#left is SB. Right is UNC

[divinemackerel]

tell me hwow this is anything BUT a horrible horrible downgrade

I don’t think Steel Wool understands what made FNAF so iconic and more than anything, that is evident from how they bastardized the design of Music Man.

[pivot-skateshop]

Nike SB  x  Air Jordan 1 Low by Lance Mountain QS will be available this Friday Dec. 6th (instore only / sizerun US 8-13)

The pair comes with shoes in two different colorways (right shoe: UNC royal blue/white, left shoe: black/navy) covered by a beige tear away canvas. This quickstrike was inspired by Lance Mountain’s Jordans in his part in Bones Brigades „The search for Animal Chin“ video from 1987. 

[junker-town]

New Bulls point guard Coby White is built for buckets

How the North Carolina guard unlocked his potential in the 2019 NBA Draft by learning to fly.

Rob Salter is used to people doing a double-take when they walk into his office and see the photo hanging on the wall. It’s hard to recognize a young Coby White, about to enter his freshman year at Greenfield School in Wilson, North Carolina in this picture, with a shaved head. It might be the last picture of White before he started to grow out his signature big, floppy hair.

Salter had already helped build a successful program as the head coach at Greenfield when White became a varsity starter as a freshman. It didn’t take Salter long to learn his new guard was special. Greenfield faced Wesleyan Christian Academy and Harry Giles early in the season, a player widely considered the best long-term prospect in the country at the time. White ended the game with 25 points.

“Coby can score in his sleep, man,” Salter told SB Nation.

That’s what the Bulls expect, too, after they made White the No. 7 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. White has been getting buckets his entire basketball career, so why stop now? With Zach LaVine, Otto Porter and Lauri Markkanen as running mates, White should put up points in bunches.

White earned most of his buckets in those early days by simply out-running everyone else on the court. When he showed up for his sophomore season in high school after a four-inch growth spurt over the summer, his athleticism kicked into another gear. His teammates quickly learned they’d have to keep up with a point guard who had a tireless dedication to pushing the ball in the open floor and an incredible knack for putting it in the basket.

White didn’t stop scoring at Greenfield until he broke the North Carolina state record for total points in a career. It happened at a tournament in Virginia, when the hosting school stopped the game unbeknownst to anyone at Greenfield to recognize White’s achievement. He left the school with 3,511 points in his career, a fringe five-star rating as a recruit, and a rare opening to be a freshman starter at North Carolina for Roy Williams.

[Do you like NBA Draft grades? We have 2019 NBA Draft grades for you]

North Carolina has always been a program built on speed going to back to the heyday of Dean Smith. With Coby White as their engine, UNC played at its fastest pace since KenPom started tracking those numbers in the 2001-02 season. To watch the Tar Heels was to see White burning opposing defenses down the court on the secondary break, curly afro blowing in the wind and pink shoes looking like a blur out of Sonic the Hedgehog.

After a breakout season where he broke Michael Jordan’s freshman scoring record and powered the Tar Heels to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, White’s college career ended sooner than he or his school ever anticipated. White entered the NBA draft, and he’s now a top-7 pick.

“It still hasn’t hit me yet,” White said at the NBA draft combine. “You dream it before you realize you’re capable of it. ”

Everything in White’s life is moving fast right now. Fortunately for Chicago fans, that’s always when he’s been at his best.

White is a nominal point guard, but he hardly plays like a floor general in a traditional sense. At nearly 6’5, White combines the scoring mentality of an off-guard with an unbreakable resolve to put pressure on the defense with the ball in his hands. In that sense, White’s offensive skill set is a natural fit for how the position has evolved in today’s game.

White has an advanced scoring package for a lead guard. His favorite move is the step-back, an increasingly essential weapon to combat defenses built to smother ball handlers at the three-point line. When White creates space, he has a fluid shooting stroke and quick release he can get off at any time.

North Carolina rarely ran sets, but when they did, White proved he was comfortable navigating ball screens. He’s particularly adept at splitting defenders to get into the paint. He loves the behind-the-back dribble either in the half-court or transition, often going for ambitious dribble moves even when they started leading to turnovers. Williams is notorious for giving freshmen a short lease, but he rarely tried to rein his point guard in. It speaks volumes about how essential White’s scoring and tempo were to the Tar Heels.

White remains more of a scorer than a facilitator, but he’s far from selfish. He showed promise as a decision-maker in the half-cout, whether that meant finishing plays himself or hitting a teammate for an assist. He finished in the 81st percentile for points plus assists per possession against a set defense, per Synergy Sports, which is impressive efficiency for a player who has mostly staked his reputation in the open floor.

Part of the reason White proved to be so effective in the half court is because he’s a truly lethal shooter off the catch. He finished in the 92nd percentile on spot-up opportunities, showing a strong feel for moving without the ball to go along with great balance and a quick, repeatable shooting motion. He’s going to have gravity off-the-ball as a shooter for the Bulls, which makes him an ideal fit when Zach LaVine or Otto Porter initiate the offense.

White holds his own when stacked up against guards with similar size who also got drafted in the lottery in recent years. It serves to create a baseline comparison for what the Bulls hope to get out of him early in his career.

While his turnover rate is higher than anyone else on the list, keep in mind that White led what was by far the fastest offense of the group. The Tar Heels finished No. 6 in KenPom’s tempo rankings this year, with only low-major programs in front of them. Only McCollum led an offense that finished in the top-60 in the tempo rankings, and that was in the low-major Patriot League, which potentially contributed to his steal rate as well. No one else on this list played for a team that finished in the top-130 of pace.

“The league is full of great point guards every night,” White said at the combine. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of testing myself.”

White was on his way to the airport to fly out to Nike Elite Camp in Los Angeles during his rising senior year when he got a phone call that would change his life. His father had passed from liver cancer. Donald White — affectionately called ‘Doc’ — rarely missed one of Coby’s games and became a fixture around Greenfield. The pink shoes White wore at North Carolina were a symbolic nod to those affected by cancer.

“Basketball was his escape route,” Salter said.

Salter remembers when White heard about a fifth grader at Greenfield, a K-12 school, who had just lost his mother to cancer. White sought out the child on his own and shared his experience with him. “That’s the type of young man Coby is,” Salter said.

White acknowledged the last two years have felt like a blur. Few expected him to be a one-and-done, let alone a lottery pick after his freshman year. He is far from a finished product, though his inefficiencies feel more like room for growth than a handicap.

White only finished in the 27th percentile on pull-up shooting attempts at UNC, but his shooting mechanics and balance are reason to believe it should become a strength of his game. He was also better as a playmaker than most anticipated after burnishing his reputation as a scorer in high school, though he clearly needs to get better at making reads to be a full-time lead initiator for the Bulls.

If White continues to improve his facilitating and starts to see his pull-ups drop more frequently, he projects as a guard who can play on- or off-the-ball that provides incredible straight-line speed, shifty ball handling, and knockdown shooting. Look at the lineups the Houston Rockets were playing in the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, often closing with James Harden, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, and P.J. Tucker. No one in that lineup was bigger than 6’6. It feels like a brand of basketball White is particularly suited to play.

With incredible straight-line speed with the ball in his hands and the ability to hit shots from all over the floor, White is a natural fit for today’s game. His Chicago teammates just better be in good enough shape to run with him. Coby White isn’t slowing down any time soon.

[shredderslodge]

Nike SB Air Jordan 1 Low UNC-Royal

Nike SB Air Jordan 1 Low UNC-Royal

  Just received this  Air Jordan 1 low features with some mismatched color schemes, looks great, left shoe taking on the blue/black “Royal” colorway  and the right shoe taking on the colors of Michael Jordan’s alma mater, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

Just like Lance Mountain Nike SBs from years past, the top layer of these shoes reveal the base layers through regular wear and…

[bmiremodeling]

Manchester city manchester united middlesbrough southampton stoke city

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[bloojayoolie]

Bad, Confederate Flag, and Energy: PUBLIC WILL GET CHANCE TO SPEAK ABOUT FATE OF CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS BY L.A. Williams Christian Action League North Carolinians will get a chance to speak out about the fate of three Confederate monuments currently located on the Capitol grounds in Raleigh, but targeted by the governor for removal. Although a hearing date has not been set, a five-member ad hoc committee chosen by the North Carolina Historical Commission to address the issue met Jan. 22 via conference call and announced its intent to hear from the public after first soliciting input from history experts, the UNC School of Government and faculty members at the state’s six law schools. Already, a website portal is available for the public to submit comments and an address is provided for responses via traditional U.S. mail. Early last September, Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration petitioned the Historical Commission to move the Henry Lawson Wyatt Memorial, the Monument to the North Carolina Women of the Confederacy and the 1895 Confederate Soldiers Monument to the Bentonville Battlefield, located in Johnston County, about 45 miles from the Capitol. The Commission met two weeks later, but postponed a vote on the matter, instead opting to name a study committee. The decision on whether to relocate the monuments rests with the Historical Commission following the General Assembly’s passage of Senate Bill 22 in 2015, which states that, “a monument, memorial, or work of art owned by the State may not be removed, relocated, or altered in any way without the approval of the North Carolina Historical Commission.” The law further stipulates that “An object of remembrance may not be relocated to a museum, cemetery, or mausoleum unless it was originally placed at such a location,” and that “An object of remembrance that is permanently relocated shall be relocated to a site of similar prominence, honor, visibility, availability, and access that are within the boundaries of the jurisdiction from which it was relocated.” Whether the Bentonville Battlefield, site of the last battle between the armies of Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, would qualify is debatable and could easily land the issue in court should the Commission approve the move. The Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, has followed the controversy over the Civil War monuments from the get-go and questions the motives behind the push to take them down. “I fly no Confederate flag at my house, nor would I do so. As a Christ-follower, I feel no compulsion to zealously defend a Confederate Memorial, even though I would prefer to see them stay. Furthermore, I have spent my 38 years of ministry repudiating racism. But it’s the motives behind the removal of these monuments that are of great concern to me,” said Dr. Creech. “Governor Cooper, during his entire political career has never given a flip about these monuments, not mouthing the first objection, until he saw a political opportunity to capitalize on the energy and resources of the far left,” he added. “You can count on Cooper and his ilk to use this issue to make every lawmaker that doesn’t support repealing SB 22 look like a racist or bigot.” Controversy over Confederate monuments across the nation came to a head following a deadly protest in Charlottesville, Va., last August. A “Unite the Right” rally staged to protest plans to remove a statue were met by counter-protesters. Clashes broke out between the groups and a woman was killed when a driver sped through the crowd. Virginia has more Confederate monuments than any other state in the country, and in the aftermath of the violence, bills that would allow municipalities to remove them have been introduced in the Virginia House of Delegates. But as of this week, all were voted down by subcommittees. Democrat Steve Heretick of Portsmouth, Va., one of the lawmakers who opposed the most recent bill, told the media he understands Confederate statues are a “highly charged issue,” but that allowing cities to purge them is not the answer. “I don’t think that moving or tearing down statues or trying to cover up the vestiges of that history, good or bad, helps us carry forward what we’re here to do,” Heretick said. Creech said he was concerned with the caliber of people leading the campaign to erase Confederate history from the landscape. “The movement’s associations include people that advocate for lawlessness and anarchy. I feel quite certain it’s not just statues that these activists want to replace; it’s a government that preserves the virtues of liberty and free speech. This is what tyrants do. This is what terrorists do,” he said. “Today it’s Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, tomorrow it’s Washington, Jefferson, and ultimately the Constitution.” Creech said he agrees with a 2010 op-ed from Russell Moore, who is now president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. In reference to a reader’s question as to whether it was wrong to display a picture of Robert E. Lee, Moore wrote, in part, “None of us is free from a sketchy background, and none of our backgrounds are wholly evil. The blood of Jesus has ransomed us all ‘from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers’ (1 Pet. 1:18), whether your forefathers were Yankees, Rebels, Vikings, or whatever. The gospel also then frees us to give honor to whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7), without the pretense that any human being is without sin or dishonor.” Creech said that includes Henry Lawson Wyatt, the first Confederate soldier from the Tar Heel state to be killed in action, as well as all the soldiers honored by the 1895 monument and the women who supported the cause of the Confederacy. To share your view on whether North Carolina should remove the three Confederate statues from the Capitol Grounds, visit the website link to the Historical Commission’s Study Committee on the Relocation of Monuments and stay tuned for an announcement about a public hearing expected to be scheduled between now and April. You may listen to a recording of the committee’s Jan. 22 meeting here. Members of the committee are Sam Dixon, Chris Fonvielle, Valerie Johnson, Noah Reynolds and David Ruffin, chair. To read story on the CAL website, go to: http://ift.tt/2BRjXjs

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Grayson Allen's best game this season leads Duke past North Carolina

Grayson Allen scored 25 points, his most since his suspension, in Duke’s victory over rival North Carolina. (Getty)

In recent Duke games, there had been glimpses of the Grayson Allen of old; a dynamic drive here, a 3-pointer there. Those glimpses were precursors for Thursday night.

Allen scored 25 points against No. 8 North Carolina to make No. 18 Duke’s biggest game of the season its biggest win of the season, an 86-78 victory over the Tar Heels.

Jayson Tatum also allowed the Blue Devils to pull out the win in a tight second half. The fab freshman, in his first game in the rivalry, went scoreless in the first half, but powered his way to 19 brilliant second-half points to hold off North Carolina.

Luke Kennard dropped an additional 20 points in his first win over the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He and Allen embraced after the final horn as Cameron Crazies and Duke fans young and old lingered to celebrate.

It was easily Allen’s best performance since he was suspended one game by coach Mike Krzyzewski for his third trip in less than a year. In the weeks that followed, Allen was dogged by controversy and poor play, the two feeding into each other. But he had averaged over 20 points per game in wins over Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, and had his best performance yet Thursday night.

Allen had in part been plagued by increased responsibilities at point guard, responsibilities he wasn’t accustomed to handling. Against Carolina, though, he was just a scorer, regardless of position. He hit seven of his 12 3-pointers, and seven of Duke’s 13 on the night, a big reason the Blue Devils were able to outlast the Tar Heels.

Allen started the game in rhythm. His first two 3-point attempts found the bottom of the net. He was momentarily neutralized by 6-foot-8 wing Justin Jackson when North Carolina went to a big lineup, but got back on track soon thereafter. He scored 11 points in the first 11 minutes as Duke’s offense picked up after a few early wobbles.

Allen was a big part of an 8-0 Blue Devil run out of the under-12 timeout that reversed Carolina’s early lead. Duke got out in transition to find open jumpers for both him and Frank Jackson. Jackson’s 2-pointer from the baseline completed the run, which turned a 19-14 deficit into a 22-19 lead.

The latter 10 minutes of the first half were as even as can be. North Carolina got piecemeal contributions from a five-man guard rotation. Its frontcourt, without the injured Isaiah Hicks, was good but not great. Duke’s front line, which has had trouble protecting the rim in ACC play, kept Kennedy Meeks, Luke Maye and Tony Bradley in check. The Tar Heels had just three offensive rebounds and four second-chance points in the first half.

The visitors, however, got the offense they needed from Justin Jackson. Jackson had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He was the only North Carolina player with more than five points over the first 20 minutes, and put the Tar Heels up 38-35 with two jumpers late in the half.

Allen, though, who also had 14 first-half points, had the final say before the break. He hit this step-back 3-pointer on the final possession of the period despite Theo Pinson’s hounding defense:

TREYSON ALL3N pic.twitter.com/gU2Ct95Y9J

— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) February 10, 2017

Carolina fans, of course, argued fervently that Allen pushed off on the step back, but nonetheless, the Blue Devils took a one-point lead into halftime.

Duke hit six first-half 3s, and picked up where it left off in the second. It answered Carolina 2s with 3s of its own. Luke Kennard, who had 10 points in the first half, hit two triples, and Allen followed them up with his fifth of the game to put Duke up 51-43.

A few plays later, Jayson Tatum put Meeks on a poster, and put himself on nightly highlight reels all over the country:

The dunk got Tatum going too. After a scoreless first half, the ultra-talented freshman poured in seven quick points, including a 3 that restored Duke’s seven-point lead.

North Carolina, though, found its offensive groove. Meeks began to have his way inside, and Joel Berry, who had been quiet, drilled his first 3 of the game.

Minutes later, after a Carolina defensive rebound that almost went astray turned into a fast break, Justin Jackson drove from the right corner to the front of the rim and put UNC back into the lead, 60-59. Berry’s 3 from that same corner coming out of a timeout extended the lead to four, and made it an 11-1 Carolina run. The Tar Heels made eight consecutive field goal attempts after making just two of their first eight in the half.

Duke’s answer came from Allen, who hit his sixth 3 of the game, and from Tatum, who skied toward the Cameron rafters for a rebound, then went coast to coast to sneak in a layup. He would get to the rim on the very next possession too to tie the score at 66.

Allen, though, was frustrated soon after. He picked up his fourth foul with 8:35 to play, and jumped up and down, stomping his feet in annoyance.

Duke matched Carolina with Allen out, though. Tatum’s two free throws made the score 70-70, the ninth tie of the game to accompany 16 lead changes.

With Allen still out of the game, Tatum scored his 15th, 16th and 17th points of the second-half with a high-arching triple that put the home team up 75-71. Allen then returned to hurtle to the rim for an athletic dunk, swinging on the rim just a bit for good measure, to push the lead to six.

As if required by rivalry rules, though, Carolina stormed back. Jackson hit a 3. Berry got a steal, and got to the free throw line. But Allen, once again, had the answer. He pulled up off the dribble and splashed a 3, his seventh of the game, to give Duke a five-point lead inside two minutes.

Allen fouled out on the following possession, but Duke was able to hold on with rebounds and free throws down the stretch.

Justin Jackson finished with 21 points for North Carolina. Berry added 15. The most important stat of the game, though, was Duke’s rebounding. The Blue Devils held a Tar Heel team that reels in 42 percent of its misses to an offensive rebounding percentage of just 22.6.

Duke improves to 19-5 on the season with the win, while North Carolina, which came into the night atop the ACC, falls to 21-5, and into a first-place tie with Florida State.

The rematch between the two rivals will have to wait until the last weekend of the regular season, Saturday, March 4 in Chapel Hill.

[junker-town]

Coby White is the NBA draft speedster built for buckets

How the North Carolina guard unlocked his potential in the 2019 NBA Draft by learning to fly.

Rob Salter is used to people doing a double-take when they walk into his office and see the photo hanging on the wall. It’s hard to recognize a young Coby White, about enter his freshman year at Greenfield School in Wilson, North Carolina, with a shaved head. It might be the last picture of White before he started to grow out his signature big, floppy hair.

Salter had already helped build a successful program as the head coach at Greenfield when White became a varsity starter as a freshman. It didn’t take Salter long to learn his new guard was special. Greenfield faced Wesleyan Christian Academy and Harry Giles early in the season, a player widely considered the best long-term prospect in the country at the time. White ended the game with 25 points.

“Coby can score in his sleep, man,” Salter told SB Nation.

White earned most of his buckets in those early days by simply out-running everyone else on the court. When he showed up for his sophomore season after a four-inch growth spurt over the summer, his athleticism kicked into another gear. His teammates quickly learned they’d have to keep up with a point guard who had a tireless dedication to pushing the ball in the open floor and an incredible knack for putting it in the basket.

White didn’t stop scoring at Greenfield until he broke the North Carolina state record for total points in a career. It happened at a tournament in Virginia, when the hosting school stopped the game unbeknownst to anyone at Greenfield to recognize White’s achievement. He left the school with 3,511 points in his career, a fringe five-star rating as a recruit, and a rare opening to be a freshman starter at North Carolina for Roy Williams.

North Carolina has always been a program built on speed going to back to the heyday of Dean Smith. With Coby White as their engine, UNC played at its fastest pace since KenPom started tracking those numbers in the 2001-02 season. To watch the Tar Heels was to see White burning opposing defenses down the court on the secondary break, curly afro blowing in the wind and pink shoes looking like a blur out of Sonic the Hedgehog.

After a breakout season where he broke Michael Jordan’s freshman scoring record and powered the Tar Heels to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, White’s college career ended sooner than he or his school ever anticipated. White is entering the NBA draft, where he’s projected to be a top-10 pick.

“It still hasn’t hit me yet,” White said at the NBA draft combine. “You dream it before you realize you’re capable of it. ”

Everything in White’s life is moving fast right now. Fortunately, that’s always when he’s been at his best.

White is a nominal point guard, but he hardly plays like a floor general in a traditional sense. At nearly 6’5, White combines the scoring mentality of an off-guard with an unbreakable resolve to put pressure on the defense with the ball in his hands. In that sense, White’s offensive skill set is a natural fit for how the position has evolved in today’s game.

White has an advanced scoring package for a lead guard. His favorite move is the step-back, an increasingly essential weapon to combat defenses built to smother ball handlers at the three-point line. When White creates space, he has a fluid shooting stroke and quick release he can get off at any time.

North Carolina rarely ran sets, but when they did White proved he was comfortable navigating ball screens. He’s particularly adept at splitting defenders to get into the paint. He loves the behind-the-back dribble either in the half-court or transition, often going for ambitious dribble moves even when they started leading to turnovers. Williams is notorious for giving freshmen a short lease, but he rarely tried to rein his point guard in. It speaks volumes about how essential White’s scoring and tempo were to the Tar Heels.

White remains more of a scorer than a facilitator, but he’s far from selfish. He showed promise as a decision-maker in the half-cout, whether that meant finishing plays himself or hitting a teammate for an assist. He finished in the 81st percentile for points plus assists per possession against a set defense, per Synergy Sports, which is impressive efficiency for a player who has mostly staked his reputation in the open floor.

Part of the reason White proved to be so effective in the half court is because he’s a truly lethal shooter off the catch. He finished in the 92nd percentile on spot-up opportunities, showing a strong feel for moving without the ball to go along with great balance and a quick, repeatable shooting motion. He’s going to have gravity off-the-ball as a shooter in the NBA, which makes him an ideal fit for a multiple ball-handler system where he doesn’t always have to initiate the offense.

White holds his own when stacked up against guards with similar size who also got drafted in the lottery in recent years. It serves to create a baseline comparison for what a team drafting him in the top-10 hopes to get out of him early in his career.

While his turnover rate is higher than anyone else on the list, keep in mind that White led what was by far the fastest offense of the group. The Tar Heels finished No. 6 in KenPom’s tempo rankings this year, with only low-major programs in front of them. Only McCollum led an offense that finished in the top-60 in the tempo rankings, and that was in the low-major Patriot League, which potentially contributed to his steal rate as well. No one else on this list played for a team that finished in the top-130 of pace.

“The league is full of great point guards every night,” White said at the combine. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of testing myself.”

White was on his way to the airport to fly out to Nike Elite Camp in Los Angeles during his rising senior year when he got a phone call that would change his life. His father had passed from liver cancer. Donald White — affectionately called ‘Doc’ — rarely missed one of Coby’s games and became a fixture around Greenfield. The pink shoes White wore at North Carolina were a symbolic nod to those affected by cancer.

“Basketball was his escape route,” Salter said.

Salter remembers when White heard about a fifth grader at Greenfield, a K-12 school, who had just lost his mother to cancer. White sought out the child on his own and shared his experience with him. “That’s the type of young man Coby is,” Salter said.

White acknowledged the last two years have felt like a blur. Few expected him to be a one-and-done, let alone a top-10 NBA draft pick after his freshman year. He is far from a finished product, though his inefficiencies feel more like room for growth than a handicap.

White only finished in the 27th percentile on pull-up shooting attempts at UNC, but his shooting mechanics and balance are reason to believe it should become a strength of his game. He was also better as a playmaker than most anticipated after burnishing his reputation as a scorer in high school, though he clearly needs to get better at making reads to be a full-time lead initiator in the NBA.

If White continues to improve his facilitating and starts to see his pull-ups drop more frequently, he projects as a guard who can play on- or off-the-ball that provides incredible straight-line speed, shifty ball handling, and knockdown shooting. Look at the lineups the Houston Rockets were playing in the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, often closing with James Harden, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, and P.J. Tucker. No one in that lineup was bigger than 6’6. It feels like a brand of basketball White is particularly suited for.

With incredible straight-line speed with the ball in his hands and the ability to hit shots from all over the floor, White is a natural fit for today’s game. His teammates just better be in good enough shape to run with him. Coby White isn’t slowing down any time soon.

[junker-town]

UNC’s poster-dunking 4-star WR was the 17th pick in the MLB Draft

Jordyn Adams is really good at a lot of sports. Major League Baseball might woo him away from North Carolina.

Jordyn Adams is a multi-sport star. In football, he was one of the highest-rated wide receivers in the class of 2018. In baseball, he was one of the country’s best prep outfielders. And on the basketball court, he’s capable of putting dudes on posters with vicious dunks:

In December, Adams signed with North Carolina, where his dad, Deke, is the Tar Heels’ defensive line coach. He’s slated to be an important player there as a freshman.

At UNC, Adams is also in line to play outfield for the baseball team. But he’s drawn significant attention from major league teams.

In ESPN analyst Keith Law’s mock draft, he had Adams 15th overall to the Rangers:

Adams has top-10 tools — but limited baseball experience, because he has been a football player as well, which might lead to him going somewhere in the teens instead of up top. (I haven’t heard him linked with the Padres, but he does seem like their kind of player.) The Rangers have been linked to prep players, and they’re the stopping point for a few names who might slip, such as Stewart or Kelenic.

He was picked at 17th, and he’ll have a big decision.

1 (17): @Angels select Green Hope HS OF Jordyn Adams. https://t.co/gPWsJTOBzZ #MLBDraft

— MLB Draft Tracker (@MLBDraftTracker) June 5, 2018

The assigned slot value for the 17th overall pick is more than $3.4 million. It’s not unheard of for major league teams to sign multi-sport athletes and let them play the other sport for some time, but that’s not likely for someone picked so high in the draft.

“Me and my parents kind of expected it to get kind of crazy, but we didn’t expect it to get this crazy,” Adams told the Raleigh News & Observer in April. “Everyone has been blowing up my parents’ phone, emailing them and stuff like that.”

Adams isn’t the only football star in this draft.

There are probably a handful of great high school football players who will get picked somewhere by baseball teams. But Adams isn’t even the biggest name here.

Oklahoma quarterback and outfielder Kyler Murray was taken ninth, though it was thought that he would slide amid a sense that he’s going to play football in 2018. The A’s took a chance on Murray, and he’s slotted to make more than $4 million.

Adams and Murray are facing different situations. Adams is farther away from a potential pro football career, but he’s a better NFL prospect than Murray is. If Adams doesn’t sign with a baseball team this year, he can’t go into the draft again for another couple of years, while Murray could go right back into the pool in 2018.

A lot can go into a baseball-or-football call for a two-sport star.

A few of the potential considerations:

Earnings potential in either sport

Health; football’s a lot more physical

How much a player likes being in college

But all of that can fall short of a simple thing: Which sport does he like more?

Former Oklahoma State quarterback and infielder Josh Fields left the Cowboys after his junior football season in 2003 and signed with the White Sox as a first-round pick.

“I know that it kind of probably seems stereotypical of a quote to say,” Fields told SB Nation in a discussion about Murray’s decision. “It really did kind of come down to my first love and stuff like that. It really did, ‘cause all those other factors, you can get over.”

If Adams doesn’t play football, he’ll be a big loss for Larry Fedora’s team.

Adams was the No. 8 receiver in his class, according to the industry-consensus 247Sports Composite. I think he’s better than that, though, and would rank him in the top four.

If Adams does play college football, he could be the best freshman receiver in the country because of his sticky hands and smooth route-running. He’s ready to be great immediately.

[junker-town]

SB Nation’s staff predictions for the 2018 NCAA men’s basketball championship game

Villanova or Michigan? Spoiler: our staff does not care for the Wolverines

The 2017-18 college basketball season is down to its final day, and only two teams are left standing: Villanova and Michigan. For the Wildcats, a win would validate Jay Wright’s budding empire with a second national title in three seasons and cement Jalen Brunson’s status as the most accomplished player in program history. For the Wolverines, a win would erase the stinging memory of a second-place finish in 2013 behind a blank space in Louisville’s rafters.

Michigan is a 6.5-point underdog against a Villanova juggernaut whose closest game in the NCAA tournament was a 12-point win over Texas Tech. That’s made them a popular pick for basketball pundits across the internet -- and SB Nation is no different. The vast majority of the network’s writers are skeptical of the Wolverines’ ability to slow down the Wildcats’ terrifying momentum.

Ricky O’Donnell, SB Nation college basketball editor

Villanova 83, Michigan 71: Villanova was my preseason pick. The offense is just on fire right now. Michigan’s defense is good, but it isn’t that good.

Mike Rutherford, SB Nation college basketball editor

Villanova 78, Michigan 69: Villanova has been the clear class of college basketball for a few months now, and has been an unstoppable wrecking machine on offense all postseason. Michigan’s defense will keep it within striking distance for most of Monday night’s game, but the Wildcats will never let things get out of their control.

Tim Cato, SB Nation NBA writer

Villanova 72, Michigan 60: Michigan hangs around with Villanova, but they pull away in the final five minutes with a few cold-blooded threes. That’s just how modern basketball goes now.

James Dator, SB Nation’s guy who thought UNC Greensboro was the only UNC

Villanova 86, Michigan 70: Wildcats >>>>> Wolverines. Unless it’s THE Wolverine, like Logan. But it’s not. It’s just a regular wolverine. I think a murder kitty takes it in a fight easily.

Russ Steinberg, Mid-Major Madness editor

Villanova 82, Michigan 75: Michigan will keep it close because the Wolverines can defend the three and they don’t beat themselves. But Jalen Brunson is the best player in college basketball and he won’t let his team get rattled. Villanova is the most efficient offensive team in the country and will find answers to John Belein’s vaunted defense.

Sarah Hardy, SB Nation NFL editor and Ohio State graduate

Villanova the most points, Michigan way less than that: I predict Michigan fans will be insufferable either way.

Caroline Darney, SB Nation college league manager

Villanova 78, Michigan 72: I just don’t see how you stop a team that shoots like Villanova does. If you have three guys who shoot as well as three of their players do, you’ll probably beat just about anybody out there. But to have seven (SEVEN!) guys who consistently hit threes like they’re layups, that’s just too tough. Michigan’s defense is very good, and I love this Wolverines team, but I just don’t see anyone beating the Wildcats the way they’re playing right now. Won’t stop me from rooting for Moe Wagner, though. He’s the best.

Harry Lyles Jr., SB Nation NFL writer

Villanova 79, Michigan 69: Villanova’s got the superior uniforms. Book it. I also may have been brought up with Ohio State fandom.

Christian D’Andrea, SB Nation news desk writer

Michigan 73, Villanova 72: If no one else is going to pick the Wolverines, I will. Providence and St. John’s showed the best way to discombobulate the Wildcats is through tough perimeter defense — they held VU to a combined 11-for-53 shooting from long range in their upsets. Michigan held opponents to a stingy 32.7 percent from long range this winter. Embrace the chaos.

Sam Eggleston, SB Nation copy editor

Michigan 76, VIllanova 68: Hail! Hail! to Michigan! Being a Yooper (that’s a born-and-raised resident of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, north of the Mackinac Bridge), I have to cheer for Michigan in this particular matchup. Strictly speaking, I’m a Michigan State fan (Tom Izzo is also a Yooper — we are a loyal bunch), but I’m willing to tune up the band and roar out The Victors as the Wolverines make their way to their second-ever national title. Go get ‘em, Michigan. Hail! to the victors valiant!

The final tally

Picking Villanova: 8 Picking Michigan: 2

[junker-town]

The funnest stuff you might’ve missed from Week 2 of college football

Follow here as you watch the games.

It’s the second week of the college football season. Saturday’s TV schedule is not loaded, as it usually isn’t when college competes with the first week of the NFL.

But good and fun things will happen throughout the day anyway. You can follow along with every FBS score here, and in this post we’ll curate some of the day’s best stuff.

Well Nebraska, that’s one way to lose.

In a renewal of a kinda rivalry game, Colorado beat Nebraska, 33-28. After a QB battle throughout the offseason, Nebraska looked like it had found its man ... but it didn’t end well.

Nebraska freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez had a brilliant game, completing 15 of 20 passes for 187 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and running 15 times for 117 yards and two more scores. (He also lost a fumble.) A Martinez injury late in the fourth quarter forced the Huskers to play walk-on backup Andrew Bunch[.]

Nebraska actually came pretty close to winning this game. It had forced a 3rd and 24, and the Buffs looked like they were on their last gasp outside of field goal range. But an untimely penalty gave Colorado new life, and on the very next play, this happened:

CORRECTION : Mais quelle passe de QB Steven Montez pour WR Laviska Shenault Jr ! Les Buffaloes repassent devant à 1:06 de la fin ! Quelle fin de match ! Nebraska 28, Colorado 33pic.twitter.com/gRMiOMdAnK

— TBP College Football (@thebluepennant) September 8, 2018

That was the go-ahead score, and while Bunch was able to get the Huskers to the red zone, an errant throw as time expired was it for Nebraska in Scott Frost’s debut.

The best pics from the day

Not bad, Trevor Lawrence. Not bad at all.

In the game in place of Kelly Bryant, Lawrence wasted little time getting Clemson on the scoreboard again.

scoutkennedy: Trevor Lawrence showing off that 5-Star talent as Tee Higgins makes a great catch and run for a 64 yard TD pass. ESPN College Football: Clemson at Texas A&M https://t.co/GvdRfM172N pic.twitter.com/TqNhz2eBXE

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 8, 2018

A tale of two sports indeed.

Same sport pic.twitter.com/ivmGYlJ0mL

— College Football by SB Nation (@SBNationCFB) September 8, 2018

At this juncture, here was the offensive situation: “We’re up to 338 combined yards between both teams. An FCS QB currently has more than that by himself against Ole Miss.”

At least it got better after this because Iowa led a 13-play, 83-yard, drive that actually ended with a touchdown. Miracles happen.

How’s Larry Fedora’s memory now?

UNC’s head coach said he had no memory of the last time his team lost to ECU (the Pirates hung 70 on the Heels). So to refresh his memory, ECU beat North Carolina again.

The Pirates shutout North Carolina in the second half and @ECUPiratesFB wins its third straight in the series. #AmericanFB pic.twitter.com/REZw3HEcWC

— American Football (@American_FB) September 8, 2018

Tennessee fans getting meta.

You see, it’s fans throwing fans.

It’s raining fans. pic.twitter.com/mxbPAWzOUE

— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 8, 2018

#Topical

I'm a sick Duck, my feathers don't pluck. pic.twitter.com/BavPjmLQCN

— The Oregon Duck (@TheOregonDuck) September 8, 2018

(if you’re unfamiliar with the reference).

Kansas — yes, that Kansas — won a road game.

The Jayhawks had not done so since the year of our Lord, 2009.

Oh my God, Navy.

What a touchdown run here.

What ? Incroyable TD au sol de QB Malcolm Perry pour Navy face à Memphis. Plusieurs juke moves sur l'action. pic.twitter.com/evZATKyqNa

— TBP College Football (@thebluepennant) September 8, 2018

The turnover chain movement continues.

This is a new one.

Turnover Beads ❌ Turnover Throne ❌ Touchdown....Elmer's Glue Chain ✅ (@SHU__Football) pic.twitter.com/m96zd3oQnn

— Stadium (@WatchStadium) September 8, 2018

This ref in Georgia-South Carolina got rocked.

At least give my man half a tackle on the stat sheet.

Nobody wanted to sit by this guy at the William & Mary-Virginia Tech game.

Something this guy said? #Hokies pic.twitter.com/ohFbr2zYcP

— Justin Lemkul (@JustinLemkulVT) September 8, 2018

This good dog appeared at the same game.

Lee Luther Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

The dog’s name is Bean. It belongs to a Hokie cheerleader.

Eastern Michigan is the first MAC team to RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER

During the offseason, MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher did a thing ...

“I have provided a MAC Jolly Roger flag to each institution have asked they after each victory, home or away, that the flag be run up the flag pole and remain there until the next game.” - Commissioner Steinbrecher #FlyTheFlag #MACtion pic.twitter.com/J7gvvk8OCy

— #MACtion (@MACSports) July 24, 2018

... and after Eastern Michigan beat Purdue, they get the honors of raising the flag first.

This Houston player had a tremendous flop, or something.

94 wasn't ready pic.twitter.com/uWD54niLeo

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 8, 2018

This Division III game featuring Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. had some horticultural maintenance issues.

Gotta turn the sprinklers off, folks.

This is happening. #d3fb pic.twitter.com/WPvVEZ2jp3

— D3football.com (@d3football) September 8, 2018

Maybe the best game of the day was played by ...

Georgia Tech and USF!

They played a fun one in Tampa with nine lead changed, 87 points, and 1,124 total yards of offense. QB Blake Barnett — previously of Bama and Arizona State — sealed the deal with this touchdown showing off his legs.

Barnett went 21-31 for 202 yards through the air. He added 91 yards on 16 carries on the ground.

Florida State honored Burt Reynolds in an awesome way.

They parked the car from Smokey And The Bandit right outside the stadium.

You’ll be missed, Buddy. pic.twitter.com/aQyNOyqNDk

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) September 8, 2018

The Colorado Buffaloes ran this smooth trick play — a reverse toss-back pass to the QB, which became a 28-yard throw down the left sideline.

TRICK PLAY ALERT pic.twitter.com/oW7sQBi8U9

— TBP College Football (@thebluepennant) September 8, 2018

A Ball State fan created a very self-aware shirt.

Meet Joe Migas. He's a Ball State alum, but a Notre Dame fan. Migas created the idea for the "Catholics vs. "C" Students" t-shirt after throwing back a few drinks with some friends on a Thursday night. The shirts have been a hot commodity at the Notre Dame vs. Ball State tailgate pic.twitter.com/rLIO71eiOY

— Jack Williams (@jackgwilliams) September 8, 2018

Listen, it’s always better to tease yourself before somebody else teases you.

Here is a bug on a camera lens at the Drake-Montana game.

breaking news: giant insects have taken over mount sentinel prayers up pic.twitter.com/KOOkxAIN3e

— Ric Sanchez (@rcsanchez93) September 8, 2018

Clemson showed up to College Station in style to play Texas A&M.

As they say in Aggieland: Howdy.

Clemson showed up in College Station wearing cowboy hats (via @ClemsonFB) pic.twitter.com/RCihIHbotU

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 7, 2018

Oklahoma’s Marquise “Hollywood Brown” ruined multiple UCLA defenders’ afternoons on this 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Kyler Murray:

treydaubert: Kyler Murray hits Marquise Brown for TD Fox College Football: UCLA at Oklahoma https://t.co/wHYyB8Bl76 pic.twitter.com/107mMzflq6

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 8, 2018

I urge you to look at this Duke punter’s mustache mouthguard.

Mouth guard of the year goes to Duke’s punter. #forthebrand @RedditCFB pic.twitter.com/bz0PIJMXAr

— Jacob Schauf (@jacobschauf) September 8, 2018

This isn’t really “fun,” but it is weird: Liberty’s punter got ejected for a vicious targeting hit against Army.

This was mega-targeting:

Russell Westbrook, Trae Young, and Buddy Hield appeared at UCLA-Oklahoma in Norman, repping their various alma maters.

Here’s Westbrook milling around:

Russell Westbrook reppin @UCLAFootball in Norman #FOXFieldPass pic.twitter.com/2YsN6Ttbr8

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) September 8, 2018

High-five, Kansas State kicker!

Blake Lynch #KStateFB pic.twitter.com/JSvdWtYFrj

— K-State Football (@KStateFB) September 8, 2018

College GameDay included a Make-a-Wish recipient, Owen Gray, serving as the show’s guest picker.

He picked home team Texas A&M to beat Clemson and then likened Lee Corso his “crazy uncle.”

“(Corso) is like my crazy uncle.” - @MakeAWish participant Owen to @KirkHerbstreit pic.twitter.com/ufK8Hd41Tz

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 8, 2018

Also at GameDay, these two Aggie signs ethered Texas.

1.

Mr. Herman ... I don’t feel so good pic.twitter.com/1CahBYax7E

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 8, 2018

2.

Never miss an opportunity to troll Texas ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/GlxnfeaLsi

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 8, 2018

On Friday night, TCU-SMU became a Slip N Slide after lots of rain.

The Horned Frogs wound up winning in a romp, but not before this utterly doomed punt attempt ...

Not quite the WKU punter effort from last season but close from TCU here leading to the safety pic.twitter.com/Rhch9ad1KV

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 8, 2018

... and whatever you’d consider this absurdity:

These fans enjoyed the elements, at least:

People are sliding down the SMU endzone hill like a slip-n-slide. pic.twitter.com/x2266KpBpj

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 8, 2018

SMU brought out a turnover chalice.

SMU celebrating with a turnover chalice. next play TCU gets a turnover and scores lmao pic.twitter.com/B8wqlwRH5U

— nick (@nick_pants) September 8, 2018

This post will be updated as more fun stuff occurs, which it always does.

[junker-town]

The top 100 games of the 2017-18 college football season

We start off the week with 100-71.

We did it. After 834 regular season games, 40 bowl games, 4,376 Nick Saban scowls, and one hell of a national championship game, the college football season is over. To remember and honor the season that was, I (along with a little help from the rest of the SB Nation college football crew) am going to count down the best 100 games of the season. We’ll unveil 30 games at a time on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then count down the top 10 on Friday.

100 - 71

70 - 41 (Wed.)

40 - 11 (Thurs.)

10 - 1 (Fri.)

Let’s get to the list:

100. Jan. 1: Notre Dame 21, LSU 17

When a one-handed catch-and-run decides a battle of two famous helmets, it’s on the list.

99. Oct. 7: Southern Miss 31, UTSA 29

UTSA was Conference USA’s best team in September and entered 3-0. Southern Miss was 2-2 and coming off of a disappointing loss to North Texas.

UTSA led, 13-7, at half, but USM opened up the spigot. Keon Howard hit Quez Watkins for a 48-yard score late in the third, then Ito Smith erupted for an 89-yard TD run. The Roadrunners responded with 16 fourth-quarter points. They needed 18. After a touchdown from Dalton Sturm to Marquez McNair with 48 seconds left, Sturm’s two-point attempt failed.

98. Dec. 24: Fresno State 33, Houston 27

Fresno State flipped from 11 losses to 10 wins in Jeff Tedford’s first season, winning the MWC West and coming three points short of the conference title. They capped with a Hawaii Bowl full of twists.

You had Houston blocking a 24-yard field goal and returning it 94 yards, turning a likely 23-13 Fresno lead into a 20-20 tie. With the Bulldogs up 26-20 and under four minutes left, UH was nearing midfield with a chance to lead when Jaron Bryant had a 44-yard pick six for the clincher.

97. Nov. 24: Buffalo 31, Ohio 24

Buffalo broke through in Lance Leipold’s third year. After winning seven games in his first two years, the Bulls went 6-6 and won their final three games to finish bowl eligible (albeit bowl-free).

The last win was the most impressive. Against an eventual nine-win Ohio, the Bulls raced to a 24-7 first-quarter lead thanks to two Tyree Jackson touchdown passes and a Chuck Harris fumble return. The Bobcats came back, but KJ Osborn returned a punt to the Ohio 6-yard line midway through the fourth, and Emmanuel Reed punched the ball in. Ohio drove to the UB 5 with under 90 seconds left, but a Khalil Hodge interception sealed the deal.

96. Sept. 30: Troy 24, LSU 21

Under Neal Brown, Troy had its first 10-win FBS season in 2016, then its first 11-win FBS season in 2017. And the Trojans knocked off the big boys in Baton Rouge.

95. Sept. 23: Arizona State 37, Oregon 35

ASU was 1-2 and in desperate need of a turnaround. They scored 17 first-quarter points and took a 31-14 lead. But the Ducks went on a 21-3 run midway through the fourth quarter.

No worries! ASU responded with an 11-play, four-minute drive, and a 41-yard Brandon Ruiz field goal. Oregon turned the ball over on downs twice, and the Sun Devils hung on.

94. Nov. 4: Arkansas 39, Coastal Carolina 38

Arkansas fans won’t rank this among their favorite comebacks, but it was fun for a neutral party. CCU took an 11-point lead on Nicholas Clark’s 31-yard fumble return and led by 13 in the fourth quarter.

Arkansas’ T.J. Hammonds ripped off an 88-yard run with 10 minutes left, however, and Cole Kelley capped an 11-play touchdown drive with a one-yard score with 1:55 remaining. This upset bid only lasted 58 minutes, and Bret Bielema got to keep his job for a couple more weeks.

93. Nov. 9: North Carolina 34, Pitt 31 92. Nov. 18: Virginia Tech 20, Pitt 14

Pitt wrecked Miami’s plans for an unbeaten season, and the Panthers used a freshman quarterback to do it. To make matters even more impressive? They did so after gut-wrenching losses.

They came back from down double digits to lead UNC at home in the fourth quarter, only to fall back behind, punt with three minutes left, then fail to make a stop.

Then, they took a fourth-quarter lead at Virginia Tech, only to fall victim to Cam Phillips’ 23-yard TD reception. This time, the offense responded. Jester Weah took a slant 74 yards to the VT 1 with under a minute left ... and VT got three stuffs.

91. Nov. 25: Ohio State 31, Michigan 20

J.T. Barrett won approximately 11 million games as Ohio State’s quarterback, but we got a glimpse of a post-Barrett future when he left The Game with injury.

Blue-chipper Dwayne Haskins came in for his first meaningful action and went 6-for-7 for 94 yards, adding three carries for 24 yards. His 22-yard run set up the go-ahead, and the Buckeyes scored 17 in his four drives.

Photo by Lon Horwedel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

90. Dec. 30: Mississippi State 31, Louisville 27

In Lamar Jackson’s final game at Louisville, a younger quarterback — MSU freshman Keytaon Thompson — stole the show.

89. Nov. 25: Duke 31, Wake Forest 23

It’s hard to lose six straight and still make a bowl, but that’s what Duke did, falling from 4-0 to 4-6 and then rallying. They were 5-6 when they went to Winston-Salem, and they spotted Wake Forest a 17-3 lead.

Rally, they did. Daniel Jones’ one-yard run gave the Blue Devils the lead in the fourth, and Brittain Brown’s four-yard score made it 31-23. Mark Gilbert’s midfield interception sealed a bowl bid, and Duke took advantage with a romp over NIU in the Quick Lane Bowl.

88. Sept. 16: Texas Tech 52, Arizona State 45 87. Oct. 7: Texas 40, Kansas State 34 86. Oct. 21: West Virginia 38, Baylor 36 85. Nov. 4: Kansas State 42, Texas Tech 35 84. Nov. 11: Oklahoma State 49, Iowa State 42

Every year sees a batch of Big 12 shootouts. There are a few further up the list, too.

In Week 3, Tech’s Nic Shimonek threw for 543 yards and six touchdowns, and the Red Raiders needed every bit to survive an ASU comeback. Tech led 35-17 at halftime, but two Manny Wilkins touchdown passes in six minutes tied it before Dylan Cantrell capped a 90-yard drive with the winning score.

In Week 6, Texas beat Kansas State for just the third time in 10 tries. The Longhorns were down by 10, but Joshua Rowland’s late field goal forced overtime, and the UT offense caught fire. Sam Ehlinger hit Jerrod Heard for a 25-yard score in the first OT, then Chris Warren III bulled for the winner.

In Week 8, Baylor nearly pulled of an insane comeback. The then-winless Bears trailed 38-13, but Trestan Ebner scored on a 52-yard catch and a 40-yard run to make it 38-27. It was 38-30 in the closing seconds when Ebner scored on a nine-yard pass from Charlie Brewer. WVU swallowed up the two-point conversion, however.

In Week 10, KSU found overtime redemption, coming back from 35-24 down in the fourth and tying on a Skylar Thompson score and a Dalton Schoen conversion. In OT, Thompson found Pringle for the go-ahead score, and Shimonek’s fourth-and-goal pass fell incomplete. Shimonek threw for 405 in a loss.

In Week 11, ISU nearly pulled a third upset of a top-15 opponent, leading 42-34 with under six minutes left. But Mason Rudolph and Marcell Ateman connected for a 30-yard score, a Justice Hill conversion tied it, and Rudolph found Dillon Stoner for the go-ahead two minutes later. ISU drove to the OSU 4 with 32 seconds left, but A.J. Green picked it off in the end zone.

83. Oct. 21: Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10

For a changeup, one of the best games of the Big 12 season was an anti-shootout. And it ended with one terrible dose of miscommunication.

82. Oct. 7: Kentucky 40, Missouri 34 81. Nov. 24: Missouri 48, Arkansas 45

Former Big 12 member Missouri did its best to bring the spirit to the SEC, averaging nearly 38 per game and rallying from 1-5 to 7-6. They only played in two particularly close games, but both were shootouts.

In Lexington, the Tigers spotted Kentucky a 13-0 lead before trading a barrage: Drew Lock threw touchdowns of 50, 58, and 75 yards, while UK scored on a 71-yard Benny Snell run and a 64-yard pass to Garrett Johnson. Mizzou was driving with a chance at the lead, but Lock couldn’t find tight end Albert Okwuegbunam on the final play.

Mizzou got its road shootout win a few weeks later. In Bielema’s final game, the Tigers again spotted their hosts a lead (21-7) but took a 31-28 lead at halftime. Lock broke the SEC’s single-season touchdowns record, and with the game tied at 45, Mizzou went on a five-minute drive and sealed with a field goal.

80. Sept. 30: Ohio 58, UMass 50 79. Sept. 16: Toledo 54, Tulsa 51

A week after beating EMU in overtime, Ohio survived a wild shootout. It was 27-27 at halftime, and the Bobcats went on a 21-2 run, but UMass kept coming back, and it wasn’t until Dorian Brown’s 42-yard run with 1:42 left that Ohio escaped.

The most MACtion-worthy game happened two weeks earlier. Eventual conference champ Toledo spotted Tulsa a 28-7 lead. Two long Diontae Thompson touchdowns gave Toledo the lead, but the Golden Hurricane tied it with 2:47 left, until Jameson Vest’s field goal at the buzzer.

78. Oct. 26: NIU 30, EMU 27

The Eagles’ hopes of a second straight bowl were dashed by gut-wrenching losses. After a 2-0 start, they lost to Ohio in OT, at Kentucky by four, at Toledo by five, at Army by one, and to WMU in OT.

In desperate need of a win, they took a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter ... and gave up two touchdown drives. A field goal gave the Eagles a lead in OT, but Marcus Jones’ run gave NIU the win. You won’t ever see another six-game losing streak this competitive.

77. Oct. 14: Memphis 30, Navy 27 76. Oct. 19: Memphis 42, Houston 38 75. Oct. 21: USF 34, Tulane 28 74. Nov. 11: Navy 43, SMU 40

Y’all noticed that the AAC was fun as hell again, right? UCF dominated headlines, and the Knights’ final two conference wins are further up the list. But those weren’t the only doozies.

In Week 7, Memphis scored its second win of the year against a ranked team, falling behind 19-17 but finding a 13-0 run. Navy’s Zach Abey cut Memphis’ lead to three with 3:25 left, but Austin Hall picked him off to bag the win.

Five days later in Houston, the Tigers were down 24-7 with 21 minutes left. But Tony Pollard’s 93-yard kickoff return and three Patrick Taylor touchdowns got them within 38-35. And after Memphis stuffed a third-and-1 rush, Riley Ferguson drove the Tigers 80 yards in eight plays, finding Sean Dykes for the win.

Two days after that, USF took its foot off the gas against a resilient Tulane. The Bulls led 34-7 midway through the third, but Sherman Badie’s 34-yard run cut it to 20, and two Dontrell Hilliard scores cut to six with 2:45 left. But on third-and-3 with the game on the line, USF’s Darius Tice raced 30 yards to end it.

Navy has a comeback-proof offense, but SMU whittled away at a 34-11 halftime lead. Courtland Sutton’s 29-yard touchdown catch with 3:32 left tied the game at 40, but Navy got one last chance, milking every second and riding two big Anthony Gargiulo runs to set up a winning kick by J.R. Osborn.

73. Nov. 4: UCF 31, SMU 24

Of the Knights’ first 10 games, only one was particularly challenging. The big plays started early — SMU’s James Proche scored on an 86-yard catch-and-run six minutes in, and UCF responded with an 80-yard pass 15 minutes later.

Adrian Killins’ 64-yard score gave UCF a 28-17 lead in the third, but SMU cut it to 28-24. The Mustangs worked into Knight territory twice in the fourth but couldn’t break through.

72. Sept. 2: Liberty 48, Baylor 45 71. Sept. 2: Howard 43, UNLV 40

Every season features fun FCS-over-FBS upsets, and we saw a wild duo in Week 1.

Soon-to-be-FBS Liberty ruined Matt Rhule’s Baylor debut by posting 585 yards and going on a 21-7 second-half run to take a 48-38 lead. Baylor made it 48-45, but Brandon Tillmon ended it with a last-second interception.

Later that night, we saw technically the biggest upset of all time. UNLV was somehow a 45-point favorite over Howard — UNLV should not have been a 45-point favorite over anybody — but fell victim to one hell of a debut by Caylin Newton. Cam’s little brother rushed for 190 yards and threw for 140 more. The Bison withstood a 24-0 run and came back from 33-21 down to score 22 of the final 29 points. This was a thriller, even if “biggest upset ever!” might oversell it.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Caylin Newton (3)

Check back all this week for the rest of the Top 100.

100 - 71

70 - 41 (Wed.)

40 - 11 (Thurs.)

10 - 1 (Fri.)

[junker-town]

Pretend you’ve been offered the Nebraska and Tennessee jobs. Which should you take?

Presenting the cases for each, it’s clear one of the two has a better chance to compete annually.

Today, I’m going to debate myself on which coaching job is better: Nebraska Cornhuskers or Tennessee Volunteers? Neither job is open at the moment; Butch Jones has been fired, so the Tennessee job is open, and, coach Mike Riley is believed to be squarely on the hot seat, as each team has yet another disappointing season, and the athletic directors who hired them are no longer on the job.

Let’s stipulate that the difference in salaries at both programs is rather negligible.

Nebraska: Nebraska is a much more storied program than Tennessee.

Forty-six conference titles, five national titles (including three in the last quarter century), and three Heisman winners. Both jobs have been down for a while, but Nebraska is the easier sell with its tradition.

Tennessee: You used the word “sell.” Who are you selling? Coaches and recruits.

Remember, neither has any recent success to sell to recruits. None were born the last time we were on top.

There are better players around Knoxville than there are around Lincoln. And the coaches you’ll be selling know this. There’s a reason Nebraska has been down for 20 years now, and unlike Tennessee — which has made bad coaching hire after bad coaching hire — Nebraska’s problem is fundamental: It can’t get players.

The lack of local talent has always been an issue at Nebraska. As SB Nation’s fine Nebraska outlet, Corn Nation, detailed, the lack of recruits within a 500-mile radius is glaring.

And many of Nebraska’s old loopholes have since been closed. Nebraska’s walk-on program, once fueled by “academic” scholarships, is no longer brilliant. No longer can Nebraska fly recruits to campus on a private jet.

Most importantly, Nebraska used to live on partial qualifiers. This isn’t news, but Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden did an absolutely masterful job of calling his shot in January 1996 in his piece titled Headed for a fall? Nebraska may win another national title, but the days when such a colossus ruled the game are over.

Still, what most threatens Nebraska's championship streak is the Big 12's policy on accepting partial and non-qualifiers under NCAA freshman eligibility guidelines. (A partial qualifier is a prospective athlete who meets only one of two minimum academic requirements — grade point average or standardized test score. The minimums are a 2.0 GPA with a 900 on the SAT or 21 on the ACT; or a 2.5 GPA with a 700 SAT or 17 ACT. A non-qualifier meets neither standard. If a school accepts a partial or non-qualifier, the athlete is ineligible for athletics for one year). On Dec. 20 the Big 12 presidents voted unanimously to limit each school to four partial qualifiers per year (two men, two women) and no more than one in a single sport. Non-qualifiers were excluded entirely.

In the Fiesta Bowl, Nebraska started four partial or non-qualifiers (cornerback Michael Booker, defensive tackle Christian Peter, cornerback Tyrone Williams and defensive end Jared Tomich), and two others, wideout Reggie Baul and outside linebacker Jamel Williams, played almost as much as the starters. According to Nebraska officials there were at least 12 partial or non-qualifiers in the program last fall. "Among elites schools Nebraska is a true haven for partial and non-qualifiers," said the coach of another elite school.

Layden looks smarter with each passing year.

Add to that the fact that Nebraska’s advantage in strength training (the Huskers were the first major program to adopt serious heavy lifting) is now gone.

Oh, and with the move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, gone are two more Nebraska advantages: 1) the extent to which over-signing was allowed, now mostly cured, and 2) tapping into the recruit-rich state of Texas for players, since Nebraska went from playing two games in the state yearly, plus another at a nearby Oklahoma school, to zero.

Nebraska: Tennessee might be able to get better players, but can’t out-recruit its competition like the Huskers can.

To use a blackjack reference, I’d rather have a 19 to a dealer’s 18 than have a 20 and lose to a 21.

Setting aside the fact that Nebraska has been able to recruit well in California and other out-of-state locales of late, let’s assume that everyone in the Big Ten and SEC has their act together and is operating at peak efficiency.

How many teams that Nebraska faces on a yearly basis would have better players than the ideal version of the Huskers? One? Two? Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan are all in the other division, and on average, Nebraska has to play roughly three of those games every two years.

Within Nebraska’s division, there is not a single team that can recruit with the Huskers if Nebraska makes the right hire. Not Wisconsin. Not Iowa. Certainly not Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, or Illinois.

Now compare that to what Tennessee faces. If everyone is operating at peak efficiency, Florida and Georgia are absolutely going to have a decided talent advantage against Tennessee. So too will Alabama, which Tennessee must face every year as its designated SEC West opponent. And potential cross-over opponents like LSU, Auburn, and Texas A&M also out-recruit the Vols on a regular basis.

If you look closely at when Tennessee was at its best, it was a unique and rare combination of Tennessee being on fire and key programs (mostly Alabama and Georgia) being down. There’s a reason for that.

More Nebraska: Tennessee doesn’t measure up when its major rivals are good.

The great and revered Phil Fulmer is considered the recent gold standard at Tennessee. Fulmer won the SEC East in six of his 17 seasons. Yet he had a losing record against almost all of the good SEC coaches during his tenure.

He was 5-12 against Florida, going 2-1 against Ron Zook, 0-4 against Urban Meyer, and 3-7 against Steve Spurrier.

While he had an 11-6 record against Georgia, he was just 3-5 against Mark Richt.

He went 8-2 against Alabama coaches Mike Dubose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula, but just a combined 2-4-1 against Gene Stallings and Nick Saban.

If you’re scoring at home, that is a combined record of 8-20-1 against Meyer, Spurrier (at Florida), Richt, Stallings, and Saban (at Alabama).

Tennessee’s best simply doesn’t measure up to the best of the teams it has to play on a yearly basis. Nebraska’s, for the most part, does.

Even more Nebraska: Also, let’s no go overrating the talent around Knoxville.

Knoxville is not in the talented part of Tennessee. It’s surrounded by national forests and mountains. Not much good high school football is played in those parts.

Not much football being played in National Forests

It takes six hours to drive from Knoxville to the talent-rich city of Memphis. And going from Memphis to Knoxville, you lose an hour due to the time zone switch.

Alabama is two hours closer and in the same time zone. Auburn is roughly the same distance from Memphis. Ole Miss is about an hour. The Razorbacks are 90 minutes closer than the Vols. Mississippi State is less than half the distance away, as is Vanderbilt. Missouri and Kentucky are roughly the same distance as the Vols. It is so unfortunate for Tennessee that eight programs within its own conference are as close or much closer to a huge talent base in the Volunteer State.

Nashville, the other major talent spot in the city, is better, but still almost four hours away when accounting for the time change going east.

That’s to say nothing of how Tennessee used to be able to raid North and South Carolina when NC State, UNC, Clemson, and South Carolina were all down, but now has to fight legitimate battles for at least some players from Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greenville.

Still more Nebraska: That also extends to expectations. It’s much easier to win at Nebraska.

If you’re the coach at Nebraska, and you handle your business, you are often going to have a chance to play two or three games to make the College Football Playoff: Wisconsin, the good team you draw from the Big Ten East, and the Big Ten Championship Game. The Big Ten champion is not going to be left out if undefeated, even if it sometimes plays in the weakest division in the Power 5.

Compare that to Tennessee, which routinely has to play at least double the number of games at a talent disadvantage as Nebraska. Good luck getting to the Playoff with that slate.

Finally, some Tennessee: Do you want to win a title or just reach the Playoff?

We’ve seen what happens to teams that reach the Playoff but don’t have enough talent to win it: They get stomped, either in the first round or the second. Oregon couldn’t physically match up with Ohio State. Alabama went 38-0 on Michigan State and dominated Washington. Clemson beat Oklahoma by three scores.

There’s a baseline level of talent needed to win it all. Tennessee has a much better chance of getting to that level, and even if it has the harder schedule, at least it will be battle-tested and have a shot if it does get there.

Making the Playoff, but not having the talent to win it, is a Buffalo Bills sequel. Who wants that tease?

Nebraska: Do you really think either is going to win a national title? What about stability? What about expectations? What about being able to coach at a place for a decade and make $50M?

Let’s be real here. These are top-30-level jobs, but they aren’t top-10-type jobs. They don’t automatically come with serious title expectations.

You can win a lot of games and coach for a long time at Nebraska. The Big Ten doesn’t operate like Tennessee. There’s potential for real stability.

Bo Pelini went 67-27 with the Huskers, which is roughly 10-4 each year. And Pelini is not some amazing coach. Nobody is getting fired at Nebraska for consistently going 10-4 unless, well, you’re a huge jerk. And with the benefit of hindsight, and having gone through the Mike Riley experience, Nebraska almost certainly won’t be firing someone who matches Pelini’s on-field record with a bit more off-field couth.

The Nebraska job asks that its coach consistently dominate most of the Big Ten West, hold his own against Wisconsin, and very occasionally knock off the best from the East in the conference championship game.

Consider quality of life. You can raise your family at Nebraska if you win the West Division more often than not. Your kids can grow up with the same friends through middle and high school. You can be happy, not constantly on the hot seat, and not compared to Georgia, Florida, and Alabama on a daily basis. The chances you get a second contract at Nebraska are so much better.

What if you improve on Jones at Tennessee by a game per season? Instead of averaging 7-5 like Jones, maybe you average 8-4, with one SEC East title, but no conference championship during your five-year deal. Do you really think Tennessee’s boosters won’t be reaching out to the next hot commodity?

Every major program has outsized expectations, but between programs of similar resources, Nebraska’s seem much more realistic. Pick a place where a good job will be recognized as such. Pick Nebraska.

[junker-town]

Pretend you’ve been offered the Nebraska and Tennessee jobs. Which should you take?

Presenting the cases for each, it’s clear one of the two has a better chance to compete annually.

Today, I’m going to debate myself on which coaching job is better: Nebraska Cornhuskers or Tennessee Volunteers? Neither job is open at the moment; however, coaches Mike Riley and Butch Jones are believed to be squarely on the hot seat, as each team has yet another disappointing season, and the athletic directors who hired them are no longer on the job.

Let’s stipulate that the difference in salaries at both programs is rather negligible.

Nebraska: Nebraska is a much more storied program than Tennessee.

Forty-six conference titles, five national titles (including three in the last quarter century), and three Heisman winners. Both jobs have been down for a while, but Nebraska is the easier sell with its tradition.

Tennessee: You used the word “sell.” Who are you selling? Coaches and recruits.

Remember, neither has any recent success to sell to recruits. None were born the last time we were on top.

There are better players around Knoxville than there are around Lincoln. And the coaches you’ll be selling know this. There’s a reason Nebraska has been down for 20 years now, and unlike Tennessee — which has made bad coaching hire after bad coaching hire — Nebraska’s problem is fundamental: It can’t get players.

The lack of local talent has always been an issue at Nebraska. As SB Nation’s fine Nebraska outlet, Corn Nation, detailed, the lack of recruits within a 500-mile radius is glaring.

And many of Nebraska’s old loopholes have since been closed. Nebraska’s walk-on program, once fueled by “academic” scholarships, is no longer brilliant. No longer can Nebraska fly recruits to campus on a private jet.

Most importantly, Nebraska used to live on partial qualifiers. This isn’t news, but Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden did an absolutely masterful job of calling his shot in January 1996 in his piece titled Headed for a fall? Nebraska may win another national title, but the days when such a colossus ruled the game are over.

Still, what most threatens Nebraska's championship streak is the Big 12's policy on accepting partial and non-qualifiers under NCAA freshman eligibility guidelines. (A partial qualifier is a prospective athlete who meets only one of two minimum academic requirements — grade point average or standardized test score. The minimums are a 2.0 GPA with a 900 on the SAT or 21 on the ACT; or a 2.5 GPA with a 700 SAT or 17 ACT. A non-qualifier meets neither standard. If a school accepts a partial or non-qualifier, the athlete is ineligible for athletics for one year). On Dec. 20 the Big 12 presidents voted unanimously to limit each school to four partial qualifiers per year (two men, two women) and no more than one in a single sport. Non-qualifiers were excluded entirely.

In the Fiesta Bowl, Nebraska started four partial or non-qualifiers (cornerback Michael Booker, defensive tackle Christian Peter, cornerback Tyrone Williams and defensive end Jared Tomich), and two others, wideout Reggie Baul and outside linebacker Jamel Williams, played almost as much as the starters. According to Nebraska officials there were at least 12 partial or non-qualifiers in the program last fall. "Among elites schools Nebraska is a true haven for partial and non-qualifiers," said the coach of another elite school.

Layden looks smarter with each passing year.

Add to that the fact that Nebraska’s advantage in strength training (the Huskers were the first major program to adopt serious heavy lifting) is now gone.

Oh, and with the move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, gone are two more Nebraska advantages: 1) the extent to which over-signing was allowed, now mostly cured, and 2) tapping into the recruit-rich state of Texas for players, since Nebraska went from playing two games in the state yearly, plus another at a nearby Oklahoma school, to zero.

Nebraska: Tennessee might be able to get better players, but can’t out-recruit its competition like the Huskers can.

To use a blackjack reference, I’d rather have a 19 to a dealer’s 18 than have a 20 and lose to a 21.

Setting aside the fact that Nebraska has been able to recruit well in California and other out-of-state locales of late, let’s assume that everyone in the Big Ten and SEC has their act together and is operating at peak efficiency.

How many teams that Nebraska faces on a yearly basis would have better players than the ideal version of the Huskers? One? Two? Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan are all in the other division, and on average, Nebraska has to play roughly three of those games every two years.

Within Nebraska’s division, there is not a single team that can recruit with the Huskers if Nebraska makes the right hire. Not Wisconsin. Not Iowa. Certainly not Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, or Illinois.

Now compare that to what Tennessee faces. If everyone is operating at peak efficiency, Florida and Georgia are absolutely going to have a decided talent advantage against Tennessee. So too will Alabama, which Tennessee must face every year as its designated SEC West opponent. And potential cross-over opponents like LSU, Auburn, and Texas A&M also out-recruit the Vols on a regular basis.

If you look closely at when Tennessee was at its best, it was a unique and rare combination of Tennessee being on fire and key programs (mostly Alabama and Georgia) being down. There’s a reason for that.

More Nebraska: Tennessee doesn’t measure up when its major rivals are good.

The great and revered Phil Fulmer is considered the recent gold standard at Tennessee. Fulmer won the SEC East in six of his 17 seasons. Yet he had a losing record against almost all of the good SEC coaches during his tenure.

He was 5-12 against Florida, going 2-1 against Ron Zook, 0-4 against Urban Meyer, and 3-7 against Steve Spurrier.

While he had an 11-6 record against Georgia, he was just 3-5 against Mark Richt.

He went 8-2 against Alabama coaches Mike Dubose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula, but just a combined 2-4-1 against Gene Stallings and Nick Saban.

If you’re scoring at home, that is a combined record of 8-20-1 against Meyer, Spurrier (at Florida), Richt, Stallings, and Saban (at Alabama).

Tennessee’s best simply doesn’t measure up to the best of the teams it has to play on a yearly basis. Nebraska’s, for the most part, does.

Even more Nebraska: Also, let’s no go overrating the talent around Knoxville.

Knoxville is not in the talented part of Tennessee. It’s surrounded by national forests and mountains. Not much good high school football is played in those parts.

Not much football being played in National Forests

It takes six hours to drive from Knoxville to the talent-rich city of Memphis. And going from Memphis to Knoxville, you lose an hour due to the time zone switch.

Alabama is two hours closer and in the same time zone. Auburn is roughly the same distance from Memphis. Ole Miss is about an hour. The Razorbacks are 90 minutes closer than the Vols. Mississippi State is less than half the distance away, as is Vanderbilt. Missouri and Kentucky are roughly the same distance as the Vols. It is so unfortunate for Tennessee that eight programs within its own conference are as close or much closer to a huge talent base in the Volunteer State.

Nashville, the other major talent spot in the city, is better, but still almost four hours away when accounting for the time change going east.

That’s to say nothing of how Tennessee used to be able to raid North and South Carolina when NC State, UNC, Clemson, and South Carolina were all down, but now has to fight legitimate battles for at least some players from Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greenville.

Still more Nebraska: That also extends to expectations. It’s much easier to win at Nebraska.

If you’re the coach at Nebraska, and you handle your business, you are often going to have a chance to play two or three games to make the College Football Playoff: Wisconsin, the good team you draw from the Big Ten East, and the Big Ten Championship Game. The Big Ten champion is not going to be left out if undefeated, even if it sometimes plays in the weakest division in the Power 5.

Compare that to Tennessee, which routinely has to play at least double the number of games at a talent disadvantage as Nebraska. Good luck getting to the Playoff with that slate.

Finally, some Tennessee: Do you want to win a title or just reach the Playoff?

We’ve seen what happens to teams that reach the Playoff but don’t have enough talent to win it: They get stomped, either in the first round or the second. Oregon couldn’t physically match up with Ohio State. Alabama went 38-0 on Michigan State and dominated Washington. Clemson beat Oklahoma by three scores.

There’s a baseline level of talent needed to win it all. Tennessee has a much better chance of getting to that level, and even if it has the harder schedule, at least it will be battle-tested and have a shot if it does get there.

Making the Playoff, but not having the talent to win it, is a Buffalo Bills sequel. Who wants that tease?

Nebraska: Do you really think either is going to win a national title? What about stability? What about expectations? What about being able to coach at a place for a decade and make $50M?

Let’s be real here. These are top-30-level jobs, but they aren’t top-10-type jobs. They don’t automatically come with serious title expectations.

You can win a lot of games and coach for a long time at Nebraska. The Big Ten doesn’t operate like Tennessee. There’s potential for real stability.

Bo Pelini went 67-27 with the Huskers, which is roughly 10-4 each year. And Pelini is not some amazing coach. Nobody is getting fired at Nebraska for consistently going 10-4 unless, well, you’re a huge jerk. And with the benefit of hindsight, and having gone through the Mike Riley experience, Nebraska almost certainly won’t be firing someone who matches Pelini’s on-field record with a bit more off-field couth.

The Nebraska job asks that its coach consistently dominate most of the Big Ten West, hold his own against Wisconsin, and very occasionally knock off the best from the East in the conference championship game.

Consider quality of life. You can raise your family at Nebraska if you win the West Division more often than not. Your kids can grow up with the same friends through middle and high school. You can be happy, not constantly on the hot seat, and not compared to Georgia, Florida, and Alabama on a daily basis. The chances you get a second contract at Nebraska are so much better.

What if you improve on Jones at Tennessee by a game per season? Instead of averaging 7-5 like Jones, maybe you average 8-4, with one SEC East title, but no conference championship during your five-year deal. Do you really think Tennessee’s boosters won’t be reaching out to the next hot commodity?

Every major program has outsized expectations, but between programs of similar resources, Nebraska’s seem much more realistic. Pick a place where a good job will be recognized as such. Pick Nebraska.