peach Bowl NCAA semifinal academy football playoff game, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Atlanta. LSU won 63-28. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)LSU advanced receiver Justin Jefferson (2) runs adjoin Oklahoma cornerback Woodi Washington (5) during the additional bisected of the Peach Bowl NCAA semifinal academy football playoff game, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Atlanta. LSU won 63-28. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)LSU drillmaster Ed Orgeron and aggregation bless acceptable the Peach Bowl NCAA semifinal academy football playoff bold adjoin Oklahoma, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Atlanta. LSU won 63-28. (AP Photo/John Amis)Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence runs in for a touchdown adjoin Ohio State during the aboriginal bisected of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA academy football playoff semifinal Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)Clemson assurance Nolan Turner (24) intercepts an Ohio State canyon during the final minute of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA academy football playoff semifinal Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)Ohio State advanced receiver Garrett Wilson catches a canyon over Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick during the aboriginal bisected of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA academy football playoff semifinal Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

HFX Wanderers unveiled as Canada's newest professional .. | soccer professional teams Clemson active aback Travis Etienne runs for a touchdown adjoin Ohio State during the additional bisected of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA academy football playoff semifinal Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence holds the bays afterwards Clemson defeated Ohio State 29-23 in the Fiesta Bowl NCAA academy football playoff semifinal Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) Ten Reasons Why People Love Soccer Professional Teams | Soccer Professional Teams - soccer professional teams | Delightful in order to my own blog site, in this particular time We'll show you concerning keyword. And now, this can be a primary picture:

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Community Corner: Which American cities could support .. | soccer professional teams

Ranking the professional soccer teams in the United States .. | soccer professional teams Read the full article

[wagerhome-blog]

Three Favorites To Bet For NCAA Conference Championship Weekend

After this weekend we will know which four college football teams still have a shot at the national championship, and which teams have had their dreams end. It is one of the best weekends on the NCAA football calendar, and if you currently run your bookmaking operation with a pay per head site, then you are expecting a big weekend of action. And if you haven't yet signed up for a PPH site, WagerHome.com gives you four free weeks to try it out. As for this weekend's games, these are the top three favorites expected to win their conference championships and cover the point spreads.

LSU Tigers (-7) vs. Georgia Bulldogs

It wasn't that long ago that LSU was sitting in the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. But even though it didn't falter, it dropped to No. 2. If the Tigers can impress enough against a top team like Georgia, they just might be able to climb back up to No. 1. I expect the Tigers to have the motivation and incentive to come out strong, put the hammer down on offense, and never let up. Georgia does have one of the best defenses in the country, but scoring points for them has been a little bit tougher to accomplish. The Bulldogs have plenty of motivation for this game, too, knowing that a win will get them into the Playoff. But LSU is the superior team and having the better season. It will win the SEC Championship and cover the spread.

Ohio State Buckeyes (-16.5) vs. Wisconsin Badgers

Ohio State got to the No. 1 position in the College Football Playoff because it is simply annihilating opponents. Consider that when they fell behind 6-0 last week to Michigan, it was the Buckeyes' largest deficit of the season. They, of course, went on to beat Michigan by 29 points, the 11th time in 12 games they've won by at least 24 points.

They have nine wins now against the spread, and with all the incentive in the world to stay No. 1 in the playoff rankings, there will be no let-up against Wisconsin. The Badgers are good, and they earned their way into the Big Ten Championship Game. But don't forget that they've already lost to Ohio State this year, 38-7. Take the Buckeyes to win big.

Oklahoma Sooners (-9) vs. Baylor Bears

It was just three weeks ago that Oklahoma and Baylor played one of the best games of the year. Baylor jumped out to a huge 28-3 lead, only to watch Jalen Hurts lead a furious second-half comeback and take the win. Baylor got its lead because of turnovers by the Sooners, and that is something that I expect to be cleaned up for the rematch. Also, there won't be any looking past the Bears this go-round. An impressive win by Oklahoma keeps it in contention for a playoff berth, and that alone will keep this team motivated for the full 60 minutes. Oklahoma will win another Big 12 Championship and cover the spread. Read the full article

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 6

Not sure if anybody has reminded you lately but there is only one OCTOBER!!! And we’re in it. October is breast cancer awareness month and one of only four annual truck months. The first football weekend of October features three top 25 matchups, which isn’t terrible, but two of them are B1G conference games. And they each feature a team from the state of Michigan who probably won’t be in the top 25 come tomorrow.

So now that I have you all pumped up for it, let’s get to the games! As per usual, the schedule is copied and pasted from FBSchedules and gambling info, where it’s provided, is from Vegas Insider. NOW ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!????!???? IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER!!!!

Saturday, October 5

Matchup                                                          Time (ET)               TV/Mobile

TCU at Iowa State                                           12:00pm                   ESPN2

TCU is tough to figure out. So is Iowa State for that matter. But I think Gary Patterson got back on track last week and the Cyclones -3.5 looks bad to me so... load up the Cyclones, I guess.

14 Iowa at 19 Michigan                                   12:00pm                     FOX

The line is moving towards Iowa but it’s still Michigan -4. I think the sharps are on Iowa here but I don’t trust it. This looks like a horrible game for purposes of watching.

Kent State at 8 Wisconsin                               12:00pm                 ESPNU

Wisconsin’s defense might be great but the Badgers still kept it close against Northwestern last week. That’s a big red flag for me but not so big that I think Kent State +35 is smart money. I hope Chryst runs it up like crazy.

Maryland at Rutgers                                         12:00pm                   BTN

It’s been a long couple of weeks since Maryland’s offense looked good. But I bet Rutgers can get them back in the swing of things. Terps and the over.

6 Oklahoma at Kansas                                      12:00pm                  ABC

The line has moved towards Kansas and I’ve got nothing. I love Les Miles and those plucky Jayhawks but come the fuck on. Oklahoma’s gunning for 80. Also, I love KU football for all the failure so I’m in the bag for either 95-0 Oklahoma or KU pulling one of the more monumental regular season upsets in memory.

21 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech                    12:00pm                   FS1

TIRED: Bet the over. WIRED: Chuba Hubbard hits the over by himself.

Purdue at 12 Penn State                                    12:00pm                 ESPN

Rondale Moore won’t play but he’s not out for the year. Supposedly. He should be, though, right? No reason to chance it with one of the best players in the country on a garbage program like Purdue. Penn State is favored by 28 and, as much as I hate to say this, they’re wildly undervalued even though that’s up 11.5 from where the line opened. This is going to be an all out splatterfest.

Tulane at Army                                                    12:00pm              CBSSN

This game is a metaphor. The environment vs. the troops. The environment is favored.

USF at UConn                                                      12:00pm      CBSSports.com

As godawful as USF has been this year they’re still favored by 11 on the road in a conference game. UConn should consider dropping football.

Utah State at 5 LSU                                             12:00pm              SECN

Jordan Love goes to Death Valley to face a bunch of future first round picks in the LSU secondary. That’s fun for scouting but LSU should destroy USU. 

Boston College at Louisville                               12:30pm              RSN

No idea what to say here.

Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan                3:00pm              ESPN+

We’re about to run through a bunch of MAC games.

Virginia Tech at Miami (FL)                                   3:30pm              ESPN

But before we get to all that MAC first we have to deal with this MAC-level disaster. Miami has pretty much sucked so far this year but maybe they fixed everything in the week off. More likely, Justin Fuente will get off the hotseat for a week after winning on the road against a Miami team dressed up as pumpkins.

Western Michigan at Toledo                                 3:30pm             ESPN+

O/u 74, 1.5-point line. These teams are interchangeable. Not just Toledo and Western Michigan - the entire MAC is a jumble of teams that are exactly the same and Buffalo. Buffalo sucks way differently than the rest of the MAC.

Ohio at Buffalo                                                        3:30pm           ESPN+

Buffalo sucks differently than the rest of the MAC but they still suck.

Marshall at Middle Tennessee                                3:30pm        Facebook

I want to love this game but it looks fucking horrible.

Arkansas State at Georgia State                            3:30pm         ESPN+

ESPN+ is definitely a government conspiracy. Real deep state channels over here. The other Arkansas is favored on the road in a matchup of two middling offenses and two of the worst defenses in the country. I’m tempted to say hit that over of 69.5 with the Red Wolves winning. I don’t know about that line, though.

11 Texas at West Virginia                                         3:30pm           ABC

I am not enjoying Heisman hype for Texas’ QB but I don’t think WFV is the team to bring him back down to earth.

Illinois at Minnesota                                                  3:30pm          BTN

Minnesota may be the worst 4-0 team in the country but if they are you can put money on them being the worst 5-0 team in the country, too. I think Tanner Morgan is pretty good as far as B1G passers go and the “worst...” unbeaten team thing could very easily extend to the worst 8-0 team in the country.

Bowling Green at 9 Notre Dame                              3:30pm          NBC

I very strongly disliked Notre Dame for a long time before they bought their coach’s way out of a murder trial but the line for this game is laugh out loud shit and I’m fully on board with it. Domers by 46 with an o/u of 63 is a thing of beauty even if it glorifies pure evil.

Baylor at Kansas State                                             3:30pm        ESPN2

Kansas State’s mimicry of a good team might be breaking down after getting run over by Chuba Hubbard & Co. last week but a win by Baylor could get the Bears into the top 25. I need the ghost of Taco Bill (yes, I’m aware) to rouse the Wildcats for a stomping of Baylor.

Ball State at NIU                                                        3:30pm         ESPN3

Do whatever you want with this.

7 Auburn at 10 Florida                                              3:30pm          CBS

Fantastic uniform matchup featuring some almost great Florida throwbacks to Steve Spurrier’s Heisman season. I wish the stripes on the shoulders went all the way around. Otherwise they’re perfect.

Air Force at Navy                                                      3:30pm           CBSSN

I haven’t gotten a handle on Air Force this year but this is not a good Navy team. Maybe the Paul Johnson offense has finally run its course in Annapolis? Usually you can count on a senior QB to make the option hum for the Middies but they aren’t looking like anything special through three games in 2019. Here’s hoping they can find their rhythm as home dogs.

Memphis at ULM                                                       3:45pm            ESPNU

Kenny Gainwell came very close to making the RTARLsman list this week but he needs some bigger highlights to get back on there. ULM running back Josh Johnson’s production has gotten worse every week this year. Memphis is a pretty big road favorite and they should be bowl eligible by the time they dip back into conference games.

Troy at Missouri                                                        4:00pm             SECN

Kelly Bryant has been OK so far as Missouri’s QB. Which is fine, that’s what Kelly Bryant is: an OK QB. But if he can get more confidence in Derek Dooley’s system he could get a real shot at an NFL roster next year. Games like this one are the best way to build confidence.

North Carolina at Georgia Tech                               4:00pm            ACCN

UNC has looked well-coached but talent-deficient so far this year while Georgia Tech has looked untalented and undisciplined. Here in the ACC that means this game is a tossup.

Northwestern at Nebraska                                        4:00pm             FOX

I’d like to think Nebraska can never climb out of their 15 years-long rut but maybe Scott Frost is the real deal. If he is then this game should be a walkover for the Huskers. Look for a close game that hinges on some comically bad execution.

Arizona at Colorado                                                   4:30pm        Pac-12N

Khalil Tate and Laviska Shenault are still cool. That brings a tear to my eye.

WKU at Old Dominion                                               6:00pm         ESPN+

This is the kind of football we live for in these posts. All gambling, no sentimentality, weird uniforms, and a matchup that would look great in the March Madness First Four. But it’s part of the Disney plot to overthrow Ukraine.

3 Georgia at Tennessee                                             7:00pm         ESPN

By what right do I hate Tennessee? And yet, my desire to see them keep falling to deeper and deeper depths is boundless. I don’t particularly like Georgia but I want them to win by 60+. They can do it but are they cool enough to do it? I doubt it. Look at their coach’s haircut. He must use a woodchipper like a Flowbee to get that look. Maybe he found a barber in the countryside of 12th century France.

Rice at UAB                                                                 7:00pm        ESPN+

UAB is dead to me. Favored by only 10 at home against Rice? That’s disgusting.

UMass at FIU                                                               7:00pm         ESPN3

Butch Davis is having quite the struggle trying to put FIU together as a program. Things are in a very bad place for FL Int’l (pronounced “Flinn-tull”) even though the school is in a very nice place.

25 Michigan State at 4 Ohio State                             7:30pm           ABC

I know Mark D’Antonio has gotten some crazy results in his time as Michigan State’s head coach but this looks bleak. Brian Lewerke truly sucks and Chase Young is getting Myles Garrett comparisons. 20-points is a huge number for a game like this but I’ll be pretty surprised if the Buckeyes of An Ohio State University don’t beat the spread.

Tulsa at 24 SMU                                                         7:30pm          ESPNU

SMU with that little number next to it is a sight to behold. So last week I guessed that it had been since 1986 that the Mustangs were ranked and that was correct. How smart I must be. I’m really curious how they deal with that success. It seems silly but that ranking is a really big deal for the Ponyfuckers. Here’s hoping they sprint right past 13-points and pull away from Tulsa for a decisive win.

Vanderbilt at Mississippi                                           7:30pm           SECN

AJ Brown and DK Metcalf already look like stars in the NFL. Remember the offense they were in last year that struggled getting them the ball and had them run a combined four total routes? Haha. Fuck both of these teams, though. Nobody cares what happens here.

UTSA at UTEP                                                             8:00pm          ESPN+

El Paso versus San Antonio, aka “The Bigger Even Boringer El Paso.” Everything is bigger in Texas. Even Texas.

Liberty at New Mexico State                                      8:00pm        FloSports

Put some prop money on Antonio Gandy-Golden and ignore everything else in this game. Maybe even ignore Gandy-Golden.

Pitt at Duke                                                                   8:00pm         ACCN

Goddamn does this game suck. Go Panthers.

California at 13 Oregon                                               8:00pm         FOX

The Berkeley Bears don’t have much of an offense but their defense is good enough to keep things within 20 here. I’d put money on Justin Herbert throwing his first pick of the year, Cal to cover, and Oregon to win.

Oregon State at UCLA                                                9:00pm        Pac-12N

Chip Kelly’s revival as a football genius lasted exactly one half. Here the Bruins and Beavers matchup in the Rose Bowl to sully the reputation of that great stadium.

San Diego State at Colorado State                           10:00pm       ESPN2

MWC, baby! Fun stuff for me even if CSU is a trash heap. SDSU is no great shakes this year but at least the setting and the uniforms clash are cool.

16 Boise State at UNLV                                              10:30pm        CBSSN

Boise by 100. Book it.

15 Washington at Stanford                                        10:30pm         ESPN

Stanford was one of the biggest disappointments of the season’s first month. This is the perfect spot for David Shaw and his team of sleepmakers to bore Washington to death and, at least, keep it closer than 15. 

[junker-town]

17 old college football moments that really, really needed Twitter

College football’s sprawling randomness fits Twitter better than it does any other social media platform.

In the right moments, with the right people, Twitter for sports can be legitimately great.

For instance, without Twitter, I would never know that Lane Kiffin uses terrible bitmoji or that De’Anthony Thomas once saw a deer. I would have missed the joyous amplification of the Kick Six. I would not know that for every conversation — about college football, kitchen appliances, or life in general — there is an Ohio State fan wanting to know why we’re talking about Instant Pot recipes and not the Buckeyes.

Most importantly, I would have never had the opportunity to watch a Hawaii game whose only broadcast off the island is a fan Periscoping it from the stands.

Twitter has problems. Still: Nothing carries a live moment like it. This is especially true for college football, a sport in which 30 games can happen at once. No one can watch all of them, butTwitter creates the illusion of a national heat map. I wasn’t watching Iowa State-Oklahoma, but switched over in time. I can’t track down every astonishing Tennessee crowd shot, but on Twitter, I can count on someone screencapping for me, so that I might appreciate strangers suffering sports pain.

The little moments become big, the big moments become phenomenal, and a sport reliant on celebrating randomness feeds off Twitter like a fat bear off an open dumpster.

Proposed: Twitter should have been around forever for college football. These moments are why.

Woody Hayes punching Charlie Bauman. Ohio State coach Hayes ended his career at the 1978 Gator Bowl by punching a Clemson linebacker in the face, chest, or maybe the neck. It’s hard to tell, really, which is one reason I want Twitter around, because the replays would be endless, someone would photoshop Thanos’ head onto Hayes in a matter of seconds, and the jokes would stretch well into the next week.

Alex Kirshner

One other reason Twitter would have helped: The announcer, Keith Jackson, was working without easily accessible replay and missed the punch altogether.

Auburn’s old basketball arena burning down during the 1996 LSU game. Giant fireball during a live broadcast of a brutal SEC rivalry: a no-brainer pick for retro-Twittering.

Any Barry Sanders game. Appointment second-screen viewing. Consider how fast Saquon Barkley’s best moments got the goat emoji. Then remember Barry averaging well over 200 yards a game against college tacklers in 1988, many of whom ended up going pro in anything but Tackling Barry Sanders.

Bonus Twitter juice: His quarterback was a heavily mulleted and much younger Mike Gundy.

The year 2007. All of it, just every square inch of it. Twitter was technically around in 2007, but was a fawn on wobbly little legs, audience-wise. If anyone doubts how necessary it would have been at full strength, remember: App State beat Michigan, and almost no one was on Twitter to roast the Wolverines. (Which is good: They would have died from the scorching burns.)

The hiring, firing, and revenge of Mike Price. Woo boy, this is a lot to sum up fast, but we’ll try. Imagine the live, online reaction to:

Alabama hiring a pass-first Washington State coach

Sports Illustrated writing an expose about that coach having sex with exotic dancers after a night of carousing in Pensacola

That expose containing details like the dancers yelling, “Roll Tide!” and the coach replying with, “It’s rolling, baby!”

The coach getting fired before ever coaching a game

That coach filing a hefty defamation suit against SI, winning, and rolling a barrel of cash into the desert like Walter White to finish at UTEP

That all happened without Twitter. Tragedy is real.

Alex Kirshner

The Deion Sanders ‘88 experience. Deion’s legendary NFL Combine and draft day outfit would have been enough to merit Twitter, but there’s also the time he told Clemson coach Danny Ford, “The punt’s coming back,” before returning that punt for a touchdown and that time he laughed while getting out of the way before ankle-tackling a receiver.

Deion also would have had ALL the time to talk shit on Twitter and post shirtless pics of himself on Instagram. In his final semester, Deion brilliantly dropped all of his classes, going pro with a whole college season to go. He would’ve never needed to log off.

"Hey! I'm @DeionSanders..." #PrimeDay pic.twitter.com/nNnzteMJXD

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) July 11, 2017

The 2004 South Carolina-Clemson brawl. Come for the mayhem; stay for the reaction to the color guy, Doc Walker, suggesting they turn police dogs loose!

Prime ‘90s Nebraska. I got to watch the 62-24 vivisection of Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl live. It was like being on Twitter, but I could hear joints dislocated, so Twitter definitely would have been an improvement.

Please imagine Twitter randos trying to hate on the 1995 Huskers, talking shit about the option being a high school offense, and then seeing Tommie Frazier break 38 tackles on the way to the end zone.

Cal-Stanford ‘82, a.k.a. The Play. Not only would we have had the debates about whether a Cal player’s knees were down at any point, we would’ve had people using their phones to produce and circulate Zapruder-style, MS Paint maps of the band running onto the field.

The winning TD was scored by a ballcarrier who elbowdropped a trombone player! This alone would enrage SPORTSMANSHIP TWITTER for three days straight, even if the trombone player posted a discombobulated selfie in the end zone with a “LOL ALL GOOD” caption.

Texas A&M-SMU 1981. Not for the game, but for this.

Worth it for open sword carry advocates leaping to the cadet’s cause alone.

The Fifth Down. Officials make mistakes, like the 1990 incident when Colorado QB Charles Johnson lost count of the downs and spiked the ball on fourth-and-goal. He was evidently contagious. The officiating crew granted the Buffs another down, giving them five shots to score a game-winning TD in a 33-31 win over Missouri. They did this, won the game, and no controversy followed whatsoever.*

Alex Kirshner

*Colorado split the national title with Georgia Tech! Controversy followed! None of this can ever be fixed, ever! Twitter woulD havE been completely rAasonable in THis situaTion, H we’RE AbsoluTely Sure.

Wally Butts and Bear Bryant vs. The Saturday Evening Post. A live, rolling reaction to two SEC football coaches — Georgia’s Wally Butts and Alabama’s Bear Bryant — getting accused of fixing games? A lawsuit that helped doom one of America’s highest-profile magazines? It goes on the menu, and I am giving it the the hashtag #BearButtsSmear because I am a very tasteful person.

Arkansas-Kentucky 2003. Seven overtimes and 300-pound Jared Lorenzen playing QB, the football equivalent of:

JOE BUCK: Welcome to the top of the 47th [Sun rises] [Sun keeps getting bigger] BUCK: yes [World engulfed by flames] BUCK: oh god yes

— Justin Klugh (@justin_klugh) October 28, 2015

The 2000 Independence Bowl. The weather was fine in Shreveport. By the third quarter, a freak snowstorm had set in. The game went to OT, and Mississippi State somehow beat Texas A&M despite wearing all-white uniforms in a driving mini-blizzard.

Watching Notre Dame lose to NC State in a hurricane in 2016 was outrageously entertaining on Twitter. Watching the 2000 Snow Bowl would have been as close to The Entertainment from Infinite Jest as science will ever get.

1999 Mike Vick. Mind-boggling GIFs and hyperbole, but also the NFL Draft debate and constant complaints about putting the premier weapon of his time in the two-stroke engine of a punt-first Frank Beamer offense. Nothing happened to Vick after college. Nothing!

1991 Cotton Bowl. Miami finished this 46-3 blowout of the Longhorns with over 200 yards of penalties on 16 infractions, and the margin didn’t really matter. A vicious ass-kicking and the peak of the Canes’ dancing dynasty needed Twitter so badly already — for the gigantic, over-the-top penalties, the #beatemdown enthusiasm, and for wide receiver Randal Hill running halfway down the endzone tunnel after a TD and firing finger-guns at Texas with the announcer pleading, “Come back, Randall!”

Then I remember that, for some unholy reason, Mike Francesa did the color commentary on the game. Did he hate Miami’s dancing, like a talk radio guy would? OH, YOU BET HE DID.

Randy Moss. Randy got to play against MAC defensive backs. Translated to Twitter:

Alex Kirshner

[placetobenation]

So college football fans, one week into the OFFICIAL College Playoff Rankings part of the season, and we already have shakeup. Two of the top four from last week lost, and guess what? Clemson won…AGAIN. What does that mean? Let Scott & Logan guide you through it with this week’s fresh takes!

LOGAN:

Minnesota Grabs Huge Big Ten Victory: Any other week this game between Minnesota and Penn State would have been the game of the week, but we’ll get to that later. Nonetheless, this game was an incredible game to watch all the way up until the end. While Minnesota had the lead most of the game, Penn State hung around and made it interesting. Penn State had the ball down 5 with less than 2 minutes driving down the field to possibly take the lead and win the game. QB Sean Clifford dropped back on 3rd down from the 25 yard line and threw a pass to the end zone only for it to be intercepted to seal the game and the upset for the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. The Gophers remain undefeated and the road doesn’t get much easier from here, as they travel to Iowa this week and then finish the season hosting Wisconsin. For Penn State this is a bump in the road, but if they can score a win in a couple of weeks against Ohio State they’ll find themselves right back in the playoff race.  

Baylor Escapes Yet Again Ahead of Huge Clash: Baylor has been one of the more impressive stories of the year, jumping out to a 9-0 start. Their latest victory in this streak came against the TCU Horned Frogs this past Saturday. This game was about as boring a game in regulation as you could get, with the scoring being 9-9 heading to overtime. This is where things got crazy and interesting. The three overtime periods were filled with crazy catches, 4th down conversions, and a game winning interception for the Bears to help them escape with the victory for the second week in a row. This sets up a Top 15 clash in Waco with the Oklahoma Sooners next week.  

LSU Wins the Game of the Year: Like I mentioned above, most week’s the clash between Minnesota and Penn State would’ve been game of the week. Well when LSU and Alabama get together it usually will trump anything else. This game definitely lived up to the hype it had coming into the week. Both teams star QBs, Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow, showed up and showed out. In the end it was Burrow who played just a little bit better and was able to help his team come away with the win and with that become the number 1 team in the country. LSU just have to handle business against lower tier SEC West competition before playing Georgia in the SEC Championship. For Alabama, though it was their first loss, they will need to win out and likely need a little bit of help from the teams ahead of them in the polls to vault back into a playoff spot.   

Arkansas Fires Chad Morris: Arkansas was never supposed to be anything special this year and expectations were low. Chad Morris was entering his second year as the head man for the Razorbacks, hoping that while they may not be in the top tier of the SEC maybe they could at least hang with some of the better teams in the conference and defeat the weaker ones. Needless to say that hope hasn’t come to fruition. This week’s blowout loss at home to Western Kentucky was the final straw for Morris. He finishes his short career in Fayetteville having never won an SEC game (going 0-14) and going 4-18 overall. The Razorbacks really need to knock this next hire out of the park if they hope to not remain the laughing stock of the SEC.  

Oklahoma Gets Late Stop to Avoid Upset: Coming off their first loss of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners need to come out and score early and often in their game against Iowa State this past weekend to avoid any chance at an upset. They were able to build a 35-14 halftime lead, so they were well on their way to making this week a cakewalk ahead of their huge clash with Baylor next week. The Cyclone weren’t going to go down that easy, as they completely dominated the second half and pulled within one point of the lead. The Cyclones were then faced with a choice of kicking the extra point and sending to overtime or go for two and the win. They chose to risk it and go for two only to come up just short of handing the Sooners their second loss in a row. In this situation I am not a huge advocate of going for two, as they had been thoroughly dominating them the whole second half so why not just continue to outplay them in the overtime period. To each his own though. With this victory Oklahoma keeps their slim playoff chances alive and have a chance to get a big victory next week against 13th ranked and undefeated Baylor, in what will likely be the first of two matchups between the teams. 

SCOTT:

Clemson FINALLY gets a little…respect: So as expected, Clemson pummeled North Carolina State 55-10, and with the Alabama and Penn State losses the Tigers are in the Top 4. Clemson wins the division title with the win so an ACC Title slot is filled. Trevor Lawrence had a nice game (20-27, 276 Yards, 3 TD) and Travis Etienne had 114 yards and 2 TD. Not much more to say, Dabo got what he wanted: He’s in, and Nick Saban isn’t.

ND gets back on the horse: So after an ugly loss in Ann Arbor and a ho-hum win at home against Virginia Tech, Notre Dame looked like the old ND with a 38-7 win at Duke. Ian Book still wasn’t himself (181 yards, 4 TD, but 2 INT) but he did rush for 139 yards. The ND defense, which got lit up against Michigan and at times looked confused last week against the Hokies dominated the Blue Devils, holding them to under 200 yards of total offense. ND may be pining for the Big Ten’s slot in the Rose Bowl if Ohio State holds their slot. The Irish host #23 Navy this Saturday, and they just have to keep winning. 10-2 will get them a NYD game. 

Buckeyes defend the top slot, but loses it anyway: Ohio State was the first #1 team in the Playoff Rankings poll, but as the committee does they sometimes shuffle the cards. After a 73-14 win over Maryland, Ohio State was bumped from #1 to #2. I mean you can’t fault the committee after LSU beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Chase Young has to sit out because of some bullshit NCAA infraction but for the next few weeks it won’t matter. They’ll probably drop 70 again this week against Rutgers. But they’re likely locked in at #2 unless LSU loses. 

Oregon on the outside looking in: Oregon is probably the best 1-loss team in the country. They had a bye this week but might be sitting pretty in terms of waiting for the carnage in the Top 4 to continue. This week they’re home to Arizona, a 4-5 team with defensive struggles. 

Academies Update: We talked about Navy facing ND this week, and Army ended their losing streak with a 63-7 win over Massachusetts. They have VMI at home this week, Air Force’s game with New Mexico was postponed for weather reasons, this week they have Colorado State in Fort Collins. 

So after the wins & bloodshed this past weekend, here’s the up to date Playoff Rankings:

The Playoff Four:

1. LSU (9-0)

2. Ohio State (9-0)

3. Clemson (10-0)

4. Georgia (8-1)

The Outside Looking In:

5. Alabama (8-1)

6. Oregon (8-1)

7. Utah (8-1)

8. Minnesota (9-0)

So here’s the important games for Week 12 as all four playoff teams are on the road, all games Saturday, EST:

2:30pm: #23 Navy at #16 Notre Dame

3:30pm: #2 Ohio State at Rutgers

3:30pm: #3 Clemson at Wake Forest

3:30pm: #4 Georgia at #12 Auburn

4pm: #8 Minnesota at #20 Iowa

7pm: #1 LSU at Mississippi

7:30pm: #10 Oklahoma at #13 Baylor

[flauntpage]

Ten Reasons Why College Football is Better Than the NFL

Can you smell it? It’s the aroma of tailgate food wafting into my nostrils, overpowering the funky odor that generally hangs over the River Wards.

Autumn is just around the corner, and that means you can strap me down and inject college football directly into my veins. I want to overdose on it. I want to wake up in a daze, turn to my television, and slowly focus in on the score in the upper left corner:

West Virginia 55, Virginia Tech 0.

Give it to me. Give me Manny Diaz going 0-12 and getting himself fired. Give me Penn State vs. Pittsburgh and Temple vs. Maryland and Villanova vs. Delaware. I want it all, and I want it now, as Freddie Mercury used to say.

Here are 10 reasons why college football is better than the NFL. Don’t even think about disagreeing with me.

1. There’s more pageantry

The band is playing, the student section is rocking, the cheers and chants are choreographed and generally on point.

NFL stadiums don’t really feature any of this, and the most organization we can do at Eagles games is “Fly Eagles Fly,” after a touchdown. The Linc might be loud, sure, but it’s mostly just a bunch of reactionary noise based on what’s happening on the field. It’s a completely different atmosphere in and around college stadiums, an organic celebration of campus pride and sport.

2. The rivalries are more interesting

What’s the best rivalry in the NFL? Cowboys vs. Eagles? Packers vs. Bears?

Those games don’t hold a candle to Auburn/Alabama, Ohio State/Michigan, Oklahoma/Texas, or Army/Navy. We’re talking about competition for recruits, geographic proximity, year-long bragging rights, etc. Dallas is 1,500 miles from Philly, and even though I hate those cucarachas with the passion of 1,000 burning suns, I just don’t feel like that rivalry is as inherently biological as a good college football rivalry.

3. Different offenses, different defenses, different styles

The NFL is pretty straightforward. Teams are gonna work from a 4-3 or 3-4 defensive base, then end up sitting in nickel for about 70% of the game. They’ll throw the ball something like 60% of the time on offense.

In college, it was interesting to watch Paul Johnson’s triple-option, or Hal Mumme’s Air Raid, then observe the spread and influence of those styles over the years. Same goes for the 3-3-5 stack defense and various alternative sets with bandit and spur safeties and whatnot. College is the staging ground for a lot of new and unique ideas that then become absorbed by NFL teams. The read option, Wildcat, RPO – all of that stuff started in college.

4. September games actually matter

The Eagles can drop a game or two along the way and still finish 12-4 or 13-3 with a first round bye.

This weekend, the loser of Florida and Miami might be out of the playoff picture right away. It would be a shame if Manny Diaz got smoked by the Gators. You would just hate to see that.

But yeah, the stakes are incredible high right off the bat, which pulls you in immediately. NFL season to me requires a few weeks to really get going, and there’s more room for error right from the jump.

5. Games are played on Saturdays

The best part of about college football Saturdays is that I can stay up until 1 a.m. watching Washington State vs. Arizona and not have to worry about going to work the next day. By the time the Seahawks and Rams hit the 3rd quarter on a Sunday night, I’m already half-asleep.

6. Fewer posers

Most fans of college teams at least went to the school or actually grew up in the region where their team plays.

You’ll find more bandwagon Cowboy and Giant fans than, for example, Ohio State or Southern Cal fans. The one exception here is Notre Dame, where legions of people who have never stepped foot in Indiana will claim Irish fandom because they themselves are Irish Catholic or because ND was “on TV all the time,” as if that’s a legitimate reason to support a team. Alabama is on TV a lot, too, but you don’t see people in Philadelphia wearing Crimson Tide jerseys.

7. Just more of everything

More teams, more storylines, more games to watch. I can flip through a bazillion channels on Saturday and pick out a good game, when on Sunday I’m typically sitting on Red Zone because I don’t really care about the 1 p.m. game between the Cardinals and Niners or the Bills and the Dolphins. Similarly, I’m not getting beat over the head five days in a row with the Antonio Brown helmet story because the college landscape is bigger and there’s just more to talk about in general.

8. Non-conference crossover and intrigue

Every year the Eagles play their divisional opponents twice, then a rotating collection of NFC and AFC teams. You occasionally get the intriguing road game (at Bills, at Chargers, for example), but there’s less variation than at the college level.

For instance, Temple gets Georgia Tech and Maryland at home this year, two Power Five conference schools at the Linc. That’s in addition to their AAC slate, which includes #17 UCF. Then, in the future, the Owls will face these non-conference opponents:

Oklahoma? Miami revenge game? Rutgers? These are intriguing matchups made possible by the variance in conference setup.

9. Traditions

Oklahoma vs. Texas is played every year in Dallas. Florida/Georgia is played in Jacksonville. South Carolina and Clemson play their game at the very end of the year.

I don’t know how practical some of these traditions are in terms of competition, i.e. maybe Texas wouldn’t mind going home and home with OU at some point, but these little quirks and practices don’t exist at the NFL level and are unique to the college game.

10. Huge upsets

Appalachian State vs. Michigan doesn’t happen in the NFL. Neither does James Madison knocking off VPI in Blacksburg, or Troy beating LSU in Baton Rouge.

Some of the early non-conference games make for incredibly compelling TV, even for people with no rooting interest whatsoever. Sure, NFL parity is fantastic, but these moments are really something to behold when they happen.

Anyway, that’s about it. I could go on and on with the list but the bottom line is this:

Now and forever, college football > the NFL.

Time’s yours.

The post Ten Reasons Why College Football is Better Than the NFL appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Ten Reasons Why College Football is Better Than the NFL published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[auburnfamilynews]

Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes – Ludwig van Beethoven

As the great Doc Severensin once asserted to Johnny Carson in an on-show dialogue, there are high notes and higher notes, but there is always an inherent risk in hitting them.

Auburn’s final game did end the season on an exceptionally high note, one of the most remarkable in our long history, but other teams in the conference had variable outcomes that on the whole were almost as surprising as the Tiger’s steamrolling of the Boilermakers.

On one hand, the Southeastern Conference’s East Division had two significant wins in the bowl season, another remarkable blowout and a hard fought thriller. A resurgent Florida team demolished a top ten Michigan team in the second half of the Peach Bowl. The Wolverine’s only previous losses were a narrow one-score loss to Notre Dame and Big10 champion Ohio State. In the Citrus Bowl, Kentucky completed a Cinderella 10-win season with an exciting finish against a scrappy Penn State team while allowing Benny Snell Jr. to set the school record for rushing yards.

On the other hand, the other three SEC East teams lost in spectacular fashion, leaving their fans shaking their heads in disbelief.

For three quarters of the Sugar Bowl, the second best team in the SEC looked downright bad. The Dawgs couldn’t score, lost two interceptions and that league-leading rushing attack gained just 72 yards in three quarters. What did Kirby Smart do then? He abandoned the run. Georgia attempted just one rushing play in their last four possessions – a five yard scramble by Jake Fromm to the Georgia 19. Then every play was a pass, and the Texas Longhorns knew it.

Two other East teams lost shootouts with Big 12 teams – Vanderbilt to Baylor in the Texas Bowl and Missouri to Oklahoma State in the Liberty Bowl. But the real surprise was the egg laid by the so-called Gamecocks in the Belk Bowl against an inspired Virginia team. The normally prolific Jake Bently, who torched Clemson’s defense for over 500 yards of offense in late November, could barely manage 200 at the end of December against a much less capable defense.

Things were better in the West as every team but Mississippi State won their respective bowl game. LSU and Alabama handled both Central Florida and Oklahoma adequately, winning both games by two scores. Texas A&M finished strong by blowing out NC State in the Fiesta Bowl. Even Mississippi State’s game was almost understandable as penalties and a late Red Zone interception allowed a scrappy Iowa team to gain and hold the lead, despite being held to -15 yards rushing and barely 200 yards of total offense by the conference’s best defense.

But where does this leave the conference? Does a 6-3 bowl record re-establish the SEC’s dominance again after two previous troubling sub-.500 bowl seasons? What do these three losses say about the SEC East who dominated all but one SEC West team in the regular season?

Gearing up for next year. This ought to be fun.

Note – teams in red lost their bowl games. Teams in italics weren’t selected for bowl games.

SEC West Offense

In retrospect, there were several surprise endings to the season in the SEC East. Just about everyone was blown away by Alabama’s rise on offense – better than 10 points per game and almost two yards per play over last year. But also remarkable was Auburn’s claw back to average and Texas A&M return to offensive prowess as the season progressed. After dismal mid-seasons, both teams showed marked improvement in the bowl season and are poised to enter 2019 with a degree of hope that seemed very distant in mid-October.

Among the other West teams, Arkansas has the longest road to recovery after plummeting to the basement in nearly every offensive statistic throughout the year. When your opening day starting quarterback (Cole Kelley) ends the year as a scout team tight end, you know you’ve got troubles with a capital ‘T’.

SEC West Defense

Defensively, Mississippi State was the clear leader of the Southeastern Conference. This was the success story of the year in terms of coordinator statistics. Bob Shoop took a middle of the road defensive unit and whipped it into a dream team in just eleven months, improving in nearly every measurable data point.

Except two. The same two that sank them in the Outback Bowl – penalties and turnovers. Over 70% of both lost turnovers and 60% of their penalty yardage this season were in the Dawg’s four conference losses.

For the rest of the division’s bowl teams, defense was the most common attribute across the board. In fact, its absence marks the teams who didn’t go bowling this year.

SEC East Offense

See anything strange about the SEC East offensive statistics? That remarkable offensive prowess that dominated the SEC West defenses didn’t seem to result in bowl victories this year. At least not against the Big 12 or ACC teams.

Even Kentucky’s remarkable dream season is somewhat subdued when you consider that Benny Snell might take his talent to the NFL and losing two key wide receivers might be enough of a blow for the ‘Cats to fade from the limelight in 2019.

But the real story is Florida’s return to power this year. Probably the most successful turnaround in the conference for a first year coach.

SEC East Defense

Political Violence and Terrorism in Modern America: A Chronology (Praeger Security International) Defensively, Georgia took two big hits in the SEC Championship and the Sugar Bowl. Florida and Kentucky continued their success, establishing a three-way contest on defense.

But the rest of the division is mired in mediocrity and failure on the defensive side of the ball. Everyone can run and pass on them and score with abandon once in the Red Zone. Only Missouri’s offense kept them afloat throughout the season.

State of the Conference

We reach the end of the season and what is most remarkable to me is the way in which the best teams of the season fared in the post season. Two of the top three and three of the top five lost decisively in December and January. Even more stunning – the most consistent and balanced offense and the best conference defense lost quite convincingly.

Even the undefeated, number 1 ranked and favored team in the College Football Playoff final is showing remarkable shortcomings on defense in December that just may prove significant in their final game this year. Most especially if that dynamic offense stumbles in any way like the conference championship game or the second half of the Orange Bowl.

The rest of the conference? Perhaps it’s time to look at what occurred on both sides of the ball and show the path for each team between January 2018 and January 2019.

The Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand!

In this graphic, I’ve tried to show the improvement on both offense, defense and the total change for every team in the Southeastern Conference. I also added the change in wins totals for the year from last year. The results show the improvements and shortcomings for each team in the 2018 season.

First of all, the best head coaching performances are clearly Dan Mullen at Florida, Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M, and my favorite for the Bear Bryant award this year – Bob Stoops at Kentucky. In each case, their teams improved remarkably on both sides of the ball and in the win column. But even though Florida’s six win difference from 2018 to 2019 is the best of the league, it was with a deeper bench and recruiting classes over what Kentucky was able to field, and that early September win by the Wildcats in the Swamp proved to be no fluke whatsoever.

Jeremy Pruitt’s efforts at Tennessee deserve honorable mention, with victories over Auburn and Kentucky, but simply putting out a dumpster fire would have almost the same effect. What happens next year will be the true test of his ability.

Secondly, the offensive slide for Auburn and Arkansas was well documented throughout the season. These two teams showed the worst number drops between 2017 and 2018. But the real surprise for me were the slides in both win totals (Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina and Arkansas) and most especially the slides on defensive efficiency for three specific teams – Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

Keep in mind, these teams are coached by arguably the best defensive minds in the SEC – Nick Saban, Kirby Smart and Wil Muschamp. The fact that each of these teams are showing significant shortcomings and differences between their 2017 squads and the teams they coach today is the surprise statistic that I see at the end of the season.

Articles abound on the prowess of Alabama offense this year, but that has overshadowed a significant drop that may play havoc for the Tide in this weekend’s game. Clemson has its own issues statistically, but not as significant as this dip in the numbers that I see from the Alabama defense.

Will it prove decisive? I’m not quite sure. But it will be interesting to watch as the game unfolds.

And if I were a betting man, I’d be sorely tempted to put some money on Cousin Clem’s Tigers and the spread in that final game.

Big Al might need a little TLC, if they do come up short.

Greatest Bama offense and quarterback – no Heisman trophy, no national title.

The post Tiger-Eye Review – Final Note Edition appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.

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[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 2

Now do you want to read about college football or do you want to listen to your wildest fantasy of Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories in a podcast format? If you answered “college football” then click to read more! If you want to listen to an incredible podcast that will feed your absolute worst inclinations towards nihilistic disillusionment then click right here! True Anon is really all I’ve ever wanted in a left-leaning shitfest. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Now for the football. Hell, the CIA is behind this shit, too. The highlight of the week for me is the line on the Bammers game. No way Saban holds up his end of that bargain. Why the fucking hell is there even a line on that shit?

If you’ve read this nonsense before you know the drill. If not, the times are eastern, the schedule is ripped from FBSchedules and the gambling informatics are per Vegas Insider dot com. Degenerate football can alternately mean football that you only pay attention to for purposes of gambling or the low-level, barely FBS, preferably late night types of games that play for stadium crowds in the hundreds and TV audiences in the dozens. It doesn’t have to be college ball, the UFL is my true ideal of football degeneracy. If you gambled on that you are my target audience. Onward and downward we go.

Saturday, September 7

Matchup                                                                   Time (ET)        TV/Mobile

Ohio at Pitt                                                                11:00am            ACCN

Wow. What a special game. It’s got a one hour headstart and for what? Goddamn is this trash. Why is ACCN not just an extra ESPN channel? SECN and Longhorn Network are just parts of the ESPN app but ACCNe is just off by itself inaccessible to 90% of the country.

Southern at Memphis                                              12:00pm  WMC-TV / ESPN3

There’s no line on this game so just check on it to see what’s going on with Memphis. They beat their secret rival The Racist South last week but scoring less than 20 is weird for them.

Rutgers at 20 Iowa                                                    12:00pm              FS1

This being a conference game is funny. Maryland and Rutgers being in the B1G is funny. And stupid. Mostly stupid. But that’s why it’s funny. Take Iowa even at -19 because it’s Rutgers.

West Virginia at Missouri                                          12:00pm           ESPN2

Speaking of dumb conference stuff, both of these teams belong in the Big 12. That’s the true spirit of college football and it’s completely akilter. Is Mizzourah the good offense out of these two now? Everything is wrong. I wouldn’t touch a 14-point line in either direction here but over 62.5 seems worthwhile.

Vanderbilt at Purdue                                                   12:00pm            BTN

These are the same team but one has Rondale Moore. Otherwise there is no difference.

UAB at Akron                                                               12:00pm          CBSSN

I don’t like the beloved CBS Sports hosting a MAC team even if they are hosting UAB. Why did the o/u drop from 55 to 46 over the course of the week? That’s odd. I’d have to check with our dear president but I don’t think Ohio is in the path of any hurricanes.

21 Syracuse at Maryland                                             12:00pm          ESPN

From the bottom of my Georgetown-born, VA-burbs raised heart I hate everything about this game. I would love to see Syracuse lose even if it means Maryland winning. The odds have flipped crazily from opening Syracuse -5 to now having Maryland -1.5. Take the turtles.

Army at 7 Michigan                                                      12:00pm           FOX

I saw ESPN talking up Army last night so go all in on Michigan to beat the ever-living piss out of the troops. -22.5 is nothing.

Bowling Green at Kansas State                                 12:00pm            FSN

Good lord, no.

Charleston Sou. at South Carolina                            12:00pm          SECN

This is cancelled, right? If not pound the under.

Cincinnati at 5 Ohio State                                           12:00pm           ABC

Cincinnati sucks but count on Fickell to make an Ohio State University look bad one more time. Bearcats +16, book it.

Kennesaw State at Kent State                                     12:00pm        ESPN3

I think Kennesaw is the Welsh version of the British Kent. I could be wrong about that but who cares?

Old Dominion at Virginia Tech                                     12:00pm        ESPNU

VPISU should be better by now. I’m wrong a lot but it’s possible I was really wrong about Justin Fuente. Betting on ODU sounds like a bad idea but I fully endorse it.

Western Carolina at NC State                                       12:30pm          RSN

There is no reason to bet on a game like this. This is practice.

NIU at 13 Utah                                                                 1:00pm         Pac-12N

I could be wrong but off the top of my head I don’t think Utah usually covers in the first four weeks of the season. This is a guess you can use in your gambling.

Fordham at Ball State                                                     2:00pm         ESPN3

Blocks of Granite for the win. Book it.

USF at Georgia Tech                                                       2:00pm          ACCN

By my count Georgia Tech covered last week against Clemson. USF just hung out in a trash can for 60 minutes. Yet the Bulls are favored here. Charlie Strong was once a hot commodity that programs all over the country coveted. Hindsight is absolutely hilarious.

Tennessee Tech at Miami (Ohio)                                    2:30pm          ESPN+

There’s no line but I’m loading up the wagon for the Golden Eagles. This is the big auto mechanics school, right?

Southern Illinois at UMass                               3:30pm     FloSports / NESNplus

I, uh, guess, uh... Don’t watch this under any circumstances. Pack a cyanide pill if you must.

Southern Miss at Mississippi State                                3:30pm         ESPNU

This is an appealing bit of misery but there’s no chance I watch it. Miss State -16.5 seems crazy against anybody. I think.

12 Texas A&M at 1 Clemson                                             3:30pm          ABC

This is statistically expected to be Clemson’s toughest game and they’re still favored by 16.5. The money looks to be going towards aTm but I can’t shake the notion that Clemson is going to absolutely maul them from the get go.

Central Michigan at 17 Wisconsin                                    3:30pm         BTN

I don’t trust Nick Saban to do what’s right by gambling folk but Wisconsin is different. If they don’t humiliate undermanned opponents that means they are a bad team. -35 is the kind of line you see when the Badgers go for 80+.

Charlotte at Appalachian State                                          3:30pm       ESPN+

You’re on your own with this one.

Eastern Illinois at Indiana                                                   3:30pm        BTN

See: Charlotte at Appalachian State.

Grambling State at Louisiana Tech                                    3:30pm      NFLN

Is there a way to make a throwback game between Doug Williams and Terry Bradshaw take place here?

Illinois at UConn                                                                   3:30pm    CBSSN

Oh, come the fuck on.

25 Nebraska at Colorado                                                      3:30pm     FOX

The two Big 8 programs that benefited most from 5th downs are facing off on national TV representing the B1G and Pac-12. That’s horrible. Nebraska being a top 25 team but also being favored by only -4 against this version of Colorado is what is known as a paradox.

Richmond at Boston College                                             3:30pm  ACCNE xtra

No line. What cowardice.

Murray State at 3 Georgia                                                    4:00pm    ESPN2

Pound the under.

UTSA at Baylor                                                                     4:00pm       FSN

Go UTSA. We’re all rooting for you.

Western Illinois at Colorado State                                      4:00pm     ATTSN

Man, this is all trash. Not even the good kind.

New Mexico State at 2 Alabama                                          4:00pm      SECN

The predicted score by way of gambling is Bama 60, NMSU 5. Saban is pulling his starters in the second quarter, though, so put a buck or two on New Mexico State just for the hell of it.

San Diego State at UCLA                                                     4:15pm   Pac-12N

This is Pac-12 After Dark/CBS Sports fodder playing in the sunlight. Both teams might explode, literally.

Northern Colorado at 22 Washington State                       5:00pm  Pac-12WA

Pac-12 Washington? That’s a channel? Washington State lookd good in week 1 so hit the over (63) and see what happens.

ULM at Florida State                                                             5:00pm      ACCN

Oh, Willie. Poor, poor Willie. Why, Willie, why? Monroe +22 looks pretty good to me.

Gardner-Webb at East Carolina                                           6:00pm     ESPN3

Yeah, buddy, now we’re into it. If this game happens. I think it’s not happening. But if it does? Man, oh, man. You know what I mean.

Maine at Georgia Southern                                                  6:00pm     ESPN+

Why would you think Eagles could beat Black Bears? That’s crazy.

North Carolina A&T at Duke                                            6:00pm   ACCNE xtra

Let’s go A&T, beat the devil.

South Dakota at 4 Oklahoma                                               7:00pm   FS PPV

What lunatics are paying for this? You should feel ashamed.

Jackson State at South Alabama                                         7:00pm   ESPN+

Lots of bodybag games, even at the lower levels. I hate it.

Wyoming at Texas State                                                        7:00pm   ESPN+

Kind of beautiful but you’ll probably have to squint to see it.

WKU at FIU                                                                             7:00pm    ESPN+

Get your shit together, Butch. Now. Stop embarrassing me.

18 UCF at Florida Atlantic                                                     7:00pm   CBSSN

Oh, now this - THIS! is what CBS Sports is great for. What a shitty game that I love like a long lost child.

Tennessee State at Middle Tennessee                                7:00pm   ESPN3

Too Tall U vs. MTSU is cool in a way but it won’t be a fun thing to watch.

North Texas at SMU                                                               7:00pm   ESPN3

Spencer is visiting ms621 and my people are expecting a lot of scoring in this one with the lawyers coming out on top. /suggestive eyebrow raises

McNeese at Oklahoma State                                                 7:00pm   ESPN+

Chuba Hubbard should get about 8 touches so watch early if you’re watching at all.

 Furman at Georgia State                                                        7:00pm   ESPN3

Man, this is a long list of boring crap.

Eastern Kentucky at Louisville                                          7:00pm  ACCNE xtra

Other than the 24 fumbles I thought Louisville looked pretty good last week. Not enough to tune in for a minute of this but maybe they can fine tune some of the difficult football activities like “snapping the football” and “holding the football close to your body” or “handing the ball to the running back” against Eastern Kentucky and then when they pop up against Clemson later on it’ll be worth watching.

Coastal Carolina at Kansas                                                   7:00pm   ESPN+

Les Magic: Kansas is favored to start the year 2-0. Not by a lot, mind you.

BYU at Tennessee                                                                   7:00pm   ESPN

Nobody tell Bergie but I’m rooting for the Mormons here. Gotta go for what makes the most people feel the worst about sports.

Tulane at 10 Auburn                                                                7:30pm   ESPN2

Is Auburn rising in the polls enough to make me bet against them at home -17 vs. Tulane? It sure is. Auburn is just as chaotic as LSU but not as funny about it.

UT Martin at 11 Florida                                                          7:30pm  ESPNU

Fuck the Gators, man.

Western Michigan at 19 Michigan State                              7:30pm     BTN

Sparty, too.

Arkansas at Mississippi, Oxford                                         7:30pm   SECN

I am on a descent into hell here.

Buffalo at 15 Penn State                                                       7:30pm     FOX

If Notre Dame is next I’m hanging up on this post.

Eastern Michigan at Kentucky                                             7:30pm   SECN Alt.

Whew. Hill people that can only intermittently football. That is a huge relief right now.

Liberty at Louisiana                                                              7:30pm     ESPN+

Fuck the Falwells, and not in a good way.

6 LSU at 9 Texas                                                                    7:30pm      ABC

There is one ironclad rule in college football gambling: never bet on an LSU game. Those who fail to heed this rule will never see longterm winnings. Oddsmakers keep pushing the line towards LSU and I agree wholeheartedly that’s where the expectations should reside but would you be even sort of surprised to see LSU blow this entirely and lose? No, you would not. Neither would I.

Nevada at 16 Oregon                                                           7:30pm     Pac-12N

Oregon is favored by 24 and my very cursory impression of these two is that Nevada is a straight up better team than the Ducks. Granted, I’m really bad at this, but that +24 looks like easy money.

Stony Brook at Utah State                                                   7:30pm   Facebook

Not even a great QB talent is worth going on facebook.

Miami (FL) at North Carolina                                               8:00pm     ACCN

Pound the damn under. Also, ESPN talking heads are all on the UNC to upset train so put whatever money you have set aside for this contest on the Hurricanes. 

Prairie View A&M at Houston                                              8:00pm     ESPN3

That one good recruiting class is mostly a memory for Houston at this point but they’ll still be fun to watch once D’Eriq King and Dana Holgorsen get on the same page.

UTEP at Texas Tech                                                              8:00pm       FSN

Wasn’t Texas Tech supposed to run the ball more this year? One week in they’re leading the country in passing. Maybe they ran the ball more and it still wasn’t very much.

Tulsa at San Jose State                                                      9:00pm      ESPN3

This is the kind of game that should be played in a prison yard.

Arkansas State at UNLV                                                      10:00pm  Facebook

This is the kind of game that shouldn’t be played.

California at 14 Washington                                               10:30pm      FS1

I do believe I’m the span of this game away from getting fully on board with UDub rolling the Pac-12 again. The only team with similar talent, as far as I have seen, is USC. But there are a long list of other issues with USC.

Minnesota at Fresno State                                                  10:30pm  CBSSN

This is the kind of stupid game I love but I think I’ll be watching Pennywise the Dancing Clown at this point.

23 Stanford at USC                                                               10:30pm    ESPN

USC should just fire Clay Helton now, win or lose.

Northern Arizona at Arizona                                                10:45pm   Pac-12N

It would be very Pac-12 of Arizona to lose this game.

Oregon State at Hawaii                                   11:59pm     Spectrum / Facebook

I guess facebook is there to scoop from the most bootlegged team in college football’s illegal audience but I still hate it. Hawaii playing at home two weeks in a row means pound the over even at 77.5. It’s not like Oregon State plays defense, either.

[affairsintop]

Walk-off: Alabama beats Georgia in OT for national title | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio

New Post has been published on http://www.anblogger.com/walk-off-alabama-beats-georgia-in-ot-for-national-title-wbns-10tv-columbus-ohio/

Walk-off: Alabama beats Georgia in OT for national title | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio

ATLANTA — To add another championship to the greatest dynasty college football has ever seen, Alabama turned to its quarterback of the future, and Tua Tagovailoa proved that his time is now.

The freshman quarterback, who had played mostly mop-up duty this season, came off the bench to spark a comeback and threw a 41-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith that gave No. 4 Alabama a 26-23 overtime victory against No. 3 Georgia on Monday night for the College Football Playoff national championship.

Tagovailoa entered the game at halftime, replacing a struggling Jalen Hurts, and threw three touchdown passes to give the Crimson Tide its fifth national championship since 2009 under coach Nick Saban.

“He just stepped in and did his thing,” Hurts said. “He’s built for stuff like this. I’m so happy for him.” The Tide might have a quarterback controversy ahead, but first Alabama will celebrate another title.

For the third straight season, Alabama played a classic CFP final. The Tide split two with Clemson, losing last season on a touchdown with a second left.

What was Saban thinking as the winning pass soared this time?

“I could not believe it,” he said. “There’s lots of highs and lows. Last year we lost on the last play of the game and this year we won on the last play of the game. These kids really responded the right way. We said last year, ‘Don’t waste the feeling.’ They sure didn’t, the way they played tonight.”

Smith streaked into the end zone and moments later confetti rained and even Saban seemed almost giddy after watching maybe the most improbable victory of his unmatched career. A few hours later, Alabama was voted No. 1 in the final AP college football poll for the 11th time, three more than any other program.

After Alabama kicker Andy Pappanastos missed a 36-yard field goal that would have won it for the Tide (13-1) in the final seconds of regulation , Georgia (13-2) took the lead with a 51-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship in overtime.

Tagovailoa took a terrible sack on Alabama’s first play, losing 16 yards. On the next he found Smith, another freshman, and hit him in stride for the national championship.

Tagovailoa was brilliant at times, though he had a few freshman moments. He threw an interception when he tried to pass on a running play and all his receivers were blocking. He also darted away from pass rushers and made some impeccable throws, showing poise of a veteran. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 7, down seven, the left-hander moved to his left and zipped a pass through traffic that hit Calvin Ridley in the numbers for the tying score with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter.

He finished 14 for 24 for 166 yards. The winning play was, basically, four receivers going deep.

“After the sack, we just got up and took it to the next play,” Tagovailoa said. “I looked back out, and he was wide open. Smitty was wide open.” Freshmen were everywhere for the Alabama offense in the second half: Najee Harris at running back; Henry Ruggs III at receiver; Alex Leatherwood at left tackle after All-American Jonah Williams was hurt. It’s a testament to the relentless machine Saban has built.

But this game will be remembered most for his decision to change quarterbacks trailing 13-0.

“I just thought we had to throw the ball, and I felt he could do it better, and he did,” Saban said Tagovailoa. “He did a good job, made some plays in the passing game. Just a great win. I’m so happy for Alabama fans. Great for our players. Unbelievable.”

Saban now has six major poll national championships, including one at LSU, matching the record set by the man who led Alabama’s last dynasty, coach Paul Bear Bryant.

This was nothing like the others.

With President Trump in attendance, the all-Southeastern Conference matchup was all Georgia in the first half before Saban pulled Hurts and the five-star recruit from Hawaii entered. The president watched the second half from Air Force One.

“I don’t know how Coach Saban found me all the way in Hawaii from Alabama,” Tagovailoa said. “Thank God he found me and we’re here right now.”

The Tide trailed 20-7 in the third quarter after Georgia’s freshman quarterback, Jake Fromm, hit Mecole Hardman for an 80-yard touchdown pass that had the Georgia fans feeling good about ending a national title drought that dates back to 1980.

Fromm threw for 232 yards and for a while it looked as if he was going to be the freshman star of the game, the first to true freshman to lead his team to a national title season since Jamelle Holieway for Oklahoma in 1985.

“I mean, if you want to find out about Jake Fromm, go ask those guys on the other side of the ball, and they’ll tell you because that’s a really good defense he just went against,” Georgia coach Smart said.

A little less than a year after the Atlanta Falcons blew a 25-point lead and lost in overtime to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, there was more pain for many of the local fans. Two years ago, Georgia brought in Smart, Saban’s top lieutenant, to bring to his alma mater a dose of Alabama’s Process.

Smart, who spent 11 seasons with Saban — eight as defensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa — quickly built ‘Bama East. It was Georgia that won the SEC this season. Alabama had to slip into the playoff without even winning its division.

With the title game being played 70 miles from Georgia’s campus in Athens, Dawgs fans packed Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but it turned out to be sweet home for Alabama. Now Saban is 12-0 against his former assistants.

But not without angst.

Alabama drove into the red zone in the final minute and Saban started playing for a winning field goal to end the game. A nervous quiet gripped the crowd of 77,430 as ‘Bama burned the clock. With the ball spotted in the middle of the field, Pappanastos lined up for a kick to win the national championship. The snap and hold looked fine, but the kicked missed badly to the left.

For the second straight week, Georgia was going to overtime. The Bulldogs beat Oklahoma in a wild Rose Bowl in double overtime to get here, and after Jonathan Ledbetter and Davin Bellamy sacked Tagovailoa for a big loss on the first play, Alabama was in trouble — second-and-26.

Not for long. Tagovailoa looked off the safety and threw the biggest touchdown pass in the history of Alabama football.

[junker-town]

College Football Playoff ranking controversies, a 2014-2018 timeline

Every year, the drama at the beginning isn’t really the same as the drama at the end.

Although the Playoff has been around for just five seasons, the human committee has had its fair share of controversies, especially when taking a look at the first and last rankings of the season. Here’s a brief history.

2014 initial rankings

In the first-ever Playoff rankings, the committee surprised everyone when it put three SEC teams in the top four. Mississippi State was No. 1 , Auburn was third, and Ole Miss was fourth. Yes, two teams from the state of Mississippi!

Fans worried the committee had #SECBias, though the committee knew all these teams would play each other and sort themselves out.

2014 final rankings

In the last rankings, TCU went from No. 3 all the way down to No. 6, falling behind Baylor and Ohio State.

TCU fell behind Baylor because the Bears beat Kansas State the day before Selection Sunday, thus equalizing schedule strengths a bit. The Bears had also beaten TCU on the field.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes blowing out Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten Championship was far more impressive than Baylor and TCU having non-existent 13th games. It made sense, really:

The Big 12’s two Playoff hopefuls, Baylor and TCU, were both left out of the field by the selection committee, in part because they didn’t have the opportunity to play a conference championship game. The four Playoff entrants, Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, and Florida State, all won their respective conference title games.

2015 initial rankings

TCU and Baylor felt like they weren’t ever going to get love. Despite both being undefeated, they checked in a combined seven spots lower in the Playoff’s rankings than where they were in the AP. The committee didn’t care what the polls said, and it wasn’t gonna apologize for 2014.

2015 final rankings

The Big 12 finally got a team in with Oklahoma making it in at No. 4. No real problems there, except for one-loss Ohio State probably being a better Rose Bowl team than Iowa, which would get shellacked by Stanford.

2016 initial rankings

It was a bit surprising to see one-loss Texas A&M at No. 4 over undefeated Washington to start, but the one loss came against Alabama, and the Aggies had been leading the Tide at halftime. It felt a bit off:

That Texas A&M beat Auburn is a sign that the Aggies are a good team, but it feels like the Aggies are getting too much credit for beating teams like UCLA, Arkansas, and Tennessee that have shown signs of mediocrity despite preseason expectations. Meanwhile, Washington is getting punished for Stanford and Oregon not being very good.

And while the Huskies’ non-conference slate (Rutgers, Idaho, Portland State) was poor, I always struggle with the thought of punishing a set of players and coaches because of the scheduling actions of some associate athletic director years earlier.

This was a frustrating look at what the committee values. Yes, we want to reward teams for scheduling tougher non-conference slates. But we should still value rewarding great teams for being great more.

The Aggies lost three more games, so this quickly resolved itself.

2016 final rankings

There was certainly a lot of talk about the Buckeyes getting in without winning their conference, something that’d seemed like a requirement. OSU had lost to Penn State, but the Bucks still had a strong resume:

The Buckeyes had three wins over top-10 teams in the final Playoff rankings, a road win over No. 7 Oklahoma and wins over No. 6 Michigan and No. 8 Wisconsin (on the road). They also beat a Nebraska that won nine games by 59 points, a Tulsa that won 10 games by 45, and three other teams that went to bowl games.

On the flip side, Penn State won the conference — but had two losses. Essentially, the committee had to pick one supposed criteria to soften on and decided it just couldn’t have this two-loss team.

2017 initial rankings

UCF was 18th at first, right around the usual non-power perch. It wasn’t so much the initial rankings as it was the Knights continuing to win and barely rising, only getting to 12th despite all the numbers saying they should’ve been higher the entire time. The Knights would eventually beat Auburn and declare themselves champ.

The committee didn’t really address it much. Here’s all it said at any point about UCF:

“We talked a lot about their win over South Florida,” College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt said of UCF. “I think everybody in the room, if they didn’t catch it live, they watched it on the condensed version the CFP staff provides for us. It was an exciting game.

“A lot of comments about how impressed we continue to be with Central Florida on the offensive side of the ball. They are extremely talented at the skill positions. We spent considerable time talking about their defensive performance.

“The selection committee had questions to, ‘Are they as balanced of a team as some others ranked just above them?’ We analyzed their schedule. Have they really been tested on the defensive side of the ball this year and if so, by who?

“Based on that conversation, we ranked them on that 14th spot this week.”

2017 final rankings

We finally saw two teams from the same conference get bids, with the SEC’s Georgia and Alabama. This was controversial due to the fact that the Big Ten champ, Ohio State, was left out.

But the Buckeyes had two losses, including a horrible one to Iowa. This scenario was almost exactly like the Nittany Lions’ 2016 that’d benefited Ohio State:

The Nittany Lions beat Ohio State and knocked off Wisconsin in a memorable Big Ten Championship. But they didn’t make the Playoff, becoming the first Big Ten champ to miss the field. Not only that, but Ohio State — a team it beat and a team that didn’t even win it’s own division — earned a spot.

A major reason why Penn State didn’t get consideration? Two losses. Penn State had a close loss to Pitt and a blowout loss to Michigan.

2018 initial rankings

Conveniently, five days before they played each other, Alabama was No. 1, and LSU was No. 3. This irked Notre Dame fans, given that the Fighting Irish were undefeated and checked in behind the one-loss Tigers. The Irish had also beaten Michigan, the committee’s No. 5 team.

However, LSU had destroyed No. 6 Georgia and hadn’t had one-score wins over Ball State, Vandy, and Pitt, like Notre Dame had.

Stay tuned for what we’ll all be mad about to end 2018!

[placetobenation]

Hello football fans! A big weekend in football has passed and some big games with controversial finishes, and teams have slid. Teams also have risen up the ranks. The first CFP rankings come out soon, so now’s the time for teams to stake some claims. Let’s see what the guys have in store!

SCOTT:

-Ian Book puts ND on the radar: After not having beaten Stanford since 2014, freshman sensation Ian Book not only helped Notre Dame break the streak but has put the Irish on the radar for the playoff. Book threw four touchdown passes and the Irish defense continues its fine season by shutting down Bryce Love, holding him to 73 yards (mostly garbage yards late) in a 38-17 victory. ND is now 5-0. The bad news is that they’ve already played four games at home. This week they head to Blackburg to face a grizzled Virginia Tech team. Loss #1 may happen here. Stay tuned.

-Huskies make a statement: Washington continues to try and push that loss to Auburn in the rear view mirror with a convincing win Saturday over upset-minded BYU. Jake Browning threw just two incompletions and 277 yards in a 35-7 rout of the Cougars. Washington’s defense held BYU to under 200 yards of offense and only seven first downs. The Huskies are now 4-1 and head to the Rose Bowl this week for a date with UCLA.

-Big win for the Buckeyes: Down 14 points with eight minutes to go in raucous Happy Valley, Dwayne Haskins throws two touchdown passes and OSU overcame Trace McSorley’s 461 yards of total offense with a 27-26 win in another crazy back and forth battle. This is a tough loss for James Franklin, since they had the Buckeyes at home but questionable play calls late in the game got Franklin some heat but he stood tall and took the barbs. That’s nice, but a loss is a loss.

-No Upset this time: Last year, Clemson’s run to the National Championship was ALMOST derailed with an ugly Friday night loss at the Carrier Dome to Syracuse. This year the Orange headed to Death Valley, and they almost did it again! Clemson had some drama during the week involving their quarterbacks, and on Saturday it seemed like distractions. Trevor Lawrence, who got the starting job was knocked out of the game, but Travis Etienne rallied the Tigers from a ten point deficit with two fourth quarter touchdowns and a 27-20 victory. From here, Clemson heads to Wake Forest for what should be an easy one before returning home for a tough one with North Carolina State.

-Academies Update: Army moved to 3-2 with an easy 42-13 win in Buffalo as the Black Knights rushed for 281 yards. Air Force falls to 1-3 with a 28-25 loss to Nevada. Navy had a bye, but it’s evident that Army is the best of the trio. That doesn’t mean they’ll win the Commander In Chief trophy, but Army-Navy may be for more than pride this year. Speaking of, we get our first CIC game as Navy travels to Colorado Springs to face the Falcons this week. Army has their bye this week.

LOGAN:

-Red River Showdown: The Red River Rivalry, between Texas and Oklahoma is one of college football’s best rivalries. Due to Texas’ struggles over the past decade, the greatness has fallen off just a bit. This year though, it could very well decide the Big 12. Both teams we able to come away with victories this week, Texas beating Kansas State and Oklahoma putting up 66 in a win again Baylor. Gameday will be in Dallas for this game next week and it should be a hell of a game.

-One Week Later (MSU-UK): One of my takes last week, was about the Mississippi and Kentucky game. I really was interested to see how both teams came out of that game and what they were able to do the rest of the year. One week in, things stayed about the same, in that Kentucky dominated and Mississippi State struggled mightily. Kentucky was able to take South Carolina to the woodshed, while Mississippi State just couldn’t ever get anything going on offense. If the Bulldogs don’t turn it around quickly this could turn into the snowball effect I talked about last week, while Kentucky looks like a real SEC East contender.

-LSU Dominates: LSU’s problem every year it seems to be that they can’t find a quarterback that matches the talent of their running backs and wide receivers. Well, this year I believe they found their guy in Joe Burrow. He has been quite impressive so far this season and have the Tigers playing like they may be able to contend with the dominant Alabama. This week the Tigers welcomed Ole Miss to Death Valley, and then proceeded to send them right back home to Oxford with a butt whooping. The final score was 45-16.

-Oregon Bounces Back: One week after a heartbreaking come from behind loss to Stanford it was interesting to see if the Duck would recover in their trip to Berkeley to play the Cal Bears. Berkeley is always a trap for any PAC 12 team, especially for one who just came off of such an emotional game. Oregon was able to use a 21 point 2nd quarter to mount a lead that call just couldn’t come back from. Oregon is a team we all need to watch the rest of the season as I believe they could possibly slip back into the playoff conversation.

-West Virginia’s Showing They Belong: West Virginia may be the best team that no many people are talking about. They came into the season being Oklahoma’s closest contender, but they have put up some impressive offensive numbers that can’t be ignored. While their defense let up 34 points in this game, a lot of then were scored late after they had the game in the bag, it was the first time they’ve given up more than 17 points. They will definitely have their eyes on the Red River Rivalry this weekend, as it will likely decide who they are fighting for conference supremacy with for the rest of the season.

Here’s a look at the big games this coming weekend:

Noon: #19 Texas vs. #7 Oklahoma 3:30pm: #5 LSU at #22 Florida 4pm: Indiana at #3 Ohio State 8pm: #6 Notre Dame at #24 Virginia Tech

[giantsfootball0]

Oklahoma State Cowboys have best offense in the nation and it’s not close

Mike Gundy is making this look too easy.

On Friday, Sept. 8, his Oklahoma State Cowboys laid waste to South Alabama on the road in Mobile, racking up 505 yards of offense and 44 points. They barely broke a sweat, sitting the starters the entire fourth quarter. The next day, as the rest of the college football world spun on, Gundy left the office to go turtle hunting with his son.

He wasn’t distracted, mind you. Gundy’s eccentricities make the Oklahoma State head coach who he is. The very next weekend, the Cowboys went to Pittsburgh and scored 59 points, scoring touchdowns on each of their first seven possessions. It was a barrage of offense that should feel familiar to anyone who pays attention to the Big 12.

Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State team is off to a flying start. Scott Donaldson/Icon Sportswire

“Gundy has been doing it a long time,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said afterward. “He’s got what he wants there.”

Boy, does he. He has a Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterback from SEC country, he has a first-round-caliber receiver that no one paid attention to playing 1A football in a tiny Texas town, and he even lucked into a four-year starting center who simply wouldn’t take no for an answer. Gundy threw them all in a pot, let them stew for a few years and got this: an offense with the experience and firepower capable of setting records and crashing the College Football Playoff.

It’s a no-huddle that also shifts gears.

It’s a spread that also goes vertical.

It’s a quarterback who executes run-pass options by reading the front seven and the secondary.

It’s the convergence of speed and efficiency, strength and elegance. Every piece fits just so, as if tied together by a string, working in concert to average 35.7 points and 430.3 yards per game — in the first half.

“You’re not going to stop them completely,” South Alabama coach Joey Jones said. “You’re just not.”

“You’re searching for answers,” Pitt safety Dennis Briggs said. “You really can’t figure it out.”

Maybe slowing them down isn’t possible. But maybe we can better understand how and why the Cowboys’ offense came to be so devastatingly good.

It started, of all places, at the end of a five-game losing streak in November of the 2014 season. The location was Waco, Texas, and the final score was a doozy: Baylor 49, Oklahoma State 28.

It was just one week after the lowest point of the season, according to Gundy, when unranked Texas came into Stillwater and beat up on the Cowboys, winning 28-7. Losing by three touchdowns was tough enough, but it was the offense’s ineptitude that hurt most.

Watch out for weird things in Week 4. It’s possible we’ll have very interesting — and unlikely — 4-0 teams after Saturday’s games.

Almost 10 years since his epic rant became college football’s earliest viral sensation, the man who was 40 is a decade older. And wiser. How his outburst and everything after came to define and change Mike Gundy.

1 Related

“There was nothing we could do,” Gundy said. “It’s like being 200 [yards] out from the green, you got to hit it up on the green to putt to tie it, and all you have in your bag is a 7-iron. It’s going to be hard.”

So, before facing the seventh-ranked Bears on the road, Gundy emptied his bag. He looked around his locker room and decided to make some changes. It was time to go all-in on the future.

That included freshman walk-on offensive lineman Brad Lundblade. Eight months earlier, Gundy and his staff had made the difficult decision to not offer Lundblade a scholarship. He was a smart kid who loved Oklahoma State, visited campus often and got along well with everyone. But at around 6-foot-4, 280 pounds, he was a tad undersized to play offensive line in the Big 12.

Thankfully for Gundy, Lundblade’s father had a heart-to-heart with his son. “Don’t worry about the money,” he told him. “Go follow your dream.” Lundblade said thanks but no thanks to some lower-tier FBS offers, walked on at Oklahoma State and made the team out of camp. Then injuries hit and a few offensive linemen underperformed. Lundblade, who was on the scout team, was surprised when coaches told him he’d start traveling with the team.

Then the implosion against Texas happened.

“It was a tough year for us,” Lundblade said. “They were looking to make a couple changes, so they gave me a shot.”

The other change was at quarterback.

Gundy was planning to redshirt true freshman Mason Rudolph, a four-star prospect from Rock Hill, South Carolina, but after talking it over, they decided to give him a shot. At that time, Rudolph wasn’t quite the Louis Vuitton-backpack-wearing, record-setting quarterback he has become, but he had confidence.

Mason Rudolph was thrust into the starting role as a true freshman in 2014. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Rudolph and Lundblade both started in that game against Baylor. In the second quarter, trailing by three touchdowns, Rudolph dropped back and found David Glidden for an 8-yard touchdown. It was instant comfort after that. In the fourth quarter, Rudolph really let loose with a 68-yard touchdown pass to fellow true freshman James Washington.

It wasn’t a pretty game by any means, but according to Gundy, the Cowboys started looking like an offense again. Looking back, it was the start of something special for Rudolph, Lundblade, Washington and the rest of that freshman class who are seniors today.

“We made our first start together, and we’ve been together ever since,” Lundblade said. “We knew that we were young. We knew that any time you play that many young players, there’s going to be a learning curve. So obviously, it was frustrating, but we weren’t too worried about it. We knew it was going to pay off eventually. It was just a matter of time.”

Most Career Pass TDs In OSU HistoryTDsSpanBrandon Weeden752007-11Mason Rudolph662014-pres.Zac Robinson662005-09

The next week against archrival Oklahoma, Rudolph threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-35 win in overtime.

That offseason, Washington remembers waking up at 6 a.m. on Friday mornings to meet at Boone Pickens Stadium to run up and down the bleachers.

“Coming off of that year, we decided that we needed to actually work,” he said. “We worked hard every single day, and that’s really what set us up for these past few years. I feel like that gave us that drive.”

For Washington, who grew up in Stamford, Texas, with a population of fewer than 4,000 people, working hard and running stadiums were nothing. If it weren’t for football, he said he would be running a ranch putting in grueling dawn-to-dusk hours.

In fact, he chose Oklahoma State because it had a top agricultural program.

James Washington has 367 receiving yards on 13 catches through three games. Joe Sargent/Getty Images

But if all goes according to plan, he won’t have to plant seed or herd cattle for money anytime soon. The 6-foot wideout has NFL written all over him, with one coach calling him a potential top-10 pick.

Lundblade said he has never seen anyone run as fast as Washington. Through three games, Washington has three touchdowns, and all of them have been for 40 yards or more. He currently ranks 12th nationally in receiving yards (367), despite catching just 13 passes.

It doesn’t matter that he isn’t that tall, according to his quarterback.

“That’s what you’re seeing today isn’t your Terrell Owens- and Randy Moss-type height,” Rudolph said. “You’re seeing the Odell Beckhams, the Antonio Browns and the Edelmans of the year that are smaller and change direction really well and are extremely fast. I don’t think it’s a problem. It’s who he is and what he does.”

But what’s truly scary for opposing defenses is that Washington doesn’t have to do it alone. Ask around, and Washington might not even be the most explosive receiver on the roster. That honor could belong to former LSU transfer Tyron Johnson, whom Washington called a shifty, “make-you-miss” player.

Most Career Rec TDs In OSU HistoryTDsSpanRashaun Woods421999-03Justin Blackmon402008-11Hart Lee Dykes311985-88James Washington292014-17Dez Bryant292007-09

Johnson didn’t even play against Pitt. Against the Panthers, four Cowboys had at least 100 receiving yards: Washington, Marcell Ateman, Jalen McCleskey and Dillon Stoner.

In a bit of premonition, Narduzzi was asked before the game how he felt about his defense’s ability to give up big plays.

“I don’t feel good when I look at James Washington out there and Mason Rudolph,” he said. “Just go put on Oklahoma State [film]: big, explosive passes and runs. … As soon as you start playing Cover 2 and trying to put two over that guy, it’s out the gate going 98, and that’s not good, either. So it’s pick your poison.”

Washington scared him, Narduzzi said, “but I’m scared of them all.”

That is music to Rudolph’s ears. What might be seen as a problem to some — too many receivers, not enough passes to go around — is a solution to the senior quarterback, who said he prefers that his receivers be a little angry at one another.

“That’s healthy,” he said. “Not necessarily angry, but competitive angry. That just makes them run their routes harder and 100 percent effort every snap.”

Said Washington: “When it’s your turn to get the ball, make it happen. Because you don’t know how many you’re going to get.”

It’s the combination of talent and experience that makes Oklahoma State’s offense special.

Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich is a taskmaster, according to Gundy, and Rudolph is a “workaholic.” He compared Rudolph’s work ethic to that of Peyton Manning and freely admits that he won’t be able to hide the brilliant mind of Yurcich on his staff much longer.

That is probably true, considering his offense is second in points scored, third in total yards and fifth in third-down conversion percentage among FBS teams. Oklahoma State is first in expected points added on offense, which factors in things such as down and distance, field position, home-field advantage and time remaining. The Cowboys are doing this with incredible balance (104 passes to 109 rushes) and speed (29th in time of possession per play).

“I’ll be honest, and I mean this as humble as possible,” Gundy said. “I have no clue what people are going to do.”

Tulsa tried to stop the pass and lost 59-24 as running back Justice Hill rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown.

South Alabama went with a Bear front to try to stop the run, only to lose 44-7 as Rudolph completed 25 of 38 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns.

ESPN Stats and Info

“We felt like we always want to stop the run,” Jones said. “But that guy, the quarterback, obviously had a great game.

“It’s kind of like damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said he thought his defense could get pressure on Rudolph and create turnovers. On one play, he had two defenders get to Rudolph.

“And he still dropped a dime and threw a touchdown for about 50 yards,” Montgomery said of the QB.

The spread, RPO concepts Oklahoma State is able to use are more advanced than most, Montgomery said, and it’s a direct testament to how experienced and well-versed Rudolph is in the offense. When he gets to the line of scrimmage, he has three different checks he can make within a single formation.

The best you can do, Montgomery said, is make a stop on first down and hope for the best.

“If you want an opportunity to get after Oklahoma State, you have to play really good defense on first down, get them behind the sticks, and you have to do that continually throughout the game,” he said. “They’re going to get their chunks of yardage, they’re going to make some plays, but if you can get them in a situation where they’re struggling on first down and having to really make yards on second down, to me that’s where you put pressure on them. If you can’t do that, if they can do whatever they want on first down, they’re going to eat you up.”

It sounds painful, if not outright unfair, from the other side of the field.

But ask the Cowboys, and it’s a blast.

“It’s crazy,” Hill said. “It’s really fun. Just being out there with your teammates, you don’t have to do much besides your job. And then you look up, and you see James and Marcell and somebody else are out there running for a touchdown.”

Hill makes it sound easy, marching up and down the field at will, but it didn’t start out that way. You’ll have to forgive him because the sophomore is something of a newcomer to the party.

In fact, this offense was years in the making.

But now that it’s all pieced together, it really is something to behold.

The post Oklahoma State Cowboys have best offense in the nation and it’s not close appeared first on Daily Star Sports.

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Oklahoma State Cowboys have best offense in the nation and it’s not close

Mike Gundy is making this look too easy.

On Friday, Sept. 8, his Oklahoma State Cowboys laid waste to South Alabama on the road in Mobile, racking up 505 yards of offense and 44 points. They barely broke a sweat, sitting the starters the entire fourth quarter. The next day, as the rest of the college football world spun on, Gundy left the office to go turtle hunting with his son.

He wasn’t distracted, mind you. Gundy’s eccentricities make the Oklahoma State head coach who he is. The very next weekend, the Cowboys went to Pittsburgh and scored 59 points, scoring touchdowns on each of their first seven possessions. It was a barrage of offense that should feel familiar to anyone who pays attention to the Big 12.

Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State team is off to a flying start. Scott Donaldson/Icon Sportswire

“Gundy has been doing it a long time,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said afterward. “He’s got what he wants there.”

Boy, does he. He has a Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterback from SEC country, he has a first-round-caliber receiver that no one paid attention to playing 1A football in a tiny Texas town, and he even lucked into a four-year starting center who simply wouldn’t take no for an answer. Gundy threw them all in a pot, let them stew for a few years and got this: an offense with the experience and firepower capable of setting records and crashing the College Football Playoff.

It’s a no-huddle that also shifts gears.

It’s a spread that also goes vertical.

It’s a quarterback who executes run-pass options by reading the front seven and the secondary.

It’s the convergence of speed and efficiency, strength and elegance. Every piece fits just so, as if tied together by a string, working in concert to average 35.7 points and 430.3 yards per game — in the first half.

“You’re not going to stop them completely,” South Alabama coach Joey Jones said. “You’re just not.”

“You’re searching for answers,” Pitt safety Dennis Briggs said. “You really can’t figure it out.”

Maybe slowing them down isn’t possible. But maybe we can better understand how and why the Cowboys’ offense came to be so devastatingly good.

It started, of all places, at the end of a five-game losing streak in November of the 2014 season. The location was Waco, Texas, and the final score was a doozy: Baylor 49, Oklahoma State 28.

It was just one week after the lowest point of the season, according to Gundy, when unranked Texas came into Stillwater and beat up on the Cowboys, winning 28-7. Losing by three touchdowns was tough enough, but it was the offense’s ineptitude that hurt most.

Watch out for weird things in Week 4. It’s possible we’ll have very interesting — and unlikely — 4-0 teams after Saturday’s games.

Almost 10 years since his epic rant became college football’s earliest viral sensation, the man who was 40 is a decade older. And wiser. How his outburst and everything after came to define and change Mike Gundy.

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“There was nothing we could do,” Gundy said. “It’s like being 200 [yards] out from the green, you got to hit it up on the green to putt to tie it, and all you have in your bag is a 7-iron. It’s going to be hard.”

So, before facing the seventh-ranked Bears on the road, Gundy emptied his bag. He looked around his locker room and decided to make some changes. It was time to go all-in on the future.

That included freshman walk-on offensive lineman Brad Lundblade. Eight months earlier, Gundy and his staff had made the difficult decision to not offer Lundblade a scholarship. He was a smart kid who loved Oklahoma State, visited campus often and got along well with everyone. But at around 6-foot-4, 280 pounds, he was a tad undersized to play offensive line in the Big 12.

Thankfully for Gundy, Lundblade’s father had a heart-to-heart with his son. “Don’t worry about the money,” he told him. “Go follow your dream.” Lundblade said thanks but no thanks to some lower-tier FBS offers, walked on at Oklahoma State and made the team out of camp. Then injuries hit and a few offensive linemen underperformed. Lundblade, who was on the scout team, was surprised when coaches told him he’d start traveling with the team.

Then the implosion against Texas happened.

“It was a tough year for us,” Lundblade said. “They were looking to make a couple changes, so they gave me a shot.”

The other change was at quarterback.

Gundy was planning to redshirt true freshman Mason Rudolph, a four-star prospect from Rock Hill, South Carolina, but after talking it over, they decided to give him a shot. At that time, Rudolph wasn’t quite the Louis Vuitton-backpack-wearing, record-setting quarterback he has become, but he had confidence.

Mason Rudolph was thrust into the starting role as a true freshman in 2014. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Rudolph and Lundblade both started in that game against Baylor. In the second quarter, trailing by three touchdowns, Rudolph dropped back and found David Glidden for an 8-yard touchdown. It was instant comfort after that. In the fourth quarter, Rudolph really let loose with a 68-yard touchdown pass to fellow true freshman James Washington.

It wasn’t a pretty game by any means, but according to Gundy, the Cowboys started looking like an offense again. Looking back, it was the start of something special for Rudolph, Lundblade, Washington and the rest of that freshman class who are seniors today.

“We made our first start together, and we’ve been together ever since,” Lundblade said. “We knew that we were young. We knew that any time you play that many young players, there’s going to be a learning curve. So obviously, it was frustrating, but we weren’t too worried about it. We knew it was going to pay off eventually. It was just a matter of time.”

Most Career Pass TDs In OSU HistoryTDsSpanBrandon Weeden752007-11Mason Rudolph662014-pres.Zac Robinson662005-09

The next week against archrival Oklahoma, Rudolph threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-35 win in overtime.

That offseason, Washington remembers waking up at 6 a.m. on Friday mornings to meet at Boone Pickens Stadium to run up and down the bleachers.

“Coming off of that year, we decided that we needed to actually work,” he said. “We worked hard every single day, and that’s really what set us up for these past few years. I feel like that gave us that drive.”

For Washington, who grew up in Stamford, Texas, with a population of fewer than 4,000 people, working hard and running stadiums were nothing. If it weren’t for football, he said he would be running a ranch putting in grueling dawn-to-dusk hours.

In fact, he chose Oklahoma State because it had a top agricultural program.

James Washington has 367 receiving yards on 13 catches through three games. Joe Sargent/Getty Images

But if all goes according to plan, he won’t have to plant seed or herd cattle for money anytime soon. The 6-foot wideout has NFL written all over him, with one coach calling him a potential top-10 pick.

Lundblade said he has never seen anyone run as fast as Washington. Through three games, Washington has three touchdowns, and all of them have been for 40 yards or more. He currently ranks 12th nationally in receiving yards (367), despite catching just 13 passes.

It doesn’t matter that he isn’t that tall, according to his quarterback.

“That’s what you’re seeing today isn’t your Terrell Owens- and Randy Moss-type height,” Rudolph said. “You’re seeing the Odell Beckhams, the Antonio Browns and the Edelmans of the year that are smaller and change direction really well and are extremely fast. I don’t think it’s a problem. It’s who he is and what he does.”

But what’s truly scary for opposing defenses is that Washington doesn’t have to do it alone. Ask around, and Washington might not even be the most explosive receiver on the roster. That honor could belong to former LSU transfer Tyron Johnson, whom Washington called a shifty, “make-you-miss” player.

Most Career Rec TDs In OSU HistoryTDsSpanRashaun Woods421999-03Justin Blackmon402008-11Hart Lee Dykes311985-88James Washington292014-17Dez Bryant292007-09

Johnson didn’t even play against Pitt. Against the Panthers, four Cowboys had at least 100 receiving yards: Washington, Marcell Ateman, Jalen McCleskey and Dillon Stoner.

In a bit of premonition, Narduzzi was asked before the game how he felt about his defense’s ability to give up big plays.

“I don’t feel good when I look at James Washington out there and Mason Rudolph,” he said. “Just go put on Oklahoma State [film]: big, explosive passes and runs. … As soon as you start playing Cover 2 and trying to put two over that guy, it’s out the gate going 98, and that’s not good, either. So it’s pick your poison.”

Washington scared him, Narduzzi said, “but I’m scared of them all.”

That is music to Rudolph’s ears. What might be seen as a problem to some — too many receivers, not enough passes to go around — is a solution to the senior quarterback, who said he prefers that his receivers be a little angry at one another.

“That’s healthy,” he said. “Not necessarily angry, but competitive angry. That just makes them run their routes harder and 100 percent effort every snap.”

Said Washington: “When it’s your turn to get the ball, make it happen. Because you don’t know how many you’re going to get.”

It’s the combination of talent and experience that makes Oklahoma State’s offense special.

Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich is a taskmaster, according to Gundy, and Rudolph is a “workaholic.” He compared Rudolph’s work ethic to that of Peyton Manning and freely admits that he won’t be able to hide the brilliant mind of Yurcich on his staff much longer.

That is probably true, considering his offense is second in points scored, third in total yards and fifth in third-down conversion percentage among FBS teams. Oklahoma State is first in expected points added on offense, which factors in things such as down and distance, field position, home-field advantage and time remaining. The Cowboys are doing this with incredible balance (104 passes to 109 rushes) and speed (29th in time of possession per play).

“I’ll be honest, and I mean this as humble as possible,” Gundy said. “I have no clue what people are going to do.”

Tulsa tried to stop the pass and lost 59-24 as running back Justice Hill rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown.

South Alabama went with a Bear front to try to stop the run, only to lose 44-7 as Rudolph completed 25 of 38 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns.

ESPN Stats and Info

“We felt like we always want to stop the run,” Jones said. “But that guy, the quarterback, obviously had a great game.

“It’s kind of like damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said he thought his defense could get pressure on Rudolph and create turnovers. On one play, he had two defenders get to Rudolph.

“And he still dropped a dime and threw a touchdown for about 50 yards,” Montgomery said of the QB.

The spread, RPO concepts Oklahoma State is able to use are more advanced than most, Montgomery said, and it’s a direct testament to how experienced and well-versed Rudolph is in the offense. When he gets to the line of scrimmage, he has three different checks he can make within a single formation.

The best you can do, Montgomery said, is make a stop on first down and hope for the best.

“If you want an opportunity to get after Oklahoma State, you have to play really good defense on first down, get them behind the sticks, and you have to do that continually throughout the game,” he said. “They’re going to get their chunks of yardage, they’re going to make some plays, but if you can get them in a situation where they’re struggling on first down and having to really make yards on second down, to me that’s where you put pressure on them. If you can’t do that, if they can do whatever they want on first down, they’re going to eat you up.”

It sounds painful, if not outright unfair, from the other side of the field.

But ask the Cowboys, and it’s a blast.

“It’s crazy,” Hill said. “It’s really fun. Just being out there with your teammates, you don’t have to do much besides your job. And then you look up, and you see James and Marcell and somebody else are out there running for a touchdown.”

Hill makes it sound easy, marching up and down the field at will, but it didn’t start out that way. You’ll have to forgive him because the sophomore is something of a newcomer to the party.

In fact, this offense was years in the making.

But now that it’s all pieced together, it really is something to behold.

The post Oklahoma State Cowboys have best offense in the nation and it’s not close appeared first on Daily Star Sports.

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