Sports

Ten Piece Nuggets-NFL

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s the beginning of a long holiday week.  People are dashing around from shopping malls to shopping malls.  Amazon Prime trucks are dashing from address to address.  The BBR staff is having it’s annual holiday golf tournament today.  So we’ll keep it short with a quick, NFL Ten Piece Nugget served five from the NFC and five from the AFC style.  It will be good to get something in your stomach before the eggnog and bourbon take control.

  1.  The NFC side of the playoff picture is as clear as a bell and as foggy as England.  Huh?  Five of the six spots are spoken for, with the sixth a Philadelphia  and Dallas mess.  Dallas controlled it till yesterday’s loss to Philly.  Now if Philly wins against the New York football Giants they are in.  If they lose, Dallas is in with a win over Washington.  Winner is division champ.  Loser goes home.
  2. If the loser is Dallas, Jason Garrett is going home too.  Jerry Jones said he was very disappointed in his team’s performance yesterday. Duh. They failed to score a touchdown against a banged up, but hungrier, Philly team.  With Cooper, Prescott, and Elliot as your big three on O a lot of money isn’t getting a lot of production.  Prescott was asked post game, “what’s the problem?”  His answer was profound.  “I don’t know.”
  3. The other five spots are sealed while the order and bye’s are anything but.  San Francisco, Green Bay, New Orleans, Seattle, and Minnesota are in.  Only N.O. is for sure the division champ and therefore a host of a wild card at a minimum.  But home field is at stake as are the top two seed spots.  There are too many “if’s” to detail them.
  4. One thing is for sure though.  There are too many “if’s” by team to consider anyone of them a prohibitive NFC Super Bowl favorite.  New Orleans inexplicably lost to Atlanta a while back.  San Fran did the same yesterday to lowly Arizona.  Green Bay is much better at home than the road.  Minnesota and Seattle might both need to win three in a row on the road.  But, they are both very live wild card teams, if they wind up as wild card teams, built for post season play.
  5. New Orleans lacks weapons outside of one who is nearly unstoppable this year.  Marvin Harrison’s NFL record of 143 catches in a season stood for 17 years, and no one came within even six catches of it.  Sunday New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas broke Harrison’s mark with one game to go.  Thomas already has 145 catches on the year after he caught 12 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 38-28 come-from-behind victory over the Tennessee Titans.  Can a wide receiver win the MVP award?  Well, Thomas is 66-1 while Lamar Jackson is 1-30.
  6. Speaking of Thomas as we swing into the AFC, the QB and his Baltimore Ravens now have to be considered a strong favorite to take home the Lombardi Trophy in Miami regardless of who the NFC rep is.  Baltimore is winning big weekly and dominating in all aspects of the game.  After a 2-2 start, they are winners of 11 straight.  Eleven straight wins in the NFL is called domination.  In an AFC Conference loaded with really good quarterbacking, this just in, Lamar Jackson is good.
  7. But, as usual, don’t count out New England just yet.  Their yearly trip to the biggest game of all got a shorter route thanks to Saturday’s gut check win against a gutsy Buffalo Bills team.  A win this week against Miami in New England will give them a first round bye.  This just in, Tom Brady is good.
  8. Perched at # 3 is KC.  If you fell asleep Sunday night you missed a 26-3 Chiefs snoozer over the somnambulistic Chicago Bears 26-3.  They need a win and a week 17 loss by NE to have a bye.   This just in, Patrick Mahomes is good.  The Bears are not.
  9. Don’t sleep on the Houston Texans.  They clinched the AFC South for the fourth time in five years Saturday.  They can score and they can play decent defense.  If KC loses and Houston wins they could move up to the all important #2 seed and gain the all important bye week as well.  This just in, Deshaun Watson is good.
  10. Buffalo has won ten games and counting this year and are in as the fifth seed.  They are a dangerous wild card team.  They’ll scrap you for a ball anytime, anywhere.  This just in, Josh Allen isn’t good yet, but he’s moving in the right direction.  The Tennessee Titans could still get in.  They drafted Marcus Mariotta in round one a few years back.   Miami did the same with Ryan Tannehill.  Tennessee looks to have given up on MM like Miami did on Tannehill.  Miami’s loss is Tennessee’s gain for now.  Pittsburgh needs lots of help to get in.  Oakland needs lots and lots of help to get in.

Enjoy a few lousy NCAA Bowl games that no one really cares about and a few NBA early season games that no one really cares about till the weekend.  Then it’s the NCAA playoffs and the final regular season week in the NFL.

A little sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the eggnog is just the right finishing touch.

 

Disappointment From Coast to Coast, Part Five

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NCAA Football regular season ink is dry, and the dye is cast.

So who are they?  Who are those teams that fell significantly short of meeting the expectations of their followers?  Disappointment can and does come from a few angles.  The program’s history builds in annual minimum standards.  A new, and maybe highly paid, coach can further that.  A good recruiting year or three can further that.  Some teams are bad but somewhat expected.  Some are disappointing and somewhat unexpected.

So far the disappointments by conference have been Washington in the PAC 12, Florida St. (ACC) Texas (BIG 12), and Texas A&M (SEC).  While selecting the last three of these teams we wrote the following.  Usually in year two of a new coaching staff’s run the ascent begins.  After all, you have two years of your own recruits.  You may have run off a few that you don’t want.  The transfer portal can accelerate your personnel transformation.  You have instilled the weight and nutritional training that you want to shape your team.  Your culture is, or better be, in place.  Your staff has had two springs and two falls to “coach em up.”  If it’s a big time program money/budgets are generous to accomplish all of the above.  

This series concludes today a bit later than intended, but a lot quicker than the nonsense in Washington DC. So, last but not least, to the BIG 10 we go.  And, once again, we find a team with a rather highly touted second year coach at the helm.

Most Disappointing

As a player, Scott Frost, now the Nebraska head coach, was coached by Stanford’s Bill Walsh, Nebraska’s Tom Osborne, the New York Jets’ Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, and the Buccaneers’ Mike Tomlin and Jon Gruden.  That is one impressive list of teachers.

As a coach, Frost worked under Chip Kelly as first the WR coach, then took over the reins as  OC at Oregon.  He helped Marcus Mariotta guide the prolific offense and win the Heisman in 2014.  After the 2015 season he took over an 0-12 UCF program.  They immediately started to turn around.  In 2016 they finished 6-6 and in 2017 they won 13 and lost none, won the American Conference Championship and took down then ranked #7 Auburn in the Sugar Bowl.  That is one impressive turn around.

So optimism was high when the former Cornhusker player took the reins as it’s head coach in early 2018.   Nebraska finished 4-8 in 2018.  It just finished a 5-7 campaign this year that included a 2-4 record v Big 10 West Division foes, and 3-6 against the Big 10 in all.  Their wins came against South Alabama, Northern Illinois, Illinois, Northwestern and Maryland.    The better teams on their schedule scored early and often v the leaky D.  The best teams like Ohio St., Minnesota, and Wisconsin beat them by 41,27, and 16 respectively proving that the road to success is still in the distance.

Against similar competition ,PJ Fleck guided the Golden Gophers to a 9-0 record in year three of his turnaround before fading (1-2) some in November.  Fleck’s first two teams went 5-7, then 7-6.   Perhaps the third time will be the charm for Frost and the Cornhuskers as well.  His resume points to that possibility, and his paycheck demands it.

Nebraska is the most disappointing team in the BIG 10.

Also Considered

Northwestern finished in the cellar of the East Division with a 1-5 record against that side, 1-8 in conference, and 3-9 overall.  In 2018, Northwestern captured the Big Ten West division title for the first time in school history, finishing with an 8–1 mark in conference play.  They went on to beat Utah in the Holiday Bowl as well.  It was a stunning and hard drop from last season to this one for the Wildcats.

It was indeed disappointing, but at Nebraska it’s been too long since they tore down the goal posts.  More is expected.

 

 

 

 

Disappointment From Coast to Coast, Part Four

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NCAA Football regular season ink is dry, and the dye is cast.

So who are they?  Who are those teams that fell significantly short of meeting the expectations of their followers?  Disappointment can and does come from a few angles.  The program’s history builds in annual minimum standards.  A new, and maybe highly paid, coach can further that.  A good recruiting year or three can further that.  Some teams are bad but somewhat expected.  Some are disappointing and somewhat unexpected.

In part two we selected Florida St. from the ACC and in part three we selected Texas from The BIG 12.  As an intro as to why we wrote the following on each. Usually in year two of a new coaching staff’s run the ascent begins.  After all, you have two years of your own recruits.  You may have run off a few that you don’t want.  The transfer portal can accelerate your personnel transformation.  You have instilled the weight and nutritional training that you want to shape your team.  Your culture is, or better be, in place.  Your staff has had two springs and two falls to “coach em up.”  If it’s a big time program money/budgets are generous to accomplish all of the above.  

That trend stretches to three straight teams as we head south.  This series’ timeliness also went south as impeachments and other Washington nonsense continued to get in the way. To the SEC we go.

Most Disappointing

When Texas A&M invested a fully guaranteed $75 million for the services of head coach Jimbo Fisher starting in 2018, did they think that they would finish 7-5 this year?  Likely not.  Did they think that they would only win games that they were favored in and lose all others?  Likely not.  Did they hope for the “quarterback whisperer” Jimbo to sprinkle magic dust on second year starter Kellon Mond?  Likely so.  They beat  SEC West foes Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Mississippi St. by 4,7, and 19 points respectively.  Their favorite cheer is WHOOOOP!   Those wins are WHOOOP tee doo.

Sure their schedule was brutal.  Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Clemson, and Alabama is a tough go.  But, in the SEC, except for the non conference Clemson game, that’s as common as fried chicken and bourbon on a fall Saturday.  A brutal schedule means that you aren’t as good as a lot of teams.  And, the Aggies proved that in 2019 despite an improving D.

The Texas A&M Aggies were the most disappointing team in the SEC.

Also Considered

BBR considered South Carolina and Mississippi St. but disappointment after a season is relative to realistic expectations going into it.  SC had a great road upset over Georgia in a game of defense, but lost five of their last six thereafter including a loss to Appalachian St.  Cross state rival Clemson is miles away and ahead of the SC program and hammered them 38-3 to close out a 4-8 campaign.

Mississippi St. lost three starters from their 2018 squad that were drafted in the top 27 picks of round one.  It’s hard to recruit to Starkville on a consistent basis and it’s nearly impossible to replace that type of talent.  The Bulldogs are bowl bound at 6-6, but their over/under win total in Vegas was 8-4.  That’s a two game disappointment.  Joe Moorhead replaced Dan Mullen.  At Mississippi St. that’s not an enviable position.

Putting the Eye Test to the Test.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

LSU. Ohio State.  Clemson.  Oklahoma.

Did the College Football Playoff Committee get it right?  The consensus by far is that the 13 member panel did.  More often than not, they do.

More often than not, the top four teams separate themselves once the regular season and the conference championships are played.  It seems so this year as well.

So, this year the committee chose the obvious because the obvious presented itself given the outcomes on the field of play.  But, in the weeks leading up to, and the one before the final weekend, the committee seeded the top 15 teams based on results, their own eye test, injuries, and an assumption here or there.

Would an old school BCS computer model have done the same?  Would Vegas choose the same?  We don’t know, but we wonder if both would have had nos. 4 through, say 12 ranked differently.

Two weeks ago THE was the “more complete team.”  Two weeks later “LSU has been playing better and getting healthier on D,” committee leader Rob Mullen said.  Seems like an eye test to us.

We wonder how Utah entered this weekend ranked #5 without a win over a single ranked team and one loss.  Baylor was in the same boat and ranked below them.  The difference?  Baylor lead Oklahoma 28-3 a month ago before surrendering 34-31.  Utah lost to USC 30-27.  USC was unranked.  Oklahoma is in the final four.  Eye test anyone?  Oregon’s win showed us that Utah was no where near the top 5.  If Baylor beat Oklahoma and Utah won would Baylor have jumped Utah?  If Oklahoma beat Baylor and Utah beat Oregon would Oklahoma have jumped Utah? Maybe.  Oregon finished ahead of Baylor, so we doubt the Bears would have.

We wonder how a three loss Wisconsin team (losers to Illinois and THE in the regular season, and THE in the conf championship) was and is ranked 8th while several two loss teams, most notably Alabama (ranked 13th after falling one spot without playing last weekend) are ranked well below.  Alabama lost by five to LSU and three on a boinked off of the upright field goal to Auburn.  Ah, the committee all but said “the loss of the QB (Tua T) hurt Bama a bit.”  Bama scored 41 v #1 LSU and 45 v #12 Auburn.  The O wasn’t Bama’s problem before nor after the injury.  The D was.  Eye test anyone?

We could go on, and on.  But the point is, why do we have humans deciding this?  Haven’t advanced metrics, models, AI, and computers passed up the human eye in determining who is who?  The BCS computer model was devised to do just that.  But humans decided that the computer model didn’t pass their eye test.  The very thing that model was designed to do- take away the eye test, got taken away by the eye test.

If you support a chip in the nose of the football to determine down and distance and fumble or not, why not a tech help for the committee?  If you yell at the screen watching umps miss balls for strikes and strikes for balls v. the superimposed zone on the screen why not a tech help to the committee?  We could go on and on.

The committee got the final four right because the teams separated perfectly on the final weekend.  If it came down differently and went to an eye test, would the outcome have been different?  And, would it have been correct?

Vegas would favor several lower ranked teams in the final 15, and in some cases by double digits, over several higher ranked teams.  The NFL would take Alabama’s starting 22 over any other roster in the NCAA, yet the committee sees them as the 13th best.

For now everyone is happy, except fans of THE.  Their eye test sees scarlet and gray as a clear no. 1 over purple and the yellow that LSU calls gold.

And, that makes the point.  The computer doesn’t see color.

 

 

 

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week 15

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

And here come the NCAA Conference Championship games.  Whew.  That was quick.  Anyone having withdrawals before it’s even over?

After a week in NOLA Abby is having a few withdrawals of her own of a different kind.  But, the elixir proved to be mixed just like a fine hand crafted cocktail. It got the job done.

Her back to back weeks of picks from the road make you want one more round in the worst way.  Week 13’s won/loss record was 5-1, while week 14 was 4-1.  That brings her season long record to a fine 39-34. Woof. The way more important bones wagered took home ten of eleven then seven of eight.  Therefore, Abby has taken 78 of them from Vegas while only paying 55.  That is a degenerate gambler good win percentage of 58.6%  Woof!  Woof!  Meanwhile the hunch bet split the last two weeks and stands on all four legs at 10-5.  Woof!  Woof!  Woof!

Enough with the barking already.  It’s time to earn some more pats on the head.

Oregon + 7 v Utah –  The Utes are the best team no one has seen this year.  Oregon is the first ranked team, when the game is played, the Utes will play this year.  Utes win, Ducks cover.  One bone.

Baylor v Oklahoma -9 – The Bears are the second best team no one has seen play this year.  They led Oklahoma by 25 at one point in their first meeting.  Not this time. The Sooners make a statement by hanging half a hundo on Baylor to give the Playoff Committee something to think about.  Two Bones.

UAB +7 1/2 v FAU – Is Lane Kiffin’s honeymoon in south Florida over?  Rumors swirl about new girlfriends (head coaching jobs at Arkansas) every year about this time.  UAB dances with the one they brought and wins straight up.  One bone.

Georgia v LSU over 54 1/2 – Most of the talk pregame is about how good Georgia’s D is.  The rest of the talk is about how Georgia is either hurt or suspended at the skill positions.  It’s a zig when others zag.  Expect Georgia to put up 20 plus and LSU to put up 30 plus, just enough to cover on a fast track in the Mercedes Benz Georgia Dome.  Two bones.

Cincinnati v Memphis under 57 1/2 –  These two met last week and scored 58 total points.  Meeting in back to back weeks we like the under as Abby assumes (you know what happens when you assume?) the two D’s will learn from the film more than the two O’s will change what they do.  One bone.

We make no hunch bet this week.  But we do have a hunch.  On a hunch expect Oklahoma (if Georgia loses) to jump Utah and gain the #4 seed.

Woof, again!

P.S.  Abby howls at the moon in amazement at how the playoff committee ranks Alabama as low as they do.

 

Disappointment From Coast to Coast, Part Three

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NCAA Football regular season ink is dry, and the dye is cast.

So who are they?  Who are those teams that fell significantly short of meeting the expectations of their followers?  Disappointment can and does come from a few angles.  The program’s history builds in annual minimum standards.  A new, and maybe highly paid, coach can further that.  A good recruiting year or three can further that.  Some teams are bad but somewhat expected.  Some are disappointing and somewhat unexpected.

In part two we selected Florida St. from the ACC.  As an intro as to why we wrote the following. Usually in year two of a new coaching staff’s run the ascent begins.  After all, you have two years of your own recruits.  You may have run off a few that you don’t want.  The transfer portal can accelerate your personnel transformation.  You have instilled the weight and nutritional training that you want to shape your team.  Your culture is, or better be, in place.  Your staff has had two springs and two falls to “coach em up.”  If it’s a big time program money/budgets are generous to accomplish all of the above.

We sense a pattern.  Today we examine the BIG 12.

 

BIG 12

Most Disappointing

Much like Willie Taggert at Florida St., year two for Tom Herman and company at the University of Texas was a disappointment.  Though, year two at Texas wasn’t a disaster like it was in Seminole country.  But, shouldn’t the flagship school in the third largest state in the union be better, even much better?  Texas finished 7-5 overall.  Their 5-4 in conference record was equal to three other schools and “good enough” to tie for third best in the BIG 12.  Who had the same in conference record?  Oklahoma St., Kansas St., and Iowa St. did.  See what we mean?  “Good enough” isn’t good enough.

The standard for years in the ACC has been Clemson.  Florida St. aspires to get back to that.  The standard for many, many years in the Big 12 has been Oklahoma.  It should be Texas and Oklahoma, but it isn’t.  Aspirational means you aren’t there.

But shouldn’t it take more than a couple of years to turn around a Texas program that suffered from past years of poor recruiting and poor coaching/management?  Ask Baylor.  In the same conference, with much the same schedule, Baylor went from 1-11 to 11-1 in those same two years.  Oh, and Baylor popped Texas 24-10 along the way in doing so.

Tom Herman was a (or the) hot name in coaching two years ago as he used LSU to get more money out of UT.  Now he needs to earn it.  Texas beat no one on their schedule this year that Vegas viewed as the favorite in the game.  All of this occurred after a ten win season in 2018 and with a returning, accomplished QB. That’s underachieving.  That’s disappointing.

Herman just fired his OC and DC.  Wasn’t Herman the offensive guru at THE OSU and Houston?  If so, what happened at UT?  If not, did he make a hiring mistake or three along the way?  It says here that he only has 12 more regular season games to figure that out.  There’s another team in Texas that UT doesn’t like getting more pub than them.  It’s Texas A&M.  They have a year two coach in Jimbo Fisher.  If ole Jimbo outshines Tom Herman in year three, Texas will headbutt Herman much like Herman did a helmeted player in game 12 last week.

The University of Texas is the runaway winner as the most disappointing team in the BIG 12.

Also Considered

TCU went 3-6 in conference and 5-7 overall this year.  Gary Patterson is 118-65 overall in 18 seasons leading the Horned Frogs.

TCU needed to replace a some talent from 2018 (particularly on D), some of which now plays on Sunday.  They also needed a new QB.  But a program run for 18 years by the same leader clearly needs to plan against and prepare for just that.

TCU’s bar is lower than Texas’ bar.  However,  Patterson himself has raised it.  Gary Patterson is 118-65 overall in 18 seasons leading the Horned Frogs.  In 2017, TCU and Coach Patterson reached their tenth 11-win season since Patterson began coaching for the program. That is the fourth most 11 win seasons since 2001 in all of college football.

In 2018 the program finished 7-6.  Therefore, the 5-7 campaign this year is underwhelming, and now qualifies as a three year slide.

 

Disappointment From Coast to Coast, Part Two

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NCAA Football regular season ink is dry, and the dye is mostly cast.

For many teams the season’s promise was bright as summer turned to fall.  Now, as fall turns to winter, that promise has turned darker than late afternoon post the change in daylight savings time.  You set you clocks back while some team’s performance set their programs back.

So who are they?  Who are those teams that fell significantly short of meeting the expectations of their followers?  Disappointment can and does come from a few angles.  The program’s history builds in annual minimum standards.  A new, and maybe highly paid, coach can further that.  A good recruiting year or three can further that.  Some teams are bad but somewhat expected.  Some are disappointing and somewhat unexpected.

In part one we selected Washington out of the PAC 12 as the most disappointing.  Evidently, head coach Chris Petersen was disappointed as well.  He stepped down yesterday citing a need to “recharge.”  Today we continue with part two of our series scanning each of the Power 5 conferences to select the most disappointing performance.

 

ACC

Most Disappointing

Usually in year two of a new coaching staff’s run the ascent begins.  After all, you have two years of your own recruits.  You may have run off a few that you don’t want.  The transfer portal can accelerate your personnel transformation.  You have instilled the weight and nutritional training that you want to shape your team.  Your culture is, or better be, in place.  Your staff has had two springs and two falls to “coach em up.”  If it’s a big time program money/budgets are generous to accomplish all of the above.

“Usually” is the key word.  For Florida St. the 2018 and first half of the 2019 season was all the boosters, alumni, AD, and school administration needed to see “usually” would not turn into their reality.  Willie Taggert, nine games into year two and 21 games in in total was fired.  Several losses in 2019 were downright embarrassing.  A season opening home loss to Boise St. was followed by a one point win over Louisiana Monroe.  Clemson and Miami both worked FSU over.   Discipline lacked and class attendance declined. And, then it was over.

Taggert, 43, had ascended rapidly in the head coaching world.  Western Kentucky’s success lead to USF’s turnaround which led to a major jump to the helm at Oregon.  One year in at Oregon, Taggert jumped ship to coach the Seminoles.

Florida St. missed the bowl season in 2018 (the first time since 1981), and won six and lost six in 2019.  That’s only good enough for a tie for fourth in the Atlantic side of the ACC. They also will be buying out Coach Taggert for a smooth 20 million per the contract that he didn’t finally sign, but will expect to collect from.  Taggert finished 9-12 in his 1 3/4 years there. His ACC record was a miserable 6-9 in a conference that isn’t from top to bottom that feared.  The team was 4-5 when he was let go.

Clemson is the standard that FSU aspires to compete with.  When you finish behind Louisville and Wake Forest, and tied with Boston College, Clemson is more than a few hydration bottles ahead of you.

Florida St. is easily the most disappointing team in the ACC.

Also Considered

FSU took the prize and second place wasn’t close.  However, the continued noise emanating from South Beach isn’t due to partying about the Miami Hurricanes football team.  They finished 6-6 as well.  They began 2018 ranked 3rd in the U.S.  They end 2019 as an afterthought in the ACC.  A parade of coaches have come and gone since that program has been relevant on the national stage.

Syracuse, finishing 5-7, also underwhelmed.  The Orangemen were upstarts for two straight years registering some nice upsets along the way.  This year was a step backwards.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You deserve your nuggets today.  Last week the BBR Staff and it’s degenerate gambler and mascot Abby were on assignment in the greater south Louisiana area.  They covered LSU and the New Orleans Saints live.   They also covered bets.  But most of all, they watched more than wrote.  It’s now  time to write more on Al Gore’s internet with pearls of wisdom in the form of Ten Piece Nuggets below.  Crunch away.

  1.  The new AP College Top 25 is out.  We know, we know, the playoff rankings are more important.  But, you cannot wait till Wednesday AM for nuggets, you need them now.  It feels like the top 3 have separated themselves a bit.  LSU, THE Ohio State U, and Clemson are undefeated, ranked 1,2, and 3 and headed to their respective conference championship games as moderate to big favorites.  LSU hammered Texas A&M and dumbfounded Jimbo Fisher.  THE rolled over Michigan and dumbfounded Jim Harbaugh.  Clemson worked South Carolina and dumbfounded Will Muschamp.
  2. THE is #1 in the playoff ranks and did nothing to lose any ground.  The chase for the fourth spot is currently where the action is.  Georgia currently holds the #4 spot.  But, but, but.  Nipping on the heels of the Bulldogs are one loss Utah, one loss Oklahoma, and one loss Baylor.
  3. One loss #5 Utah meets two loss and #13 ranked Oregon in the PAC 12 championship this weekend.  Is a win and a Ga. loss enough to get them to the final four?  Sure.   But what if they do so, Ga. losses, and one loss #6 Oklahoma dispatches #8 Baylor?  What if Baylor dispatches Oklahoma?
  4. And, what if Ga beats LSU?  Does LSU hold onto the fourth spot as the best one loss team?  BBR thinks the following.  If Ga wins they are in.  IF Ga. loses they are out.  If Ga losses, a Utes win gets them in.  A Ga loss and a Ute loss opens the door wide for the Big 12 winner (Baylor/Okla) to charge through.
  5. Of course a THE loss or a Clemson loss creates additional chaos.  The early Vegas look at that possibility is out.  Vegas seems to think that isn’t possible.  THE is favored by a bullish 17 over # 10 Wisconsin in the BIG 10 Championship Game.  Clemson is favored by a whopping 28 over Virginia in the ACC Championship Game.
  6. LSU opened a 5 point favorite over Georgia, but as of this AM it’s climbed to 7.  Utah is the 6 1/2 point choice over Oregon.  Oklahoma is a 9 point pick over Baylor.
  7. Alabama, the every year participant since the new four team playoff format began, will have to watch the proceedings this year.  A young, injured, and leaky defense gave up 48 to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. And as a tying field goal bounced off of the left upright with two minutes to go, Bama’s playoff chances got bounced as well.
    )

    It was very un Saban like finish to a very un Saban like year.  He yelled at everyone all game.  Of course, he does that regardless of the score and the opponent.  Bama dropped to #9 with it’s second SEC loss .  Auburn moved up from #16 to #11 with the win.

  8.  Minnesota hosted game day Saturday morning.   Everyone wanted to “Row the Boat.”  Of course the snow and cold might have iced over any lake if they tried.  They then went out in said cold and snow and tried to beat Wisconsin.  Winner goes to the BIG 10 Championship Game.  Loser is out in the cold.  Whisky took care of their business dispatching the upstart Golden Gophers 38-17.  Minnie was ranked as high as #7 two weeks back.  They fell to #15.  It’s going to be another cold winter in Minnie.
  9. Some coaches were out in the cold before their season ended.  Some more were out as soon as their seasons ended this Saturday.  Barry Odom had four years to turn around Mizzo in the SEC East.  He didn’t.  Charlie Strong didn’t give any life to USF and was terminated.   BC parted ways with Steve Addazio after seven years.  Frank Wilson succeeded Larry Coker at UTSA but did not succeed in three seasons.
  10. And, finally, Matt Luke got booted from Ole Miss after his kicker booted an extra point try wide in a one point Egg Bowl loss to in state rival Moo St.   If you haven’t seen why the extra point attempt was from farther than usual, you can here.  If you scroll down the Russian announcers add their two rubles as well.  And it’s well worth it.  At press time there was no word on if Adam Schiff wants to subpoena them to testify in the impeachment inquiry.

You’ve had 4 days off.  Get back to it already.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Fourteen

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Shame on Abby.  She brought her PC on the road but forgot the power cord.  The battery is low,  The picks, briefly, are below.

Virginia Tech -3 v Virginia  –  Va Tech continues to late in season impress.  One bone.

Texas -9 v. Texas Tech – Texas has to beat some one soon and soundly don’t they?  One bone.

THE -8 v. Michigan –  Ohio St. is better, period.  One bone.

Wisconsin -2 v. Minnesota – Whisky is better, period.  Three bones.

Oregon St. +20 1/2 v. Oregon – Oregon is better, period.  But, the Beavers will keep it closer than three touchdowns.  Two bones.

Texas A&M and LSU combined to score 146 points in seven overtimes last year.  The over and under total this year is 64 1/2.  Take the under on a hunch.

Gobble Gobble and Woof!

 

Ten Piece Nuggets- NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The latest AP Top 25 Poll is out.  But, it almost could be reprinted from last week.  There was very little change except one significant one.  Onto the Ten Piece Nuggets which we will keep pretty lean today.  Thanksgiving and stuffed turkey is near.

  1.  Three of the top five won by convincingly beating  significantly inferior opponents.  Two won against good opponents.  Penn St. came to Columbus, Ohio as did College Game Day.  THE OSU helped Penn St back in, but won 28-17.   Texas A&M came to Athens, GA.  It was mostly rock em sock em defense as Georgia prevailed 19-13.
  2.  LSU’s win over Ar-Kansas and Georgia’s win over A&M set up a # 1 v. #5 SEC Championship game in two weeks.  Of course they must take care of business this week for it to be a 1v 5 matchup.  LSU hosts the Aggies while Georgia stays in state busing down to Georgia Tech.  The Tigers are favored by 17 while Georgia is favored by 28.
  3.  THE clinched the East BIG 10 Division and awaits the winner of the showdown this week in Madison, WI.  The Badgers host the Golden Gophers.   The winner of that contest wins the West BIG 10 Division.  It’s rivalry week across the fruited plains.  Ohio St has a date with Michigan.  Badgers, Gophers, Wolverines, and Buckeyes are three bad animals and one poisonous nut.  Whatever.
  4.  Alabama sits at #5 while Utah moved up one to #6.  We suspect that the playoff committee will slot them that way as well.  They both have to win out and have a watchful eye on the traffic above.  Alabama struggled (ahem) to get by Western Carolina 66-3.  The Iron Bowl v hated Auburn awaits.  In a betting line that is sure to raise a few eyebrows Bama is only a 3 1/2 point road favorite.  Does a Bama win combined with a Georgia loss put the Crimson Tide back in the final four?  Probably.
  5. Utah hosts Colorado and the Buffaloes stand in the way of a trip to the PAC 12 Championship game for Utah.  USC is done at 8-4 but only two of those losses are v PAC 12 opponents and they handed the Utes their only loss.  So, Utah must herd the Buffaloes to advance.  And, if they did, and knocked off two loss Oregon is that enough to jump Alabama into fourth should one of those above stumble?
  6. It would give Utah a one more win and only one loss resume v Bama’s resume.  Bama needs to beat Auburn of course or the point is moot.  Utah is a big 29 point favorite over Colorado.
  7.  Fear the Fork!  Oregon must not have feared it.  They went into Tempe with the same road to the playoffs hopes as described above for Utah.  They left Tempe with their second loss in hand.  The Sun Devils prevailed 31-28.  The Ducks lost more than a few feathers dropping from 6th all of the way down to 14th.  Rivalry week sends the Oregon St. Beavers to Eugene as 18 point underdogs.  At this point the Ducks can only win the rivalry game and play spoiler v. Utah in the conference championship game.
  8.  Minnesota climbed back into the top 10 at #9.  What does a win at Wisconsin, then a BIG 10 Championship game win over THE, combined with a Utah loss, and a Georgia loss do for them?  Probably nothing.  But, impossible is nothing.
  9.  Virginia Tech is playing solid late season football.  The Pittsburgh Panthers were shut out by the Hokies 28-0 on Saturday.  The Hokies entered the poll last week at #25 and moved up two to #23 this week.  In October and November Tech has six victories and a one point loss to Notre Dame to show for it’s efforts.  A season opening loss to woeful Boston College is way back in the rear view window now.  Tech is a team that you don’t want to draw in the bowl pairings.
  10. Texas was smarter than everyone else they told us when they spurned overtures from the SEC when rival A&M joined.  Texas was smarter than everyone else they told us when the hired Tom Herman.  Tom Herman must be smarting after his pregame no helmet on headbutt of a player with a helmet on attempted to motivate the Longhorns v. Baylor.  Baylor won 24-10.  Texas hosts Texas Tech this weekend.  They need the win to insure a winning season as they stand currently at 6-5.  The Longhorns are a nine point favorite in a game that will be lost among other rivalry week games that are relevant and actually are rivalries.

Turkey is good.  Nuggets are better!