Football Wrap Week 1A (Pac-12 Makes a BIG statement)

(Trying something new this year - separating the Football Wrap into College and Pros. An attempt to keep both shorter and more focused. We'll see how this lasts)

Oregon State QB Sean Mannion helped the Pac-12 make big noise Saturday leading the upset over Wisconsin.

The Pac-12 has taken a lot of heat the last 2-3 years. USC battled sanctions, UCLA’s been embarrassing. If not for Oregon (and Rob Gronkowski's rise), the Pac-12 has had some inconsistent teams as the Ducks have been carrying the conference.

Well two weeks in, the Pac-12 is taking names and making statements. No. 16 Nebraska? Down to UCLA. No. 13 Wisconsin? Done in by Oregon State? And Oklahoma State? The team that barely beat Stanford last year in a bowl game. Outgunned and outmanned by Arizona and new QB Matt Scott.

Big ups to Oregon State also shutting down Heisman candidate Montee Ball, his first game without a TD in 22 games. They beat Wisconsin at their own game - ugly, low scoring and physical.

Football Wrap: Playoffs, Bowls and Perspective

Let’s start with a bowl wrap first shall we?

Rose Bowl – Oregon finally gets over the hump and wins a BCS bowl game under Chip Kelly. The Black Mamba De’Anthony Thomas showed out at home with that insane 91-yard TD run and a cruise control 68-yard run (he slowed up like it was a track meet). Big ups to Darron Thomas and LaMichael James atoning for last year.

And count me as a fan of Oregon’s Chrome Dome uniforms. It makes college football cool when a team not just gets cool unis but also wins with them.

Washington State in the 98 Rose Bowl had 2 seconds to run one last play and it didn’t work. Makes me wonder why Wisconsin didn’t just do a quick play instead of spike it. A great season for Russell Wilson and Montee “Let’s Make a Deal” Ball otherwise.

OutBack Bowl – Michigan State has been in 2 of the most thrilling games this season. Great comeback and Capt. Kirk Cousins deserves to go down in MSU lore for that.

Fiesta Bowl – Andrew Luck and Justin Blackmon had excellent auditions for the NFL but a kicker didn’t deserve to decide this game. Blackmon amazed the mess out of me with his size, elusiveness, Luck ran a brilliant 2-minute offense that he should have finished had the coach let him .

Luck reminded me of John Elway’s last game. Elway led a brilliant last minute drive to give Stanford the lead. But unfortunately Cal’s special teams ran The Play. As for Blackmon, who declared for the draft in his postgame interview, he's going to make an impact as soon as he gets called on the NFL stage. What a marvel

As for OK State, I wish they would’ve had a shot against LSU. But there’s no shame in them having a spectacular season. They have a case to be ranked No. 2 depending on what happens next Monday.

Alamo Bowl – We watched the Present and the Future. Robert Griffin the Great and his tailbacks ran ragged over Washington in maybe his final game as he helped Baylor have their best football season in ages. But Keith Price of Washington had a magical day. 7 total TD’s for the former Bellflower St. John Bosco product. 

That might have been one of the most exciting bowl games I've seen. You literally had to stay tuned otherwise you'd miss the next score because no lead was safe. By the way, this is your Pac-12 QB watch next year:

Matt Barkley (USC), Darron Thomas (Oregon), Keith Price, Matt Scott (former All-State dual-threat QB here in CA now at Arizona under Rich Rodriguez). That's a deadly 4 pack, not to mention Jordan Wynn at Utah.

I have to agree with ESPN’s Gene Wojo who tweeted his frustration about college kickers being frequently put into the role to win games. Having a money kicker is extremely important and with all the specialization going into HS kickers these days, there’s no excuse for college coaches not to offer scholarships.

There’s also no excuse why in this era of spread offenses, coaches don’t take more chances to score in the end zone instead of play for the field goal.  Especially if your quarterback is elite or on a roll.

While kickers have an easy job, coaches have a job to make it easy for them instead of arrogantly forcing them to atone for mistakes. To quote Gene Hackman in The Replacements, winners want the ball and before you give the kicker a chance, give your regular offense a chance to finish what they started if they have time.

NFL Tidbits.

Matt Flynn huh? Outdueling the Lions off the bench with the greatest day in Packers QB history huh? Shout out to the Lions possibly hurting Aaron Rodgers' MVP chances, their playoff mojo and the rep that the SEC typically produces crappy QB's.

Tampa Bay ends the year losing 10 straight.  Raheem Morris went from great coach to out of a job. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (c) Gang Starr

Scariest injury news? Ryan Clark of Pittsburgh sitting out next week’s playoff game due to a sickle cell condition. Props to Mike Tomlin doing the right thing.

Another year, both my Cowboys and Chargers are out of the playoffs and nobody to blame but themselves. The Chargers shot themselves in the foot too early and too late and the Cowboys did the same. And there’s no sign of things potentially changing in 2012 now that Norv Turner will be back as Chargers head coach and Jerry Jones is still the GM.

Pardon me while I go barf in the corner. You are what your record shows and being 8-8 says the Chargers are average despite having above average parts. The Cowboys are slightly above average but can’t be a guarantee to win big games (they have before but aren’t consistent).

Congrats to Cam Newton having the greatest NFL rookie season I’ve seen since Edgerrin James. Has anybody had a better 2-year run short of winning an professional championship? JUCO Nat’l Title, NCAA Nat’l Title, Dominated as a rookie QB in record fashion.

Killin em with a smile the way I remember another rookie doing throughout his "Magic"al career 

I don’t know which offense is scarier – Green Bay, New England or New Orleans. Since I said let’s discuss the playoffs.

Denver v. Pittsburgh. Tim Tebow backs into the playoffs and will promptly be thrown out by the wolves of Steel Town. I can’t wait!! Virgo Gumbo Pick: Pittsburgh

Detroit vs. New Orleans – As great as NO is, do NOT be surprised if Detroit opens up a shocking can because Detroit’s offense can go off in an instant. Calvin Johnson remains a difficult matchup and the Saints are still smarting from Seattle running on them. Yet if Matt Flynn destroyed Detroit, what will Brees do? VG Pick: Saints

Cincinnati vs. Houston – The surprises of the season. The patchwork Texans battling injury to reach the playoffs while Andy Dalton attempts to do his Joe Flacco/Mark Sanchez impersonation. Carson Palmer, meanwhile, has to enjoy this karma at home. VG Pick: Houston

Atlanta vs. New York – You never know which Giants team will show up. The team that beat Dallas and New England and stared Green Bay in the face or the team that sputtered down the stretch. Atlanta on the road is far more overrated despite Matt Ryan and that offense. VG Pick: Giants

Drew Brees and Tom Brady both shattered Dan Marino’s record of 5,084 yards (while Maurice Jones Drew quietly won the NFL rushing title and Rob Gronkowski destroyed several TE records.). It’s impressive once you keep it in context. Marino and Elway slung that rock in an era dominated by running backs and smaller wideouts. Brees and Brady have dominated a more pass-happy era and have excelled at their craft.

Consider this though. 10 QB’s passed for over 4,000 yards. In 1996, only 3 QB’s passed for over 4,000 yards. 10 years ago (2001 season, 02 playoffs), only 2 QB’s did it – including Kurt Warner with an insane 4,830 yards. Times have changed so you can appreciate the now while acknowledging how much more special it was in the past.

If I had to vote for MVP, give it to Aaron Rodgers. The quietest 15-1 season I’ve ever seen and remarkably efficient. His defining moment is either his 6 TD game (4 passing, 2 rushing) or his 1-minute drill against the NY Giants to win the game. 

Football Wrap Week 10: Return of the Wrap (and the Ducky Boys/Boise State Blues)

Took a week off from the Wrap due to the Penn State scandal and processing all the information. Everything else felt trivial and even though I had a wrap ready to go, I scrapped it. Starting fresh this week.

Raise your hands if you expected to see Oregon back in the BCS picture. Okay, maybe they weren’t totally dead but I wasn’t exactly ready to ride for them after LSU became the second SEC team to beat them in a calendar year.

But here we are, a month later and guess who’s back? The Ducky Boys after steamrolling Stanford on the road just like they did last year. Back up to No. 4 in the BCS and suddenly the Rose Bowl isn’t the only thing in their picture. I crowned them that nickname last year after they mauled Stanford so I'm bringing it back.

I’m surprised but I shouldn’t be. I should’ve remembered 2 years ago when Oregon lost to Boise State in their season opener and still wound up in the Rose Bowl. Their strength is getting better as the season goes on and wearing down teams with their speed as their offense clicks into gear. The Pac-10 hasn’t been able to stop them and it’s to their credit that they aren’t afraid to play anybody.

Oregon hosts USC, ranked No. 18 but somehow not in the BCS Top 25 and their Civil War game with Oregon State. Then there’s the Pac-12 title game vs. Arizona State or UCLA. Arizona State just lost to Washington State so there’s a good chance they could lose to Arizona or Cal. Meanwhile, my Bruins only have to win one to get into the Pac-12 game, which I still can’t fathom.

Anyways, Oregon could face SC, Oregon State or UCLA. Not a strong schedule. Let’s compare to Alabama and Oklahoma State.

OK State’s schedule = Iowa State, home vs. Oklahoma minus Ryan Broyles and a couple others. Blast you, Big 12 for no title game. Cowboys could win out without a problem.

Alabama’s schedule = Georgia Southern and the Iron Bowl with Auburn.  Alabama’s hungry to avenge last year’s Iron Bowl so I like their chances to win out a bit more than OK State.

Of course, the trap could be if Oklahoma wins and leapfrogs everybody. Not to mention if LSU somehow finds a way to lose to Arkansas, which I doubt. But I’m playing it safe and just assuming LSU is straight while 2-4 could be shaken up.

I’m not opposed to rematch games because if a team loses early, they should be able to get another crack at the title. And if the 2 best teams already faced each other, let’s do it again like Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Yet my problem is if a team loses in the final month yet somehow leapfrogs teams who win out, even if the game was pretty even.

So Oregon has a tough road back still but it’s not entirely impossible. Now all they need to do is actually win a BCS Bowl Game since Ohio State and Auburn got em....

Quick NCAA Tidbits

1. Boise State – Barely an hour or so after Georgia helped their cause with a win, the Broncos saw déjà vu. Dan Goodale, meet Kyle Brotzman, he’ll be escorting you to your new home in Witness Protection. (To be fair, Boise State’s been shaky all year and I could see where Kellen Moore missed having some help at WR)

Speaking of Deja Vu, I had dang near the same pic of K. Moore on the blog last year after the loss.

2. Kansas State sure loves drama – last week vs. OSU and this week, 4 OT vs. A&M. At least they won this time.

3. Robert Griffin The Great strikes again – a 4^th quarter, 21-point comeback. Not bad for the Baylor legend.

Virgo’s Top 10: 1) LSU, 2) Oklahoma State, 3) Oregon 4) Alabama, 5) Arkansas, 6) Oklahoma, 7) Clemson 8) Stanford, 9) Virginia Tech, 10) Houston

NFL Top 5

1. It can be the Super Bowl, it can be regular season but to paraphrase Chris Berman, nobody….circles the Buffalo Bills like the Dallas Cowboys. How’d that Beat Em Down taste!!!! Only thing Buffalo did right was Nelson giving his touchdown ball to his girlfriend, a Cowboys cheerleader. Dallas stayed winning on and off the field.

Don Juan DeMarco almost looks a lil like Emmitt Smith right here. 

2. San Francisco had their national test and passed it. They stopped Eli Manning on a 4^th quarter drive. One more reason why I have faith in them and Jim Harbaugh is your Coach of the Year. (Speaking of surprises, anybody notice Buffalo and Detroit are coming back to Earth hard?)

3. So what’s more shocking: Kansas City couldn’t beat a Denver team that threw only 8 passes? Or Baltimore airing it out and only letting Ray Rice rush 5 times. Embarrassing and stupid and before you cue the Tim Tebow praise, read Kordell Stewart airing out some truth. 

4. Tom Brady can’t beat Mark Sanchez in the postseason but he can definitely embarrass him in the regular season. But is Rob Gronkowski about to be the NFL’s best tight end now? He’s definitely Top 3 at this point.

5. As somebody pointed out, we haven’t had too many great nationally televised games since that New Orleans-Green Bay opener. Mainly I think because there aren’t more than 6 great teams. Green Bay, San Francisco, New England, Houston, Chicago and New Orleans and maybe Pittsburgh at 7.

If you can tell me the 3^rd best team in the AFC with a straight face, go ahead. Houston’s a sleeper cause they have the best 1-2 RB combo in the league. But everyone else is potentially shaky. The NFC’s definitely top heavy but shaky as well.

I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the lockout and of course it does. There’s enough evidence to see that certain teams aren’t sharp and the best teams just happen to be able to mask it better than most. Let’s call it lockout parity – parity created by lack of practice and conditioning. We’ll see what happens after a month from now.

Finally some closing words on Penn State, after which I will say no more on here until recapping it in my Year in Review. I was burned out on the coverage because I’ve been discussing this for over a week while some have been on it since Tuesday. But as the details unfolded and things happened, I realized something.

The ultimate danger in this story is that when a brand or entity becomes important, protecting it at all costs trumps common sense. This applies to celebrities as well as sports and we had a failure here of administrative levels only comparable to the SMU pay-for-play scandal and still worse.

For once, a major sports scandal has nothing to do with players and I hope they and the student body persevere yet realize they can be great by rallying around each other and the victims. They can be great by stepping up where older adults did not and I in turn will not judge the whole body by a few idiots who I know litter every college campus.

Joe Paterno’s legacy takes a huge hit yet I won’t demonize him nor have I. He has to live with what he didn’t do enough of for 9 years. Same with Mike McQueary, who will probably be resigning at some point under pressure. Living with guilt sometimes is just as bad as anything criminal, ask Arthur Dimmesdale from my favorite novel.

I’ve been extra sensitive being around my kids lately at Sylvan and church. I look out for them even more now because should something happen to them, I’d risk my career to save them or never forgive myself.

One can hope that the victims of this tragedy will find some closure in Jerry Sandusky’s eventual conviction. One can hope that like Barack Obama said, we all do some soul searching, As more information comes out, I also hope we continue to see good, thorough reporting to make sure something well fleshed out for the record.

Football Wrap Week 7 - Part 1 (MSU/Wisconsin: Virgo's Top 10)

Michigan State!!!!! 2^nd year in a row they’ve given us a Play of the Year candidate and what a play it was. Hail Mary to beat No. 6 Wisconsin after trailing 14-0 in the first game. I gave up on them and then all a sudden, they just dominated the Badgers over the next two quarters.

I swore Michigan State had that game won after a late interception. But Russell Wilson wouldn’t let his team lose. Big ups to him and his late game heroics to lead Wisconsin to two late TD’s but bigger ups to Kirk Cousins for that last drive and Drew Nichol for that Hail Mary grab.

Best Game of the Year Hands. Down!!!!

1. Notre Dame on the USC 1-yard line. Seems like they were gonna tie the game. But Irish eyes weren’t smiling on Dayne Crist, who fumbled the snap and then had to watch USC return it 80 yards.

After that happened, why on Earth did Notre Dame try to get cute on a backward lateral? That failed and led to another USC score. And you wonder why the Irish have been irrelevant since Brady Quinn was behind center in my college days.

2. Nightmare in Norman! Oklahoma’s mood went from  blowout to comeback to heartbreak hotel . I can’t believe they played such a terrible first half. I can’t believe their kicker missed 2 easy gimmies that would’ve won the game. And all in front of their home fans to a team named a 20-point underdog.

Shout out to Oklahoma’s secondary letting their team down. Now Sooner fans know what USC fans felt like. And did I really say the Big 12 was the best conference in America this year? Yeah, about that.

3. Hate to say it but if Boise State gets screwed out of a major bowl game, it’ll be because they aren’t as great as they were the last two years. Struggling at home against a decent Air Force squad is something they wouldn’t have done before.

4. Ho-hum. Stanford and Oregon dominate again.  It’s their world, the rest of the Pac-12 is just living in it. All that matters is their showdown on Nov. 12.

5. Alabama had me scared for a half, tied with Tennessee at halftime. But they remembered they were Alabama and Tennessee was singing the Rocky Top Blues. Nov. 5 is set. Bama vs. LSU (who made me a prophet smoking Auburn like that stuff Spencer Wade and Honey Badger were on).

Virgo’s Top 10: LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Boise State, Stanford, Clemson, Arkansas, Oregon, Kansas State, Michigan State. 

I drop Oklahoma because they were upset by a unranked team at home. Boise State struggled at home but they still won. Stanford is still the best team nobody is talking about and made mincemeat of a good Washington squad.  Clemson is still overrated!! 

There I said it. It's getting harder and harder to discredit them, esp. with Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins. But they'll get theirs.


Top 5 for This Weekend (AKA Killing Time til Next Weekend's SEC Showdown)

1. USC-Stanford: Two years since the infamous beatdown at the Coliseum, both teams meet again. Now we can see why it's foolish to put Matt Barkley in the same league as Andrew Luck.

2. Baylor-Oklahoma State: We kinda forgot about Robert Griffin a lil bit after Baylor lost a few games. Time for him to remind folks against the No. 3 Cowboys as they remind us they could be in the BCS Title Game

3. Oklahoma-Kansas State: OK wants revenge after last week, Kansas State needs respect for the 1st time since the Michael Bishop days. This should be great.

4. Michigan State-Nebraska: Sparty's feeling themselves a bit so let's see how they respond chasing around Taylor Martinez. It's no longer a stretch to say Martinez is not only the most surprising All-State player from Cali doing well in college, he's on his way to being Eric Crouch Part. 2

5. Arizona-Washington: Might be a great underrated Pac-10 game. Nic Foles vs. the Pac-10's best new QB Keith Price. Over/under 60 points combined

Football Wrap Week 6: Ch-Ch-Changes

I'm trying something new this week. I'm going to recap my 5 favorite moments from the NFL and college football in my usual style but also preview 5 things to watch this weekend. That way I can do a little more on here in looking back and forward.

NFL Fab 5

1. Jim Harbaugh - same guy as he was at my alma mater. Passionate, fiery and a winner. Was it excessive? Yes and Jim Schwartz had a right to be upset. But at the same time, it's his style, not a desire to show up.

Speaking of which, it's officially the 90's all over again. The Bills, Raiders, 49ers and Lions are not just good, they are relevant. Yes, I promise this will be discussed more in depth one week. I'm just waiting to see how they develop.

2. Tom Brady vs. My Cowboys. Another comeback win despite him being held in check. It's what he does best. Tony Romo played great but extra credit to our defense playing well most of the game. I didn't like that gutless call going for field goals instead of TD's on the road though.

3. So the Andrew Luck sweepstakes will be between Indianapolis and Miami. They find new ways to lose every week but I think Miami goes 0-16 before Indy. Indy's been fighting close every week since they almost beat the Steelers. Miami just looks like dead fish.

4. Sad to say this. We've seen the end of Donovan McNabb as a starting QB. He was screwed in Washington and tossed out of Philly with no respect. But right now, his talent isn't there anymore. Welcome to the Christian Ponder era.

5. Andy Dalton has a 4-2 record starting for Cincy. But if you dare try to convince me that he's a better QB than Cam Newton, I'll laugh you out of my face. Cincy's D >>>> Carolina's D. Otherwise, Killa's having a better individual season.

NCAA Top 5



1. Trent Richardson. DANG! Best run of the football season. It's one thing to embarrass your opponent by running all over them with 4 TDs but on this 76-yard run, he added insult to injury. THIS is how you make somebody look foolish like playing Madden vs. a child.

2. No LaMichael James? No Darron Thomas for a quarter and a half? No problem for Oregon. Backup QB Bryan Bennett once won a pivotal game as a HS sophomore coming off the bench in Cali and Kenjon Barner/DeAnthony Thomas did what they do best. Oh yeah, nice cameo return by Baby T.I. Cliff Harris.

Your Pac-10 Freshman of the Year race is gonna be between the Black Mamba (Thomas) and Marqise Lee (USC). And who says Cali isn't producing top notch talent anymore.

3. I will not believe in Clemson. I will not believe in Clemson. Sammy Watkins had a grown man day but I will not believe in Clemson. If I keep repeating this, it will make their eventual collapse easier to gloat over. They can't really be this good can they? That comeback win didn't look pretty and gritty did it?

4. The BCS came out this week. No surprises there. It shows up like Kramer so I just roll my eyes and tolerate it for one more year.

5. That said, Boise State's gonna be screwed once again. It'll be the LSU-Bama winner vs. the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State winner unless something happens in the Big 12/SEC title game.

This week's Fab 5 (NFL)

1. Chargers face LaDainian Tomlinson for the first time since he left in free agency. It's not a big deal cause it's  in New York but as I came of age, nobody meant more to San Diego than LT. Yet it's rare than anybody leaves San Diego on good terms.

2. Remember when Packers-Vikings used to be that rivalry game? Yeah, not anymore. Packers go 7-0 easily.

3. Suddenly LSU-Auburn became even more must-see TV. No Spencer Ware or Honey Badger Tyronn Mathieu thanks to a suspension. It's must see TV because I want to see how LSU still finds a way to stomp Auburn. Michael Dyer isn't gonna go off because that LSU D-line is still intact.

4. Wisconsin-Michigan State. 1st off, how in the heck did Wisconsin not play a road game so far? 2nd, we're about to see how good the Badgers are because if they beat Michigan State, they might as well order up tickets to come to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl

5. I'm praying my UCLA Bruins don't get blown out in Arizona on national TV Thursday. And by praying I mean hoping we lose by 20 and keep it respectable against the 2nd best QB in the Pac-10, Nic Foles (You thought I was gonna say Matt Barkley? C'mon son).

And if it matters to fantasy heads, I'm 5-1 in both of my leagues. Bow down.

Football Wrap Week 0 (Pac-12 Blues, Robert Griffin's the Truth and Laughing at Notre Dame)

Football is back!!! Rejoice and get ready for a month of easy walkover games with a few good ones mixed in there. NFL comes back next Sunday so let's dive head first into the return of college football.

Baylor's Robert Griffin’s the truth (350+ passing yards, 5 TD's) but boy, is he going to suffer from Shoelace Robinson syndrome. Great individual help but his numbers will come due to poor defense holding him back. It's a shame because he showed why he'll be everyone's under-the-radar Heisman candidate.

Speaking of which, Russell Wilson looked sharp for Wisconsin. The Big 10 is going to be pretty tough if Wisconsin builds off last year's hype and Wilson played pretty good.

Oregon looks like they’re not sharp. Turnovers crippled them and I felt bad for DeAnthony Thomas. He hasn't struggled like that since his sophomore year in HS in 2008 and he's going to learn from those two fumbles. But him aside, Darron Thomas didn't look crisp and if they're going to rely heavily on LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner, they're going to struggle. I praised their defense last year but minus Cliff Harris, they looked average now.

LSU, however, got great offensive line play. They won SEC style with power running, speed and defense. Jared Lee played the same role that Mark Sanchez plays with the Jets. Game management, no mistakes, hand the ball off. They’re better than I thought and if Jefferson comes back, Les Miles and Co. will be good position in the conference (although I still Alabama and South Carolina are the leads)/

USC’s Robert Woods: 17 receptions (school record), 177 yards and 3 TD’s. Wearing his old HS number 2.  One step closer to proving he’s the best wide receiver in the country. And USC’s defense is still far from great so he might be putting up even bigger numbers.

Utah and Spergon Wynn will have a field day against them next week. Expect a shootout for the Utes in their Pac-12 opener but Matt Barkley (school record 34 completions) looked like he is indeed going out with a bang, if he’s gone.

My UCLA Bruins nearly came back from a shootout with Case Keenum (310 yards and 2 TD’s) and Houston. They actually outgained the Cougars by 85 yards and it looks like they’re going to use tight end Joseph Fauria (110 yards, 6 receptions and a TD) a bit more. But they're still the same old Bruins for now.

Richard Brehaut made his best case why he should be the starter while Kevin “The Golden” Prince got knocked out with a concussion. I don’t need any more proof. Brehaut should be starting after going 17-for-26, 264 yards, 2 TD’s.

As for that Bruin defense, they played better in the 2^nd half. Still shaky in my opinion but they’ll get a nice confidence boost against San Jose State next week.

That said, it wasn't a great day for the Pac-12 overall. Oregon State losing to Sacramento State just makes it worse and with this talk of expanding the conference to a Pac-16, it's even more disheartening (that's another story for another day).

Auburn made miracles happen in the final 2 minutes. Great on-side kick, great plays, and Michael Dyer/Onterrio Caleb are great tailbacks. But big ups to Utah State putting the fear of God in them at home behind a true freshman QB in Chuckie Keeton. Them boys are gonna miss Cam Newton/Nick Fairley bad.

Boise State to everyone in Division I-A: You don’t wanna come to our house? We’ll come to yours and put a beat em down on you! Georgia – you’re the next victim on that Broncos list. As overrated as they are, Georgia was no match for Boise State who made a statement for BCS respect.

That boy Kellen Moore’s pretty good huh?

Notre Dame lost in South Bend to USF? Hahahahahahahaha. Nothing is sweeter than seeing the Irish and their hype get stomped for all to see. Who ranked them so high with a new QB and nothing to back it up? 

To all the Top 25 teams that won easy against easy competition, I have one word. Yawwwwwwn. Landry Jones, Andrew Luck and Taylor Martinez looked good but let’s not fire up the Heisman talk til October okay?

Football Wrap Week 13 - Oregon/Auburn 1st Look and the NFL wrap

January 10. Get thee to a TV! You have been warned. Oregon-Auburn has the makings of a classic football game and I can't imagine a better game to enjoy.

Both teams handled biz Saturday with the Ducky Boys running wild on their rival Oregon State and Killa Cam Newton having his final stamp on an amazing season in the SEC title game. Shout out to Newton earning style points for that Hail Mary to end the 1st half and offering CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson some of that Cammy Cam Juice. Now if only that was ESPN cutie Jenn Brown...

I've been waiting for this game all year. I'm hyped! The Ducky Boys get to prove how deadly they are to a national audience who thinks they're some gimmick that the Pac-10 couldn't slow down. Let me tell y'all something - Oregon is like a tank on steroids. Speed, speed and more speed. They don't slow down, they slow you down trying to keep up.

The three-headed monster of Heisman finalist LaMichael James (led nation in rushing), Kenjon Barner (above) and Darron Thomas is nearly impossible to stop. Jeff Maehl is as sure a tight end as anybody in the country. And Oregon's defense? Far better than people think and definitely better than Auburn's.

Auburn? They got a beast in D-lineman in Nick Fairley. They got some uber great running backs. And some guy who's probably going to win the Heisman in the biggest landslide since Reggie Bush. Get your TV's ready for a classic.

E-TV Prediction: Oregon wins this by 15-20. It all comes down to ball control and if Oregon has a lead, this game will be in deep trouble. Auburn typically makes a great defensive stand in the 2nd half to turn the tide but I don't see them doing it against the Ducky Boys, who won't fold like Alabama did.

Other college FB hits

(Sigh...this pic says it all)

- USC/UCLA is still a big deal but the rivalry is about as one-sided as it used to be in the 90's. As much I root for UCLA tailback Johnathan Franklin, he fumbles as much as he makes big plays. It's sad that the stupid brawl outside the game seemed more exciting than the game itself. Hope that game never gets televised at 730 again. As a UCLA fan, if we can't beat the most suspect USC team in a decade, it's a long road back to glory, whatever that may be.

- Arkansas vs. Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl (Yaaaaaaaawn), TCU vs. Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl instead TCU vs. Stanford sucks. Virginia Tech vs. Stanford in the Orange Bowl sounds like the best of the BCS bunch. UConn vs. Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl (Smh)

- In case we forgot about Shoelace Robinson, 3rd in rushing yards this season with 14 TD. 2,316 passing yards. There's your Heisman favorite next year along with LaMichael James.

NFL POINTS

I don't know how to feel about Dallas anymore. Jason Garrett is a Roy Williams fumble away from being 4-0 and we've taken advantage of the worst slump of Peyton Manning's career. Yet something about this team just perplexes me.

I've talked with my buddy Shane about the state of the team. I may have to finally accept that seeing Jon Kitna run this team pretty well makes me think that its time for a drastic change to rebuild this team.

Marion Barber's done as a tailback. Felix Jones is spectacular but he's like Darren Sproles - can't use him as the main tailback. Tashard Choice had 100+ rushing yards and it looks like he's got a brighter future. I've told folks that drafting a QB in the late rounds this year is an option but it looks like a necessity because I think Tony Romo gets 1 good year to see what he can do with a better coach.

It's clear though that this team should be much better now and down the road. But watching them now feels like I'm watching a warrior play with pride and I like it, yet that warrior took a furious beating early on.

- Phillip Rivers lost his first December game. Not as much as the Chargers defense couldn't rise up to get revenge against Oakland. They made Jason Campbell look like he was back in Auburn running the ball and guiding that strong ground game. Hate to say it, the Raiders are finally good again and SD's gotta beat KC this weekend to stay in the playoff hunt.

- Matty Ice and the ATL Falcons get no respect. 10-2 and having beaten the Packers and the NFC sleeper in Tampa Bay. Not sure what to make of them but anybody who's sleeping on them is in for a rude awakening.

- Have you ever seen Peyton Manning play this bad? There's a cat on Twitter who thinks this is the end of the road for him. C'mon now, he's throwing to Reggie Wayne, an inconsistent Pierre Garcon and a bunch of backups. You'd suffer too. He deserves his share of the blame but let's get real.

- Glad nobody's talking up big Ben as an MVP candidate with how well his team has played. Good. I refuse to accept any MVP talk for a man who skated on his crimes not too long ago. He's played well but treat him like a pariah just like we did for anybody else.

Football Wrap Week 12 - Boise State Blues, Cam's Revenge, TCU Love

Nothing like a lil shake up to see things more clearly. Except Kyle Brotzman might still be the loneliest man in America outside of Buffalo Bills WR Stevie Johnson and Boise State feels like the rebel who got dethroned.

Black Friday provided one of the best days in college football in recent memory. Probably the best since 1998 when UCLA and Kansas State lost in the final minute to shake up the first BCS poll and put Florida State in the title game with Tennessee.

Auburn was down 24-0. I left home thinking Auburn would wake up at some point. Came back to them 24-14. Then Cam Newton took over and showed that leadership that'll earn him that Heisman in a few weeks. Biggest comeback vs. Bama ever. 28-27 and Killa Cam all but sewed up that trophy.

(Sidenote: I'd love to be a NFL GM and have to decide between Andrew Luck or Cam Newton. Love both of their styles, their pocket presence and mobility. Luck will probably get more "Golden Boy" love but Cam got a combo of Vince Young's gifts with Donovan McNabb's head)

Oregon was down to Arizona late and then the Ducky Boys exploded as usual. Like I've said, both Auburn and Oregon have defenses that can flip on a switch better than anybody else and go into shutdown mode to give their offense a chance to move.

Then there's Boise State. Y'all remember that Fiesta Bowl where Boise won on miracle plays? Their game vs. Nevada was karma coming back. After one of the best passes of the season from Kellen Moore to Titus Young to set up a chip shot game winner, Kyle Brotzman shanked it. Brotzman proceeded to out-do himself by missing another gimmie a few minutes later in OT.

Nevada wins. Boise sees their BCS dream go bye bye. Somebody go comfort Kellen Moore and the Broncos.

Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State all won so the Badgers are headed to a BCS bowl. Throw in Stanford's and TCU's dual demolition and we got a clear-cut BCS ranking.

What does that mean for this weekend? TCU has to root for Oregon State and South Carolina to upset the Ducky Boys and Cam's Crew to have any chance of the national title. Stanford QB Andrew Luck needs to root for South Carolina to make Cam look average in defeat so he can earn some Heisman love.

Guess all the Boise St. haters got their wish as Ohio State president Gordon Gee looks vindicated for being an elitist. Good ole America squeezing out the little guy - capitalists everywhere rejoice while us workers continue to scream for a playoff.

It's unfair that Boise State loses to a Top 20 team on the road in OT and tumbles out of the BCS top 10. People couldn't wait to say Boise was finally overrated yet they won't penalize another team that harshly who does the same thing.

I hope TCU wins just to make them crash the party and play a worthy opponent. I'll be watching this weekend to see how this all shakes down. It always come out clear even if it's not perfect but I'll never use this as an excuse to justify a flawed system.

Football Wrap Week 11: Bengals' Blues, Josh Freeman and the Iron Bowl

No lead story this week. Just quick hits since I was distracted by my choir's concert on Sunday. Let's start with the NFL and the new laughingstock of the league

- You're up 35-14 at halftime. At home. You're supposed to win. Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati D are the GOAT's of the year for not only losing that lead but giving up 35 UNANSWERED POINTS to Buffalo. Oh yeah, Terrell Owens isn't to blame for that.

He's having a great season and he's been giving his all in every game. I blame Carson looking like an average QB and their defense being terrible before I blame TO or OchoCinco.

- Peyton Manning can only do so much with a patchwork group of RB's and WR's - nevertheless, Brady won that game. I almost feel bad for PM but I'm impressed with how he manages to stay close in every game. Do y'all realize how many careers he's helped? Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark, Brandon Stokley...

- I haven't talked much about Josh Freeman or Tampa Bay's 7-3 record. If there's a Pro Bowl caliber more under the radar than him, I want their name pronto. I may be biased because he's starting above my fellow USD alum Josh Johnson but game recognizes game and Freeman's showing leadership/decision-making and a knack for winning.

- Vince Young needs counseling. He needs somebody who'll keep him in check. Physically he's a great QB but he's reminding me of where Michael Vick used to be. A great arm, great feet, but mentally he's soft. I root for him to get it together because he's still one of the best QB/athletes I've ever seen.

Long story short, Titans owner Bud Adams needs to release him and let him get a fresh start. It's not your fault, it's best for both of y'all in the long run.

- Dallas won two games in a row? STOP THE PRESSES. My 'Boys finally got some pride in them! And San Diego won too? Fire up some bottle rockets and let's celebrate this glorious moment of both my teams winning.

NCAA Preview

The Iron Bowl on Friday is the biggest college football game of the season. It's bigger than just Alabama-Auburn and their great rivalry because there's more at stake. If Alabama wins this, all heck will break loose in the BCS.

If Bama wins, TCU or Boise State would rejoice because they're going into the title game. Auburn still has to win this game and beat South Carolina again on a neutral site for the SEC title. Oregon's gotta be rooting for Auburn because they don't want to see Boise State again after last year.

Speaking of the Ducky Boys, they got Arizona Friday night. Oregon hasn't been slowed down and I don't think Arizona's got the horses to do it. But will it be a great game? You bet. The Ducky Boys have been tested by Cal and Arizona knows they have a better QB who can test that defense.

But this game is one more test before the ultimate test. The Civil War with Oregon State next week - that weekend deserves its own crazy blog but we can't go there yet til this one is done.

Saturday's crazy action keeps coming with Ohio State-Michigan. Michigan State needs to root for Michigan to win because should there be a 3-way tie for the Big 10, they'd be screwed because the tie is broken by BS (i mean BCS) standings.

The Spartans beat Wisconsin and by some bad scheduling, don't get to play Ohio State. They need to hope that Terrelle Pryor doesn't decide to end his rivalry with Michigan with a bang.

(Even madder than Sparty if Ohio State wins? Iowa, who not only beat Michigan State but lost to Ohio State and Wisconsin by only 4 points. These. Are. The Breaks.)

My predictions? Auburn wins the Iron Bowl by 9 or less. Ohio State wins by 14 and Shoelace Robinson has to miss part of the 2nd half again. Oregon beats Arizona by 15.

Oh yeah, went 3-1 in fantasy this week. Still alive in the playoffs for 3 of my teams with winning records. But it's time to wonder how I'm gonna survive without Hakeem Nicks for 3 weeks.

Football Wrap Week 6 Part 1 (BCS spells BS)

This is a screwy football season. There's no words to say it better and our favorite 3-letter curse word makes it annual trip.

With Ohio State eating the dust in Wisconsin, Oregon is by far the No. 1 team in the country but according the 1st week of the BCS poll, they're No. 2 behind Oklahoma. What's worse? Only one of the computers ranking the system has the Ducky Boys higher than No. 7-11.

The BCS also uses the Harris Poll and the coaches poll, which both have Oregon ranked No. 1. I just want to know what sane college writer would dare name 6-10 teams better than Oregon and then tell me how a computer could figure that out.

I already laid out my argument a few weeks ago on how balanced they are. Their lack of defense should be addressed by how they shut down Stanford and QB Andrew Luck for 3 quarters. As I tweeted Sunday, in what world is that possible?

A world where the BCS is not allowed to use the Associated Press poll, a decision that AP made in 2004 because they felt it violated their integrity to be impartial. Guess they saw the future like the rest of us.

Back to the poll - all eyes will be on Boise State to see how close they remain to the Top 2 as well as TCU. Of course, Boise is ranked No. 2 in the AP and coaches poll but that didn't help them from being No. 3 in the BCS. Both teams need Oregon State to do well to help their cause although losing to Washington didn't help.

The BCS #1 is Oklahoma, who should roll through a weak Big 12 although their final match with Nebraska will have big implications for their future. I don't know how good the Sooners really are except I saw them blast a overrated Texas team. I don't see how this team is better is Oregon but the BCS loves some Bob Stoops so maybe that's why? (Realistically, I blame anti-West Coast bias).

Michigan State is my surprise team of the year (week?). If they keep rolling, we'll blame Big 10 schedule makers for keeping us from seeing them and Ohio State. They've already beaten Wisconsin and Michigan and should they beat Iowa in 2 weeks, there's no reason they aren't coming to Pasadena.

There's a 3-team SEC logjam that's gonna be fun watching unravel starting this weekend with LSU vs. Auburn. I'm on the Auburn bandwagon after seeing their offense Saturday and Cam Netwon showed me why he'll be on the Heisman radar. LSU is a shaky undefeated team that hasn't been tested and we'll how good they are facing Auburn and Alabama in the next two weeks. But my gut says Auburn wins and we wait for the Iron Bowl vs. Alabama on Nov. 26.

7 weeks to go. The college football season starts in earnest now. Parting gifts for Denard Robinson and Taylor Martinez being the darlings of the college football season - there's always next year fellas when y'all battle in the new Big 10.

Football Wrap Week 4: Ducky Boys, Donovan's Revenge, and Sweet Fantasy

"You've never known fear until you've seen ducky boys"

Don't look now but the hottest team in America lies in Eugene. If anyone doubted the Ducks minus Jeremiah Masoli would do anything but win the Pac-10, Saturday should've put them to rest.

Stanford had em up 21-3 in the FIRST quarter. Andrew Luck was auditioning for the NFL as Brent Musberger named him the best college QB he's seen since Peyton Manning. TD pass here, TD run there, he made it look easy.

Somehow, that clicked on a switch and the Ducks just exploded. Drop a 49-pound atom bomb of offense that sent Stanford back to the woodshed. Forget replacing Masoli, they just found the next Dennis Dixon in Darron Thomas (355 total yards, 4 total TD's).

I don't see anybody slowing down this offense. If Thomas isn't throwing and running around like a maniac, he's handing it off to phenom LaMichael James (above, only averaging 8 yards a carry) or Kenjon Barner. They look just as lethal as they with Dixon or Masoli. And in case we all forgot, they shut out the Cardinal in the 2nd half.

Forget winning the Pac-10, if Ohio State loses to Michigan or if by some reason Boise State isn't worthy to be No. 2, Alabama will find out what the Pac-10's gonna see this year. Fear the Ducky Boys.

- Shoelace Robinson nearly put up 500 yards again? But the best part of the last game was that GW drive. That's where you go from an unstoppable video game character to a QB threat. That's how you grow up in 60 minutes - and if Michigan's D ever gets better, the Heisman will be his a landslide

- On that note. Michigan-Ohio State for the Rose Bowl, the Heisman and the national title game???

- I knew Alabama would smoke Florida but I didn't know they'd have BBQ gators by halftime. No. 1 until proven otherwise.

- Deja vu all over again for USC losing a last second kick to UW. Local connects Nick Folk (above with the dagger Pt. 2), Steve Sarkisian and D-coordinator Nick Holt haunt the Trojan program and once Washington sees their Cali recruits pay dividends, it's gonna really haunt USC for years to come. Already saw it with backup QB Keith Price throwing a TD on his first ever college pass.

- I haven't seen UCLA run that well since Maurice Jones-Drew got overshadowed by Reggie Bush 5 years ago. The Pistol is starting produce results and the combo of Johnathan "Jet Ski" Franklin and Derrick "DC-33" is paying off as Thunder and Lightning. Three-game winning streak ain't bad.


If there's a better story than Donovan McNabb coming back to Philly and winning, it'd be his words to his teammates. Everyone makes a mistake and the Eagles made one last year. Nothing better than coming back after you've been kicked out and owning the house you once ruled.

Only regret is that Michael Vick got hurt and had to miss most of the game. Kevin Kolb looked more shook than anybody. Guess that's what happens when your job gets taken and nobody has faith in you anymore. That's the cold part about revenge, it has bigger consequences than you intended.

(#5's prolly got some Kool Moe Dee in his I-Pod: "How Ya Like Me Now")

In one game, McNabb threw a TD, slowed Mike Vick's mojo, made Kolb look like a rookie and turned  Philly into the City of Brotherly Love and Pain. Several players got hurt in the game. Revenge hurts more than your intended target. And McNabb had to revel in it like a champ.

- Glad to see my San Diego Chargers and the NY Midgets have a sack race yesterday. Too bad the Midgets won 10-9 but both defenses tore Arizona and Chicago up like lions. Big ups to Shaun Phillips (3 sacks, scored a TD), Mike Tolbert (first career 100 yd game) and Ryan Matthews scoring his first NFL TD for SD.

- I bugged out when Fox showed LaDainian Tomlinson having 19 CATCHES for 130+ yards. Then I bugged out even more when they corrected their goof. 19 carries, 133 yards??? Turn back the clock LT, nobody's happier than me.

- Sleeper of the year is easily Arian Foster. Best RB of the year so far after he dismantled the Colts in Week 1 and showed his value to his team by playing well after sitting out due to violations. Fantasy owners rejoice but Texas fans should too

- Special Teams Player of the Weekend: Patrick Chung. Blocked punt, Blocked FG and a Pick-6 on Monday? I remember dude at Oregon and thinking he was a good player but THAT's making an impact. Chad Henne must've said "Here have this pass, you played way better than anybody on our team so go ahead and score."

- Hate to admit it but it's getting harder to argue Terrell Owens as not worthy of the Hall of Fame. 1st WR in history to have a 200 yard game with 3 teams and his numbers are still growing. He's a jerk who forced his way off two teams, turned down Baltimore and Ray Lewis (and was unfairly blamed for being a Cowboys distraction)  but he was also one of the best WR's of the last decade.

FANTASY REPORT - Oh, how sweet it is to be back on top. 3-1 this weekend and my only loss was a small one to the fantasy guru in my main ESPN League. I did some extra digging around and found some gems. I'll be going by team names instead of leagues.

ESPN: California Crushers 1-3 (Lost by 9 despite four guys with over 20 point. Freaking Colts D screwed me over)
ESPN: Inglewood Stars 1-3 (Finally got my first win since my opponent apparently took the week off)
Yahoo: EvBeez's Army 2-2 (See Inglewood Stars)
Yahoo: Boltin Cowboys 2-2 (Took down the #1 team in the league. BAM!)

Fantasy Winners: San Diego Chargers D, Patriots tailback Ben Green-Ellis. ATL kicker Matt Bryant. Late pickups that boosted my squads and I see em doing damage later on too. And finally glad Maurice Jones-Drew got off his cold start.

Fantasy FAILS: Giants WR Steve Smith. I had high hopes dude would prove me right calling him a sleeper. It's hard to hate on one of the greatest athletes Los Angeles has ever produced but dude's having a disappointing season. Blame Eli Manning but he's killing me worse than MJD. Same with the Colts D and Jeremy Maclin.

Key this week was being proactive and doing work. Just gotta do it again to keep it a great week.