Blog Review #5: Big 12 Expansion and My (Brilliant) Ideas

As I lay here in my death bed (I'm still sick :/), I began to think about the Big 12 and it's desire to expand and add new teams to the conference (because I want that to be my dying thought?).  This wasn't originally supposed to a blog post but instead of keeping these thoughts to myself, I figured I would share them with you readers (because people read my blog.. right?) so you can appreciate my "genius" as much as I do.  So here it is, my Big 12 Expansion Idea, broken down (I think way to much):

Big 12 (Currently):

TCU

Iowa State

Texas*

Oklahoma*

Oklahoma State

Kansas

Kansas State

West Virginia

Texas Tech

Baylor

*Oklahoma and Texas haven’t approved expansion idea.  If they leave they should go to the SEC.

Expansion Candidates:

UConn

Cincinnati

UCF

USF

Rice

Houston

SMU

Tulane

BYU

Air Force

Colorado State

SEC (with Texas and Oklahoma):

 East:

Florida

Georgia

South Carolina

Vanderbilt

Tennessee

Kentucky

Alabama*

Auburn*

West:

Texas A&M

Arkansas

Ole Miss

Mississippi State

LSU

Missouri*

Oklahoma*

Texas*

*Geographically, Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri are more “western” than Auburn and Alabama, so you move those 2 teams to the East and add Texas and Oklahoma to the West and move Missouri from the East to the West.  Iron Bowl rivalry stays.  Red River Showdown Rivalry stays as well.  Divisions stay even with 8 teams a piece.

Big 12 (without Texas and Oklahoma):

TCU

Iowa State

Oklahoma State

Kansas

Kansas State

West Virginia

Texas Tech

Baylor

Logical Additions:

BYU*

Houston*

Geographical Additions (self-explanatory):

Houston

Rice*

SMU*

*Rice and SMU aren’t good or prestigious (well SMU kinda is) but just location wise it works I guess.

Teams to Think About:

Air Force*

Colorado State*

*BYU and Houston are good and prestigious programs.  It makes sense to add them to increase ratings and add competition to the conference.  Air Force and Colorado State aren’t as prestigious and they do not sound like good Big 12 teams but their programs are decent enough at the moment to also be considered.  Only add if you really want to increase to 14 teams (or 12 if Texas and Oklahoma leave).

Teams to Not Even Consider:

UConn*

Cincinnati*

Tulane*

UCF*

USF*

*None of these programs are good enough or even prestigious enough to even be considered to join the Big 12.  No one wants to see UConn vs Baylor or like UCF vs TCU.  Those will just be demolitions.  Plus the AAC will shrink in size and will just destroy the conference.  Plus geographically it wouldn’t make sense for UConn or Cincinnati or any of these teams to be there (what about West Virginia though? Couldn’t tell ya. They’re an more of a Big 10 team to me but fits well in the Big 12).

Big 12 (Post Expansion if Oklahoma and Texas Leave):

TCU

Iowa State

Oklahoma State

Kansas

Kansas State

West Virginia

Texas Tech

Baylor

Houston*

BYU*

SMU*

Colorado State*

*4 expansion teams if Texas and Oklahoma leave.  Big 12 will have 12 teams and the name will make sense.  I feel like Colorado State would add better competition than the other teams considered therefore they should be added only if Texas and Oklahoma leave.  SMU on the other hand isn’t the best team in the world but they have the prestige (kinda) and the rivalries (all the Texas teams basically) to be added, again, only if Texas and Oklahoma leave.

Big 12 (Post Expansion if Oklahoma and Texas Stay):

TCU

Iowa State

Oklahoma

Texas

Oklahoma State

Kansas

Kansas State

West Virginia

Texas Tech

Baylor

Houston*

BYU*

*2 new expansion teams if Texas and Oklahoma stay

So long story short, no matter what, Houston and BYU should join the Big 12.  They are good teams and deserve to have better competition.  If Texas and Oklahoma do not approve the expansion idea (I wouldn’t blame them, I like the Big 12 like it is right now), they should move on the SEC which adds way more competition to the conference and will make it the best/hardest conference to play in college football more than it already is.

Other Teams to Consider Outside of the Approached Expansion Teams:

San Diego State

Tulsa

Boise State

Nevada

1. This was by far my favorite article to write and I will never regret writing it. I wrote this article to inform readers about the Big 12 Expansion and share my thoughts and ideas about it.  I was just laying in bed and saw a headline on ESPN about it so I started thinking about it and I wrote down my ideas to remember for later (like if I needed some use for it later on in life?) and then I finished my thoughts and just though "I should post this one my blog!" and here we are. So basically all of this happened randomly and yet I think it was one of my bests posts ever.
2. I literally had no trouble writing this whatsoever.  I knew exactly what I was typing as all the thoughts came naturally to me and I had written them down earlier.  I knew what point I wanted to get across and how to get it across and to me everything just lined up perfectly. If I had any trouble with it it probably would've been from formatting it from Word to Blogger because I think it was weird when I first did it. But other than that I had no trouble.
3. I wrote this to inform readers of the expansion, share my ideas of the expansion, and hopefully spark a discussion about the expansion (which didn't happen but it was still viewed a lot).  I wanted readers to read my opinions to develop their own about not only my ideas but the expansion.  My goal was to get people thinking about it too basically. I don't know if I achieved that goal but ESPN's article got me thinking so hopefully my article got some people thinking. 

Blog Review #4: My College Football Experience: Penn State

You may be asking yourself, "what's so important about college football?" I'm here to answer that. College football brings people together from not just all over the state but all over the country. People come together to root for a common team and have a good time. To me, that's what is important about college football (and scouting for future NFL players but we have to focus on world impact so shhhhh...). So this article is about the culture of college football and it's impacts. On September 17th and October 1st I traveled to State College, Pennsylvania to see the Penn State Nittany Lions play and for the first time I got to experience the real college football culture. The only college football games I've been to were at Holy Cross and UMass but I was too young to really have a good experience. But Penn State is a football school. This school's pride is it's football team. It has such a prestigious football program, I don't know if I'll get into it much in this article but it has such a rich history, especially with Joe Paterno. But when you get to Penn State on a football Saturday, there are tailgaters everywhere. You see people dressed in navy and white sitting by their trucks or RVs grilling, throwing around a football, just talking to other fans, having a great time before a football game. I, for one, am not much of a tailgater. I just never really had experience tailgating before and I did go to a tailgate for like 15 minutes and it was awkward because I didn't really know the people there, but my sister did (did I mention she's on the Penn State dance team/Lionettes?). So if you ever go tailgating, go with people you know because it will be a lot more fun. But the tailgating seems to bring a lot of people together. When Penn State played in-state rival Temple, I saw a lot of Temple fans and Penn State fans tailgating together, which at first I found surprising but then I thought about it and it made sense. Because they're both from the state, families could have different backgrounds but when it comes down to it, it's just a friendly rivalry between them. But yeah, a lot of people come from around the country to root for their alma mater or favorite college football team and just have a great time. Now we're going to talk about the fans in the stadium during the game. They are loud. Like they will scream anything and everything and they don't care. A lot of them are alumni of Penn State and they made that obvious screaming the alma mater and every chant they've heard when they went. I'm not much of a fan of screamers but after the Student Section, that might change. The Penn State Student Section is the best I've ever seen. They're rowdy and they don't care. It's fun to listen and just watch them. They're so into the game. I can't wait to be apart of a student section some day. The only thing bad, to me, is the post game antics. It's tough to leave the stadium after and even leave State College after. I get that it's like that everywhere but this is the first time I've really experienced it. The roads are closed on campus and it's lines of traffic everywhere. It's hard to get places post-game is what I'm trying to say basically. But overall, Penn State is a great college football school culturally speaking. The tailgaters seem welcoming, the fans and student section are loud and proud, and Penn State has won every game I've been to. Culture is very important to college football. If you don't have school spirit, you won't have a fun experience. A lot of school's pride are their sports programs. It's completely different from a high school football game. At college (or a division 1 FBS school at least), the whole school is there and they're very into the game and they have a lot of fun. In about a month I am heading to Syracuse, so I will most likely make a comparison after that and write about it. I will also try to head back down to Holy Cross or another local FBS/FCS school or even a division 2 or 3 school, and make comparisons as well, like compare the culture. Also the Saturday Review will be out later! See ya at the Review!

1. I wrote this article to talk about the experience of a real division one FBS college football game.  In this article, I talked about my experience at a Penn State football game such as the atmosphere, the culture, and the game as a whole.  I wanted to show readers what goes on around the game regarding the crowd. It helped me pay attention more to the atmosphere rather than just the game as the fans were loud and proud and I just thought that was awesome.  I wanted to write about it just to show how fans felt about college football and what goes on before, during and after games.
2. I had a little difficulty writing this mainly because I didn't really know where I was going with the post.  I didn't know what I wanted to say to get my point across that the atmosphere at Penn State games is amazing and that college football is not only just a game but a community.  I just kind of wrote down what I was thinking and hoping it would just go with the flow, ya know?
3. I wanted to show people through this article that college football is more than just the league before the NFL.  I wanted to show them that it is just like the NFL, where a whole community comes together to root for a similar team and have fun together. It was amazing to witness all the tailgating and just the whole Penn State community come together, having fun with each other, watching a team they all love. I just wanted people to experience what I experienced and learn that it is more than just a sport on TV.

Blog Review #3: AP Top 25 Week #3

With week 2 of the college football season behind us, the Associated Press (AP) released the new Top 25 schools in the nation:

AP Top 25:
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. Houston
7. Stanford
8. Washington
9. Wisconsin
10. Louisville
11. Texas
12. Michigan State
13. Iowa
14. Oklahoma
15. Tennessee
16. Georgia
17. Texas A&M
18. Notre Dame
19. Ole Miss
20. LSU
21. Baylor
22. Oregon
23. Florida
24. Arkansas
25. Miami

Now some teams that won last Saturday that dropped significantly were Clemson, who fell from #2 to #5 and Georgia, who fell from #9 to #16. Both of these teams were put on "upset alert" and could've been apart of "Sadder-Day's Upsets" (I'm gonna use this pun whenever possible.. sorry!) but they managed to pull out a win. Clemson was very surprising last Saturday when they played Troy, a team from the Sun Belt conference. Troy kept this game close throughout the whole entire game basically and only lost by 6 points, with the score being 30-24 in favor of Clemson. The Clemson Tigers were favorites to make and even win the College Football Playoffs this year. Despite dropping to #5, they still have a very good chance of making their way back up into the top 4. But it will be interesting to see how they fair against other teams in the ACC after this game against Troy. Georgia played FCS team Nicholls State and boy was it close! Georgia, despite being down 14-10 in the 3rd quarter, managed to score 2 touchdowns in 2 minutes and held on to win 26-24. The Georgia Bulldogs had basically a 99% chance of winning this game and Nicholls State were heavy underdogs coming into the game. Georgia was a favorite to win the SEC East but again, it'll be interesting to see how they fair against other SEC teams after almost losing to a team that's not even in the FBS. Other teams that I'm surprised to see ranked so high are Washington and Michigan. Just my opinion, I believe these teams are overrated. Michigan has mainly been predicted so much success due to former NFL coach Jim Harbaugh taking over as head coach of the team. I just don't believe that Michigan has earned the right to be #4 just because of the prestige of their coach. I don't really know anything about Washington and why they are #8. They really didn't make too much noise in the Pac-12 last year. I couldn't tell you why they are there, but I expect them to fall at some point in the middle of the season. They can't win the Pac-12. End of story. Arkansas made the Top 25 after beating #15 TCU. They jumped from the depths of the unranked teams to #24 in the nation. I don't know how long they'll last but I have high hopes for Austin Allen and the rest of the team and I hope to see more wins from them. Other than that I really have nothing else to say about the rankings. Not bad Associated Press.. Not bad.

1. I wrote this post to inform people of the Top 25 rankings in college football and discuss the change in the rankings. Like I would talk about why certain teams are where they are and how they got there. This was another one of my "weekly segments" where I posted a similar article like this informing readers on the rankings and giving my thoughts on them.

2. The only trouble I really had writing this type of articles was the fact I had to keep going back and forth between pages typing the Top 25 out because I couldn't memorize all 25 teams on the list.  It sounds stupid but it was kind of frustrating going back and forth it was very time consuming for me.  Other than that I really enjoyed making this article because I never really had to think about what I was going to write before hand, everything I typed was just everything I was thinking about the rankings at the time. Like if I made a joke to myself about a certain team in the rankings on the spot, it would go into the article because to me it would make the article better and it was what I was thinking at the time.

3.I wanted to inform the readers of the rankings and tell them why I thought why certain team was ranked where they were. Yes, it may have been a biased opinion of why they were ranked where they were but I was still informing the readers of the rankings.  All my articles just seem to be giving readers information rather than having a big picture where they think about stuff. I just say words and I expect them to take in those words and just go "okay cool." Probably not the greatest thing but there is really nothing to feel about the Top 25 besides just feeling informed.

Blog Review #2: Saturday Review #1 (9/10/16)

Week 2 of the college football season was an interesting one. Many of the nation's top teams were put on "upset alert" from smaller lower conference schools. But most top teams prevailed to go 2-0 (W-L) on their journey to the college football playoffs. We'll start this review with my Game of the Week:

Game of the Week: Arkansas vs #15 TCU 

Now basically everyone came into this game (well I did at least) thinking that TCU would crush Arkansas due to Arkansas's struggles against Louisiana Tech last weekend (Arkansas won 21-20). But surprisingly, the Razorbacks led by junior quarterback Austin Allen, gave TCU a run for their money and actually led the whole entire game being up 20-7 after the 3rd quarter. But TCU, led by junior quarterback transfer Kenny Hill, scored 21 points in the 4th quarter to take the lead but a late touchdown pass from Austin Allen to Keon Hatcher tied the game at 28-28 and sent the game into overtime. In overtime, both teams scored on their first possessions to tie the game at 35 but in the 2nd overtime Arkansas managed to hold TCU to a field goal and the score was 38-35. The Razorbacks needed to kick a filed goal to tie it and send it to a 3rd overtime or score a touchdown to win the game. And on 3rd and goal, Austin Allen ran the ball in to score the game winning touchdown and Arkansas upset #15 TCU 41-38. This game all around was a great game, it was one of my favorite games that I've seen in a while and (besides the fact I've been a Razorback fan since 2010-ish) it was a good ending to a hard fought game and that is why it is my game of the week.

Team/Player of the Week: #13 Louisville Cardinals/QB Lamar Jackson

Typically I wouldn't combine Team of the Week and Player of the Week but the Louisville Cardinals, led by sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson, have been on a tear lately. The Cardinals, who are now 2-0, have outscored their opponents 132-42 in the 2 games that they've played and Jackson has had a total of 13 touchdowns over the span of 2 games. On Saturday, the Cardinals played fellow ACC team, the Syracuse Orange, in their first conference game of the season. Within the first 5 minutes of the game the Cardinals were already up 21-0 and Jackson scored all of those touchdowns with 1 passing touchdown and 2 rushing touchdowns. The final score of that game was 62-28 in favor of the Cardinals. Jackson went 20/39 with 411 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, and 199 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns. At the moment Lamar Jackson is my favorite to win the Heisman Trophy despite my mutual dislike of Louisville. I know the Cardinals have only played 2 poor teams so far but right now it seems like they can't be stopped and also seem to be a force to reckon with in the ACC. The Cardinal's next game is September 17th against #2 Florida State Seminoles at 12pm (Game of the Week candidate for next week?).

"Sadder"-Day's Upsets/Play of the Week: Central Michigan Beats #22 Oklahoma State

I don't know about you but I appreciate that pun and yes, I came up with it myself. Again, I typically wouldn't combine subjects like upsets and the play of the week but one of the major upsets last Saturday came from my play of the week. Despite many almost upsets last Saturday and the fact Arkansas beat #15 TCU (I know it's an upset but I'm not writing about it again and Arkansas is actually a good team), the one upset that stood out to me was Central Michigan (a MAC team) beat #22 Oklahoma State (a Big 12 team... I know...) 30-27 on a last second hail mary pass into a lateral pass backwards, where Central Michigan ran it in for the game winning touchdown (hence the Play of the Week). A lot of controversy surrounded this game after it ended because of the officials/referees. I didn't watch the game but apparently the referees missed a bunch of penalties and misinterpreted a lot of rules. In fact, one of the misinterpreted rules led to the Play of the Week. Central Michigan was awarded one more play after a penalty when they shouldn't have which led to the game winning touchdown. After the penalty, time expired and the game should've ended but the referees forgot/misinterpreted the rule and Central Michigan scored and won. The referees have since been suspended and the game will not be overturned. Despite the controversy, this is still my "Sadder"-Day's Upset (embrace the pun).
Play of the Week Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a24Vg-0QSzU

September 10th brought us some really great college football games. We saw a lot of close games and some upsets. We also teams come together to honor the victims of 9/11 with moments of silence and t-shirts. I will get into the college football culture and community more when I see Penn State vs Temple on September 17th. There I will write my review of the game and basically my visit to Penn State. Until next time!

1. I wrote this as one of my first articles to be one of many "weekly segments" for my blog.  The purpose was for readers to get information on the most recent weekend of college football such as the top players, teams, and games of that weekend.  My goal was to inform them on what was best about that weekend in case they either missed it or wanted to hear an opinion on that weekend.
2.I didn't really have too much trouble typing these types of articles.  It was very time consuming typing out all the little sections but other than that I really liked making these.  These articles made me pay attention to all the games and watch some amazing players and plays and I was happy to share them along with my thoughts to readers.
3. I think my rhetorical purpose was to inform readers about the past weekend and make them aware of anything amazing that they missed.  I just want the audience to feel informed really.  I want them to think like "woah that must've been a great game!" or like "Wow what a play!" And they would be able to get all that from these types of posts.

Blog Review Post #1: RIP Brandon Jackson

Sad news from the college football world came yesterday when the Army Black Knights announced their sophomore cornerback, Brandon Jackson, was killed in a single car accident, just after Saturday's win against the Rice Owls. Police were called to the sight of the crash just after 1:50am in Cronton, New York, 19 miles south from West Point, home of the Army Black Knights. He was driving by himself when he hit a guardrail and was killed. “Words cannot describe the grief that our team is feeling over the loss of our brother and friend Brandon,” said head coach, Jeff Monken, of Jackson. Jackson will most likely be honored this Saturday before Army's game against UTEP.

1. I wrote this post to show that there is more to college football than just player stats and game scores.  I wrote to show how there can also be tragedy throughout the world of college football.  I also wrote this to just spread the news on not only just a player's death but a young man's tragic death in the real world.
2. I had remember having trouble finding the right information about the death.  It was hard to find articles that had good details about what happened and Jackson's background.  Other than that I had no trouble writing this article.
3. I wanted readers to just be aware that tragic things can happen to college football players besides injuries in games.  I guess I wanted the readers to feel some sort of sadness about Jackson's death.  I feel like this article was more of just an informational article about Jackson's death rather than a tribute to Jackson so there really isn't much emotion to it.

Clemson Wins the National Championship

I like sleeping. I like it so much that at halftime I went to bed and missed one of the best games in College Football National Championship history.  Clemson topped defending National Champion Alabama in a rematch of the 2016 National Championship game.  Alabama struck twice in the first half to open the game as their running back Bo Scarborough ran for 2 mid distance touchdowns as Alabama took a 14-0.  Clemson scored midway through the second quarter to get on the board and Alabama went into halftime with a 14-7 lead.  Then I went to bed.  And then it got really good. Alabama dominated the third quarter as they went into the fourth quarter up 24-14, looking to repeat as National Champions.  Then the Clemson offense went off.  A four yard Watson touchdown pass made it 24-21.  Then a 1 yard Gallman run made it 28-24 and more than midway through the fourth quarter Clemson had their first lead of the game.  A 30 yard run by Alabama freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts put Alabama back up 31-28, then something magical happened.  A Clemson drive led by Deshaun Watson ended with 1 second left on the clock as he threw a touchdown to wide receiver Hunter Renfrow and that was it.  Clemson won 35-31.  It was amazing.  Both Clemson and Alabama finish their seasons at 14-1 as Clemson claims the #1 spot in all of college football.  A great way to end the season.  And this blog.  As the semester comes to an end, this blog will too as I no longer have use for it and there is nothing left to write about.  Perfect timing, huh?  Well anyway this is going to be my last post.  I feel like it's a good post to end on.  Congrats to Clemson for winning an amazing National Championship game!  I want to end this on a high note so below is the play that won Clemson the National Championship.  Enjoy and peace!

 

 

Bowl Results

Well the college football bowl season has come to a close :( There were lots of good games and some surprising upsets, but overall it was a good season.  Next year should bring even better bowls!  Here are the results for the bowl games:

FCS Celebration Bowl: North Carolina Central vs Grambling State
Pick: Grambling State
Result: Grambling State 10-9

New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs UTSA
Pick: New Mexico
Result: New Mexico 23-20

Las Vegas Bowl: Houston vs San Diego State
Pick: Houston
Result: San Diego State 34-10

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Appalachian State vs Toledo
Pick: Toledo
Result: Appalachian State 31-28

AutoNation Cure Bowl: UCF vs Arkansas State
Pick: Arkansas State
Result: Arkansas State 31-13

New Orleans Bowl: Southern Mississippi vs Louisiana Lafayette
Pick: Louisiana Lafayette
Result: Southern Mississippi 28-21

Miami Beach Bowl: Central Michigan vs Tulsa
Pick: Tulsa
Result: Tulsa 55-10

Boca Raton Bowl: Memphis vs Western Kentucky
Pick: Memphis
Result: Western Kentucky 51-31

Poinsettia Bowl: BYU vs Wyoming
Pick: Wyoming
Result: BYU 24-21

Idaho Potato Bowl: Idaho vs Colorado State
Pick: Colorado State
Result: Idaho 61-50

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs Old Dominion
Pick: Old Dominion
Result: Old Dominion 24-20

Armed Forces Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs #25 Navy
Pick: Louisiana Tech
Result: Louisiana Tech 48-45

Dollar General Bowl: Ohio vs Troy
Pick: Troy
Result: Troy 28-23

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs Middle Tennessee State
Pick: Hawaii
Result: Hawaii 52-35

St. Petersburg Bowl: Miami (OH) vs Mississippi State
Pick: Mississippi State
Result: Mississippi State 17-16

Quick Lane Bowl: Maryland vs Boston College
Pick: Maryland
Result: Boston College 36-30

Independence Bowl: North Carolina State vs Vanderbilt
Pick: North Carolina State
Result: North Carolina State 41-17

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Army vs North Texas
Pick: Army
Result: Army 38-31 OT

Military Bowl: #24 Temple vs Wake Forest
Pick: #24 Temple
Result: Wake Forest 34-26

Holiday Bowl: Minnesota vs Washington State
Pick: Washington State
Result: Minnesota 17-12

Cactus Bowl: Boise State vs Baylor
Pick: Boise State
Result: Baylor 31-12

Pinstripe Bowl: #23 Pittsburgh vs Northwestern
Pick: #23 Pittsburgh
Result: Northwestern 31-24

Russell Athletic Bowl: Miami (FL) vs #16 West Virginia
Pick: #16 West Virginia
Result: Miami (FL) 31-14

Foster Farms Bowl: Indiana vs #19 Utah
Pick: #19 Utah
Result: #19 Utah 26-24

Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs Kansas State
Pick: Texas A&M
Result: Kansas State 33-28

Birmingham Bowl: South Florida vs South Carolina
Pick: South Florida
Result: South Florida 46-39 OT

Belk Bowl: Arkansas vs #22 Virginia Tech
Pick: Arkansas
Result: #22 Virginia Tech 35-24

Alamo Bowl: #12 Oklahoma State vs #10 Colorado
Pick: #12 Oklahoma State
Result: #12 Oklahoma State 38-8

Liberty Bowl: Georgia vs TCU
Pick: TCU
Result: Georgia 31-23

Sun Bowl: #18 Stanford vs North Carolina
Pick: #18 Stanford
Result: #18 Stanford 25-23

Music City Bowl: Nebraska vs #21 Tennessee
Pick: Nebraska
Result: #21 Tennessee 38-24

Arizona Bowl: Southern Alabama vs Air Force
Pick: Air Force
Result: Air Force 45-21

Orange Bowl: #6 Michigan vs #11 Florida State
Pick: #6 Michigan
Result: #11 Florida State 33-32

Citrus Bowl: #20 LSU vs #13 Louisville
Pick: #20 LSU
Result: #20 LSU 29-19

TaxSlayer Bowl: Georgia Tech vs Kentucky
Pick: Kentucky
Result: Georgia Tech 33-18

Outback Bowl: #17 Florida vs Iowa
Pick: #17 Florida
Result: #17 Florida 30-3

Cotton Bowl: #15 Western Michigan vs #8 Wisconsin
Pick: #8 Wisconsin
Result: #8 Wisconsin 24-16

Rose Bowl: #9 USC vs #5 Penn State
Pick: #5 Penn State
Resut: #9 USC 52-49

Sugar Bowl: #14 Auburn vs #7 Oklahoma
Pick: #7 Oklahoma
Result: #7 Oklahoma 35-19

Playoff Game #1/Peach Bowl: #1 Alabama vs #4 Washington
Pick: #1 Alabama
Result: #1 Alabama 24-7

Playoff Game #2/Fiesta Bowl: #2 Clemson vs #3 Ohio State
Pick: #3 Ohio State
Result: #2 Clemson 31-0

So I mean I didn't do too bad... Like 21 out of the 41 (not counting the National Championship) is pretty good for me.  It's over 50% so I'll take it.  But it all comes down to January 9th as #1 Alabama takes on #2 Clemson for the second straight year (kind of like John Cena vs The Rock part 2, but hopefully way better).  I think I'm going to wrap this blog up with a National Championship write up and then the end of the season awards such as Team of the Year, Player of the Year, etc. Until then!

National Championship: #1 Alabama vs #2 Clemson

Well my prediction was wrong.  What else is new?  #1 Alabama silenced the #4 Washington offense, winning 24-7 and advancing to the National Championship for the second straight year.  #2 Clemson shut out #3 Ohio State 31-0, also advancing to the National Championship for the second straight year.  So basically we have a repeat of last year's National Championship Game, Alabama vs Clemson.  The last time these two teams faced off was last year's National Championship, where Alabama squeaked out the win 45-40 to win their third National Championship in five years.  Clemson is looking for redemption in this game as they look to win their first National Championship ever in their program's history.  I expect Alabama to win but this game will be close again.  The departure of Alabama's Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin leaves a huge question mark on the performance of Alabama's offense, especially the performance of freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts.  But Alabama's defense has stepped up as of late and if they can stop the Washington offense then they could easily stop the Clemson offense.  As much as I hate to say it... ROLL TIDE!

Lamar Jackson Wins Heisman Trophy

Well it finally happened! After dominating the beginning of the season with 6 touchdown performances, quarterback Lamar Jackson of the Louisville Cardinals has won the Heisman Trophy. Jackson received 2144 points in the vote, with 525 1st place points. The 19 year old sophomore is the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy and the first player from Louisville to win the Heisman Trophy. Jackson finished the regular season with 4928 total yards and 51 total touchdowns. The Cardinals finished at #15 in the College Football Playoff Poll and they play in the Citrus Bowl against #20 LSU on December 31st at 11am.

College Bowl Schedule and Picks

It's finally here! One of my favorite times of the year! The college football bowl season is now upon us! The committee has made their bowl selections and the schedule has been made. Today I am going to make my bowl picks and maybe give an explanation and we're going to see how I do.

FCS Celebration Bowl: North Carolina Central vs Grambling State
Pick: Grambling State

New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs UTSA
Pick: New Mexico

Las Vegas Bowl: Houston vs San Diego State
Pick: Houston

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Appalachian State vs Toledo
Pick: Toledo

AutoNation Cure Bowl: UCF vs Arkansas State
Pick: Arkansas State

New Orleans Bowl: Southern Mississippi vs Louisiana Lafayette
Pick: Louisiana Lafayette

Miami Beach Bowl: Central Michigan vs Tulsa
Pick: Tulsa

Boca Raton Bowl: Memphis vs Western Kentucky
Pick: Memphis

Poinsettia Bowl: BYU vs Wyoming
Pick: Wyoming

Idaho Potato Bowl: Idaho vs Colorado State
Pick: Colorado State

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs Old Dominion
Pick: Old Dominion

Armed Forces Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs #25 Navy
Pick: Louisiana Tech

Dollar General Bowl: Ohio vs Troy
Pick: Troy

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs Middle Tennessee State
Pick: Hawaii

St. Petersburg Bowl: Miami (OH) vs Mississippi State
Pick: Mississippi State

Quick Lane Bowl: Maryland vs Boston College
Pick: Maryland

Independence Bowl: North Carolina State vs Vanderbilt
Pick: North Carolina State

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Army vs North Texas
Pick: Army

Military Bowl: #24 Temple vs Wake Forest
Pick: #24 Temple

Holiday Bowl: Minnesota vs Washington State
Pick: Washington State

Cactus Bowl: Boise State vs Baylor
Pick: Boise State

Pinstripe Bowl: #23 Pittsburgh vs Northwestern
Pick: #23 Pittsburgh

Russell Athletic Bowl: Miami (FL) vs #16 West Virginia
Pick: #16 West Virginia

Foster Farms Bowl: Indiana vs #19 Utah
Pick: #19 Utah

Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs Kansas State
Pick: Texas A&M

Birmingham Bowl: South Florida vs South Carolina
Pick: South Florida

Belk Bowl: Arkansas vs #22 Virginia Tech
Pick: Arkansas

Alamo Bowl: #12 Oklahoma State vs #10 Colorado
Pick: #12 Oklahoma State

Liberty Bowl: Georgia vs TCU
Pick: TCU

Sun Bowl: #18 Stanford vs North Carolina
Pick: #18 Stanford

Music City Bowl: Nebraska vs #21 Tennessee
Pick: Nebraska

Arizona Bowl: Southern Alabama vs Air Force
Pick: Air Force

Orange Bowl: #6 Michigan vs #11 Florida State
Pick: #6 Michigan

Citrus Bowl: #20 LSU vs #13 Louisville
Pick: #20 LSU

TaxSlayer Bowl: Georgia Tech vs Kentucky
Pick: Kentucky

Outback Bowl: #17 Florida vs Iowa
Pick: #17 Florida

Cotton Bowl: #15 Western Michigan vs #8 Wisconsin
Pick: #8 Wisconsin

Rose Bowl: #9 USC vs #5 Penn State
Pick: #5 Penn State

Sugar Bowl: #14 Auburn vs #7 Oklahoma
Pick: #7 Oklahoma

Playoff Game #1/Peach Bowl: #1 Alabama vs #4 Washington
Pick: #1 Alabama

Playoff Game #2/Fiesta Bowl: #2 Clemson vs #3 Ohio State
Pick: #3 Ohio State

National Championship Prediction: #1 Alabama vs #3 Ohio State
Pick: #1 Alabama

Let's see how I do!

Conference Championship Schedule

Well I'm still a liar.  I had no time to write that Ohio State-Michigan article before the game.  It was a great game though.  I didn't see is because I was at Penn State but boy did I hear about it!  Because Ohio State won and Penn State won, PENN STATE IS GOING TO THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP!  Now we're going to look at the Conference Championship games now that the regular season of college football has wrapped up.

MAC: #17 Western Michigan vs Ohio

PAC-12: #8 Colorado vs #4 Washington

AAC: Temple vs #19 Navy

C-USA: Louisiana Tech vs Western Kentucky

BIG 12 (not a championship game but decides the Big 12 Champion):
#10 Oklahoma State vs #9 Oklahoma

SEC: #1 Alabama vs #15 Florida
MWC: San Diego State vs Wyoming

ACC: #3 Clemson vs #23 Virginia Tech

BIG TEN: #6 Wisconsin vs #7 Penn State

3 Week Review (11/5-11/19)

So I basically have been taking the month of November off because school and life just get in the way.  So at the moment we're pretty behind on everything college football.  Right now I'm just going to review the important things we've missed over the past 3 weeks.  This will be pretty unorganized and short probably so sorry in advance.

11/5:
Alabama beat LSU 10-0 in a very defensive game.  Texas A&M somehow lost to Mississippi State 35-28 and are now out of playoff contention.  Ohio State beat Nebraska 62-3 so Nebraska is done in the Big 10 for the most part.  Arkansas upset Florida 31-10.  Penn State beat Iowa 41-14 and I was there so that was fun.  Those were the highlights of week 10.

11/12:
Duke upset North Carolina 28-27.  Pittsburgh upset Clemson 43-42 and that is officially my game of the year because it was just amazing to watch.  Iowa upset Michigan 14-13.  Washington lost to USC 26-13.  So the 3 of the top 4 teams lost this week.  It was the first time that happened since 1985 which is kind of cool.  So the playoff picture has really shaken up.

11/19:
Houston dashed Louisville's playoff hopes when they won 36-10 in a game that I previewed in September.  Ohio State beat Michigan State 17-16 in a game they should've lost but Mark Dantonio made a poor decision (never go for 2 when you're down by 1...).  Oregon beat Utah 30-28 with a touchdown pass with 2 seconds left in the game.  Florida somehow beat LSU 16-10.  Also Kansas beat Texas 24-21 and it was their 2nd Big 12 conference win in the last 2 years and it was the first time they beat Texas since 1938... That's before World War I... so congrats to Kansas!  Also we'd like to wish now former Texas head coach Charlie Strong the best of luck finding a new job after being let go by Texas after the loss to Kansas.

So we're approaching the last week of the regular season.  I'm going to do a playoff preview kind of thing and really focus on the #2 Ohio State vs #3 Michigan game because that's going to decide a lot in the playoffs.  I can guarantee that an Ohio State vs Michigan article will be posted before Saturday.  I will also be at Penn State's last game against Michigan State this Saturday so this Saturday is going to be a great one! See ya soon!

Saturday Review #8/Week 10 Preview

Yes, I'm a little behind. No, I don't have a good reason. I knew I had to type the review, but I just never really got to it. So, I'm going to sum up Week 9 for all of you right now. The Big 12 lost, I should've picked Wyoming, Navy is apparently not going to win the American Athletic Conference, and Kansas sucks. Now time for the preview:

#1 Alabama vs #13 LSU: Alabama-LSU games are always good. Take that 2011 game for example, both teams dominated defensively, causing both offenses to struggle, with the game ending 9-6 in overtime in LSU's favor. Then in that same year, those two teams met in the National Championship (somehow?) and Alabama continued their defensive domination and LSU's offense struggled, as the Crimson Tide avenged their loss and won the game 21-0 to win the National Championship. LSU started the season at #5 in the nation, losing to Wisconsin in their season opener at Lambeau Field. Since then, the Tigers have only lost to now #9 Auburn and are undefeated at home. Alabama comes into this game undefeated and has only struggled against Ole Miss this season. This will be a tough game to pick, but I'm going to go with LSU, just because I think home field advantage will play a major factor in this game.

#10 Nebraska vs #6 Ohio State: Despite losing to Wisconsin last week, Nebraska is still a Top 10 team, which I do not mind at all. The Cornhuskers are alright in the Big 10, having a few close games but staying undefeated until the Wisconsin game. Ohio State has only suffered one loss as well, with it coming against Penn State in what is so far my game of the year. I am going to pick Ohio State, because they're just good. I don't think Nebraska even stands a chance. The Buckeyes are angry and look to go on a tear to get a playoff spot. This just isn't Nebraska's season.

#5 Washington vs California: I threw in this game because it has potential to be good. Washington is on a roll and could go undefeated this season (wait for the Apple Cup..) easily as the Pac-12 seems to be in a struggle this season. Speaking of struggles, California comes into this game at 4-4, despite upsetting teams such as former #22 Texas and former #18 Utah (both wins at home). The Golden Bears only seem to step up when their opponent is ranked. Even though I have brought up this theory, I still pick Washington. I just think the Huskies momentum is very strong coming off a great win against former #17 Utah and I don't think anyone can stop them. Not yet at least (*cough* Washington State *cough cough*)

Iowa vs #12 Penn State: We already know my pick, but I'd thought I'd take time to mention I'll be at this game. I don't know if it'll top the last game I went to against Minnesota, but it looks to be a pretty good game. I'm picking Penn State because they're my team ("what about when you picked Ohio State to bea-" yeah that was a mistake but I trust them now so shhhh). Plus remember that time FCS North Dakota State beat Iowa when they were ranked #13?


#18 Oklahoma State vs Kansas State: Oklahoma State is fresh off of my upset pick against the formerly undefeated West Virginia Mountaineers and has all the momentum in the Big 12 at the moment. Kansas State comes into this game with 3 losses, 2 against top Big 12 teams (West Virginia by 1 and Oklahoma by 21) and Stanford when they were ranked at #8 in week 1. So this game could really be a good game. I'm going to pick Oklahoma State, for no good reason basically. I just think Kansas State won't be able to beat a major Big 12 team right now. This ain't 2012.

Well those are my picks for Week 10 of the college football season. The road to the bowls and playoff begins right here. See ya for the review (hopefully)!

 

College Football Playoff Top 25 Poll #1 (Week 10)

As you can tell from the title, we don't care about the AP Top 25 poll anymore. IT'S BOWL SEASON BABY! This is the time where we focus on the poll that decides the bowl games and the teams that go into the four team playoff because it's pointless until week 10 apparently. But this is what I'll be reviewing for the rest of the year now because the AP Poll means nothing anymore.

CFP Top 25:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Michigan
4. Texas A&M
5. Washington
6. Ohio State
7. Louisville
8. Wisconsin
9. Auburn
10. Nebraska
11. Florida
12. Penn State
13. LSU
14. Oklahoma
15. Colorado
16. Utah
17. Baylor
18. Oklahoma State
19. Virginia Tech
20. West Virginia
21. North Carolina
22. Florida State
23. Western Michigan
24. Boise State
25. Washington State

So as you can see, this looks very different from the AP Top 25 for many reasons.  The main reason is this poll takes into account the wins over good teams and strength of schedule, which means how many good teams they play.  The only really surprising thing I can review for this is Texas A&M at #4 in the poll.  This caused a lot of controversy when the poll was released, mainly because Texas A&M just lost to #1 Alabama, and Washington is undefeated and dominating the Pac-12, but only put at #5. According to the College Football Playoff Committee, their reasoning behind it was strength of schedule. When you compare #4 Texas A&M's schedule to #5 Washington's, the Aggies have played 5 games against major teams, winning 4 of them while losing to Alabama.  Everyone seems to lose to Alabama though so it was not considered a major loss. The Huskies on the other hand, have played 2 major teams, winning both of those games, while almost losing to Arizona. So I see and understand the reasoning behind this, I just don't know if I like it. Plus Texas A&M and Alabama are both in the SEC West, so having two teams from the same conference and same division in the playoffs is kind of stupid. I guess we'll see what next week's rankings bring!

Week 9 Saturday Preview #3 (10/29/16)

There's no episode of Tribecast this week because of "conflicting schedules" so I have to type a preview out this week and make my picks. I have no clue when the next episode will be, but we hope to be back on track soon. Anyways, here are my picks for this week:

#22 Navy vs South Florida: Navy travels to South Florida this week to take on the Bulls. Navy is coming off a nice win against Memphis while South Florida recently lost to the Temple Owls. I have Navy in this game, mainly because no one in the AAC has been able to stop them. It's like if Houston can't stop them, then who can at this point? I know South Florida only has two losses, but I mean if you can't beat 4-3 Temple, can you really be a challenge to Navy? Navy is winning this game and the AAC, end of story.

#10 West Virginia vs Oklahoma State: This game is a tough one, mainly because this is a battle of my two favorite Big 12 teams. West Virginia comes into this game undefeated, with their only real challenges being Kansas State and BYU, two teams that have struggled a bit this season. Oklahoma State comes into this game with 2 losses, the upset to Central Michigan, which is still controversial, and to Big 12 powerhouse Baylor. So I want to say these teams are even. I am sadly going with Oklahoma State, mainly because they are at home and I think this is finally where they make a stand in the Big 12. Sorry West Virginia. As much as I love you guys, I think this game is an upset.

#14 Florida vs Georgia: Both of these teams are having their ups and downs in the SEC. Georgia's up being beating North Carolina, their downs being almost losing/losing to terribly terrible, awful teams. Florida's ups being an easy schedule, and one down being blowing the lead against Tennessee... Anyways I have Florida because the Bulldogs have no idea what they're doing this year and they just lost to Vanderbilt... Vanderbilt.

#4 Washington vs #17 Utah: I want this game to be close but we know how these games with Washington go now. As much as I want to see them lose, I have Washington in this game. Both of these teams are great this year, Washington being undefeated and Utah only having one loss. But long story short, I have Washington.

#13 Boise State vs Wyoming: This game looks weird but trust me, its going to be good. Boise State comes into this game undefeated, however they almost lost to BYU 28-27... I WAS SO CLOSE TO GETTING THAT UPSET PICK! But yeah, Boise State has had a couple close calls this year. Wyoming has been a program that has struggled most of their existence. But for some reason they are 5-2 this year. I don't know what's going on Wyoming. No one does really. That state is just kind of there. But even though both of these teams are good, I have Boise State because I don't think it's Wyoming's time just yet. Maybe next year.

#7 Nebraska vs #11 Wisconsin: This is my game of the week pick for this week. It looks like it could be an amazing game. But as I type this, I remember that games against two top teams aren't typically close (you know the joke by now...). I see Wisconsin winning this game, so I'm going to go with Wisconsin because they lost to Michigan and Ohio State by a touchdown and Nebraska has had a few close games. I mean if you can contend with the top teams, you're obviously doing something right and if you're having a close game with Indiana, maybe there's a little something wrong. So go Badgers, sorry Nebraska.

#3 Clemson vs #12 Florida State: I have Clemson. I think it's the logical choice. I know Florida State is "back on track" after their struggles in the beginning of the season, but no one can beat Clemson but themselves at this point. Louisville couldn't. NC State almost did and should've but kicking a football is hard. Clemson has a pretty easy road, especially after this game, so Clemson it is.

Well those are my picks for this week. I'm really feeling it with these picks. I expect to do well, as always. Again, sorry there's no Tribecast this week (I know we're all disappointed). Everyone is just busy with school and life. But we'll be back and better than ever! See ya Saturday!

AP Top 25 Week #9

Joke of the Day: The Auburn vs Arkansas game. Here's the AP Top 25 for week 9:

AP Top 25:

1. Alabama
2. Michigan
3. Clemson
4. Washington
5. Louisville
6. Ohio State
7. Nebraska
8. Baylor
9. Texas A&M
10. West Virginia
11. Wisconsin
12. Florida State
13. Boise State
14. Florida
15. Auburn
16. Oklahoma
17. Utah
18. Tennessee
19. LSU
20. Western Michigan
21. North Carolina
22. Navy
23. Colorado
24. Penn State
25. Virginia Tech

Michigan moved up to #2, Clemson moved up to #3, Washington moved up to #4, and Louisville moved up to #5, all because Ohio State lost to Penn State. Ohio State dropped to #6 after their loss to Penn State. Did I mention Ohio State lost to Penn State? Nebraska moved up to #7. They play #11 Wisconsin where they are expected to lose. I want them to win. Baylor is at #8. They should keep slowly moving up until they play now #10 West Virginia to decide the champion of the Big 12. Texas A&M fell to #9 after a close loss to #1 Alabama. Because this loss was to the #1 team, they didn't fall too much because this team is still pretty good. Auburn moved to up #15 after they destroyed now unranked Arkansas 56-3 (hence the joke). I have no comment. LSU jumped to #19 after beating Ole Miss. I forgot Fournette came back so now LSU is relevant again. My bad. Western Michigan is still at #20 after beating Eastern Michigan. MAC teams are bad so those wins don't really help them at all. Navy moved up to #22 after beating the newly discovered Riley Ferguson and the Memphis Tigers. They're gonna win the AAC, no doubt. Three new teams entered the Top 25 this week: #23 Colorado, #24 Penn State, and #25 Virginia Tech. Colorado beat Stanford in a baseball game apparently, with the score being 10-5. Stanford is most likely officially out of contention for the Pac-12 Championship. Penn State is a well deserving #24, somehow managing to survive in the Big 10 this year. It'll be interesting to see how far they move up in the rankings. And Virginia Tech was welcomed back to the Top 25 after beating Miami (FL). I don't trust them really but no one else is really deserving of the spot. That's all I got this week. Listen to my podcast!

Saturday Review #7 (10/22/16)

Ohio State's season was going so well, then all of a sudden, it crashed, just like I did on Friday with my car... Time for the review!

Penn State Upsets #2 Ohio State:

This will be the lamest review of all time but this game stole the show on Saturday. I give all my weekly awards to Penn State. They are the Team of the Week for beating Ohio State, the "Sadder"-Day's Upset for upsetting Ohio State, they have the Play of the Week with the game-winning blocked field goal, Penn State's Grant Haley being Player of the Week for returning the blocked field goal for the win. So obviously this is the Game of the Week. I don't really know what to say here but Penn State upset #2 Ohio State 24-21 off of a blocked field goal return for a touchdown by Grant Haley. This will most likely end up being Game of the Year when I do End of the Season Awards, but we'll see I guess. So here's the play that won Penn State the game and that's the review for this week. We learned that apparently I'm an awful driver but good at making metaphors and college football is full of surprises. See ya next week!

Tribecast

This is kind of off topic but, I have a podcast now... Well I have a podcast with my friends, Eric and Matt, because people listen to podcasts... right? But it's called Tribecast because, why not? It's labeled as an "all-sports" podcast but we'll probably get into stuff like music, movies, and even funny stories from our lives because we're just that interesting and entertaining. There are segments in it where I talk about college football and I make predictions (it's where I'll do my Saturday Previews now) and stuff. So if you like my writing, just wait until you hear me speaking (not saying my voice is amazing, but things will sound funnier, I think). But if you're into other things like wrestling (WWE) and fantasy football, Matt and I will at least discuss that. We'll also throw in stuff like the MLB Playoffs and the NBA when their season begins. Eric will have coverage on all things soccer related, so if you're into that listen to us. We think we're a fun bunch and we want to make people laugh and we also just want to talk about things we love. The podcast is also produced by Main Studios with Tyler Main. None of this would have been possible without him so I would like to take this time to thank him. We don't really know what the feedback will be like but we really hope you enjoy the podcast and if you would like us to talk about anything specific, just let us know and we'll incorporate it into our agenda. Well, we hope you enjoy the first episode of Tribecast titled Tribe Takes the Podcast.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzCnhCElDmAxF_-oe8nvaQ

AP Top 25 Week #8

Before I being this, I would just like to thank the Big 12 expansion team for not reading my blog and deciding to not expand and stay at 10 teams. You guys missed out on a nice opportunity. Anyways, here's the Top 25 for week 8 of the college football season.

AP Top 25:

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Clemson
5. Washington
6. Texas A&M
7. Louisville
8. Nebraska
9. Baylor
10. Wisconsin
11. Houston
12. West Virginia
13. Florida State
14. Boise State
15. Florida
16. Oklahoma
17. Arkansas
18. Tennessee
19. Utah
20. Western Michigan
21. Auburn
22. North Carolina
23. Ole Miss
24. Navy
25. LSU

I'm only going to talk about the big moves for this little review. So Clemson dropped to #4 after being almost upset by NC State and Michigan moved up to #3, setting up a #2 vs #3 Ohio State-Michigan game (as long as both teams stay undefeated until the game) which most likely means the winner will end up in the playoff. Nebraska has moved up to #8, adding more competition to the Big 10. The next two major games they have are against #2 Ohio State and #8 Wisconsin so those should be good because they're all ranked in the top 10 (*insert running joke about Florida State-Louisville and other blowout games here*). West Virginia is at #12. The Big 12 championship will most likely be decided when West Virginia plays now #9 Baylor during the last week of the season. Boise State has quietly moved up to #14. Seems like they have total control of their conference but they have a non-conference game against BYU so let's see how that goes. Arkansas is at #17 after beating Ole Miss. I would say when they upset Ole Miss but I was expecting a win so it's just a normal win to me. The Razorbacks play #21 Auburn next so another win (please win...) is inevitable. TENNESSEE DROPPED TO #18. It's about time... Do I have to explain this? Western Michigan (there's the weekly mention) moved up to #20. I expect this team to lose to Toledo in the last week of the season so I'm enjoying this while it lasts. They should continue to slowly move up the rankings because their MAC opponents are bad and really add nothing to their résumé. North Carolina is back in the rankings at #22. I want to trust this team but after the Virginia Tech game it's hard. I'd say their next big challenge is against NC State during the last week of the season so it should be smooth sailing for the next couple weeks. Navy is at #24 despite not playing due to a postponement due to weather. I just like the fact they're still ranked. And to wrap up the Top 25 for this week, we have LSU at #25. It's not their year this year and I expect them to lose to #22 Ole Miss and become irrelevant again.

Well that was a nice note to end it on. That is the Top 25 for this week. I promise nothing for the rest of the week at the moment but we'll play it by ear for now. See ya whenever!

  

Saturday Review #6 (10/15/16)

As you can see, I make promises I can't keep sometimes. There was no Saturday Preview even though I said there would be previews but I like to do stuff with my life (I was watching How I Met Your Mother...). They might be every other week or just when I want to do them at this point, who knows. But anyways, Saturday happened, let's review it:

Game of the Week: #22 Arkansas vs #12 Ole Miss

If I did a preview, I would've picked Arkansas because I always do because they are good(ish). But this game looked pretty good and I'm pretty biased when it comes to Arkansas so that's kind of why it's the Game of the Week. But this game was close all around, with both teams going into halftime tied 20-20. Then it continued to go back and forth which made it a pretty great game (but Arkansas was in it so it was automatically a great game). Anyways, Ole Miss took the lead with 9 minutes left to go in the game off of a Chad Kelly 17 yard touchdown run to make the score 30-27. Austin Allen led the Rzorbacks on a comeback drive, capping it off with a 6 yard touchdown run by Jared Cornelius with 2:20 left in the game, making it 34-30. Then Arkansas's defense held on, making Chad Kelly fumble the ball with 1:40 left, securing the win for the Razorbacks. Ole Miss plays LSU next week while Arkansas plays #23 Auburn.

Team of the Week: Alabama Crimson Tide

They crushed Tennessee 49-10. Thank you Alabama.

"Sadder"-Day's Upset: Syracuse beats #17 Virginia Tech

So this happened for some reason. I couldn't tell you why honestly. Syracuse's football program is awful in the ACC and Virginia Tech crushed and upset North Carolina last week. But yes, Syracuse beat #17 Virginia Tech 31-17. I don't really know what to say about this game. I mean I was happy to see that Syracuse did something but I mean I didn't expect this at all. Let me just add it's their first win over a ranked opponent since 2012. Anyway, this game wasn't really close so allow me to talk about Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey. He threw for 311 yards with 1 touchdown and somehow managed to run for 106 yards with a touchdown. He's not much of an option quarterback so I find this very surprising. He would've been Player of the Week but I wanted to add Western Michigan into this (there was no Team Spotlight on them this week Zach, even though you said you would do it...) because it's my blog and I can do what I want. But yeah, congrats Syracuse.

Player of the Week: RB Jarvion Franklin (Western Michigan)

Oh look, Western Michigan is doing stuff (Did I mention they are ranked?). #24 Western Michgan beat Akron 41-0, yes, 41-0, all because of this fella right here, Jarvion Franklin. I never heard if him until now but he was setting (school) records while playing this game. He had 33 carries for 281 yards with a touchdown. So if you couldn't tell from the stats I just gave you, the 281 rushing yards are the school record. This kid ran all over Akron and it's nice to see 281 yards from a running back that's not in a video game. That's all I really have to say about this, but it's nice to know Western Michigan is ranked. Thanks Jarvion for rushing 281 yards so I could talk about Western Michigan. Also congrats for being my Player of the Week (huge honor, I know!).

Play of the Week: Florida State's Weird Hail Mary Before Halftime

How can I explain this play? So Florida State decided to do a hail mary pass before halftime and a lot of stuff happened. Long story short, they didn't get the touchdown. But it's still a nice hail mary. I couldn't find a video of just the play, so here are highlights from the game. The hail mary happens at the 52 second mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgd4mQJ2Mjk 

That wraps of this week's review. We learned I'm a liar who loves Arkansas, Tennessee got what was coming to them, Syracuse got their first and last win over a ranked opponent for the next 10 years, Western Michigan is still relevant, and Florida State is doing weird things this season. See ya at the Top 25 (I promise)!