Sports

Abby Roux Takes Down Vegas Part X

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

College football’s conference championship week is upon us.   Rivalry week has come and gone.   It was a good one.  And it was a long one.  It was acutely long if you tuned into the 4 hour and 53 minute and 7 overtime Texas A&M victory over LSU.  That marathon was won by the slimmest of margins.  It also turned a promising start by Abby into the slimmest margin of defeat.  A very slim 1/2 point stood between her pawing out a win vs. taking a loss in that game and the week.

She heads into this weekend with a 20-21-1 won/loss record.  She remains on the high side having buried 54 of an even 100 bones.  The hunch bet stands at eight strong wins v. only one loss!  Championship week has several big dog v. big chalk games.   Abby normally likes big dogs but some look like runts of the litter to her.  Careful.

Washington -5 v. Utah –  Washington won this matchup in week four 21-7.  After a mid-season slide it seems like the Huskies might be peeking and playing up to their preseason expectations.  Utah has nine wins this year but none against ranked teams.  Plus Abby likes Huskies.  Two bones.

Oklahoma -8 v. Texas-  Texas won this matchup in a week six thriller 48-45.  Oklahoma has a playoff berth on the line.   Abby thinks Oklahoma wins and somehow gets a stop or two with their porous D and covers by just a few.  Three bones.

Alabama -13.5 v Georgia- Bama has beaten everyone senseless by 20 or more this year.  Why would this game be any different?  Well,  Georgia is basically at home.   But, Bama will travel big.  Georgia has the athletes to stay in it.  Regardless, Bama wins and covers by a few in their toughest test this year.  One bone.

Under 61.5 Michigan Ohio St v Northwestern.-  Ohio St. put their foot on the gas and mud stomped Michigan.  Abby likes THE to win this one easily as well.  But Northwestern plays decent D.   If Oklahoma wins convincingly over Texas maybe OSU loses a bit of interest.  Two bones.

On a hunch Abby likes under 77.5 in the Big 12 Oklahoma v Texas showdown.  The first game totaled 93.  The line seems like it’s begging you to take the over.  Abby, as you know, thinks begging is unbecoming of pure breds.

Woof!

 

 

 

 

Bet Against the Steelers When They Head West.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Some stats, when the body of work is accumulated over many years, are way more indicative of future performance than others.   The folks at Deadspin spun this very well done analysis of the Pittsburgh Steelers won/loss record when they travel west vs. when they don’t.  It compares their lack of success to other teams doing the same over a long period of time.

If you don’t want to read all of the meticulous detail, don’t.  Just be sure to bet against Big Ben and Company when they fly into the Mountain Time Zone and beyond.  The team’s performance, or lack thereof,  from the Chuck Noll era till now proves it.

I Have Yet Another Story and a Moral Thereof

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

On November 8th, 1970 the New Orleans Saints were hosting the Detroit Lions in old Tulane Stadium.  The Superdome was little more than a hope and a dream at that point.  The Saints won/loss record was a disappointing 1-5-1 on the season.  Prior to this dismal 1970 start the franchise had set a record in its 1967 expansion season with the most first season wins ever with three against 11 losses (they only played 14 games back then) .  In 1968 they improved to 4-10.  And, in 1969 they improved yet again to 5-9.

The 1970 season was so disappointing that the owner, John Mecom Jr., fired the first and only head coach, Tom Fears, that they had after the weeks’ prior loss.  In walked J.D. Roberts to confidently take his place.  The only problem was that Roberts resume’ stalled out at the NFL linebackers coach level, and that was two years prior.  After that he was running the Saints farm team (they had such a thing at that time) for two years.  Think of it as a JV coach in high school perhaps?

If you need more evidence as to how shaky this hire was jump forward for a minute to 1971 when Archie Manning became a Saint via the second overall pick in the draft.   That fall, in Roberts first full season, he, Manning, and the Saints traveled for preseason game number one.   Manning recalled this first game ever, which brought the Saints to Buffalo to play the Bills and their celebrity running back, O.J. Simpson.  After Simpson ripped off a 30-yard gain, “J.D. turns to me and says, ‘I don’t know who that No. 32 is, but he’s a damn good-looking running back,'” Manning said. “I couldn’t tell if J.D. was serious or not. That’s the way J.D. was.  But I thought to myself, ‘Here I am in the NFL and our head coach doesn’t even know who O.J. Simpson is.'”

So back to Roberts fifth full day on the job, he jogged out with the Saints to take on the soon to be playoff bound Lions.  Boom Boom and I had tickets courtesy of one of the suppliers that sold to him, Mr. Harold Kataya.  We joined his group of many in their row 2 upper deck 40 yard line seats.  The game ebbed and flowed and with under 30 seconds left Detroit kicked a chip shot field goal to climb ahead 17-16.

The cocktails were flowing all game long in row 2 as well.  Getting booze into the stadium wasn’t a tough task back then.  Watching a team about to fall to 1-6-1 was a tough task and likely much more fun if your vision was a bit blurred.  Detroit was much better than the woeful Saints.  However, they too may have had a few on Bourbon St. the night prior for the game to be this close this late.

A decent kickoff return and one pass play later the Saints were down to the final two seconds and the ball was resting on their own 44.  Time out.   Out trotted the field goal special teams unit.  In 1970 the goal posts were still on the goal line (the safety of the players wasn’t quite what it is today).  This field goal, given the seven yard snap back to the holder, would be attempted from 63 long yards.

The Mighty “Half Boot” of Tom Dempsey

Boom Boom turned to me and said convincingly and quickly “Son, there is no way he can make this.  You realize that right?”  “I think he can Dad.”  “He” was Tom Dempsey the N.O. field goal kicker.  Tom Dempsey was born with no toes on his right foot and no fingers on his right arm.  He kicked with his right foot.  That’s right.  His specially made kicking shoe was squared and flat on the end.  Like almost all others then he kicked straight on, not soccer style like every kicker does today.

Alex Karras starred in Webster

The longest field goal ever made to that point was 56 yards.  It was made 17 long years prior in 1953.  One Lion, Alex Karras, then a pro bowler and later in life a TV game analyst/announcer and  sitcom actor, was said to have laughed out loud on the field that the Saints were even attempting such an absurdity.

The snap was fine and the hold was perfect.  As Dempsey put his half-foot into the ball the Lions made only a cursory attempt to block the kick.  The kick traveled from our left to our right.  Time stood still.  Eighty three thousand fans were silent as one.  The football flew.  And flew.  And flew.  And when it crossed over the bar with a good two feet to spare the referees came from beneath the goal post, arms risen in unison, signalling that the kick was good.  Good.  GOOD!

I looked wide-eyed at Boom Boom.  He jovially looked at me. “You were right, son!”  I jumped for joy.  He caught me, hoisted me higher, and we jumped even higher as one.  There was but one problem.  Boom Boom lost his balance.  At that split second my back was to the field.   We fell into row 1.  Half of my body was above the railing separating us from 40 feet of free fall into the lower section.  Thankfully all of his body was below the railing and he never lost his hold of me.  The hug was too tight and the joy was so right.

The Saints lost every other game that year to finish 2-11-1.  It mattered not to this then ten-year old.

It was the mighty boot of Dempsey that made the football fly! Two seconds left, it was do or die!  Those are the first two lines of the ballad later sung, recorded, and sold on a 45 rpm to commemorate the moment.  I got the 45 as a birthday gift and played the grooves off of it.

The moral of the story you ask?  Actually there are a few.  Enjoy every second.  Dream big.  Cherish great memories.  Oh, and don’t sit too close to the upper deck railing.

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-CFB

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Week 13, aka Rivalry Week, provided all of the “wow factor” that week twelve, aka Yawn Week, lacked.  And better yet, like turkey, you got served portions Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  The outcomes (one of which took 4 hours and 53 minutes) provided some clarity as to who might be in the playoffs, or bowling, or going home.  It also shook up the new AP Top 25 a bit.  On to the ten nuggets then, served one at a time.

  1.  Alabama actually looked mortal for the second week in a row heading into halftime again.  They led Auburn 17-14.  This allows sideline reporters to ask Nick Saban what is wrong with his team.  Saban so loves those interviews.  The unanimous no. 1 AP team disposed Auburn in the next 30 minutes winning 52-21.  How good is Bama?  They are the first team since Yale in 1888 to beat every regular season opponent by more than 20 points.  That was 130 years ago!
  2.  Clemson and Notre Dame remained nos. 2 an 3.  Clemson easily outscored South Carolina 56-35, while ND struggled somewhat (24-17) against a USC team that rallied a bit behind maligned Clay Helton.  Pittsburgh unranked at 7-5, and losers this past weekend to Miami, is all that stands in the way of Clemson’s ticket to the CFB playoffs yet again.   Nothing stands in the way of the Irish as they have no conference affiliation, hence no “extra” game win is needed to insure qualification.
  3.  Georgia eased into the fourth spot after beating the Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech.  They took Michigan’s place.  Georgia is only in a one week rental situation however as they have a date with Alabama Saturday in Atlanta.  Tinder was not involved.  Few expect the date to go well.  Bama, as previously mentioned, doesn’t hang close to anyone for very long.
  4. All Hail THE.  The Michigan drop from 4 to 8 was bought on by THE Ohio State University’s absolute demolition of the proud Wolverine team and its heretofore stingy defense.  THE QB Dwayne Haskins carved up the Mich D for 20-31, 396 yds., and 6 passing TD’s.  Harbaugh’s impersonation of Bo Shembechler isn’t going too well as he fell to 0-4 in this rivalry.  Harbaugh is the first UM coach to ever open 0-4 against OSU.  THE vaulted from 10 to 6 with the big win.  Urban’s suspension is long ago and all but forgotten.
  5. Oklahoma remains at no.5.  They outscored West Virginia in a “defense optional” game 59-56.  You cannot spell Oklahoma without starting with a capital O.   There is no D, capital or lower case, needed however.  The reveal of the playoff committee standings tomorrow night has intrigue starting right here.  If/when Georgia loses to Alabama are the Sooners in with a win over Texas this weekend?  Likely.  Does one loss THE have a say if they beat Northwestern in the Big 10 championship?
  6.  This brings us to what if Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio St. all lose their championship games.  It’s improbable but far from impossible.  Enter UCF into the dialogue for at least one more week.  They now sit at AP no. 7 and might have crept that far forward in the playoff rankings too.  We will know tomorrow.   Isn’t an undefeated UCF more worthy of a final four spot than any two loss team?
  7. Previous no.8 LSU fell four to no. 12.   Words don’t really describe how they lost Saturday night.  A season long (decade long) maligned offense scored 72 in 7 OT’s.  A season long (decade long) admired defense surrendered 74 to Texas A&M.  It’s the most points ever scored in a college game.  Ever.   The fourth down attempts, the fourth down conversions, replays, lack of replays, marginal penalties called, marginal no calls, and turnovers not turned over are downright staggering.  Jimbo Fisher had to work overtime (7 as mentioned) to earn a part of his 10 year 75 million dollar contract.  Four hours and 53 minutes after the workday started he cashed.
  8. Washington State fell hard as well.  They are tied for 12th with LSU.  Their playoff dreams vanquished as well losing to Washington in the Apple Cup.  The Cougars scored 69 a week prior drumming Arizona.  The Huskies stifled that high-octane O, limiting the mad scientist Mike Leach to a meager 15 points.  Washington vaulted all the way up to 10th.  Joining these two in the top 25 at 17th is Utah from the Pac 12.  The Utes are the only other rated PAC 12 team.  The PAC 12 nor Jim Mora want to talk playoffs.
  9.  The SEC has teams rated 1,4,11,12,16,20, and 22.  Eleven of the 14 teams will go bowling before they hang up their football helmets this year.  Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Arkansas are the only three that will sit in front of their flat screens to enjoy a bowl game.
  10.  Some early lines are out.  If Vegas is right (when aren’t they?) the conference championship games won’t provide too much final playoff position intrigue.   Oklahoma is -7.5 in their redemption rematch v Texas.  Alabama is -13 v. Georgia in the Georgia Dome.  Ohio St. is -14 v Northwestern.  And, Clemson is minus a whopping 25.5 v Pittsburgh.   However, Memphis played UCF closer than anyone since 12/2016 earlier this year.  UCF is only -3.5.   Lastly, the Friday night PAC 12 Championship (that has no playoff implications) that everyone will forget is on Friday night has Washington -4.5 over Utah.

 

 

Lefty and Shorty Discuss Lefty and Tiger.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If Lefty and Shorty were still with us on Thanksgiving evening the night might have unfolded like this.

Lefty and Shorty sat quietly in the cool fall air.  It was nearly midnight and cars were nowhere to be found.  Lefty- Why do we stay open till midnight on Thanksgiving?  Shorty- So that we can discuss how Lefty is going to do Friday.  It’s a tall order.

Lefty sat to the left of Shorty.  Imagine that.  Shorty sat on the shorter of the two “halves” of the 55 gallon drum. Imagine that.  Each were cut down to size and retrofitted with a soft cushion top.  Lefty looked confused.

Lefty- How am I going to do Friday? And, what do you know about tall, Shorty?  Shorty- No.  Not you Lefty, the other Lefty.  Phil Mickelson.

Lefty- Phil Mickelson?  What’s he doing Friday?  Shorty- Haven’t you heard?  He is playing Tiger Woods in a winner take all 18 hole match.

Lefty- I haven’t heard anything about it.   Shorty- Worse yet, it’s on pay per view.

Lefty- How much?   Shorty- It’s $19.95 per household for you, and it’s nine million bucks for one of them.  Lefty- Somebody must be paying to watch.  Shorty-  Tiger has been paying since Thanksgiving 2005 when his ex-wife swung that nine iron through his back window and he crashed into the tree.

Lefty-  When is the last time Phil won any money?  Shorty-  In Vegas? Every now and then.  In a card game?  Twice a week.  In the Ryder Cup?  Maybe 1999.

Lefty- I won’t tune in Friday.  Shorty-  I might tune up my 57 Chevy.

Lefty- What happens if they play and no one pays to watch?  Shorty-  They’re about to find out.  It works for the LPGA.

 

Abby Roux Takes Down Vegas Part IX

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Thanksgiving has come and is nearly gone.  That means Rivalry Week is upon us.  It starts Turkey Day night with the Egg Bowl.  Abby has no egg on her jowls however.  A difficult week to wager nicked her just a bit.  Her won/loss record is dead even at 18-18-1.  We give thanks that her bones wagered is gravy at 55%, with 50 of 91 buried.  The hunch bet is no leftover cranberry either.  That record is a strong 7 up and only 1 down.

Rivalry Week can be tricky.  Who is motivated?  Who has mailed it in?  Whose coach is mashed potatoes?  Abby is ready for her just desserts.   The picks follow.

Under 61.5 Miss St. at Ole Miss- The Egg Bowl might put you to sleep even if the trytophan doesn’t.  Miss State’s D is legit.  Abby thinks the front four is only behind Bama, Michigan, and Clemson.  Ole Miss has a legit O.  But D beats O like rock beats scissors.  Abby think this one ends under 50 total points.  Two bones.

UCF -14 at USF-  South Florida is reeling, losers of four in a row.  This Interstate rivalry is separated by only about 80 miles of I-4.  But, the teams are much further apart than that on the field..  Abby expects UCF to put their foot on the gas and not let off.  Two bones.

Florida St +6.5  v Florida – An outright win makes Florida State bowl eligible for the 30th year in a row.   A loss ushers in their promising basketball team’s season.   Willie Taggert and Dan Mullen’s first year as head coaches at the two programs have had some ups and downs.  Both are looking up at UCF in the state for now.  The Gators win and the Seminoles cover.  One bone.

Under 56.5 Michigan at THE OSU-  The legend that Urban is might, Might, MIGHT be winding down at THE.  Ohio St. has a leaky defense.   Michigan has a shut down defense.  Because the game is at THE Horseshoe we think OSU gets a few stops and the game only gets into the low twenties.  A playoff spot for the bespeckled Jim Harbaugh essentially hangs in the 60 minute balance.  Three bones.

Texas A&M -2.5 v LSU- Abby knows that A&M is 0-7 in the SEC v LSU.  Abby knows that A&M can play run D and has a qb that can run.  That’s two big legs up when facing LSU.  A field goal separates the winner this time.  A&M is healthier and has circled this game on it’s schedule since, well, last Thanksgiving weekend.  One bone.

On a hunch take Washington and Washington St. under 48.5 total points.  Like last week’s Iowa St. v Texas low o/u line, we think Vegas is begging you to take the over.  Abby thinks begging is an unbecoming trait for pure breds.

There you have it.  Three unders, two favorites, and one dog are the picks.

Warm pecan pie and a scoop of Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream sounds mighty fine just about right now.

Woof!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-CFB

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Week 12 thankfully has come and gone for college football.  We say thankfully because many games looked like mismatches prior to Saturday and their scores looked liked mismatches after the game ended Saturday.  There were a few notable exceptions though.  Looking ahead rivalry week is upon us.  Many games look like good matchups.  We give thanks this week for many things.  Good football is one.  Enjoy the Ten Piece Nuggets first.

  1. The latest AP Top 25 rolled out yesterday.  The top 10 of the top 25 saw little change from the week prior.  Why? Well, the top 10 beat down their opposition by a combined score of 424-198.  The top six in that order remained unchanged.
  2. The 424-198 score gets more lopsided if you remove the leaky Oklahoma D that surrendered 40 to Kansas.  And it tilts further if you remove THE Ohio St. (desperately looking for a place to lie down) D that gave up 51 but easily could have given up 53 to Maryland.  How does 317-107 for the other eight games sound?  Bad.
  3. Kansas, yes Kansas, made headlines this week.  First, their “all name” running back Pooka, yes Pooka, Williams ran for 252 yards on 15 carries and two TDs against the sieve that Oklahoma calls a defense.  He threw a td from nine yards out as well.   But, the bigger news is that they named Les Miles as their head coach for 2019 and beyond.  Who cares about Kansas basketball when you have a Mad Hatter coaching a Pooka?
  4. THE D is not good for Urban Meyer’s health.  Urban was tired of defending Zach Smith.  He is now more tired of watching THE D.  Maryland blew the try for two in OT.  And, Urban’s legend grows for at least another week as they survived 52-51.  One wonders where it all goes from here.  Well, Saturday it goes into THE Horseshoe to add one more chapter to the Michigan v. OSU rivalry.  The two midwest state schools first met in 1897, and the rivalry has been played annually since 1918.  Much is at stake including a birth into the Big 10 Championship Game as well as a possible probable CFB playoff berth for Michigan and a probable possible birth for THE.  The loser is out of both.
  5.  The Citadel attempted zero passes but was tied 10-10 at halftime to no. 1 Alabama.  That didn’t last too long as Bama scored repeatedly in the second half and won 50-17.  Next up is the annual Iron Bowl v. Auburn.  Auburn slowed Alabama’s roll last year in this contest. Of course Bama still won it all when it mattered.
  6. Notre Dame deserves it’s just due.  The Fighting Irish have plenty of fight.  In spite of their bad unis last week in Yankee Stadium they took the fight out of the Syracuse Orangemen, 36-3.  A season ending contest on the left coast v. not yet bowl eligible USC stands between them and a CFB playoff spot.  USC seems to have little fight left in them after a loss to 3-8 crosstown rival UCLA Saturday.  Hundreds of fans poured into The Coliseum to watch UCLA score 13 unanswered in the fourth quarter to down USC 34-27.
  7.  Kudos to UCF.  College Game day descended onto their Orlando campus and the Golden Knights did not disappoint.  The 24th ranked Cincinnati Bearcats came calling and went home soundly beaten as 38-13 losers.  No “big name” school one wants UCF in a bowl game.  There is no upside.  You win and you were supposed to or you lose and you weren’t supposed to.   USF v. UCF is but five days away.  The UCF win streak, dating back to January 2016 is alive and well.  Orlando loves a good parade.
  8.  West Virgina lost 45-41 at Oklahoma State.  Their national title hopes are vanquished.  They play Oklahoma this week.  Their prize, if they win, is a rematch with Oklahoma a week later in the Big 12 Championship Game.  If they lose, three-loss Texas likely slides in to the game.  That would give Oklahoma a chance to avenge the State Fair/Red River Rivalry Shootout loss to Texas several weeks back.   If Oklahoma beats #12 WVA and no. 11 Texas in back to back weeks they will have positioned themselves well to slide into the final four discussion should Georgia lose to Alabama and Michigan lose to THE.    Anyone confused?
  9. Utah St. is ranked 14th.  Who?  Northwestern at 7-4 is ranked 20th and has clinched the Big 10 West.  How weak is the Big 10 West?  Army is ranked 23rd.  A win over Navy in two weeks gives them a strong 10-2 record.
  10.  Some surprising early lines are out.  Okla at WVA is a pick um.  WVA has to pull up their boot straps.  Washington is +3.5 at Washington St.  Mike Leach has coached a long time and had much fun getting to this moment.  Michigan travels to THE and is favored by four.  Jim Harbaugh is very close to doing it his way yet again.  LSU is a one point dog to Texas A&M.  The previous seven SEC meetings between these two all have gone to the Tigers.  Finally, Auburn is plus a tall 24.5 v Alabama in the aforementioned Iron Bowl.  Nick Saban doesn’t even know Thursday is Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving Week, Turkey Day itself, and some great games after the yawn festival of the week gone by.

 

Abby Roux Takes Down Vegas Part VIII

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Boom!  Abby lit up Vegas last week like fireworks on the 4th of July.  One bet (Indiana -2) pushed while the four others that had bones wagered went off like roman candles.  Her hunch bet popped yet again as well.  Last Saturday night the sky was quite bright.

For the season Abby’s bark is piercing.   Her won/loss bets are 17-15-1.  Her perfect week of 10 of 10 bones buried puts the important count at 47 of 83, or 57%.  The hunch bet stands at six fine wins v. only one loss.

Week 12 is here.  It’s a week that has several top teams playing out of conference creme puffs.  It’s a week that she has sniffed longingly and turned her nose up at most matchups.  The pickings are slim.  Madame Roux’s choices follow.

Syracuse +10 v. Notre Dame -Abby has been long on the Orangemen all year.  It’s paid.  She hopes that this is not one time too many going to the same well.  The game is in Yankee Stadium and the snow will be piled high by Saturday.  ND wins a thriller.  The Orangemen play well for 58 minutes.  One bone.

Wisconsin +4.5 at Purdue – Abby has been long all year on the Badgers.  It hasn’t paid.  She hopes that going to the well too often finally pays off.  Purdue is a good Big 10 team that somehow just got worked by Minnesota 41-10.  Maybe they have the ugly, week ago, Kentucky like letdown?  Three bones.

Stanford -2 at California – Yearly this is called The Big Game.  How original is that?  There isn’t anything too big about it this year.  Cardinal pride gets it done, though Cali is tough at home.  Two bones.

Michigan St. -1 at Nebraska -The Cornhuskers are scoring a lot and playing better of late.  The Spartans aren’t scoring a lot and aren’t playing better of late.   Did Abby ever tell you that she likes to zig when others zag?  Two bones.

Wake Forest+13 1/2 over Pittsburgh and Oklahoma St. plus 11 1/2 over West Virginia – Abby is buying 7 points for each home dog for a two team parlay that pays even bones.  Pittsburgh has the ACC championship game well within its sights and might be looking a tad ahead.  West Virginia has the Big 12 championship game well within its sights and might be looking a tad ahead.  Two bones.

On a hunch take under 46.5 points when Iowa St. squares off in Austin v. Texas.  The line seems way low.  It seems so low that we think Vegas is trying to get some of Abby’s bones back.  They’ll need to dig deeper.

No. 16 Iowa St. v no. 15 Texas aside, the marquee matchups this weekend are few and far between.  Take for example USC v UCLA, please.  USC and UCLA have 13 losses this season between them.  It is the most combined losses ever in this 88 years old rivalry.

Often overlooked UCF hosts College Gameday’s broadcast this week.  Looking at the available alternatives one can see why.

Woof!

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-CFB

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Week 11 has come and gone in college football.   Most teams have played ten games.  Most teams spent Saturday reaffirming their positions in walk overs as another regular season end draws nearer.  The latest AP Top 25 poll is out and it looks a lot like a week ago.

  1.  Alabama rightfully remains the unanimous no. 1.  The Tide rolled over Mississippi St 24-0.  That’s two straight shutouts of SEC West opponents.   The Bama D began the year with eight new starters on defense.  “Scary good” is a phrase that comes to mind.  The Citadel is up next.  Their enrollment, per their website, is 2,349 for 2018.  Ironically that is nearly the same amount assistant coaches, strength coaches, staff, tutors, and analysts that Nick Saban has on staff prepping Bama for ballgames.  We wish the best of luck to this fine military academy come Saturday.  Yawn.
  2. Spots 2,3, and 4 remain in the hands of Clemson, Notre Dame, and Michigan.  They overwhelmed Boston College, Florida St, and Rutgers respectively.  Clemson knocked out the Eagles QB and are playing complementary football.  ND heads to the Big Apple for a tussle with a motivated Syracuse team in Yankee Stadium.  Michigan hosts Indiana in the Big House.  Yawn.
  3. One loss teams Georgia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Washington State, and THE Ohio St. are slotted 5-9 ready to stake their claim to a top four playoff spot should one get cracked open.
  4. Georgia is a more complete team than the other four.  Oklahoma survived a two point conversion attempt by Oklahoma St. with one minute to go to hold onto a 48-47 win.  The Sooners don’t play much defense.  They have surrendered 45 or more points in three of their last five contests.
  5. THE’s punter Drue Chrisman’s punts, in a tight defensive struggle, forced Michigan State to start its first five drives after halftime from its own 5, 6, 3, 1 and 2-yard line.  It wasn’t a work of art, but they emerged victoriously from that Big 10 snooze fest.   Yawn.
  6. Washington St. continues to roll.  Ranked 8th now, they have earned their way into the national discussion.  Their conference’s weakness, real or perceived, is doing them no favors however.
  7.  Just outside the top ten is a litany of interesting stories led by UCF at 11.  Speaking of no favors, they did none in surrendering 24 to Navy and winning by 11.  Syracuse is at 12 with two losses.  A win over ND in the Bronx would be a crowning achievement for a team that usually looks to Jim Boeheim by this time of the year for sports entertainment.  Texas survived Lubbock and is at 13 with three losses.  At 14 is a 9-1 Utah State team that no one knows a thing about.  They lead the Mountain West Conference and call themselves the Aggies.  Who knew that there two Aggie teams in these United States?
  8.  Kentucky woke up late in Knoxville, gave up an almost uncontested Hail Mary pass at halftime, trailed 17-0 at intermission, and lost to the Tennessee Volunteers 24-7.  The last minute win at Missouri, then the hangover from the Georgia loss has the Wildcats running on fumes.  That lethargy was on display for 60 full minutes Saturday.  Meanwhile, after a wobbly start, Jeremy Pruitt has the Vols playing hard.  Kentucky plummeted to 20th with loss number 3.
  9.  In the AP top 25 there is no such thing as being ranked no 26.  But, in the usually dreaded “others receiving votes” section Army gets the most votes and is this week’s best of the “others.”   What a job Jeff Monken has done in five years there.  They won ten last year and have a shot at that again in 2018.  The last time that Army won 10 games was 1996.
  10.  Some early lines are out for this week and if you like big dogs or big favorites this is your week.  We’ll spare you those for now and focus on Syracuse +9.5 v. ND, and Mich St. is -1.5 at Nebraska,  while WVA travels to Okla St as a 5 point pick, and Oregon -4 hosts Arizona St.  Can the Orangemen box with the Fighting Irish?  How is Nebraska only a small dog sporting a 3-7 record?  Can WVA win another Big 12 road game in a tough environment?  After a 3 point win over downtrodden UCLA, Herm Edwards announced that the six win Sun Devils are now bowl eligible.  Hmm.  Can they make it seven in Eugene?

The Targeting Punishment Misses the Target!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Targeting, as you know, is a rules infraction in college football that has gained a lot of attention this season.  It actually became its own rule 10 years ago.  However, the ejection of the offending player was added in 2013.  It’s intent is worthy.  It’s intent simply is to reduce head injuries.  Who could be opposed to that?  No one.

However, for a few weeks now we’ve been vigorously debating what exactly defines targeting and the subsequent punishment.  Our disdain for its gross inconsistency reached 212 degrees when Devin White got the heave-ho with five minutes remaining before he and his LSU Tiger brethren could celebrate a 19-3 homecoming victory over Mississippi State a few weeks back.

We definitely advise that if you haven’t, you read the excellent SBNation article that explains the crime quite well.  In fact, it does it so well that we will only further their thoughts by diving a bit deeper with our comments on the inconsistencies of the punishment.  We believe that the only thing worse in how the rule is written and called is how the penalty is assessed.

Targeting is a 15 yard penalty in college football and an automatic first down.  It’s identical to a personal foul penalty in its punishment in that sense.  However,  it also is subject to immediate review.  If the infraction called on the field is upheld, the player guilty of the targeting is ejected for the remainder of the game if the play took place in the first half of the game.  If the act occurs in the second half of the game, the player also is forced to miss the first half of the next game his team plays.  Below are some very plausible examples of how grossly inconsistent that doled out sentence can be.

  1. If you are ejected for targeting in the first half of a game, you might be out a total of 59 minutes if you illegally contact your opponent in the first minute of the game.  If you hit him with a minute to go in the half, you miss a total of 31 minutes.
  2. If you are ejected for targeting in the second half of a game, you might be out 29 minutes of the remainder of that game and the first 30 of the next for a total of 59 minutes.  If you hit him with a minute to go in the game you miss only 31 total minutes inclusive of the first half of the next game.
  3.  If you apply opposition team strength to point one above you could miss 59 minutes down to 31 minutes against a weaker or stronger opponent than you might face the next week.
  4.  But if the next game’s opponent was much stronger than the game you were tossed from you don’t miss any of it if you are guilty in the first half against a weaker opponent.  Yet, you miss 30 minutes of it if you are guilty in the second half.

The above four scenarios might be a bit confusing.  But suffice it to say when you get thrown out, who you are facing when you get thrown out, and who you will face next week all factor into how severe the loss of playing time is to you and your teammates.  One might say that referees are blind to who is playing now and who is playing next week.  That likely is correct which makes the inequity all the more real.

The targeting rule and it’s penalties(yards, auto first down, and ejection)are the most severe on the college rule books today.  Yet, if you pass interfere on defense 50 yards down the field, unlike the spot foul in the NFL, you only are penalized 10 yards and an auto first down.  This seems like the exact opposite of the harshness of the targeting infraction, though we recognize they differ from a safety point of view.  But, where is the middle ground?

What about a 20 yard penalty(that would be a first) for targeting and an automatic first down.  Any other personal foul by the same player of any sort results in a suspension of the next 60 consecutive minutes of football from that moment.  It’s but one suggestion.

The NCAA rules committee needs to take a long look this offseason.

We may not have the answers, but we do have the questions.