2021-22 NFL (Week 3)

Games I saw (some of):

Bears 6-26 Browns

Look, man, I like Justin Fields but he's not gonna get anything done this season. The Bears D is pretty good, some poor tackling today but otherwise solid, but the offense is not going to win many games this year, we can blame Fields but I don't think that's very fair--this offense just isn't very good. The Browns started slow, took them a while to crack the Bears defense, but their pass rush was all over Fields and it was clear early on that the Bears weren't gonna move the ball at all. I'm in on the Browns, I think they're really good and as I'm still not terribly impressed with the Ravens, seems like the division belongs to them for now. 

Bengals 24-10 Steelers

Yeah, man, the Steelers suck. They were never in this game. Big Ben is not exactly finished but the days of him putting a team on his back are past, I'd say. The Steelers D is okay but not great and certainly not good enough to lift up this ramshackle offense. (Would they be interested in Andy Dalton? Another month or so for the Bears to realize Dalton is not gonna play for them any more) The Bengals offense is not bad, when Burrow, Mixon, Chase, Boyd and Higgins get a real o-line, they're gonna be spicy. I can see this team being pretty good by the end of the year, not a playoff team yet, but real spoiler potential down the stretch. Not the Steelers, though, they'll be in panic mode for the rest of the year. 

Bucs 24-34 Rams

The score is deceptive: I really thought the Rams were better in every way and looking back, I'm a little surprised this game was as close as it was. Brady had some great moments but the Rams pass rush got to him consistently in the 2nd half and I still have yet to be as impressed with the Bucs' D as I feel like I'm supposed to be. The Rams came to play, but are they gonna do that every week? They both still look like playoff teams to me but best vs best, I'd say the Rams are the better squad.  

Packers 30-28 Niners

Great finish! The Packers drove the ball confidently, ran whenever they wanted, and it felt like they were gonna blow out the Niners. But the Niners got a TD before halftime and another after halftime and suddenly this was a for-real game. Still felt throughout like the Packers were the better team but I really thought the Niners had pulled it out with the late TD to put them ahead. But 37 seconds is all it takes for a HOF'er like Rodgers to roll down and give his kicker the chance to win. Rodgers is still the man. Good effort from the Niners but if they'd tuned up the D a little sooner, they might've had a real shot to take this. The Packers are still really good when they bring their A game. 

The rest of the slate:

Panthers 24-9 Texans. The Texans have actually been way better than I thought so far this season, but without Tyrod Taylor, I'd say that's over and they'll drift down to the bottom. The Panthers look good, right? Not sure how good just yet, feels like the next few weeks will show us. 

WTF 21-43 Bills. Good. I was afraid the Bills were gonna sputter all season, but WTF is just what they needed. 

Ravens 19-17 Lions. (*) The Ravens are good but a little too full of themselves, right? I think the Lions are going to be a dominant 4th quarter team all year long, a lot of backdoor covers coming in Detroit. I don't see them winning games but I like the vibe they got going, already better than anything they've had in years. 

Colts 16-25 Titans. I dunno, two teams that are a coin toss every week. 

Chargers 30-24 Chiefs. The Chiefs play a dangerous game and perhaps a 2-game losing streak (remember when Mahomes was undefeated in September?) will wake them up. The Chargers are legit, man, they'd be looking seriously strong if they hadn't flagged their way out of a win against Dallas last week.

Saints 28-13 Pats. I thought the Saints were underrated coming into the season, so I'm not that shocked by this result. Looks like rookie is gonna have trouble moving the ball in New England this year; hey, like Fields, I think he'll be a lot better next year. 

Falcons 17-14 Giants. Two teams that are dying to lose every week....somebody had to win. 

Cards 31-19 Jags. (*) The Cards took their time, felt like this was a game later than it should've been. The Jags are gonna scuffle all year long. 

Jets 0-26 Broncos. Yeah. Jets, man. 

Dolphins 28-31 (OT) Raiders. The Raiders are a puzzle: look so good one week and then look like the Raiders all over again the next week. Dolphins, too, are one of those squads you just never know about. (This was probably a fun game for non-fans)

Seahawks 17-30 Vikings. The Vikings can move the ball, they can score, I figured at home they'd be the better team. Never really know about the Seahawks, they can win or lose any game any time. 

Eagles 21-41 Cowboys. Man, that Cowboy offense is legit. Not sure about the D, not sure they can play through the finish line but they'll score points and they'll hang in most every game. I think I kinda like the Eagles but they're not ready for prime time just yet, I think they'll get better throughout the season. 

(*) So with the Ravens nailing a 66-yard kick off the crossbar and the Cards coming up 2 yards short on a 68-yard attempt, can we now definitively say that 66 yards is the maximum distance a human can kick a football? 

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 4)

Games I saw (some of):

West Virginia 13-16 (4) Oklahoma. 

Fun game--funner than it should've been! The Sooners just never took charge, couldn't confidently move the ball, didn't get the big stops they needed to get. OU was still the better team, they just didn't come to play and it feels like this is just not their year. Still time, though, to get it together, but they'd better run through the conference to get Playoff love. 

(7) Texas A&M 10-20 (16) Arkansas

There was not a moment in this game where A&M was better. The score doesn't suggest how lopsided this game was, felt like Arkansas whomped 'em from beginning to end. I think I'm more un-impressed with A&M than I am impressed with Arkansas, so this will likely look like a rather meaningless contest by the end of the season.  

(12) Notre Dame 41-13 (18) Wisconsin

This game was tied at 10 at the end of the 3rd quarter, this game was much closer than the score suggests. This was a very even match for the first 45 minutes. Notre Dame made the plays late (I turned away at 34-13, so I guess they made another right at the end) and Wisconsin fell apart, that was the difference. My creepy observation: the ND QB originally went to Wisconsin and was bounced after an injury and went to ND, but unfortunately, I thought the Irish didn't get going until he got hurt and was replaced. Ouch! Not completely out on Wisconsin, they've got major spoiler potential for the rest of the season. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Alabama, (2) Georgia, (3) Oregon, (5) Iowa, (6) Penn State, (10) Ohio State, (11) Florida, (12) Notre Dame, (15) BYU, (16) Arkansas, (17) Coastal Carolina, (22) Fresno State, (24) UCLA

Won but did not impress

(4) Oklahoma. That offense needs to get going or the boos will continue to rain down from the stands. 

(19) Michigan. Scoreless in the 2nd half at home against a so-so conference opponent when the Wolverines really need to impress as much as possible right now. Perhaps I'm being overly critical: They were up at halftime and they secured the W, yeah, but I was looking for a blowout and Michigan did not give one. Just sayin'...when they lose a game they shouldn't, this is the game we'll look back to and tell ourselves we should've seen it coming.  

(20) Michigan State. Likewise with the in-state rivals: I expected a little more than an OT squeaker at home against an unimpressive conference opponent. They got it done, they got the W, perhaps this is a great moment for them...but it doesn't feel like one to me. 

(23) Auburn. Aw, dude....Auburn got so fuckin' lucky in this game. They should've lost. They got totally outplayed for 58 minutes, got a fluke TD to save the game and then a pick-6 to make it look comfortable. This game was not comfortable for Auburn fans! And the double fluke--to still not even come close to covering the spread!--is fun in a highlight package but does not inspire confidence. 

Bad beat

(14) Iowa State. @Baylor is never easy and this State team is nice but probably not a top 15 team. They were overrated but this L does not convince me that they're not good, just that they're not #14.  

(25) Kansas State. Yeah, they were ranked and they lost. But they really probably shouldn't have been ranked and they were an underdog going into a tough conference road game. This only looks disappointing because they were 25th last week instead of 26th.  

Not so good

(7) Texas A&M. Gotta say: I'm not into that QB, I'm not into Coach Jimbo, the defense didn't show me anything, this team has fluked out all year long and I think they are not the real deal. 

(9) Clemson. A classic Clemson squad would've won this game easily; a so-so Clemson squad would've found a way to win in regulation. This Clemson squad was lucky to get to OT (State missed 3 FG's!) and did nothing to gut out a W once they got there. This is the crappiest Clemson side in a decade or more. This team is going to lose more games, I guarantee. 

(21) North Carolina. I'm done with the Tarheels. 

Next week's intriguing matchups (nice slate!):

(8) Arkansas @ (2) Georgia (all right, Razorbacks, welcome to the top ten! If you're for real, this is a great opportunity)

(14) Michigan @ Wisconsin (my gut feeling is Wisconsin in still better than the Wolverines (Spartans, too), so if Michigan is gonna make it happen, now is the time)

(7) Cincinnati @ (9) Notre Dame (game o' the week!)

(12) Ole Miss @ (1) Alabama (meh, I don't really think this is game but this is maybe Ole Miss's best chance in years to steal a W from the Tide)

(6) Oklahoma @ Kansas State (yeah, the Wildcats just got bounced from the top 25 in a rugged road conference game, now is their chance to dole that back on the Sooners)

(21) Baylor @ (19) Oklahoma State (one of these teams is overrated unless...they both are)

Indiana @ (4) Penn State (tricky match for the Nittany Lions, top five makes every contest a chance to fail and don't sleep on the Hoosiers, two losses to two good teams)

Boston College @ (25) Clemson (uh oh, this might be the last straw for the Tigers)

(22) Auburn @ Louisiana State (loser leaves town)

2021-22 NFL (Week 2)

Games I saw (some of):

Bengals 17-20 Bears

Incredibly defensive battle for three quarters, non-stop weirdness for the 4th. Burrow at one point threw three consecutive interceptions and then two consecutive TDs. Justin Fields came in when Dalton tweaked his ankle, had good moments (looks good in the pocket, moves well, generally good reads) and bad moments (bails out a little too quick, definitely jittery--dude, I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen a QB called for False Start, Fields did it twice in one drive!), I suspect he won't really mature until next year but I think there's plenty of room for (long term) optimism. The Bengals got done in by their turnovers, I think they were probably the better team, though. The Bears defense looks old timey good, the offense...meh. I don't see either of these teams winning a lot of games this season. 

Raiders 26-17 Steelers

I'll say it again: Derek Carr is pretty good, man, not top tier but certainly better than the critcism he gets. And, again, the Raiders main problems is their dumb fuckin' penalties, they would be a much more competitive team if they would just get some discipline. As for the Steelers, meh. The defense is okay, Ben still has moments (but mostly lumbers around out there, could Derek Carr be their QB next season?), and after watching Najee Harris two weeks in a row, I'm not particularly impressed. The Steelers still have veteran smarts, so if you fuck around they'll beat you, but they're less talented that most every team they're going to play this year. The Raiders aren't bad and stealing two W's from the Ravens and Steelers to open the season is a good start. 

Cowboys 20-17 Chargers

OMG, did this game set a record for penalties--dude, I've never seen a personal foul get declined before--didn't even know it was possible! That's what kind of game this was. Every time the Chargers made a good play, you just knew it was coming back. Fun game, both teams moved the ball well, everyone was making plays and except for the penalties (Cowboys have plenty of 'em, too) this was a great game to watch from beginning to end. Felt like the Chargers were going to pull it out, but they shot themselves in the foot too many times to finish the game. Good W for the Cowboys, some nice defensive plays, consistently good offense in all phases. 

Chiefs 35-36 Ravens

Chiefs, man, *whew*! I thought Lamar Jackson looked as good as he's looked in a while--if he continues to play like this then the Ravens will be pretty dangerous. But when the Chiefs need a play, they just go to the play store and pick one up off the rack. Funny, then, that it was the Chiefs that fumbled away their last chance to win--and that was after getting spotted a pick-6 to start the game! The Ravens are pretty good and when Lamar brings his best game they can be really good; if he's MVP-level this year, then the Ravens vault up to the top tier in the AFC. The Chiefs let this one get away but they'll be all right, they actually played sloppy as hell as still could've won this game, so no worries for Chief fans. 

The rest of the slate: 

Giants 29-30 WTF

For football lovers, this is like watching a porno of nothing but ugly people.

Texans 21-31 Browns

I was surprised to see the Texans hanging in this game. Their offense is better than I would've thought possible. I doubt they'll be any good but they're not the easy W I figured they'd be. 

Rams 27-24 Colts

Feels like the Rams really should've scored more often and more confidently. Here it was the defense making big plays bailing out the offense's mistakes. The Colts are probably one of those bad-good teams: they kinda suck but they've got savvy.

Bills 35-0 Dolphins

The Bills D showed up today. Okay, wasn't sure they even had one. Without Tua, the Dolphins couldn't move the ball at all. 

Pats 25-6 Jets

Yeah. 

Niners 17-11 Eagles

I think the Eagles might actually be kinda good. The Niners seemed to be in control even if the offense wasn't overwhelming. 

Saints 7-26 Panthers

The Saints were decimated by Covid, but that said, the Panthers looked good. It's only been two weeks, but the Panthers so far to me are the biggest upside surprise, if the Saints stay this bad and the Falcons keep being the Falcons, the Panthers might be in line for a playoff spot. 

Broncos 23-13 Jags

Not the most impressive W but a win on the road is always a good thing. The Jags have a long way to go. 

Vikings 33-34 Cards

Kinda thought the Cards would handle the Vikings at home, instead they got lucky as hell the FG sailed wide. 

Falcons 25-48 Bucs

Yeah. 

Titans 33-30 (OT) Seahawks

The Seahawks puzzle me every year: good when it seems like they oughta suck, dropping home games to soft squads when it seems like they oughta roll. Oh well. 

Lions 17-35 Packers

Yeah, that sounds about right. 

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 3)

Games I watched (some of):

Chattanooga 23-28 Kentucky

*sigh* The big improvement the Wildcats were touting this year was a for-real stud recruit QB...uh...I don't see it. His accuracy is not so good, his reads are not so good, he holds the ball too long and while he looks like a pretty good runner, the whole reason he came to UK was to be a passer...so....what are we supposed to do with this guy? Hopefully, it was just a bad week and they got away with playing a terrible game on both sides of the ball and the Wildcats will be ready to give Georgia and Florida a game when the time come; yeah, that's the hope. Otherwise, there was nothing good about this. UK's o-line and d-line both got mostly pushed around and UK's defense (outside of a fluky game-saving 95-yard interception return for a TD) was pretty nothing special in the middle of the field. If there's hope in Lexington, it's because there's nothing else. 

Alabama 31-29 Florida

Wow! After the 1st quarter, Bama was up 21-3, everything felt predictable and Reddit was lighting up with the standard complaints of Alabama 'ruining football', etc. But from that point on, Florida kinda kicked the shit out of the Tide in a way that I haven't seen anyone (outside of Clemson) do in ages. Dude, that 99-yard drive the Gators had was a thing of beauty--a fucking masterpiece! When Nick Saban has trouble sleeping, that drive is what he'll think of while he's staring at the ceiling. If Florida doesn't miss a PAT early on, this could've been an entirely different result. But even though Florida came up short, Alabama did not look invincible, and suddenly this season is wide open again.  

Auburn 20-28 Penn State

Fun game! I thought these two were pretty much even, give the slight edge to the home squad and, yeah, a one score game that stayed interesting deep into the 4th quarter. Really it all turned on a bad Auburn turnover right after halftime, which gave Penn State a short field to score a crucial TD, otherwise very tight game between two similar teams. And considering how ordinary Alabama and Ohio State have looked so far, feels like we're gonna get a wacky season and these two are well-positioned to make some noise. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Georgia, (4) Oregon, (5) Iowa, (7) Texas A&M, (8) Cincinnati, (9) Ohio State, (10) Penn State, (12) Notre Dame, (14) Iowa State, (17) Ole Miss, (20) Arkansas, (21) North Carolina, (23) Brigham Young, (25) Michigan

Won but did not impress

(1) Alabama. I dunno, man, for three quarters that got handled. Yeah, they won, they're still Alabama, they're still #1, but they looked mortal in a season when there's a lotta mortality out there. 

(3) Oklahoma. Dude, Nebraska is not any good. When are the Sooners gonna get rolling? 

(6) Clemson. Yeah, weird weather delay, they didn't fall apart or anything, so one is inclined to look the other way at this lackluster result. But, man, all that aside: that offense don't look good, man. I don't know what's up with them but they need to figure it out. 

(16) Coastal Carolina. Struggling at Buffalo? I thought this was a high powered offense that could go anywhere and run it up, but apparently not. 

Bad beat

(11) Florida. A missed extra point away from possibly dealing the biggest upset in years. (Although, let's be honest: the Gators got flat out smoked in the 1st quarter, so not a perfect performance)

(19) Arizona State. Yeah, they're probably just not as good as BYU. 

(22) Auburn. Tough loss.  Bad turnover early in the 2nd half was the difference, otherwise pretty even with the #10 team in the land on the road. An impressive L. 

Not so good

(13) UCLA. A shootout loss at home to Fresno State...I could live with that if this Fresno State squad turns out to be good--and they might--but they haven't yet. (But my first thought: wow, so is LSU gonna be really bad this year?)

(15) Virginia Tech. If I call this a 'bad beat', then I'd be acknowledging that @West Virginia is naturally tougher than Hokies on the road. But since Tech was ranked and the Mountaineers are not, this is just not so good. 

(24) Miami. Hmmm....in three weeks I've given Miami a 'bad beat' and 2 'not so goods'. I'm officially ready to discard the Hurricanes. (Beat Clemson and we'll talk)

Next week's interesting matches:

(12) Notre Dame @ (18) Wisconsin (okay, I'll be watching)

Louisiana State @ Mississippi State (an interesting 'are either of these squads actually any good' kinda match)

(7) Texas A&M @ (16) Arkansas (I'm pretty sure Arkansas is overrated but I haven't decided yet about A&M, a loser leaves town match)

(9) Clemson @ North Carolina State (this game shouldn't be this intriguing but Clemson needs every W and Raleigh isn't the easiest place to get one)

(24) UCLA @ Stanford (the Bruins are still undefeated in the conference, so this match is actually kinda pivotal to see if UCLA can still have a good season)

2021-22 NFL (Week 1)

Games I saw (some of): 

Cowboys 29-31 Bucs

I was impressed with Dak, thought he looked great, and I was equally unimpressed with the Bucs D, so untouchable in the playoffs last season. The Bucs had a handful of fluky turnovers that kept the Cowboys in the game, so while the score was close and I thought the Cowboys moved the ball well, one could make the argument that the Bucs were realistically the much better team. (Or perhaps not) Well, I had the Cowboys winning their division and the Bucs not making the playoffs (hot take!), this opening game, fun as it was, is not really all the meaningful for the season-long narrative. But for now: Cowboys offense looked better than the Bucs' defense. 

Steelers 23-16 Bills

Very disappointing result for the Bills. First off: why did they keep going on 4th down in the 2nd half when they passed on far more better chances to do so in the 1st half? Felt like they were trying to get cute when in fact they were playing right into the Steelers' hands. The Steeler offense was pretty awful in the 1st half, but the veteran smarts took over after halftime and thanks to a nifty blocked punt for a TD and the Bills offense absolutely sputtering most all day (one good TD drive, another good drive late where they settled for an FG and that was pretty much it), the Steelers were able to steal themselves a W that they really shouldn't have been able to get. The Bills defense is clearly their Achilles' heel: no pass rush, so-so defensive backfield, unimpressive special teams, so unless Josh Allen has the MVP season some are predicting, this Bills team might be left by the wayside. (Yes, I'm a Bills fan and I am panicking) This was a winnable game and they let it get away and that's not a good way to start the season.

Vikings 24-27 (OT) Bengals

Neither team seemed well equipped to win the game. The Bengals can pass but not much else, the Vikings...well, I don't know what the Vikings can do but they did came back late to send this to OT. So are the Vikings in trouble or was this just a sloppy game? Well, I'm gonna start with column B and work my way over to Column A: a young team like the Bengals on the road is unpredictable, harder to game plan for than I think most people realize; that said, the Vikings still should've been better and they weren't, which suggests they aren't on the same page and might suck really bad--but even then, they're in with the Lions and Bears and a Packers teams that looks as bad as they have in a while, so there is still time for the Vikings to get their shit together. As for the Bengals, well, I like Burrow and Mixon and I think Higgins and Boyd can make a nice tandem, I think that offense can actually be pretty good. But no one is expecting them to actually win games and I don't reckon they will. 

Browns 29-33 Chiefs

I was more impressed with the Browns than with the Chiefs. That said, the Chiefs did what they needed to do to pull out the W and, well, that's what they do. Is it going to catch up to them? You gotta figure it will eventually, but the Browns probably should've been the team to do that and they didn't get it done. I think the Browns are gonna be good, they move the ball well and that pass rush is for real. I think the Chiefs, too, will be good and this may well have been a preview of the final four in January. 

Bears 14-34 Rams

The Rams are good, the Bears are not. Not sure what else there was to get out this game. The Rams are in a good division, so their goodness may go to waste, while the Bears are in a bad division and may well avoid punishment for being awful.

Ravens 27-33 (OT) Raiders

Can I say something about Derek Carr: the Raiders are still the sloppiest team in the league and make all sorts of dumb mistakes at inopportune moments but virtually none of them are Carr's fault. He's the QB, he's gonna get the blame but he really doesn't deserve it. I'm not saying he's great but I am saying he's not bad and he may look a lot better on another team (if I was Carr, I'd tell my agent to do what it takes to get to Atlanta and their all-world young TE). The Ravens are kinda lackluster, man, that vaunted D is just kinda ordinary now and as much as I love Lamar Jackson, he tries to do too much instead of figuring out how to win with less effort. The Raiders strike me as a spoiler kinda squad: they'll mostly be bad but they'll be good just often enough to fuck up some other team. The Ravens may be the same thing, now that the Raiders have delivered an L in a game they should've won. 

The rest of the week's matches:

Eagles 32-6 Falcons

Wow, the Falcons look awful and the Eagles look not so bad. How much of a Week One overreaction is that? 

Niners 41-33 Lions

Niners had a massive lead, then sweated it out letting the Lions close the gap. I wouldn't be surprised if the Lions do this a lot this season, the kind of team that takes a lot of losses but covers spreads anyway. I think the Niners are actually good and just kinda fell asleep against a crappy team and got away with it, ideally they won't do that any more.

Cards 38-13 Titans

I like the Cards this year but I don't think the Titans can be this bad. 

Chargers 20-16 WTF

Chargers on the road is maybe a bit of an overreach but WTF does look sloppy at best.

Jets 14-19 Panthers

Jets suck--who's surprised? The Panthers missed a golden opportunity to cover a spread but they got the W, so good for them. 

Jags 21-37 Texans

Hmmm....so the Jags are gonna be even worse than the Texans? Okay, I thought the Texans were going to be historically bad but perhaps Tyrod Taylor (the new Fitzmagic?) is enough to gut out a few W's. And the Jags are even further away than I thought they'd be (indeed, I thought they'd win a few games early on and then disappear). 

Dolphins 17-16 Pats

This was a surprising result. I think Tua could be good but I think Mac should also be good enough to get the Pats over the hump in a division game at home. Oh well, rookie's first start and the Pats still should've won. Are the Dolphins this good? I dunno. 

Packers 3-38 Saints

I like the Saints this year so I was not shocked by the 'new Jameis Winston', I think we'll see more of this throughout the year. As for the Packers, well, even if thay are this bad, they're still in a division with three even worse teams, so no big deal really. 

Broncos 27-13 Giants

I dunno. I kinda think NYG is gonna be awful and I think the Denver Bridgewaters (oh wait, is he the new Fitzmagic?) should be a solid squad, so this doesn't look shocking to me. 

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 2)

Saw some of: 

(12) Oregon 35-28 (3) Ohio State

Kept waiting for the Buckeyes to take control of this match and they never did. Good W for Oregon, they were the better team throughout on both sides of the ball--and I don't think this was a just 'any given Saturday' phenomenon, I was really much more impressed with Oregon than with Ohio State. The QB was firm, the RB was a beast who made big plays, the speed on the edge defense was impressive and the made the big plays late when they needed to.  Oregon was just flat out good, a deserved top 5 team for now. 

(10) Iowa 27-17 (9) Iowa State

Man, Iowa was the better team but State made so many fluky mistakes, that it warped my perception. I'm pretty sure Iowa is for real but this game kinda makes it hard to tell because it doesn't feel possible that they were this much worse than Iowa State. Good W for Iowa, if they can keep it going against Penn State and Wisconsin, they could find themselves in the playoff--definitely a team to keep an eye on. 

(13) Florida 42-20 South Florida

The Gators so dominated the 1st half of this game that it's easy to overlook how soft they looked in the 2nd half. Don't get me wrong, Florida was the better team and should be a competitive squad all year. But the way they mailed it in after halftime is a little creepy. Oh, they got 'Bama next week, perhaps I'm just being overly critical. 

(5) Texas A&M 10-7 Colorado

Gotta be honest: I was totally rooting for Colorado to sting the Aggies. All I saw was the 4th quarter when it felt like the Buffaloes were finally wearing down. A&M fumbled away the go-ahead TD at the goal line, but were able to hold Colorado off and then get that go-ahead TD on their next possession to steal a late W on the road. Yeah, I get it: early season, non-conference road games don't get the juices flowing, but overcoming those letdowns is what a good team does. Am I supposed to be impressed that they pulled out the W or suspicious that it took them so long to subdue a mediocre opponent? (For now, I'm more suspicious than impressed)

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Alabama, (2) Georgia, (4) Oklahoma, (6) Clemson, (7) Cincinnati, (10) Iowa, (11) Penn State, (17) Coastal Carolina, (18) Wisconsin, (19) Virginia Tech, (20) Ole Miss, (23) Arizona State, (24) North Carolina, (25) Auburn 

Won but did not impress

(5) Texas A&M. (see above: more suspicious than impressed)

(8) Notre Dame. Come on, Irish. You trying to get the coach fired or what?

(22) Miami. I get that at home against App State isn't always the easiest match, but come on, Hurricanes. In order to get back in the mix (an L to Alabama is not a season-killer), you gotta handle your business and this is not inspiring confidence. 

Bad beat 

(9) Iowa State. Man, it was not Iowa State's day, they Sideshow Bob-bed that rake over and over again this afternoon. They can't be this bad but how good are they? I went with 'bad beat' because I think Iowa is legit good and I would be surprised if Iowa State plays this bad again this year (which means watch out, Oklahoma!).  

Not good

(3) Ohio State. I was impressed by Oregon, I think they're really good and I could've put this in the 'bad beat' category, but I was wildly unimpressed with the Buckeyes. I was underwhelmed by their LBs and their pass rush, nor did I love their QB (perhaps the most uninspiring 500 yds/3 TD performance I've ever seen) or their special teams. This is a nice team but not a classic Buckeye squad. And after watching Iowa this week and Penn State last week, feels like the Buckeyes could be in some trouble this season. They've bounced back from early season losses before, we'll see how this focuses them going forward. 

(14) Southern Cal. Not good, felt like USC was ready to have a bust out season, but if you can't beat Stanford, you don't go far. 

(15) Texas. I had a feeling Arkansas was waiting for the Longhorns. And the fact that I'm still not at all impressed by Arkansas is not good for Texas.

(21) Utah. Hmmm....so is Utah overrated or is BYU underrated?

Next week's interesting matchups

(8) Cincinnait @ Indiana (yeah, I know this isn't the 1962 NCAA tournament, but it is an interesting test for the Bearcats; Indiana can sling it and they've already played a top 10 team this year, they won't be intimidated)

(1) Alabama @ (11) Florida (boom! Your marquee matchup of the week!)

(22) Auburn @ (10) Penn State (hmmm....this is an out-of-nowhere match...okay, I'm in)

(19) Arizona State @ (23) BYU (finally gonna the age old question: are either of these teams actually any good?)

2021 US Open

Raducanu 6/6 - 4/3 Fernandez

Fun match! I didn't see much of the Ladies' side this year but I doubt I would've paid much attention to either of these girls anyway because they were both such crazy long shots, so just as well that I missed it. Fernandez was the crowd favorite who came out of nowhere to win everyone's hearts but all I saw was the Final and I gotta say: holy balls, she looks like a little child! She looks like she should be selling candy bars so her middle school soccer team can go to the state finals. The crowd (including Steve Nash) was clearly rooting for her. She moves well, big hitter, great footwork, I think she's got a future. But I was blown away by Raducanu--she's the shit! First qualifier to ever win the US Open and I don't think she's done. I was impressed with Fernandez, but Raducanu was legit better at every phase of the game. She's top ten right now. And considering the standard bearer on the women's side is Ashleigh Barty, who probably has the most all-around talent but just does not get it done in the Finals, I think Raducanu can be the next big big big star. I would be surprised if this was her last major. Great match, a lot of fun, the crowd was totally into it, always great to see new faces and I think both Fernandez and Raducanu are gonna have staying power (which should elevate this particular Final to an all-time classic). 

(2) Medvedev 6/6/6 - 4/4/4 (1) Djokovic

Yipes! I don't remember the last time I saw Djokovic just get roasted like a hog before....yeah, I've never seen that happen. Djokovic was weird all through this tournament, kept dropping sets when normally he's just a robot that crushes all comers, so I don't know what kind of funk he was in. But the fact that he was not exactly at his best in this tourney and still made the Finals (even eviscerating Zverev in the semifinal), just shows what an unholy badass he is. But, man, Medvedev came to play--and he was talking shit, whooping up the crowd, staring Djoker down--and Djokovic couldn't smooth talk his way back into this. Wow, it's amazing how far off the baseline Medvedev was hanging--holy shit, when he was in the near court, you couldn't even see him on the TV broadcast! I'm amazed that that strategy worked. You would think a craftsman like Djokovic could find the holes (he was definitely pumping drop shots whenever possible, but it wasn't enough), but Medvedev is just a such a big dude, he was tracking everything down. I like watching Medvedev, the way he unfolds as he takes his shots is funny to watch (reminds me of Utah's Joe Ingles). Is Djokovic done? Is Medvedev ready to de-throne him (seems like Zverev has shown that he is not)? We'll see, it could be Meevedev's for the foreseeable future. Good match, even Djokovic at half strength still makes for great tennis. 

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 1)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....football....(and just like that I'm already convinced no one will touch Alabama).

Games I saw (some of):

(4) Ohio State 45-31 Minnesota

Shoot! I forgot this game was on, so the Buckeyes had already started busting out the whoop ass by the time I joined. I was impressed by the Gophers, they hung in there, played hard. But OSU got TD's whenever they needed one. I feel like Ohio State won't be as good as usual this year but they'll be there in the end, I have no doubt. As for Minnesota, well, they got their toughest game out of the way early. 

(1) Alabama 44-13 (14) Miami

Just another casual thrashing to open the season against the toughest non-conference opponent they've probably played in years. Yawn. I kept waiting for Miami to do....anything...but it just didn't happen for them. Tough way to open the season but they can move on now. 

Tulane 35-40 (2) Oklahoma

I kept waiting for Oklahoma to take over and they never did. Not sure if we should be impressed that they still easily beat a tougher-than-expected opponent (hey, man, I thought Tulane was pretty good!) without really exerting themselves or worried that they never took control of the game the way a pre-season #2 ought to? Tulane moved the ball and made plays on defense, so my guess is they're just surprisingly better than usual this season. Hard for Oklahoma to get it up for a non-conference nobody, but opening day requires a little more effort than this (looking at you, Coach Riley). This was not an impressive performance all in all, but I think OU is fine, they'll be dominant. 

(5) Georgia 10-3 (3) Clemson

Felt to me like UGA was the better team, but that Clemson has more room to get better throughout the year. This was two really good defenses bashing away at each other; not a particularly informative showing from either offense. Good W for the Bulldogs, but it was a pick-6, that's all--their best drive of the game was at the end when they ran out the clock! Clemson should roll through their mediocre schedule and be back in the playoff, while Georgia will likely matriculate up to #2 until they go toe-to-toe with Alabama.  

Northern Iowa 10-16 (7) Iowa State

I was impressed with Northern Iowa, they don't suck. As for Iowa State, they survived a scare against an underappreciated opponent and I think they'll be better for it. If they catch the Sooners slipping, they're positioned to sneak into the playoff. (Yeah, seriously) This was a good game. 

(19) Penn State 16-10 (12) Wisconsin

Good game! Wow, no offense at all in the 1st half (scoreless at halftime), but both teams got it going in the 2nd half, Penn State was more effective at making plays on defense in the 4th quarter. Both teams are nice, neither team strikes me as too scary for Ohio State (but, if the Buckeyes are down, maybe...), but both should probably hang around top 20 all season long. 

(16) Louisiana State 27-38 UCLA

Uh oh, not a good result for LSU. While watching this game I kept asking myself: damn, was Joe Burrow even better than I remembered? Because the Tigers haven't been able to do anything since he left. UCLA moved the ball casually on this LSU defense and that's shocking: LSU always has good safeties, corners and pass rushers--ALWAYS! So for the Bruins to run up and down the field on them must have been making the Bayou faithful reach for the Pepto. This one is hard to tell: is UCLA really good or is LSU gonna suck this year? I'm not sure. It could be that both of these teams are not particularly good. 

(9) Notre Dame 41-38 (OT) Florida State

At first I thought Notre Dame would roll (pretty easy peasy opening drive for a TD) and that would be that (apparently that's what Coach Kelly thought, too!). But when the Seminoles quickly took the lead back I was rather surprised. I liked the Seminole QB and the pass rush wasn't bad either. But when the Irish took a comfortable lead in the 3rd quarter, I thought it was over again. Then it wasn't! Next thing I know the game is tied with 40 seconds to go! What? Notre Dame took their foot off the gas in the 4th quarter and let the Seminoles make plays. Notre Dame felt like the better team throughout but they didn't put the game away as they should have. Takeaways: 1) Florida State might not be awful this season (they're not Nebraska, hope isn't yet lost) and 2) Notre Dame is legit but kinda sloppy. We'll see if that holds. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Alabama, (4) Ohio State, (5) Georgia, (6) Texas A&M, (7) Iowa State, (8) Cincinnati, (11) Oregon, (13) Florida, (15) Southern Cal, (18) Iowa), (19) Penn State, (21) Texas, (22) Coastal Carolina, (24) Utah, (25) Arizona State

Win but did not impress

(2) Oklahoma. Not trying to sound the alarm but they really didn't do shit in the 2nd half and that's weird.

Bad beat

(3) Clemson. Tough L to Georgia, not the end of the world, though, as Georgia should have a pretty strong season (making for one of the better L's of the whole year) and Clemson should still rip through the ACC.

(12) Wisconsin. 5th straight L to Penn State, a shame they had to take it at home on opening day while being ranked higher, but they've still got matches against Ohio State and Michigan to get them back in the game. 

(14) Miami. Getting stomped by Alabama on opening day has been endured by lots of teams and now Miami is one of them. 

(17) Indiana. Should they really have been ranked higher than Iowa anyway? Honestly, that feels like sportswriter malpractice.

(23) Louisiana. Good effort, just didn't have enough in the long run. Tough start to the season but I wouldn't be surprised to see Louisiana sneak their way back into the top 25 by the end of the year (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see them ahead of Texas when it's all said and done). 

Not good

(10) North Carolina. Hmmm...never really looked like they were gonna beat Virginia Tech on opening night, not a good look for a top ten squad. 

(16) Louisiana State. I got a bad feeling about the Tigers this year...

(20) Washington. Ohh, that's not good. Getting soundly defeated by Montana at home is probably the death knell for their season, don't ya think? 

Next week's interesting matchups

(11) Oregon @ (4) Ohio State (Dang! Another big time matchup in September!)

(18) Iowa @ (7) Iowa State (Fun one for the Iowans, when was the last time these two were both this good?)

(21) Texas @ Arkansas (Interesting test for the Longhorns, might be a tough one)

Stanford @ (15) Southern Cal (I dig these early season conference games, this one should let us know if the Trojans are for real)