2024-25 NFL (Week 15)

Games I saw (some of):

Rams 12-6 Niners

Yawn! A real snooze of a game. Deebo Samuel dropped a pass that might've been a TD, biggest play of the game. The Rams did well last week against the Bills and kept it going by catching the Niners giving up on the season and, suddenly, that surge I thought the Rams might go on (and then assumed they wouldn't) is back on! I thought a surging Cards might have been a more dangerous playoff team but a surging Rams squad is gonna be a real pain in the ass. 

Bills 48-42 Lions

Fun game! The Bills owned the 1st quarter, from then on it was a boat race where the Bills managed to hang on. Fun but there wasn't much defense. The Lions needed this game more than the Bills did, they've got the Vikings and Eagles breathing down their necks. So even though the Lions have been the best team on both sides of the ball, suddenly they might be going on the road to open the post-season. The Bills (by which I mean: Josh Allen) are rolling and if they can get some luck with Mahomes's ankle, they might still snag the #1 seed in the AFC.

Bears 12-30 Vikings

The Bears are not a fun team to watch and that's unfortunate--I love a good youth movement! But they are better than last year and I presume they'll make a leap in coaching (Mike Vrabel interested in this gig?) and might be pretty good....next year. The Vikings are a nice team, quietly piling up W's, might still win the division, might get the #1 seed in the NFC--all on the table for them. This is a good team and I still think no one's noticed. 

The rest of the slate:

Chiefs 21-7 Browns. Browns have given up on football; Chiefs may have lost Mahomes for a while, we'll see how bad his high ankle sprain turns out to be.

Bengals 37-27 Titans. The Titans have at times this year impressed me in the O-line and D-line play, especially considering how useless the skill players are arrayed around them; but even the good parts of the team are calcifying and I think the Titans just don't have enough talent (or will) to win any more. Do you see how bad the Bengals D is? They gave up 27 to the frickin' Titans!

Commanders 20-19 Saints. The Saints came back late, went for 2 after the buzzer, I respect that but I didn't much care for the play call. The Commanders are still getting by, I figured they were due for a pullback but I think they can keep winning. 

Ravens 35-14 Giants. The Giants have given up on football; the Ravens need to pass to set up the run, that is their mission from here til the final gun. 

Cowboys 30-14 Panthers. The Cowboys are actually playing their best ball of the season but I don't think anyone has noticed; the Panthers are having fun but that doesn't mean they're going to win games.

Jets 32-25 Jaguars. Yeah, I don't care.

Dolphins 12-20 Texans. The Texans are weirdly uninspiring but they are clearly the class of their division. The Dolphins are done, I guess. 

Colts 13-31 Broncos. The Colts have given up on football. The Broncos are still figuring out how to play with consistency, but they're rounding into shape going into the playoffs, they won't be an easy out. 

Steelers 13-27 Eagles. The Steelers can be dangerous as an underdog, but as soon as you start to believe in them, I think they will disappoint. Nice W for the Eagles, who seem disgruntled even while winning. 

Patriots 17-30 Cards. Yeah, I don't care.

Bucs 40-17 Chargers. Wow, 40-burger on the Chargers? Dang. The Bucs are getting better at the right time. The Chargers are nice but not yet there. 

Packers 30-13 Seahawks. Good win for the Packers; the Seahawks may be in trouble if QB Smith is out for a while. 

Falcons 15-9 Raiders. Yeah, I don't care. (Are we gonna see QB Penix next week?)

2024-25 NFL (Week 14)

Games I watched (some of):

Packers 31-34 Lions

Good game! The Packers played well, the Lions played just a little better. Good to see the Lions get it done against a tough division opponent, good to see the Packers bringing it down to the wire. These are both good teams, the NFC playoffs are gonna be rugged this year. 

Panthers 16-22 Eagles

Yeah, this game was just what I thought it would be: the Panthers have been getting better lately (they bottomed out earlier than anyone else in the league) but still aren't actually good enough to win games--but they are good enough to put a scare in the best teams, such as the Chiefs and Eagles, neither of whom came close to covering the spread on the lowly Panthers. The Eagles didn't seem that interested but they came alive when they needed to, did what needed to be done. Keep an eye on the Panthers if you like teams that cover the spread while losing. 

Bills 42-44 Rams

Fun game! After watching a game with seemingly no defense (no turnovers, for example), its worth remembering that the different in the game was a blocked punt. If the Bills just get that punt off as normal, there's a chance they get the stop and....ah, who am I kidding? There were no "stops" in this game! Hell, it probably benefitted the Bills to get the ball back that much quicker. As a Bills fan it is disconcerting that QB Allen put up 42 points on the road in a flawless performance and still didn't get the W. But, the Rams are wily veterans and they made their stand at home. Good for them. 

Chargers 17-19 Chiefs

The Chargers did nothing at all in the 1st half and were only down 13-0 at halftime. Then the Chargers pretty well dominated the 2nd half but got the FG instead of the third TD and that was all the opening that Mahomes needed to steal the game. The Chiefs don't blow people out, they just get by and they seem able to do that with the bestest or wortest of opponents....but we'll see how long that lasts. As for the Chargers, well, they almost knocked off the champs but...they didn't...so....nice uniforms.

Bengals 27-20 Cowboys

Jeez, Cowboys, all you had to do was not screw up the blocked punt, run out the clock, kick an FG and you'd get the W at home. Instead, you muffed the blocked punt (turning a great play into a 1st down for the other team) and watched helplessly as QB Burrow carved you up and covered the spread (and we come to my real consternation). Oh, Cowboys. I thought this game would've featured a lot more scoring as the Bengals have a great offense and a terrible defense and the Cowboys are kinda middle of the pack in both. More of a barnburner than I would've thought but the Cowboys still managed to look awful. 

The rest of the slate:

Jags 10-6 Titans. Yeah, I don't care.

Jets 26-32 Dolphins. Yeah, I don't care.

Falcons 21-42 Vikings. The Falcons ran out of gas, the Vikings just kept going. 

Saints 14-11 Giants. Yeah, I don't care.

Browns 14-27 Steelers. Thought the Browns might give the Steelers a game but QB Winston just can't get through a game without giving it to the other team, just a matter of time before the Steelers sealed the victory.

Raiders 13-28 Bucs. The Raiders tried but they're just not good, the Bucs are playing their best ball right now--NFC playoffs are gonna be rugged. 

Seahawks 30-18 Cards. Thought the Cards would overtake the Seahawks but losing to them twice in the last 3 weeks has pretty much finished their season. 

Bears 13-38 Niners. Thought the Bears might hustle their way to a result against the fading Niners but it turns out the Niners still have enough to beat a not-good team. 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 15)

Watched some:

Mountain West: (20) UNLV 7-21 (10) Boise State 

Boise State just straight smoked UNLV in the 1st half and then not much happened in the 2nd half--to which I would credit Boise State's stifling attack. UNLV did not belong in the playoff and I'm glad Boise State handled their business.

SEC: (5) Georgia 22-19 (OT) (2) Texas

I thought Texas was the better team, the game went back and forth, UGA kinda took off after QB Beck got injured and they had to go to the backup, who was better (though he still threw one of the most inexplicable interceptions I've seen in a while). The two teams are similar: at their best when they're running but sometimes stall and can't sustain, both have top quality pass rush, both have some spice on special teams, but neither team has any standout WR's and UGA's QB is suspect, while UT's is just not as good as it seems like he ought to be. In short: both teams have good--but not great--depth of talent

and play to their strengths, but there are chinks in the armor that top flight opponents can nibble away at. Again, I thought Texas was better but they didn't get it done in OT, so that was that. Both are in the playoff but the winner gets a bye and the loser doesn't. 

Big 10: (3) Penn State 37-45 (1) Oregon

Typically in a normal year there are 3-4 teams (sometimes 5) that look truly capable of winning the championship; but expanding out to 12 teams throws so many more teams in the mix that I think it waters down the top tier schools and this year, only Oregon looked like a real champion all season long. Penn State has been getting better but can't get over the hump of beating the top tier schools for a few years now; expanding out to 12 teams is a godsend to good-but-not-great teams like Penn State. Here, Oregon jumped out to a commanding lead with an offense that ran and passed with ease, converted 3rd downs like pros and just generally always seem to catch the defense out of position. You would expect a team like Penn State to fall to pieces after such an early shellacking, but I was impressed at how well they hung in and came back to make the close, the game went to the final minute when it looked over early. That said....it was over early. For all of Penn State's impressive stick-to-it-tive-ness, I never thought Oregon was losing this game. Oregon is the clear obvious no-brainer #1 team in the land; Penn State is a nice contestant in the tourney, solid enough (if a little vanilla) to hang tough and make the most of others' mistakes. 

ACC: (17) Clemson 34-31 (8) Southern Methodist

SMU played about as awful as they could in the 1st half and I still thought they were gonna win--and was kinda shocked that they didn't. Clemson made SMU pay for their early mistakes (turnovers, bad penalties, dumb plays--they put on the full show of awful!) and rode a 24-7 lead into the half. But after that, SMU picked up their game and looked damn good on offense and pretty good on defense. Clemson was able to sneak in the game-winning FG, but, man, I just didn't think they had it in them to make those kinds of plays down the stretch. I'm glad SMU made the tourney--I think they deserved it; flipside: I think Clemson is the 12th best team remaining (and the reason the extra SEC squad isn't here--not SMU, who totally deserves to be ahead of Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss). 

Watched none (or very little)

C-USA: Western Kentucky 12-52 Jacksonville St.

Wow, quite the pasting Jax State dropped on the Hilltoppers. I know nothing about of either of these teams or this conference or this game....except that it looks like Jax came to play and WKU did not. 

American Athletic: Tulane 14-35 (24) Army

Both of these squads have been pretty good all year long, both faltering in November. Every time I turned this game on, Tulane was turning the ball over and Army was poised to increase their lead. Yeah, I saw not much of this because it was clear Army was housing them throughout. Thought for a while that an undefeated Army squad would have to get some kind of consideration from the committee, could there have been enough election year fervor to get the Cadets into the inaugural playoff? (If they'd beaten Notre Dame, we might've found out)

Big 12: (16) Iowa State 19-45 (15) Arizona State 

Yeah, the Sun Devils put in on the Cyclones early and often and this was over pronto. Iowa State is a nice team for keeping the score low, getting a lucky break or two and stealing W's from better teams. But ASU's onslaught nullified all that and Iowa State had no chance to get back into this game. Arizona State got hot late and stole this conference (yeah, I just noticed they were in the Big 12, like, last week), so all I know about them is they're kinda hot right now. But whooping up on Iowa State doesn't get me too pumped this year as even the top of that conference was pretty mediocre (and the bottom featured a lot of typically reliable teams having stinkburger years). Good luck, Arizona State (I have you ranked #11 out of 12).

MAC: Ohio 38-3 Miami (OH)

Nice work, OU! Don't take no guff from the mean preppy kids from the rich camp on the other side of the lake. I can't imagine the Bobcats are worthy of a tournament invite but they went 10-3, avenged their one conference L and stomped their way through the championship. Good season. 

Sun Belt: Marshall 31-3 Louisiana

Two more teams I was not acquainted with this season, looks like Marshall came to play.  

My top 12 

1 Oregon (1)

2 Ohio State (8)

3 Notre Dame (7)

4 Texas (5)

5 Penn State (6)

6 Georgia (2)

7 Southern Methodist (11)

8 Indiana (10)

9 Tennessee (9)

10 Boise State (3)

11 Arizona State (4)

12 Clemson (12)

I'm not in favor of holding the top 4 seeds for conference winners. I think winning a conference earns you a spot in the top 12 but otherwise you get ranked alongside everyone else. So Arizona State taking the #4 seed is positively absurd--really a dumbass way to kick off this new invention! See, Clemson won their conference and they are ranked #12, which is what they deserve (yes: behind the team they just beat!), because Clemson is not that good and the fact that they were able to backdoor their way into this tourney is all the reward they should get. Clemson won and they are getting what they deserve, while Arizona State won and are being waywaywayway overrated. 

That said, this produced some excellent matches that I'm looking forward to. And I'm going to watch as much as the TV will allow.

2024-25 NFL (Week 13)

Games I watched (some of):

Dolphins 17-30 Packers

The Packers came to play, the Dolphins did not, this was over quick. The Dolphins made every conceivable mistake in the 1st quarter and were only marginally better from then on. The Packers moved the ball well, took full advantage of Dolphin miscues and piled up a nice lead right away. The Dolphins are playing better but the frozen tundra was not kinda to them. If the Packers play like this every week they might be able to catch the Vikings and Lions slipping.

Raiders 17-19 Chiefs

The story here is that the Raiders had the ball well within FG range ready to run out the clock and the center mis-snapped the ball and the Chiefs got the fumble to secure the victory. Yeah, the Raiders literally gave it away instead of getting the W. The Raiders have given up, the only thing buoying them at this point is the petty bitterness of division games (you know: the Raiders beat the Chiefs every year, this final should not be shocking), and they do have TE Bowers, the Offensive ROY, I'd say. The Chiefs play to their level of competition, as exhibited by an absolute gift from the Raiders and an OT tussle with the Panthers in the last coupla weeks; the Chiefs have to scuffle at the end of games to beat arguably the two worst teams in the league. That said, they could do the same thing to the Bills, Lions, Eagles, Steelers, etc. I wouldn't count them out just yet but this team gets a little more Mahomes-dependent every week, he's the best in the world right now (*), but the hills he has to climb only get higher from here. Good win--lucky win!--but those count, too. 

Steelers 44-38 Bengals

Okay, okay, hold up a second here: don't go looking at this and thinking the Steelers offense will be regularly putting up 40-burgers, nah nah nah. That ain't happening. The Bengals defense is that bad (like, italics bad!) and this game was a mix of sloppy and opportunistic. Nice to know that the Steelers can do this from time to time but I wouldn't count on seeing this too many more times. QB Burrow is having one of the greatest seasons that no one will ever notice that I've ever seen (**) but its not enough, the Bengals are in too deep of a hole and just not built to win games, so I think Burrow-to-Chase might break some records but they've got no shot at the playoffs. The Steelers have a really good pass rush and a rickety offense (what I envisioned the Kirk Cousins Falcons to look like) that can sneak up on ya. But this kinda of offensive output is an anomaly. I still feel like the Steelers are due for a correction but they're getting their moxy going now, might seal the division for them. 

Cards 22-23 Vikings

The Cards were the better team for, like, 58 minutes of this game. But the Vikings are savvy and they got it done down the stretch. Good W. The Cards are playing their best ball right now, moving in the right direction, I thought they would catch the Seahawks, we'll see. The Vikings are good on D, kinda good on offense, not overpowering, (not particularly fun to watch, either), but they get W's, they're a tough out. I thought the Packers would pass them in the standings, I guess I still think that.

Niners 10-35 Bills

This was not the Niners' night. The lake effect snow was just getting going right as the game started and the slopfest in every way benefitted the Bills and doomed the Niners. The Niners have had a rough season, injuries all over the place, no continuity, tough L's, this game was just waiting to punish them and it did. The Bills didn't really even have to work hard. QB Allen completed a hot route to WR Cooper, who got stood up by the corner, Cooper was able to lateral the back to Allen, who got credit for a receiving TD of his own pass. That kinda game: the Bills were having fun and the Niners were not. The Niners are done for the year, I'd say, they might spark alive in a division game, they might have some spoiler in them, but they don't feel like they're going on a run to me. 

Eagles 24-19 Ravens

I thought the Eagles were better. The Ravens are a reverse of their usual selves: their ground and pound offense can pummel people but their defense is sketchy at best. I though they'd get hot enough to skip past the Steelers but I dunno, man, if that running game doesn't get going, they lose. The Eagles are getting hot at the right time, their offense is in a nice groove, their pass rush is evolving nicely, this the team we thought they were going to be last year. Lions-Eagles NFC game is gonna be a good one, already looking forward to it. 

The rest of the slate:

Bears 20-23 Lions. Called this one: I thought the Lions would run up a nice lead and then mail in the 4th quarter, with the Bears furiously trying to come back. Yup, pretty much. The scuffling as the clock ran out got Coach Eberfluss fired (hate to be that guy but....yeah), perhaps a new hand on the rudder will bring some late season success. The Bears aren't good but they play hard, they're frisky, they're out beat people, they just can't get it done; the Lions are just good at every phase of the game, they rolling right now. 

Giants 20-27 Cowboys. I think NYG have given up life, I don't expect them to be particularly competitive down the stretch, they're playing for that #1 pick, but they look capable of piling up garbage numbers. The Cowboys are actually playing pretty good right now, not great but strangely dangerous. 

Chargers 17-13 Falcons. QB Cousins just doesn't look healthy, certainly isn't playing well; a pretty good Cousins and this team could win games and be mildly dangerous in the post-season, but without him, I'd be kinda shocked if rookie QB Penix came off the bench and got W's at this point of the season; I think the Falcons may be done. The Chargers are a good defense and a frisky offense and a coach that seems in control; they can beat anyone and don't see quite as likely to lose to anyone they way have in years past; I think I kinda like this team to finally get over the hump and make a nice playoff run (just like I have...in years past). Good W for the Chargers to take a division leader on the road. 

Colts 25-24 Patriots. I wondered which team was more likely to gack it away. It was the Colts. 

Seahawks 26-21 Jets. NYJ have given up on life, they just aren't good on offense and the D that has been dominant lately don't seem that dominant this year; the season has been a disaster and they're all ready for Cancun. The Seahawks have a great passing game but I'm not sure what else they got, kinda felt like they'd slide out of the playoffs but they are frisky and should score a few more W's. Not a blowout victory, but a good W on the road for the Seahawks. 

Titans 19-42 Commanders. I missed on this one: I thought the Commanders were riding too high, ready for a fall and likely to treat the Titans with too little regard. I actually kinda the O-line and D-line on the Titans, its the lack of playmakers on either side of the ball that keeps this team from winning, they're not good but they're not a complete disaster. A longshot, but I thought the Titans would give the Commanders a game. Not so much. The C's dominated from beginning to end. A good W for a young tema, wrapping a game they should've won isn't as easy as it sounds, kudos to the C's for keeping the winning vibe going. 

Texans 23-20 Jags. The Texans haven't gotten better at anything all season long. They're okay, they don't suck and their division is a disaster area, so I fully expect them to make the playoffs, but I don't expect them to last long because they seem just to the high side of mediocre to me. I don't understand why the Jags suck so bad, I thought they were poised to have a growth year and that did not happen, they've pretty much sucked all year. I don't know why and I have no idea if they've given up or not because I can't read anything about this team (they hate the coach, maybe?). Texans needs to not lose and they didn't, good W for a young team.  

Rams 21-14 Saints. The Saints started the season with two massive victories and have done absolutely nothing since. Not sure if they've given up, I just think they're not very good. I thought the Rams might be the veteran savvy team that pulls it together and steals a wobbly division but I don't think so; I love QB Stafford as much as the next guy (he's the only reason the Rams win a game like this on the road), but I just think this roster is too thin all round to get to the next level. A road W in the NFL is always something to applaud, we'll see if it inspires the Rams to get moving. 

Bucs 26-23 (OT) Panthers. The Panthers have been playing much better the last few weeks, once you've given up, you can begin to build something new and the Panthers reached that point earlier than any other team, hence they've actually be balling lately. The Bucs are ready to steal the division from the Falcons, they just need to pile up W's and though this match wasn't a stunning victory, it was a road W in the division, nice work. 

Browns 32-41 Broncos. Saw none of this but the highlights looked fun. The Browns have a good defense and a terrible offense (like the Steelers, but opposite of the Bengals and Ravens); so when the offense shows up, the defense can keep them in the game, but when it doesn't the defense just collapses. Here there was some offense and some defense, enough to make the game fun to watch but never enough to really challenge for the W. The Broncos are in a good groove, they're gonna be a tough out in the playoffs. 

(*) I'm not saying Mahomes is the greatest of all-time, he's still got a ways to go there. But Mahomes is absolutely positively clearly the best QB in the game right now. 

(**) My thought was like Andre Dawson's MVP season with the godawful Cubs....but Dawson did win the MVP and Burrow will be piling up 5th place votes at best. The MLB, NBA and NHL casually produce good stats/bad team guys but the kind of numbers Burrow is putting up generally wins games in football, but the Bengal defense is truly that bad. 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 14)

Games I saw (some of):

Georgia Tech 42-44 (8OT) (7) Georgia

I turned this on at halftime when Tech was up 17-0. I still thought UGA would win, but it was pretty clear they wouldn't be covering the 19.5 point spread. But I was blown away at Tech's offense casually slicing and dicing the vaunted Dawg defense. Tech kept converting 3rd downs, ran the ball effectively, made plays when they needed and more or less just looked like the better team. Then, deep in the 4th quarter, it happened: Tech's QB fumbled (after clearly getting a helmet-to-helmet hit that no one bothered to do anything about) and from there UGA was able to hold off the fatal blow and tie it back up. The OT's went on forever, I now actually understand the rules on college OT, and Tech had their chance in the 1st OT to go for 2 and end the game, but honestly I'm not sure the coach knew what he was doing. Look: after the 1st OT, both teams are required to for a 2-point conversion after a TD, so why not just do it after the 1st one? If you tie the game with a TD in the 1st OT, you have the advantage to finish the game...why not just go for it? Anyway, UGA crawled back out of their hole and staved off disaster, but take away that fumble and they lose in regulation--and UGA certainly wasn't dominant in OT. UGA just isn't as good this year and it isn't simply their stiff QB, this defense gets turned around. This playoff is gonna be weird. 

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Bayern Munich

I was in and out of a bunch of games this weekend but the big Bundesliga match was the most interesting to me. As a Dortmund fan I had low expectations, it has been a frustrating season so far, but when Dortmund went up before halftime, I was piqued. The game had very little offense, not match action around either goal, Bayern was a little better but never got anything dangerous going with any consistency. Felt like Dortmund was gonna sneak out the W, but Munich (of course!) got the equalizer late on some chaos after a free kick. *sigh* Hey, man, a draw against the best team in the league and your #1 rival is a good result, but, man, the W was in hand. 

Michigan 13-10 (2) Ohio State

Man, I just kept waiting for the Buckeye offense to get going and it just never did. I grant that the Wolverines still have a superior defense but the rest of the squad has taken a major step back since last year's championship run and I would've thought this was easy money for an Ohio State squad that hasn't beaten Michigan in 4 years. Well....I guess not. I've seen enough of both of these teams this year to know that the Buckeyes are clearly easily the better team but they just never got going in this game. Great W for the Wolverines--they can tell themselves they had a GREAT season! Puzzling L for the Buckeyes, this lost them the Big 10! They're still gonna do damage in the playoff, but this one was on their racket and they let it get away.

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Oregon, (3) Texas, (4) Penn State, (5) Notre Dame, (8) Tennessee, (9) Southern Methodist, (10) Indiana, (11) Boise State, (13) Alabama, (14) Mississippi, (15) South Carolina, (16) Arizona State, (18) Iowa State, (19) Brigham Young, (21) Missouri, (22) UNLV, (23) Illinois, (25) Colorado

Won but did not impress

(7) Georgia. I dunno, man, UGA strikes no fear in me these days. 

Bad beat

(20) Texas A&M. A&M just isn't as good as Texas, they avoided a blowout but they were never in this game. 

(24) Kansas State. The Wildcats had a chance to resurrect their season, but Iowa State is the better squad. 

Not so good

(2) Ohio State. Still losing to Michigan? WTF is going on? 

(6) Miami. Called it! Syracuse has actually been quietly pretty good this year, while the Hurricanes have plowed through a soft schedule. Should've won money on this one. 

(12) Clemson. I thought it would be Clemson winning with a late FG but it was South Carolina. Close games yield unpredictable results. 

(17) Tulane. Every year they either beat Memphis or they don't. This year was a don't. 

Next week's CHAMPIONSHIP matches:

Mountain West: (19) UNLV v (10) Boise State (Haven't watched either of these guys all year long, I look forward to correcting that mistake this weekend)

American Athletic: Tulane v Army (both teams had moments this season, not sure who is the better team)

Big 12: (16) Iowa State v (12) Arizona State (holy shit! I just now realized that ASU is in the Big 12! (Yeah, I'm not very good at this football-watching thing); both teams seem to be getting hot at the right time, should be a fun match)

SEC: (5) Georgia v (3) Texas (a rematch of UT's lone L this season, will they get their revenge? I think they will)

Big 10: (3) Penn State v (1) Oregon (okay, this is interesting; I think Oregon is the best team in all of college football, and while Penn State has trouble against the big boys, the Nittany Lions are a solid team and not gonna be an easy out)

ACC: (18) Clemson v (8) Southern Methodist (SMU has been one of the more consistent squads all year long, Clemson has been up and down; gotta go with the Mustangs)

My Top 12

(Aw, crap, I gotta do one of these? Look: for years and years we've measured the top teams by L's, who had the worst losses against those that had "forgivable" losses. I think that still works fine for the top 4. But expanding out to 12 requires a deeper look at the good W's. For example, Georgia Tech has not made an appearance in the top 25 this season but if they had completed the W over Georgia the other night, that would've given them 3 top-10 W's this season and why not throw them into the playoff? Look, man, you're looking for teams that have unexpected wins, teams that have gone above and beyond, those are the teams that are gonna give better bang for the buck in the playoff. Meh, I'll probably still end up with the same 12 teams I was going to anyway, just a thought for future seasons)

1 Oregon

2 Texas

3 Notre Dame

4 Penn State

5 Ohio State

6 Southern Methodist

7 Indiana

8 Boise State

9 Arizona State

10 Georgia

11 South Carolina

12 Tennessee

(Just couldn't get there with Iowa State, Brigham Young or Alabama. As for, Mississippi, UNLV, Miami and Clemson, they never really even got to my radar. I know, I know: I backloaded three SEC squads in there, even though I have never been less impressed with the SEC than this year. But I think South Carolina is playing well lately and UGA for all their faults do still deserve to be in the playoff conversation and the Vols, well, I dunno, I just thought they were a little better than ISU, BYU or Bama)

2024-25 NFL (Week 12)

AFC

Now:

1 Chiefs

2 Bills

3 Steelers

4 Texans

5 Ravens

6 Chargers

7 Broncos

I think that's (pretty much) your playoff lineup for the AFC. I like the Bills to overtake the Chiefs for #1 and I like the Ravens to win their division and for the Steelers to drop to #7. But I think those 7 teams are the 7 that will be in the playoffs.

East: The Bills are going to win this division. The Dolphins are playing their best ball of the season but I just don't see them catching up to the pack. The Jets suck and the Pats are playing for a draft pick (though I wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up a coupla unexpected wins).  

North: I've watched the Steelers a lot this year and I'm telling ya: their offense stinks. As they head into division play, I expect them to lose a few more times. I'm not a huge Ravens guy (I'm telling ya: their defense stinks) but I think they're better than the Steelers an will sneak past them to take the division. The Bengals are starting to turn it around but they've dug too deep a hole and their D is suspect. The Browns have given up on the season but I think they'll play hard down the stretch and could play spoiler, but they can't make the post-season.

South: The Texans are a sloppy so-so squad but they're better than the Colts, who still have no identity 12 weeks deep in the season. The Jags just aren't up for winning and the Titans, while I like their D-line and O-line, have no offensive talent at all. 

West: The Chiefs are the class of the division and I'd be surprised if they didn't win, but they're not a dominant squad, they are proof that having the best QB and a killer D-line will keep you in every game. The Chargers are better than usual but not so much better that you can rely on them to win the winnable games; I like them to hold on to 5th place overall. I like the Broncos to sneak ahead of the Steelers, they've got a for-real defense and they're getting it done with their rookie QB. The Raiders are awful.

End of Season:

1 Bills

2 Chiefs

3 Ravens

4 Texans

5 Chargers

6 Broncos

7 Steelers

At the end of the day, I think the Bills are better than the Chiefs and since they hold the tiebreaker, I think they'll surpass the Chiefs. I think the second tier squads of the AFC West will finish stronger than the Steelers, who will likely fall behind the Ravens. The Texans have no competition in their division and though they are a bit of a flailing team, I don't see how they miss the playoffs. 

NFC

Now:

1 Lions

2 Eagles

3 Falcons

4 Seahawks

5 Vikings

6 Packers

7 Commanders

East: The Eagles are balling right now and have no competition in their division, be kinda shocked if they're not in the top 2 by season's end. The Commanders are a puzzle: they have overachieved while losing games they should win, which happens to exciting young teams but is scary for predicting their future; I think the Commanders are nice but I suspect they have peaked and will fall out of the playoff race over the next month. The Cowboys are somehow playing better now than they have all season long, but I think they're too far back to reach the playoffs (though they're still in it for now). The Giants have given up on the season, they're playing for the #1 pick.

North: The Lions are the best team in football, killing it on both sides, the best Lions squad I've ever seen and I think they'll ride on to #1 in the NFC. The Vikings are a solid squad, good defense and a good enough offense, I don't think they catch the Lions but I'm not sure they can hold off the Packers. The Packers got hot right about this point last season, have had ups and downs this season but seem ready to go another late season run; I'd be more into them if they weren't looking up at the Lions and Vikings but I think they're a shoo-in for the post-season; I think the Packers catch the Vikings. The Bears don't suck but they aren't great (and, man, they're in a killer division!), but they're playing for next season.

South: The Falcons are like your uncle's weird ass old car: on sunny days you complain about what a piece of junk it is but on a cold snowy day you're thankful that it cranks up and goes; the Falcons have the ability to shock people in the post-season but getting there is gonna be a tough ride but I think they can snag a wild card spot from the sinking Commanders. I think the Bucs are gonna win the South, I like the way the play and I think their schedule turns soft at just the right time. The Saints are awful. The Panthers are awful--but strangely not quite as awful as I expected them to be.

West: Currently the Seahawks are atop the table but I like the Cards to come on and sneak past them (even though they just lost in Seattle). The Seahawks have a surprisingly effective passing game but I'm not in on anything else they do and I just don't think they're deep enough to get it done. The Cards are spunky and weird and I think they'll get surprising W's down the stretch. I thought it might be the Rams to make a late season push (*), but this team just isn't deep enough on either side and they have weird injuries. The Niners just didn't get off the mat this season and time is running out for them.

End of Season:

1 Lions

2 Eagles

3 Cards

4 Bucs

5 Packers

6 Vikings

7 Falcons

If this is the lineup, this will be a killer NFC playoff. What I'm suggesting is that the Packers, Bucs and Cards will get hot and the Lions and Eagles will stay hot and, again, they'll look like weak link of this lineup but the Falcons don't suck, you gotta give them a puncher's chance because they've got veterans and can score points. 

Okay, we'll see what the last 5 weeks bring.

(*) Full disclosure: I love watching Matt Stafford, probably my fave QB to watch right now. When he's in the groove it's like watching prime Greg Maddux or Pedro Martinez, a thing o' beauty. 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 13)

Games I watched (some of):

(9) Mississippi 17-24 Florida

Ole Miss just kept shooting themselves in the foot (whiffing on 4th down, missed FG, late interceptions to finish the game) and Florida played with maximum intensity (just being the spoiler was all this season had left to offer). Mississippi was fool's gold all along, the QB and the coach both kinda overrated, the defense was so-so at best, the Rebels just didn't play like a top 10 team all season long, even when their offense was going full throttle. And the Gators are mediocre but they play hard and the unexpected W's are sometimes the most fun.

(4) Penn State 26-25 Minnesota

(16) Colorado 21-37 Kansas

Kentucky 14-31 (3) Texas

Went back and forth between these games. Minnesota just kept adding points but somehow the game never felt out of reach for Penn State, so even though this was the nailbiter of the three, it never really felt like Penn State was going to lose. I could've called this a "Won but did not impress" game, but actually I was sorta impressed with how cool and collected the Nittany Lions stayed throughout. The Gophers kept back-assing their way onto the scoreboard but the Lions just rolled with it. 

Colorado just couldn't get stops on Kansas, so they never could cut into the lead or dig their way back into this game; I thought their offense might come alive but it couldn't keep pace. This was the one I watched the most of the three because I expected the most fireworks but KU kept the game out of reach, good W. 

UK-UT was not what I expected: somehow the Longhorns were firmly in control throughout and yet the Wildcats kept this from being a runaway and yet there was never a moment when Kentucky looked capable of winning and yet Texas kinda had to scramble to put this one away. I thought Kentucky would keep them close til halftime then Texas would run away with it in the 2nd half; more like, UT built a nice but not overwhelming cushion, then sat on the cushion for as long as they could, then got a late TD to put it away. I dunno, weird game. (Meanwhile Clemson was pummeling the Citadel, so didn't peak at that one too much)

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Ohio State, (3) Texas, (4) Penn State, (6) Notre Dame, (8) Miami, (10) Georgia, (11) Tennessee, (13) Southern Methodist, (17) Clemson, (18) South Carolina, (21) Arizona State, (22) Iowa State, (23) Missouri, (24) UNLV, (25) Illinois

Won but did not impress

(12) Boise State. I didn't see any of this game but when a playoff-bound Boise State squad goes on the road in conference, I expect a more decisive victory than a 4th quarter scramble at (2-9) Wyoming. Sometimes I forgive road games in conference, sometimes I expect more. (I dunno, I'm just like that, man)

Bad beat

(5) Indiana. What do you know? Indiana get decisively smoked at Ohio State. Undefeated no longer, but I'd say they're still in line for a playoff spot. 

(19) Army. Also, undefeated no longer after also getting smoked at the home of their very first quality opponent of the season. 

Not so good

(7) Alabama. Never in the game at Oklahoma, best the Sooners have played all year, Bama picked a bad time to flounder. A 3rd L surely drops them out of the playoff (I mean....right? Surely....).

(9) Mississippi. Ole Miss has some nice W's this season but their 3 L's are all pretty sorry. I dropped them from playoff contention a while ago but I'd say they are finished now.

(14) Brigham Young. Back to back disappointing Ls and that's all she wrote for the Cougars.

(15) Texas A&M. Like Ole Miss, they have some nice W's and some sorry L's. 

(16) Colorado. They stormed back into our hearts and then lost in Kansas. So much for Colorado. 

Next week's intriguing matches

Memphis @ (18) Tulane (yup, its Memphis-Tulane time again: that point of the season when these two teams you've paid no attention to all year long get together and we all see--hey, they're both actually pretty good!)

Michigan @ (2) Ohio State (I mean, no one is expecting a Wolverine victory but we're still gonna watch, right?)

(7) Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (the Vols have had their ups and downs this year but they're still probably in line for the playoff....can better-than-expected Vandy ruin their season? (maniacal laugh) I got my popcorn ready!)

(16) South Carolina @ (12) Clemson (can Clemson get back into the playoff with a W over South Carolina? I think maybe they can. How about vice versa?)

(8) Miami @ Syracuse (hey, man, 'Cuse has actually been pretty good this year and Miami has been their usual overrated selves, this games might be better than you think)

My Top 12

1 Oregon

2 Ohio State

3 Texas

4 Notre Dame

5 Penn State

6 Georgia

7 Tennessee

8 SMU

9 Miami

10 Boise State

11 Indiana

12 Clemson

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 12)

Games I saw (some of):

Utah 24-49 (17) Colorado

Thought Utah might put up a good fight after an embarrassing collapse to BYU the week before, but not so much. Colorado moved the ball well, played stout defense and just all round looked better than I thought they would. Utah is having a disappointing season, Colorado is getting hot at the right time (are they still in on the playoff?)

(22) Louisiana State 16-27 Florida

LSU has been weird all season and though Florida is not particularly strong this year, somehow I knew the Gators were gonna handle the Tigers and they did. LSU's QB is maddening: when he's not throwing the ball away for no reason, he's actually pretty good. As for Florida, they're just playing for the pride at this point. 

(7) Tennessee 17-31 (12) Georgia

I thought UGA would control this match and they did. UGA still has a superior defense and good skill talent, but they're not as cohesive as recent years (and their QB kinda stinks), but I still have them as a top 4 squad, I still think they can hang with just about anybody. Tennessee is nice and when their offense is rolling, they can really pile up points; that said, when they stall, they go all the way to zero (as Newton would say, "an object at rest"), so it was a matter of whether a tough home match against a conference for would get their juices flowing and, well, not enough. UT is still on the edge of my top 12, kinda just depends on how many SEC teams you wanna invite.

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Ohio State, (3) Texas, (4) Penn State, (8) Notre Dame, (10) Alabama, (12) Georgia, (13) Boise State, (14) Southern Methodist, (15) Texas A&M, (17) Colorado, (20) Clemson, (21) South Carolina, (25) Tulane

Won but did not impress

(1) Oregon. Really had to scramble at Wisconsin, not inspiring, but a conference W on the road ain't bad, I guess. 

Bad beat

(7) Tennessee. If UT was really good, they would've handled UGA at home, but they didn't and....no one is shocked.

(23) Missouri. Getting stomped at Alabama is not normally nothing to be too embarrassed about, but the Tide is as gettable as they've been in a while and Missouri has spent time in the top 10, so I suppose the Tigers thought this was gonna go a different way but....I didn't. Did you?

Not so good

(6) Brigham Young. Woooooowwww! BYU losing at Kansas on some fluke plays in the 4th quarter (holy shit, I don't remember the last time I saw a quick kick! And it worked!) was the stunner of the week. All they had to do was keep skimming through their weak sauce schedule and they were in the playoff. But even a single lame L has probably knocked them out. Did not see that coming, thought this was an easy one for the Cougars.

(16) Kansas State. They got thoroughly handled at home by Arizona State....not good.

(18) Washington State. Couldn't pull out the shoot out at New Mexico State. Not necessarily a terrible loss but if the Cougars were truly top 20, they would've won this match.

(19) Louisville. Likewise, losing late a Stanford isn't the end of the world....for a non-ranked team. But if the Cards are worthy of top 20 consideration, then this is a game they should've won. 

(22) Louisiana State. Losing at Florida is just the next bend of this year's roller coaster.

Next week's intriguing matches

(5) Indiana @ (2) Ohio State (Hoosiers in the top 5? It's a new world....)

Kentucky @ (3) Texas (this should be a blow out, but UK does play their best against good teams, so if Texas is actually good, this could turn interesting; but if UT is overrated and isn't for real....then...this will be over by halftime....?)

(4) Penn State @ Minnesota (is it weird that I find this match compelling? The Nittany Lions should win with ease and yet I can't help thinking they won't)

(14) Brigham Young @ (21) Arizona State (BYU probably blew their season last week and really have nothing play for, Arizona State has been coming on lately and is playing their best ball right now; this might be nothing or it might be a for-real match)

(16) Colorado @ Kansas (can KU go back-to-back heartbreaking upsets? Can Colorado keep their last season march going? Again, this should be a walkover but somehow I feel like it's gonna be a good one)

(19) Army @ (6) Notre Dame (the Irish have been low key trucking people for two straight months, while Army has low key just been piling up W's; Notre Dame should roll the Cadets but they might not)

My top 12

1 Oregon

2 Ohio State

3 Texas

4 Notre Dame

5 Penn State

6 Indiana

7 Georgia

8 Alabama

9 Southern Methodist

10 Mississippi

11 Boise State

12 Miami

(Army, Colorado still lingering with Tennessee and Brigham Young not completely out)

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 11)

Games I saw (some of):

Michigan 15-20 (8) Indiana

With the way Indiana has been trucking people all year long and as middling as the Wolverines have been, I kinda thought this would be an easy one for the Hoosiers. But Michigan does have a pretty good defense and they got into the Hoosier backfield routinely and Indiana found it difficult to convert on 3rd down. But Indiana pulled it out, they made the plays on both sides down the stretch, got the score they needed and I think this is exactly the kind of struggle they needed to make them a better team. Indiana is going to make the playoff--shocker to be sure, but luring in marginal teams is what the 12-team playoff is all about--and matches like this will make them a tougher out. As for Michigan, a flailing season but they're still playing hard and that is good to see. 

(11) Alabama 42-13 (15) Louisiana State

Bama has been up and down but they brought it here. LSU still has a turnover problem, they just can't consistently put enough points on the board to keep up with the gifts they're giving their opponents. I'm lukewarm on QB Millroe but this was one of his classic games. Alabama still on track to make the playoff but I think this result finishes off LSU.

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Oregon, (2) Ohio State, (5) Texas, (6) Penn State, (7) Tennessee, (10) Notre Dame, (11) Alabama, (12) Boise State, (16) Mississippi, (20) Colorado, (21) Washington State, (23) Clemson, (24) Missouri, (25) Army

Won but did not impress

(8) Indiana. Didn't rack it up, but made the plays they needed to make late and, well, maybe that was more impressive than I'm giving it credit for. 

(9) Brigham Young. Hey, man, you can say they got bailed out by a fluky penalty, but the call wasn't so egregious and they finished the long drive to win it and they deserved it. That said, this game really shouldn't have been close (but Utah plays with pride). 

Bad beat

(15) Louisiana State. Sorry, LSU, you needed to beat Alabama but you didn't. 

Not so good

(3) Georgia. Losing at Ole Miss is forgivable but they got smoked in the 2nd half and it was another poor performance from QB Beck. 

(4) Miami. Looks like they were never in this game, I could forgive a conference L on the road but Miami is bucking for a bye in the playoff and I just don't think this team is good enough.  

(17) Iowa State. Yeah, I was never in on the Cyclones this season and I'm still not. 

(18) Pittsburgh. Pitt is a nice team but probably not a top 25 team. 

Next week's intriguing matches

(17) Clemson @ Pittsburgh (Clemson should be rolling by now but they're not; Pitt is coming off a tough L, should be ready to go this week)

Utah @ (18) Colorado (Utah, too, is coming off a heartbreaker, wouldn't be surprised to see them give the Buffaloes a scare)

(24) Missouri @ South Carolina (the Gamecocks have a lot of nice W's this season, not gonna be an easy out for Missouri)

(6) Tennessee @ (11) Georgia (Okay, both teams need this W, if Beck plays mistake-free, I think UGA is better but we'll see)

My Top 12

1 Oregon

2 Ohio State

3 Texas

4 Brigham Young

5 Penn State

6 Indiana

7 Georgia

8 Notre Dame

9 Alabama

10 Tennessee

11 Southern Methodist

12 Mississippi

(Miami, Boise State, Army, Texas A&M, Colorado still lingering)

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 10)

Games I saw (some of)

(4) Ohio State 20-13 (3) Penn State

Looks like a close game and the Nittany Lions didn't get blown out, but...I dunno, man, the Buckeyes missed on a coupla big plays that would've made this game a blowout. I'm still in on Penn State for the top 12, I think they'll still be top 10 by the end of the season but they've got a real Buckeye allergy that is still frustrating them. As for the Buckeyes, good strong W on the road in conference against a higher ranked for, big ups for Ohio State.

Louisville 33-21 (11) Clemson

Man, Clemson just never got going in this game. Louisville played well, but I can't help thinking that Clemson could've won if they'd just shown up. But, they had no offense til the 4th quarter and that was too late to matter. Nice win for the Cards, bad L for Clemson, who had been rolling. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Oregon, (2) Georgia, (4) Ohio State, (5) Miami, (7) Tennessee, (13) Indiana, (15) Boise State, (19) Mississippi, (20) Southern Methodist, (21) Army

Bad beat

(3) Penn State. They could be extremely dangerous against anyone except Ohio State.

(18) Pittsburgh. Not ready for the SMU attack. Nice season but I don't see their path to the top 12.

Not so good

(10) Texas A&M. Stomped at South Carolina, I for one was not shocked to see that result.

(11) Iowa State. I was never in on the Cyclones and the L at home to Texas Tech has probably finished off their season.

(11) Clemson. I didn't understand this L to Louisville, thought the Tigers were rolling but they looked stuck in mud this Saturday. 

(17) Kansas State. An L at Houston isn't bad but they're probably out of the top 12 now. 

(24) Illinois. Nice season, Illini, I was already out on you guys, though.

Next week's intriguing matches

(2) Georgia @ (18) Mississippi (Ole Miss is still in the mix....for now; UGA could use another good W)

(21) Colorado @ Texas Tech (Can Tech keep their magic going against the newly restored Buffaloes?)

South Carolina @ (24) Vanderbilt (South Carolina has had some nice W's already this year, they weren't expecting Vandy to be ranked but here they are; to be honest, I like Vandy, but we'll see)

(11) Alabama @ (14) Louisiana State (an undercard match but should be a fun one)

Top 12

I'll go on record now as saying I'm not a fan of the 12-team playoff except that this model should last a while because it becomes a logistical nightmare beyond that. The 4-team system was perfect but the moneyed classes always demand more and *dammit!* I'm gonna watch it, so I'm just as much to blame as the greedy plutocrats. *sigh* 

But here's the problem: in any given season there are only 5-6 teams that are worth watching and I think that's still true this season. Getting to 12 is actually kinda hard. 

1) Oregon

2) Ohio State

3) Georgia

4) Texas

5) Miami

6) Penn State

7) Indiana

8) Brigham Young

9) Tennessee

10) Notre Dame

11) Southern Methodist

12) Alabama

With Notre Dame, Boise State, Army and one of Mississippi/Texas A&M/Louisiana State lingering. I don't see a path for anyone else--and honestly I'm not that excited about anyone below Miami, so...what do we need 12 teams for? (Oh right: more money)

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 9)

Games I saw (some of):

(12) Notre Dame 51-14 (24) Navy

Well, Navy gave the ball away early and often and this game got out of control right away.....and.....

(21) Missouri 0-34 (15) Alabama

Missouri never got any offense going at all, Bama completely took over right before halftime....so....

Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona

....I watched La Liga rather than la college football. This was the more interesting match, though this was a scoreless draw at the half. Then Lewandowski connected, then he connected again right away, then he put a gimme off the post soon after, then put another makeable shot over the bar in a span of, like, 5 minutes and before you knew it, this game was a laugher. The match felt even til Barca went off and left Real behind. This is the kind of result that gets people fired.

(9) Louisiana State 23-38 (14) Texas A&M

Similarly: LSU seemed in control until the 3rd quarter when QB Nussmeier kept trying to pass to receivers that weren't open, which led to A&M seemingly always with the ball in scoring distance. LSU kept giving it away, A&M kept piling up points and this one got out of control right quick, too.....so

(Game Two) Yankees 2-4 Dodgers 

....I mostly watched baseball tonight. Dodgers went for back-to-back jacks off Rodon and the Yanks couldn't counter. My thought was Dodgers in 6, I'm sticking with it: I like them to take one in NYC and then wrap it up back in LA.  

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Oregon, (3) Penn State, (4) Ohio State, (5) Texas, (6) Miami, (11) Brigham Young, (12) Notre Dame, (13) Indiana, (14) Texas A&M, (15) Alabama, (16) Kansas State (17) Boise State, (18) Mississippi, (19) Pittsburgh

Won but did not impress

(22) Southern Methodist. Scrambling in OT to beat....Duke? I dunno, man, I'm already Mustang-ed out.

(I declined to add (4) Ohio State, (16) Kansas State or (17) Boise State because they were playing pesky conference opponents and though none of them blew me away, they each secured conference W's and I can't front on that)

Bad beat

(20) Illinois. The Illini have had a nice season, but no one was expecting them to win at Oregon.

(21) Missouri. Up and down and, well, this week at Tuscaloosa was one of the downs.

(24) Navy. Yeah, this is insult to injury. A ranked squad getting smoked at home by anybody probably ought to be a "Not so good", but I guess I gotta say I never really believed in Navy and getting sliced and diced by the Irish wasn't a shock.  

(25) Vanderbilt. Oh, Vandy, keeping it close to the #1 team in the land...? WTF is going on....?

Not so good

(8) Louisiana State. Things were going fine til LSU started turning the ball over and then....just kept turning the ball over. If they'd just played normal football, I think they would've won.

Next week's intriguing matches:

(13) Indiana @ Michigan State (with the way the Hoosiers are rolling, you'd think this would be a gimme against a so-so Spartan squad, but I dunno, man, Michigan State lives for fucking up other peoples' good seasons; if the Hoosiers are for real, they will pummel the Spartans, we'll see what happens)

(10) Texas A&M @ South Carolina (the Gamecocks are not pushovers and if A&M thinks they turned some corner by beating LSU, they might have another thing coming, this should be a petty good match)

(18) Pittsburgh @ (20) Southern Methodist (I dunno, they're both ranked but I have little interest in either of these teams, so....I reckon I'll be watching baseball or NHL or Bundesliga or something)

(4) Ohio State @ (3) Penn State (okay, here we go, winner gets a major boost)

2024-25 NBA (Pre-Season)

This has been a pretty slack ass year for me as far as writing goes (long story), not sure I'll do as much NBA-ing this year. But I'll be watching, figured I might as well throw out my pre-season picks.

East

(1) Celtics, (2) Knicks, (3) Cavs. (4) Bucks, (5) Pacers, (6) Magic

Play-in:

I'll take Heat over Sixers, Hawks over Raptors, Sixers over Hawks

Celtics over Sixers, Knicks over Heat, Cavs over Magic, Pacers over Bucks

Celtics over Pacers, Knicks over Cavs

Celtics over Knicks in 6

West

(1) Thunder, (2) Nuggets, (3) Wolves, (4) Suns, (5) Mavs. (6) Pelicans

Play-in:

I'll take Grizzlies over Kings, Rockets over Lakers, Kings over Rockets

Thunder over Kings, Grizzlies over Nuggets, Wolves over Pelicans, Suns over Mavs

Thunder over Suns, Wolves over Grizzlies

Thunder over Wolves in 7

Celtics over Thunder in 7

MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)

ROY: Donovan Clingan (Blazers)

DPOY: Giannis Antetokounpo (Bucks)

6th Man: Kristaps Porzingis (Celtics)

Coach of the Year: Rick Carlisle (Pacers)

Exec of the Year: Gerson Rosas (Knicks)

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 8)

Games I watched (some of):

(5) Georgia 30-15 (1) Texas

Wow, UGA was clearly looking ahead to this game because they came out firing and really stunned the Longhorns. Texas kinda pulled it together after halftime but too little too late. Well, Texas just had the toughest match they might have all year long, let's see if they can shake it off and get back to the top. As for UGA, can they keep this up? They've been up and down all year, this is definitely their biggest up.

Nebraska 7-56 (16) Indiana

Wow, this was a drubbing! Indiana has a pile of really great WR's that made plays all game long (they'll all be playing for the Steelers next year, I bet). The Huskers tried and had a nice opening drive but the Hoosiers fustigated them all over the place. The Hoosiers are for real, y'all--could we see Vandy and Indiana in the inaugural 12-team final?

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Oregon, (6) Miami, (8) Louisiana State, (10) Clemson, (11) Tennessee, (12) Notre Dame, (13) Brigham Young, (14) Texas A&M, (16) Indiana, (17) Kansas State, (21) Southern Methodist, (22) Illinois, (23) Army, (25) Navy

Won but did not impress

(9) Iowa State. Fumbling around with Central Florida at home isn't winning me over.

(19) Missouri. Coming from behind late to steal one from a crappy Auburn squad is not a good look. 

Bad beat

(7) Alabama. The bad beats are piling up in Tuscaloosa, but they're just not as good as Tennessee this year. 

Not so good

(24) Michigan. Going to a ranked Illinois and getting a W was their best/last chance to make a run at the tourney, I'd say that is officially over at this point. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(17) Boise State @ UNLV (UNLV is kinda good, so a nice little test for Boise State)

(12) Notre Dame @ (24) Navy (when was the last time this match mattered? Get your popcorn, the Midshipmen are pretty damn good this year)

Washington @ (13) Indiana (Hoosiers have a chance to beat both of last year's championship finalists--and I expect them to win both matches! Hoosier football!)

(20) Illinois @ (1) Oregon (If Illinois is gonna do anything this year, here's the chance)

(21) Missouri @ (15) Alabama (two fumbling SEC squads, loser leaves town?)

(5) Texas @ (25) Vanderbilt (man, no one in Austin had this game circled on their schedule, but Vandy is no pushover and suddenly this isn't just a trap game--it's a real game!)

(8) Louisiana State @ (14) Texas A&M (LSU is rolling, the Aggies are getting back on track, this should be a good one)

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 7)

Games I watched (some of):

(2) Ohio State 31-32 Oregon

I thought both offenses looked pretty great, Oregon was probably a little better; both defenses had moments, again, Oregon was a little better. Great win for Oregon, tough L--but not a bad one--for the Buckeyes. 

Top 25 

Handled their business

(1) Texas, (3) Oregon, (4) Penn State, (10) Clemson,  (11) Notre Dame, (11) Iowa State, (13) Louisiana State, (14) Brigham Young, (17) Boise State, (18) Kansas State, (21) Missouri,

Won but did not impress

(5) Georgia. Dogs gave up 31 to a pretty sorry Mississippi State? 'Sup wit dat?

(7) Alabama. Really struggled with South Carolina, the Tide is not looking so good right now.

(8) Tennessee. Had to go to OT to beat a so-so Florida squad at home? The Vols' best should look a lot better than this.

(22) Pittsburgh. I dunno, barely squeaking by a mediocre Cal squad at home is not knocking me out. 

(23) Illinois. How do you give 40 points in the 2nd half to Purdue? Had to scramble in OT when this game looked over at halftime, not sure about the Illini.

Bad beat

(2) Ohio State. Played well at top flight Oregon, put up a good fight but came up short, not a bad L.

(9) Mississippi. LSU is rounding into shape and Ole Miss just couldn't hang. 

(18) Oklahoma. The Sooners are clearly rebuilding but a better effort against the Longhorns would've been at least hopeful.

Not so good

(16) Utah. Feels like they were never really in this game at Arizona State, not a good look. 

2024-25 NFL Season (Week 4 & 5)

Games I saw (some of): 

Bucs 30-36 (OT) Falcons

The Falcons rely too much of Kirk Cousins--you've got a for-real running game, why are passing 50 times a game with a guy that makes Drew Bledsoe look like Jackie Joyner-Kersey? Neither of these teams show much interest in defense but they can both move the ball. Pre-season, I liked the Falcons to be a nice surprise kinda team and I still believe that, but they need to balance up that offense and tighten up that defense if they expect to take even this bizarro division. The Bucs are okay, they move the ball, they shouldn't be taken lightly and yet I still never expect them to win. 

Ravens 41-38 (OT) Bengals

I got a hot take: the Ravens defense is not particularly any good. This is not the hard-nosed Ravens D that we've seen for decades, this team is soft in the secondary and not that effective against the run. They can get gashed again and again, so good for them that their offense can put points on the board. As for the Bengals, well....likewise. The offense is coming around and their gonna be tough to stop most weeks but their defense doesn't stop anybody and if the offense turns it over or misses a FG, their D is in serious trouble. The Ravens are good enough to challenge in the AFC but I don't think the Bengals are gonna do much this season. 

The rest of the slate: 

Jets 17-23 Vikings. Yeah, that looks about right. The Jets really just haven't shown anything on either side of the ball yet, but their division is pretty awful, so they're not out of it yet.

Panthers 10-36 Bears. The Panthers are terrible. The Bears are at least moving in the right direction. 

Dolphins 15-10 Patriots. These are two worst teams in the NFL. I'd be shocked if they're not both picking top 4 in the 2025 draft. 

Colts 34-37 Jags. You ever notice that even when the Jags win, they still don't look right?

Bills 20-23 Texans. Feels like the Bills let this one slip away late. Good W for the Texans.

Raiders 18-34 Broncos. I kinda like the Broncos. I kinda the Raiders are terrible. 

Cards 24-23 Niners. The Niners are struggling and I don't understand why. The Cards are sneaky but not great. 

Packers 24-19 Rams. The Rams just aren't good enough in the O-line or D-line to matter much this season, it seems. The Packers should be better, but a nice W on the road. 

Giants 29-20 Seahawks. Why is the Seahawks home field advantage never much of an advantage for them? How did the Giants get better after getting rid of any/all good players? It feels like they're trying to tank and the players just keep accidentally winning. 

Cowboys 20-17 Steelers. The Cowboys are sloppy, should be better. The Steelers work hard and get lucky but I'm not sure how good they actually are. 

Saints 13-26 Chiefs. What happened that offensive explosion the Saints unleashed in the first 2 weeks? Nice steady game plan victory for the Chiefs.

Week 4

Games I saw (some of):

Cowboys 20-15 Giants

The Giants aren't a disaster, not quite good enough to beat good teams but not bad. The Cowboys have moments where that offense is in control and then moments where they look totally befuddled, I don't get this team at all.

Steelers 24-27 Colts

I'm still skeptical of the Steelers, the D is pretty good (but not that great) and the offense has moments but mostly sputters. But when QB Joe Flacco puts the cape on, that's good enough to brush the Steelers aside. So....why doesn't Flacco just play all the time for the Colts? Why do they leave the QB that can get wins on the bench for emergencies only?

Bengals 34-24 Panthers

Okay, so Cincy can beat the Panthers. Not overwhelming but they were the better team. That's good to know because I think the Panthers are probably the worst team in the league. 

Chiefs 17-10 Chargers

Another week, another just enough QB Mahomes performance. The Chargers are the Chargers, man: good when they feel like it, brutally awful the rest of the time. I'm still skeptical of the Chiefs, but they are the same team that won 3 of the last 4 Super Bowls, so.....

Bills 10-35 Ravens

The Bills were down 21-10 in the 3rd quarter, they were driving nicely, when QB Allen got outside the pocket, couldn't get the pass off, fumbled and lost the ball. The Ravens quickly converted the turnover into a TD and that was that. My point is: the Bills were in this game and if a coupla plays had gone different, they may have even won. But this is purely Josh Allen's team and they will go as far he can drag them. The Ravens are looking good, but I still feel like they're not a complete team. 

Seahawks 29-42 Lions

Jared Goff threw a perfect game--no incomplete passes all night. The Lions offense is looking good right now. The Seahawks are....I dunno what they are. 

The rest of the slate:

Saints 24-26 Falcons. Division game, home team wins, sounds right to me. 

Rams 18-24 Bears. The Rams are gonna lose like this week no matter who the play, right? The Bears offense is heating up. 

Vikings 31-29 Packers. Vikings built big lead, almost gave it away. If the Packers figure it out, they can still be pretty good. 

Broncos 10-9 Jets. Yipes! Are the Jets ever gonna get going? The Bronco is real. 

Eagles 16-33 Bucs. What is up with the Eagles? Do they hate their coach? The Bucs are a trick or treat team but their good weeks look pretty good. 

Jags 20-24 Texans. Division game, home team prevails, looks right to me. 

Commanders 42-14 Cards. The Commanders offensive renaissance looks to be for real. The Cards are up and down.

Pats 13-30 Niners. The Pats are working their way to a top 5 pick. The Niners still aren't there yet but a nice biscuit from the Pats is nice. 

Browns 16-20 Raiders. The Browns are stuck with QB Watson and until they get out from under his brutal contract, this team is going nowhere. The Raiders are not good, but they handled the Browns. 

Titans 31-12 Dolphins. The Titans aren't good but the Dolphins are aiming for a top 5 pick.

2024-25 NCAA (Week 6)

Games I watched (some of): 

None. All baseball all weekend...no regrets.

Top 25

Handled their business

(3) Ohio State, (5) Georgia, (6) Oregon, (7) Penn State, (12) Mississippi, (15) Clemson, (16) Iowa State, (21) Boise State, (23) Indiana, (25) Texas A&M

Won but did not impress

(8) Miami. I dunno, I didn't think they'd cover against Cal, but to have to scramble late to steal the victory is not as impressive as it should be. If Miami is truly a top 10 squad they should be able to go on the road in conference (conference? Miami and Berkeley....in the same....conference? Oh right: conferences don't mean anything any more), and get a decisive victory against a team that isn't nearly as good. That said, everyone else in college football lost this weekend, so I presume Miami will be top 6, no?

Bad beat

(9) Missouri. The fact that this is a "bad beat" rather than "not so good" is adding insult to injury: this team was never a top 10 squad and the fact they got de-stroyed at A&M is all you need to know. Missouri is a middle of the pack SEC squad, not top tier.

Not so good (oof! This category is packed this week!)

(1) Alabama. Well well well....well well well...let's just say I'm glad I'm not an emergency room intern in Tuscaloosa because the amount of trauma this weekend would've surely been overwhelming. Look, man, losing at Vandy is enough of a blow, but, dude, Bama was NEVER in this game! They got STOMPED by Vandy! Still top 12 but, man, an L to Vandy is gonna be hard to wipe off.

For those of you that don't get college sports, there are dudes on the Vandy side that will never have to buy their own drinks again in Nashville...like, for life. 

(4) Tennessee. Well, I was all in on UT but they did not look good at any point in this Arkansas game. Not the end of the world to lose on the road in conference but I thought they were better than that (perhaps "parity" is coming to college ball). Still in my top 12 and there's a lot of season left. 

(10) Michigan. Yeah, I was never in on the Wolverines this season, they've got a lot to live up to and a lot of turnover. Not a bad team, but not a top 12 side. 

(11) Southern Cal. Not sure they deserve to get completely bounced from the top 25 (especially in a week when so many ranked schools went down), but flailing in Minnesota does not win over hardened hearts. That said, I still think I like this team and I think they'll be back. 

(22) Louisville. Meh. The Cards are a nice team but not particularly top 25-ish, so I wouldn't be surprised to not see them back for the rest of the season. 

(25) UNLV. Hardly knew ye, Rebels, but when you get handled at home by Syracuse, it suggests to me that you don't belong in the top 25. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(1) Texas v (18) Oklahoma (@ Dallas) (this isn't a vintage OU squad but sticking it to UT might change that)

(4) Penn State @ Southern Cal (after SC lost at Minnesota this feels like an afterthought, but this is where Southern Cal claws back their season or the Nittany Lions cement their top 5 status)

Arizona @ (14) Brigham Young (BYU has overperformed so far, Arizona has underperformed, is this the week it flips?)

(2) Ohio State @ (3) Oregon (here we go, best non-SEC game of the year?)

(9) Mississippi @ (13) Louisiana State (loser leaves town match in the SEC)

(11) Iowa State @ West Virginia (WVU ain't bad, if the Cyclones fancy themselves a playoff team, they'll need to get a good W here)

(18) Kansas State @ Colorado (the Buffaloes are a mystery to me but everyone'll be watching this one, so the Wildcats need a positive performance)

I tried to do a top 12 last week and I only came up with 8 teams--and 2 of them lost this week! So I'm gonna wait another week before I start forecasting my top 12. 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 5)

Games I watched (some of):

(2) Georgia 34-41 (4) Alabama

Okay, hard to imagine there's going to be a better game in NCAA this year. This game had all the thrills, the chills, the ups and downs, backs and forths. Alabama dominated the 1st half, I thought QB Millroe was amazing, truly in control against a defense that has been smothering planet Earth for half a decade, Bama moved the ball with ease and ran up the offense quickly. Too much too soon, it appears, because UGA dominated the 2nd half (and, yes, I thought Bama contributed mightily to the comeback by slacking off), even took the lead, forcing Bama to steal it back, and then the game ended with UGA coming up just short on another comeback. I thought QB Beck was brutal in the 1st half but made some real plays after halftime and the UGA offense in general came alive, too, this Bama offense might be suddenly revitalized by this. I fully expect UGA to still be around by season's end. Millroe is probably the top of the Heisman pool just like that and wouldn't be surprised if Bama was back at #1 on Monday. Still a lot of season left. 

Kentucky 20-17 (6) Mississippi

Ole Miss was lined up for a big season: returning QB everyone loves, a good collection of veterans on both sides and an SEC schedule that dodges Alabama, A&M and Missouri (and catches Oklahoma, LSU and Florida in vulnerable positions). But you cannot--REPEAT: CANNOT!--lose to Kentucky. Especially at home. A sluggish game, which was the first clue that Kentucky was in it, felt like Ole Miss was the better team but also felt like UK might keep them down. Also, UK's offense was not bad, it was consistent and ate up enough clock that Ole Miss's woes were magnified. A coupla plays: a long bomb on 4th down that set up the fumble recovery to the end zone and next thing you know, the Wildcats are stealing it away from the Rebels. Then Ole Miss goes wide left on the tying FG and suddenly, there's no OT, just a big ol' L. Now the Rebels have to go to South Carolina, not gonna be easy, they better get their offense back pronto. I don't know if Ole Miss vanilla-ed their offense or just had a bad day, but they need to pull out all stops from here on (and beating Georgia would be nice, too) and that starts next week. As for UK, they've got a good L (Georgia) and a good W (@Mississippi), I dunno, that's not bad for UK, but I'm not forecasting wins at Knoxville or Austin.

(19) Illinois 7-21 (9) Penn State

This was pure sludge. Each team scored a confident early TD, then not much happened outside of missed FG's all over the place, until Penn State (sorta) blew it open late. Penn State has a serious meatgrinder of a defense but that offense still isn't overpowering (re: the Buckeyes have a real pain in the ass game coming, but they should win), so puncher's chance against the top tier is the best I can give them. The Illini are nice but they're not gonna beat the tippity top teams. 

(21) Oklahoma 27-21 Auburn

Auburn came out hot, but once the Sooners put it together, they flew past the Tigers. This is not a vintage Auburn side. The Sooners aren't great either, but I think they're pretty good and going in the right direction.

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Texas, (3) Ohio State, (4) Alabama, (8) Oregon, (9) Penn State, (13) Southern Cal, (14) Louisiana State, (16) Notre Dame, (17) Clemson, (18) Iowa State, (21) Oklahoma, (22) Brigham Young, (23) Kansas State, (25) Boise State

Won but did not impress

(7) Miami. I always think of Friday night as the show-off spot and if Miami was better than Va.Tech, they really should've come in louder and prouder here. They did well to claw back the W but they had a good shot at a convincing thumping and they did not do that. 

(12) Michigan. Finishing off a conference foe usually impresses me, but Michigan is ranked too high to not dispatch Minnesota decisively. Being the defending nat'l champs is a major burden for this squad, remaining in the playoff chase is not gonna be easy. 

(24) Texas A&M. I dunno, man, grudge match with Arkansas shouldn't faze me but the Aggies just don't look that strong to me. Their schedule is gonna start delivering body blows from here. 

Bad beat

(2) Georgia. I ain't worried about UGA, they are still firmly in the top 12, still in for a shot at top 4. And as weird as this game was, I think there's some good stuff for UGA in there, this could be a real shot in the arm for this squad. 

(15) Louisville. Came up short on the road. Played well, would've been nice to get the W in South Bend. 

(19) Illinois. Penn State just choked this offense out. The Illini are nice but the Nittany Lions got a killer D. 

(20) Oklahoma State. Yikes! The Cowboys still have opportunities on their schedule but they got obliterated in Manhattan, suggesting that K State is the stealth power in this conference. 

Not so good

(6) Mississippi. You don't understand: losing to Kentucky is two losses at once. Bad L, disappointing home conference L, but, man....it was Kentucky!

(10) Utah. Getting trucked by an Arizona team that has not looked good this season is a surprising outcome. At home, they were never in this game. 

Next week's intriguing matches (huh, a whole slate of games that seemed like they would sound great, like, 3 months ago--looking at you, Clemson-Florida State! Instead, this NCAA's helpful reminder to clean out your garage and winterize the lawn mower. I'm cool with it, I need a baseball weekend):

(9) Missouri @ (25) Texas A&M (dang, even this one seems tarnished already but they are both ranked, so it'll make a difference)

(12) Mississippi @ South Carolina (interesting to see how Ole Miss bounces back from a disappointing home loss and whether the Gamecocks can get back on track with a good W)

2024-25 NFL (Week 3)

Games I saw (some of): 

Patriots 3-24 Jets

This is the Aaron Rodgers Jets squad we thought we were getting last year! Man, they look so good in their scoring drives, Rodgers throwing darts, moving in pocket, hitting receivers on the run. And they had the running game going, the O-line looked great, and the defense did everything they needed to do. This is the scary Jets, the peak Jets. Can they keep this up? Well, they don't get to play the Pats every week, so probably not. The Pats were not good at anything, did not move the ball at all, even gave a taste test to rookie QB Maye (I had actually already turned the game off by that time, so I didn't see him), and their D stopped nothing at all. This is the Pats we thought we'd be getting this year. So, this game was peak Jets versus predictably awful Pats.

Packers 30-14 Titans

Man, call me crazy but I really liked QB Malik Willis in this game! He made the right throws, he ran when needed, he handled himself just fine against a physical defense. Throw in that his D got him a pick-6 and that was pretty much it for the Titans. The Titans are a weird team: I like their pass rush, their D-line is solid, and QB Levis is not a total disaster, he can move the ball a little, but his mistakes are crushers. I feel like the Titans will cover some spreads and by the year's end might actually win some games they're not supposed to win--I'm not saying they're good, I'm just saying they're not all the way bad. Meanwhile, the Packers are racking up W's with their backup, I'd give him another week and let QB Love get right before bringing him back. I like the Packers on both sides of the ball and I think when Love comes back, they might be really good. 

Chargers 10-20 Steelers

Sludge game, but both teams had moments of offense within a sea of D-line sludgery. I like this Steelers teams more than I expected to, I guess I assumed they would have to start QB Russell Wilson (done for a while now and not at all a Steelers kinda guy) instead of QB Justin Fields (I still like his upside and he's a Buckeye, he's got some Steel in him) and that defensive injuries would eventually doom this squad. Defensive injuries may catch up to this side but they have wisely chosen Fields over Wilson (on his way to Miami....?) and that is the beginning of a good vibe in Pittsburgh. The Chargers, on the other hand....well....they're the Chargers, man. They have moments of looking awesome and then Bosa gets hurts or they fumble on 3rd down and that's that. Coach Harbaugh will make a difference but it might take a while--the fine folks of Michigan were wise to give him a second contract and it may take that kind of wisdom in LA, too. 

Ravens 28-25 Cowboys

Ravens came to play. Two weeks in a row now where the Cowboys got blitzed and the game was over before they even got the sleep out of their eyes. Weird thing, though: I don't think the Cowboys suck, they've just gotten ninja-fucked back to back weeks and its putting a real dent on their record. The Ravens were in must-win mode and they blasted right out of the gate and again out of halftime. Honestly, I tuned out when the Ravens went up 28-6 in the 3rd quarter, so I missed most of the Cowboy comeback, but I don't think I missed much. The Cowboys really need to take more care in the opening drives but otherwise I think they're pretty good (one disturbing trend, though, going back to last year: DE Micha Parsons is starting to get disappeared in games, I think teams have kinda figured out how to use his aggressiveness against him and schemed him out; he's still great but he needs to figure some things out) and I think that offense will win plenty of games this season. As for the Ravens, well, they've kinda sucked so far, they needed this win, we'll see if they can keep the winning vibe. 

Chiefs 22-17 Falcons

Dang, Falcons....you had so many chances to win this game.... The Chiefs are what we thought they were: Patrick Mahomes and a bunch of dudes. Hey, man, the Patriots won Super Bowls with Tom Brady and a bunch of dudes, but that was a tough way to go and as great as Mahomes is, even he is starting to look a little sideways to me. At the end of the 1st half, Mahomes had two plays in a row that made me go 'wtf was that?' So even Mahomes doesn't look as top dawg-ish as usual and that D is built to make mistakes. The story of this game was Atlanta's crumbling O-line and how long it takes QB Cousins to get the ball out. When Cousins is upright, he can be the man on this team; but the second he starts running for his life, this team is dead. The Falcons blew this game twice in the 4th quarter (and it's worth remembering that Mahomes, too, had chances to put this one away and he couldn't get 1st downs, either), nail-biting in a way, but frustrating mediocrity all around in another. 

Commanders 38-33 Bengals

The Bengals offense looks good, their D does not. Likewise, with the Commanders. But the Commanders got TD's, the Bengals got FG's. That was pretty much that. QB Daniels big bust out game, love to see him keep it going. QB Burrow looked good, too, but not good enough. The two teams are probably identical--but while this is a godsend for the Commanders, it is a calamity for the Bengals.

The rest of the slate:

Giants 21-15 Browns. Man, the Browns gotta figure out what to o ith QB Watson or this season is already over.

Bears 16-21 Colts. Two Clouseau-esque squads, I'm guessing one of these teams will be pretty good by season's end....not sure which one. 

Texans 7-34 Vikings. Man, Vikings came to play, Texans did not. 

Eagles 15-12 Saints. I kinda wish I'd watched this one and then again maybe I'm glad I missed it. Seems like the Saints offense is now back to earth, seems like the Eagles are back to being a defense-first team, which is probably a good idea.

Broncos 26-7 Bucs. Nice win for the Broncos, but where did the Bucs go on this day?

Panthers 36-22 Raiders. Break up the Panthers! Welp, turns out QB Bryce Young is in fact responsible for all of the Panthers' awful-ness so far this season.

Dolphins 3-24 Seahawks. The Dolphins are in a bad way right now.

Niners 24-27 Rams. The Niners had this, let it get away. This Rams team is not one to sleep on, they are classic old guy Charles Bronson just waiting to get disrespected by the wrong clueless idiot. 

Lions 20-13 Cards. The Lions are good but it would behoove them to actually be good every week instead of just getting by and getting lucky. The Cards have a nice offense, not so nice defense, it appears. 

Jags 10-47 Bills. The Jags are sagging, the Bills are riding QB Josh Allen til his body completely breaks down (probably the right choice). 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 4)

Games I saw (some of):

(24) Illinois 31-24 (OT) (22) Nebraska

Fun game! I felt like Nebraska was the better team for the most part but they couldn't keep the momentum. On the other side, the Illini made plays late to keep the game going and then to seal the victory. Good road W for the Illini, disappointing showing for the newly returned to the top 25 Huskers. 

(11) Southern Cal 24-27 (18) Michigan

Southern Cal started slow, took forever to move the ball and they didn't get stops on Michigan in the 1st half. Michigan's defense is legit but I think their offense is kinda rickety and for the Trojans to let them move the ball so effectively particularly before halftime, was a disappointing showing. Felt like the Trojans had righted ship after halftime, that offense was much more effective, but the D could not get stops down the stretch and one big run basically blew open the game for the Wolverines. Credit Michigan for playing hard and sticking to their game plan late, but Southern Cal is the better team and really should've won this match.

UCLA 17-34 (16) Louisiana State

Kept waiting for LSU to rise up and put their stamp on this game and after halftime, that's kinda what happened. But they let this anemic UCLA attack have much too much success moving the ball early on and the Tigers even had trouble finishing drives. LSU is clearly, easily, the better team and really could've/should've poured it on the Bruins. I am convinced that UCLA is not particularly good, still not sure what to make of LSU, some real ups and downs so far this season and I don't yet see what this side has to offer. (They better figure it out quick because the SEC onslaught is a-comin'!)

(12) Utah 22-19 (14) Oklahoma State

Utah controlled the game nicely, never really allowed the Cowboys to get any footing on offense and moved the ball well enough to choke off most of the clock. The scoreline isn't overwhelming but I really think Utah is the better team and played much better on this day. Oklahoma State is a nice team and while I like Utah, not sure if the Utes can hang in the 12-team playoff (though I suspect we will find out). 

(6) Tennessee 25-15 (15) Oklahoma

Tennessee is really good, man, they're scary on both sides of the ball and the gauntlet at the top of the SEC has an extra competitor this season (well throw in Texas and Ol' Miss, too (I'll refrain from adding Missouri to this list)). Tennessee's offense wasn't dominant @ Oklahoma but it was effective and did well to control the game. And UT's defense is legit. This Oklahoma squad isn't as good as recent years but they're not bad and that they got thoroughly stuffed by the Vols was an impressive showing. Oklahoma will be back in the years to come but for now Tennessee is a legit contender to win it all. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Texas, (3) Ohio State, (5) Mississippi, (6) Tennessee, (8) Miami,  (10) Penn State, (12) Utah, (16) Louisiana State, (17) Notre Dame, (18) Michigan, (19) Louisville, (20) Iowa State, (21) Clemson, (24) Illinois

Won but did not impress

(7) Missouri. OT to beat Vandy? At home? This is not how top 10 squads collect their pelts. 

(25) Texas A&M. Fumbling around at home with Bowling Green (yes, Michigan fumbled around with them, too) is not a good look for a team that fancies themselves a top drawer side in the SEC (though I do not now--nor have I ever--considered them top drawer in the SEC).

Bad beat

(11) Southern Cal. I really thought they should've won at Michigan, but they started slow and ended sloppy. I still suspect they're the better team. 

(14) Oklahoma State. You gotta win the home games in the conference but I think Utah is just a better squad, so this is a "bad beat". 

(15) Oklahoma. Yeah, they need to handle conference foes at home, but, man, Tennessee is really good and I thought the Sooners' ability to even hang in this game was kinda impressive. Long climb up into the upper echelons of the SEC but I have faith the Sooners will get there (not this year, but, you know, eventually). 

Not so good 

(13) Kansas State. Yipes! Kinda got destroyed at Brigham Young, not a devastating L but not good if you want to stay in the top 20.

(22) Nebraska. Yes, I'm dubious of the Cornhuskers but if they're a for-real top 25 squad then they beat the Illini at home. 

(23) Northern Illinois. Oh, a good W at Notre Dame will be remembered by alumni for years to come, but time in the top 25 can be fleeting.

Next week's intriguing matches:

(20) Oklahoma State @ (23) Kansas State (hmmmm....Big-12 opponents both coming off losses, loser leaves town, no?)

(15) Louisville @ (16) Notre Dame (interesting, feels like a nice bounce back W for the Irish is on their racket or will it be an impressive road W for the Cards?)

(2) Georgia @ (4) Alabama (here we go! Game of the year so far)

(19) Illinois @ (9) Penn State (nice test for the Nittany Lions, a foe they should beat but probably the toughest match of the year so far)