BillandJeney.com - posts about life, music, food, travel and art: 11/01/2014

FROM THE DESK OF THE “FUGITIVE” COMMISSIONER

Hello Football Fans,

We have three potentially great divisional NFL games on Thanksgiving Day,

And a great slate of rivalry games in college football this weekend.

The final CFP rankings will be coming out in a week and a half - December 7th.

What a weekend of football we have ahead of us !!

Enjoy,

The Fugitive Commissioner of the FFHL

COLLEGE

CONFERENCE STANDINGS AFTER FFHL WEEK #12

POWER FIVE CONFERENCES

PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE (PAC-12)

NORTH OREGON has clinched a spot in the 12-Pack title game.

SOUTH UCLA, Arizona State, and Arizona are all 6-2. The Bruins, after beating USC 38-14 last Saturday, control their own destiny; they need only a home win vs. Stanford this Friday, 11/28/14 to get the title shot.

If UCLA loses, the winner of Arizona State at Arizona game on Friday gets to meet the Ducks in the title game.

TITLE GAME: At neutral site Levi’s Stadium (new SF 49’ers home) in Santa Clara, CA, on Friday night, December 5th

BIG TEN

EAST OHIO STATE clinched the division title with a 42-27 win over Indiana last Saturday

WEST The winner of this Saturday’s “playoff” game – Minnesota at Wisconsin, will win the division title.

TITLE GAME: At Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts’ home) in Indianapolis, IN on Saturday, December 6th

SOUTHEASTERN (SEC)

EAST MISSOURI (6-1) will clinch the division title with a home win vs. hot Arkansas on Saturday (11/29/14); if the MU Tigers lose, Georgia (6-2) will win the tiebreaker and go to the title game, having beaten Mizzou earlier in the year, 34-0.

WEST ALABAMA (6-1) will clinch the division title with a home win vs. Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Saturday (11/29/14); if the Crimson Tide loses, Mississippi State (6-1) with a win on Saturday at Mississippi in the Egg Bowl will win the division and go to the title game. If both win or both lose, ‘Bama wins the tiebreaker (having beat MSU at home earlier this month, 25-20).

TITLE GAME: At the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, December 6th

BIG XII Three teams are tied with 6-1 records – TCU, Baylor, and Kansas State.

Kansas State and Baylor will be big favorites in their conference games this week, and then the KSU Wildcats play at the BU Bears on Saturday, December 6^th. TCU plays at Texas on Thanksgiving Day and then hosts Iowa State on December 6^th.

TITLE GAME: NONE

ATLANTIC COAST (ACC)

ATLANTIC FLORIDA STATE clinched a berth in the title game.

COASTAL GEORGIA TECH clinched the division title when Duke lost at North Carolina last Thursday night, 45-20.

TITLE GAME: FSU vs. GA Tech, to be played in Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC (NFL Carolina Panthers home field), on Saturday, December 6th

GROUP OF FIVE CONFERENCES (“Non-Power 5” teams)

“THE AMERICAN” ATHLETIC (AAC)

AAC MEMPHIS (6-1), CENTRAL FLORIDA (5-1), and CINCINNATI (5-1) all have just one loss in the conference. Memphis hosts UConn in its final regular season game on Saturday (and beat Cincinnati earlier this year for potential tiebreaker). UCF plays road games vs. USF on Friday and vs. East Carolina on Thursday, December 4^th. Cincinnati plays at Temple this Saturday and then hosts Houston on December 6^th.

TITLE GAME: NONE

MOUNTAIN WEST (MW)

West SAN DIEGO STATE and FRESNO STATE are currently tied with weak 4-3 conference records. Both teams have one regular season game remaining, both at home vs. relatively easy opponents – SDSU hosts San Jose State and Fresno hosts Hawaii.

Mountain COLORADO STATE, UTAH STATE, and BOISE STATE are tied with 6-1 conference records with one week to go. The USU Aggies play at Boise State this Saturday and CSU plays at Air Force this Friday.

MOUNTAIN WEST

TITLE GAME: The higher-rankeddivision winner will earn home field advantage; the game will be played on Saturday, December 6th

CONFERENCE USA (C-USA)

EAST MARSHALL clinched the division title.

WEST LOUISIANA TECH (6-1) has a 1-game lead over RICE (5-2).

The Rice Owls play at LA Tech on Saturday, with the winner securing a place in the title game vs. Marshall.

TITLE GAME: Home game for Marshall, the “better” division winner, on Saturday, December 6th.

MID-AMERICAN (MAC)

EAST BOWLING GREEN has clinched a spot in the title game.

WEST NORTHERN ILLINOIS, WESTERN MICHIGAN, and TOLEDO are tied with 6-1 records. The NIU Huskies play at W. Michigan this Friday in the regular season finale for both teams. Toledo plays at cupcake Eastern Michigan this Friday.

TITLE GAME: At Ford Field, Detroit, MI (NFL Detroit Lions’ home field) on Friday night, December 5th.

SUN BELT GEORGIA SOUTHERN (7-0) has a one-game lead over LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (6-1). The GA Southern Eagles host Louisiana-Monroe this Saturday in their final regular season game. The ULL Ragin’ Cajuns play at Troy in their finale.

FBS UNDERDOG WINNERS

Overall, NINETEEN underdogs won their games outright in 53 games, for a 36% upset rate (that’s more than one of every three games).

Last Thursday night, Kansas State +2h won at West Virginia, 26-20, to stay in the hunt for the Big XII title. The KSU running game was anemic (ONE net yard rushing on 29 carries), but WR Tyler Lockett caught 10 passes for 196 yards and ran back a punt for a TD. The Wildcats uncharacteristically committed 10 penalties for 102 yards, but won the turnover battle, 4-2, and prevailed.

Last Thursday night, North Carolina +5h won handily at Duke, 45-20, allowing Georgia Tech to clinch the ACC Coastal division.

Texas Tech +1hwon at Iowa State, 34-31.

Virginia +5h beat visiting Miami of Florida, 30-13.

Maryland +5 won at Michigan, 23-16, and the Brady Hoke era is nearly finished.

Arkansas +3h beat visiting Mississippi, 30-0. The ARK Razorbacks are the first unranked team in NCAA history to shut out ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks (beat LSU 17-0 the previous week).

Minnesota +10 won at Nebraska, 28-24, to eliminate the Cornhuskers from the Big 10 West Division race. With the upset win, the Gophers stayed alive for the division title and need a win at Wisconsin this weekend to earn a berth in the Big 10 title game vs. Ohio State.

Louisville +3 won at Notre Dame, 31-28. A lot of strange things happened in this game, but late in the game with 1^st-and-goal, the ND Irish couldn’t punch it into the endzone and had to settle for a 32-yard FG attempt … “no good” with 0:50 on the clock and the game was over.

Illinois +6h beat visiting Penn State, 16-14. PSU scored a TD early in the 4^th quarter to take a 14-10 lead, but the Illini kicked two FG’s including the game-winner with 8 seconds remaining in the game.

Northwestern +1won at Purdue, 38-14.

Missouri +3h won at Tennessee, 29-21, to stay in position to win the SEC East Division title. The MU Tigers control their own destiny, needing “only” a home win over surging Arkansas this weekend.

The game was tied 13-13 at halftime, but Mizzou scored two 4^thquarter TD’s to take a 29-13 lead and eventually prevailed, also winning the turnover battle 2-0. The Tigers won their 10^th straight true road game (i.e., played at opponent’s home stadium) and 8^th straight SEC road game.

Arizona +4h won at Utah, 42-10, and the Wildcats remain in the hunt for the PAC-12 South Division title (needing a victory over rival Arizona State and a UCLA home loss to Stanford).

Wake Forest +15beat visiting Virginia Tech, 6-3 in double overtime. Regulation play was scoreless, and it was an exciting 3-3 after the first overtime period.

GROUP OF FIVE GAMES (non-Power 5 conference matchups):

Last Tuesday night, Akron +3 beat visiting UMass, 30-6.

Last Thursday night, Texas State +6 beat visiting Arkansas State 45-27.

Western Michigan +1won at Central Michigan, 32-20, and the WMU Broncos remain undefeated ATS this year.

Old Dominion +11hbeat visiting Louisiana Tech, 30-27.

Fresno State +7won at Nevada, 40-20, to stay alive in the MW West Division title race.

Appalachian State +10won at Louisiana-Lafayette, 35-16.

NOT QUITE:

Boston College +17was tied 17-17 at Florida State and started a drive from its own 8-yard line with only 13½ minutes remaining in the game. The BC Eagles called 14 straight running plays and matriculated down to the FSU 26-yard line. The next play was not a run – it was a wide receiver throwback pass across the field to the QB that fell incomplete; the drive stalled and BC missed a 42-yard FG with only 4½ minutes left in the final quarter. This set up the Seminoles’ game-winning drive of 12 plays for 66 yards that culminated in a successful 26-yard FG with 3 seconds left to keep their 27-game winning streak alive.

FINAL: FSU 20, BC 17 and Florida State found a way to win in the 4^th quarter–AGAIN!

Indiana +34h was a huge underdog at Ohio State. The OSU Buckeyes held only a 21-20 lead after three quarters, but left no doubt in the final stanza with three unanswered TD’s to prevail.

FINAL: OSU 42, IND 27

Alabama-Birmingham +20 was behind visiting Marshall at halftime 17-6, but closed the gap and took the lead on a TD with 11½ minutes remaining in the 4^thquarter. The UAB Blazers missed the 2-point conversion attempt, and the score was 18-17. Undefeated Marshall answered back on a TD with 7:35 showing on the clock and the Thundering Herd held on to win, 23-18.

Iowa +10 scored a TD early in the 4^th quarter, but failed for the second time in the game on a 2-point PAT try and ended up losing by 2 points, 26-24. Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon rushed 31 times for 200 yards and 2 TD’s for the visiting Badgers.

NFL

NFL UNDERDOG WINNERS

All 32 teams have now played 11 games (with five more regular season games – Weeks #13 through #17) and there will be no more “bye” weeks.

DIVISIONAL RACES

UNUSUAL RACES IN TWO DIVISIONS

In the AFC NORTH, all four teams are still over .500; Cincinnati (7-3-1) holds a ½-game lead over the other three teams -- Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Baltimore, all with 7-4 records. That means all four teams are at least 3 games over .500, the first time this has happened in league history. After this weekend, they could all be 4 games over .500.

In the NFC SOUTH, all four teams are miserably under.500; New Orleans and Atlanta are tied for the division lead with 4-7 records (three games under .500), while Carolina with a lousy 3-7-1 record is only ½ game back, and miserable Tampa Bay at 2-9 is only two games out of the division lead with five games to go (and of course HC Lovie Smith thinks the Bucs still have a decent chance to win the division). Atlanta currently holds the tiebreaker in the NFC South with a 4-0 record against division opponents, which means the Falcons are 0-7 against the rest of the league.

THE OTHER DIVISIONS

In the NFC EAST, Philadelphia (8-3) and Dallas (8-3) both won on Sunday and are still tied for the division lead.

In the AFC WEST, Denver (8-3) grabbed a 1-game lead over Kansas City (7-4) and San Diego (7-4) with a close 39-36 home win over Miami on Sunday, while the KC Chiefs lost at Oakland on Thursday night and the SD Chargers got a narrow 27-24 home victory over St. Louis to stay in the division race.

In the NFC NORTH, Green Bay (8-3) finally took the division lead by one game over Detroit (7-4) after the Packers won at Minnesota 24-21 and the Lions lost at New England 34-9 on Sunday.

In the AFC EAST, New England (9-2) extended its division lead to three games with a home win over Detroit; Miami (6-5) lost a close game at Denver, 39-36 and Buffalo (6-5) beat the NY Jets in Detroit on Monday night (too much snow in Buffalo) to stay in the playoff race.

In the NFC WEST, Arizona (9-2) gave up some of its big lead in the division with a 19-3 loss at Seattle. 2^nd-place Seattle (7-4) and San Francisco (7-4) are now just two games back. The Niners won at home over Washington, 17-13.

In the AFC SOUTH, Indianapolis (7-4) extended its division lead to 2 games over 2^nd-place Houston (5-6) after the Colts won 23-3 over visiting Jacksonville and the Texans lost at home to Cincinnati 22-13 on Sunday.

NFL UNDERDOG WINNERS

Overall, FOUR underdogs won outright in 15 NFL games, for a 27% upset rate this week (43% last week).

On Thursday night, Oakland +7h beat visiting Kansas City, 24-20, to snap its 16-game losing streak. Putting the Raiders in my Quiz Questions last week evidently shook them out of their funk and they improved to 1-10 for the season. The Raiders have not been playing poorly of late and are currently 6-5 ATS this year.

Cleveland +3 won at Atlanta, 26-24. The ATL Falcons took a 24-23 lead in the 4^th quarter on a TD and the go-ahead 53-yard FG with 44 seconds remaining in regulation play. But on the ensuing drive, the CLE Browns got in position for a 37-yard FG and it was “good” with no time left on the clock.

Cincinnati +1hwon at Houston, 22-13.

On Monday night, Baltimore (+3) won at New Orleans, 34-27. The NOR Saints have lost three home games in the last three weeks, after having won 11 straight home games before this ugly streak.

NOT QUITE

St. Louis +5hscored a TD with only 2 minutes remaining in the game to trail at San Diego only 27-24, after which the Rams got the ball back quickly and had 2^nd-and-goal from the SD Chargers’ 3-yard line with just under 1 minute to go in regulation play. STL Rams’ QB Shaun Hill then threw an interception at the goal line and there would not be any chance for the tying chip-shot FG. Game over.

FINAL: SD 27, STL 24 but the Rams covered against the spread in losing only by three.

“BACKDOOR” COVERS ATS

Miami +7 was ahead 28-17 after three quarters at Denver, but the Broncos surged ahead with three unanswered 4^th-quarter TD’s to lead 39-28 -- tentatively covering against the spread. But the MIA Dolphins scored the “meaningless” TD with only 1:34 remaining in the game to get the backdoor cover ATS in losing only by three, 39-36.

Minnesota +9 was behind visiting Green Bay 24-13 until the Vikings scored a late TD with 3:23 remaining in the 4^th quarter to lose only by three, 24-21, and cover ATS.

FFHL RESULTS – WEEK TWELVE

Overall, we FFHL’ers really stunk it up at 27-57-0 (32.1% ATS). In college picks, we were a lousy 14-27-0 ATS (34.1%), and in the NFL we were even worse at 13-30-0 ATS (30.2%).

This week we selected 26 underdogs out of 84 total picks. On our 12 underdog picks in the NFL, we were 6-6-0 ATS. And in our 14 college ‘dog picks we were 10-4-0 ATS. Overall, that means we were a decent 16-10-0 ATS (61.5%) on underdog picks. Doing the math, that means our “favorites” picks were really bad at 11-47 ATS (19.0%-WOW!).

Good thing Filter King and Fugitive weren’t in Vegas for this mess.

FFHL LOP-SIDED and CONTESTED PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD (ATS)

ATS Picks

Team For-Against Result / Unsolicited comments

In our 41 college picks, we had only 2 contrary picks.

In our 43 NFL picks, we had 5 contrary picks.

GB Pack -9 at MINN 8-0 LOSS, Green Bay wins only 24-21

DAL ‘Boys -3h at NYG 4-0 LOSS, Cowboys win 31-28 to not cover by ½ point

ATL Falcons -3 vs. CLE 3-0 LOSS, Browns win outright, 26-24

SF 49’ers -8h vs. WSH 3-0 LOSS, Niners win only 17-13 to not cover ATS

DEN Broncos -7 vs. MIA 5-1 LOSS, Denver wins only 39-36

AZ Cards +7 at SEA 4-1 LOSS, Seahawks win handily 19-3

NE Pats -7 vs. DET 3-1 WIN, New England still on a roll, 34-9

Wisconsin -10 at Iowa 4-0 LOSS, Badgers win only 26-24 to not cover ATS

Marshall -20 at UAB 4-0 LOSS, Herd lucky just to win game 23-18

Missouri +3h at TENN 3-0 WIN, MU Tigers win outright 29-21

Utah -4h vs. Arizona 2-1 LOSS, AZ ‘Cats as ‘dogs win big 42-10

Northwestern +1 at Purdue 2-1 WIN, NW ‘Cats as ‘dogs win big 38-14

CUMULATIVE RECORDS AGAINST THE SPREAD (ATS) and STRAIGHT UP

COLLEGE – FFHL WEEK #12

ATS STRAIGHT-UP

Record Record

FAVORITES 21-31-1 (40.6%) 34-19 (64.2%)

HOME TEAMS 27-25-1 (51.9%) 34-19 (64.2%)

The favorites didn’t perform well overall ATS this week.

COLLEGE - CUMULATIVE

ATS STRAIGHT-UP

Record Record

FAVORITES 295-328-14 (47.4%) 481-147 (76.6%)

HOME TEAMS 290-324-10 (47.3%) 363-262 (58.1%)

NFL – FFHL WEEK #12

ATS STRAIGHT-UP

Record Record

FAVORITES 6-9-0 (40.0%) 11-4-0 (73.3%)

HOME TEAMS 8-6-0 (57.1%) 9-5-0 (64.3%)

One game was at a neutral site (Buffalo vs. NYJ in Detroit due to snow storm)

NFL - CUMULATIVE

ATS STRAIGHT-UP

Record Record

FAVORITES 87-86-2 (50.3%) 119-55-1 (68.3%)

HOME TEAMS 82-88-2 (48.3%) 101-70-1 (59.0%)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS

FIFTH PRELIMINARY RANKINGS FROM “THE CFP COMMITTEE”

The 12-member selection committee for the CFP had better keep their eyes on the scoreboard and not get too fancy with their analysis. You may have heard of them talking about which teams are best at “game control” (Baylor is supposedly #1 in this category); what a bunch of hooey. Anyway, I’m not going to get too excited about these preliminary rankings, since there are still many significant games to be played.

“Scoreboard, baby!”

TOP FOUR (did not change from last week):

#1 Alabama (10-1)

#2 Oregon (10-1)

#3 Florida State (11-0)

#4 Mississippi State (10-1)

If there are no upsets going forward, the top three teams are almost assured of making the playoffs. But the fourth spot is up for grabs, as I see it as unlikely that two teams from the same division of the same conference will be selected.

NEED SOME HELP:

#5 TCU (9-1) same as last week; ahead of Baylor

#6 Ohio State (10-1) same as last week; VA Tech loss looms

#7 Baylor (8-1) same as last week; BU Bears are lurking

LONGSHOTS:

#8 UCLA (8-2) Bruins move up; Ole Miss drops to #19

#9 Georgia (8-2)

#10 Michigan State (8-2)

#11 Arizona (9-2)

#12 Kansas State (8-2)

#13 Arizona State (9-2)

#14 Wisconsin (9-2)

#15 Auburn (8-3)

#16 Georgia Tech (9-2)

#17 Missouri (9-2)

#18 Minnesota (8-3)

#19 Mississippi (8-3)

NON-POWER 5 TEAMS:

Wow, there are now two “Group of Five” teams ranked in the CFP Top 25.

CFP#23 Boise State (9-2) Ranked only #25 by AP and USAToday

CFP#24 Marshall (11-0) Ranked AP#19 and USA#20

AP#21 Colorado State (10-1) is not ranked by the CFP Committee at this time.

Once again, the AP and USA Today polls are quite similar; the Top 25 teams are exactly the same (with slightly different order). The AP still has Florida State at #1 with 37 first-place votes and Alabama #2 with 21 first-place votes (Oregon #3, 2 votes). But the Coach’s Poll has Alabama #1 with 25 first-place votes and undefeated Florida State #2 with more first-place votes (30). That means some voters have FSU ranked worse than #2.

The FWAA Super 16 poll has the exact same Top 15 in slightly different order than the AP Poll (the #16 spot is different). The CFP rankings have the same Top 17 teams as the AP Poll.

The betting odds posted by www.bovada.lvfor college teams to win the CFP championship are changing significantly from week to week. Before last weekend’s games, following were the odds to win (with the prior week’s odds in parentheses):

ALABAMA 5-to-2 (4-to-1)

OREGON 15-to-4 (4-to-1)

FLORIDA STATE 6-to-1 (6-to-1)

OHIO STATE 6-to-1 (8-to-1)

TCU 7-to-1 (6-to-1)

BAYLOR 17-to-2 (16-to-1)

MISSISSIPPI ST 17-to-2 (15-to-2)

GEORGIA 25-to-1

MISSISSIPPI 33-to-1

UCLA 50-to-1

OTHER NEWS and MINUTIA

PLAYER TRANSACTIONS

CATCHUP

These items occurred prior to last weekend’s games:

MIN Vikings claimed RB Ben Tate off waivers from Cleveland.

NE Patriots re-signed Steelers’ reject RB LeGarrette Blount.

NOR Saints’ rookie WR Brandin Cooks is out for the year (wrist injury)

IND Colts’ RB Ahmad Bradshaw is out for the year with a broken leg.

FALLOUT FROM LAST WEEKEND

Northwestern’s QB Trevor Siemian is out for the year with a torn ACL suffered in last weekend’s game at Illinois.

Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry is out for the year after a mass was discovered in his chest.

Houston Texans’ QB Ryan Mallett suffered a pectoral injury on Sunday and is out for the season. We may see Ryan Fitzpatrick back in the starting role, or maybe rookie Tom Savage (4^th rounder out of Pitt) will get a shot.

Did you see that catch by NYG rookie WR Odell Beckham, Jr. on Sunday? It was a miraculous one-handed TD grab (actually, he used only his thumb, index finger, and middle finger of his right hand to catch the ball while fully extended and horizontal to the ground), and he was interfered with by the defensive back before the catch. If you didn’t see the replay, try to find a video of it. It is most probably in the Top 10 catches of all time, NFL or college or CFL or otherwise. Some people might consider it #1 all time.

The Washington Pig’Skins have benched Robert Griffin III and will be starting QB Colt McCoy this weekend at Indianapolis.

The NY Jets are switching quarterbacks again and going back to QB Geno Smith as the starter against Miami this Monday night.

HEISMAN TROPHY HOPEFULS

Before last weekend’s games, following were the www.bovada.lv odds for several players to win the Heisman Trophy:

Oregon QB MARCUS MARIOTTA 1-to-3 Big favorite

Wisconsin RB MELVIN GORDON 5-to-2

And all of the other also-rans:

Ohio State QB J.T. BARRETT 15-to-1

TCU QB TREVONE BOYKIN 25-to-1

Miss State QB DAK PRESCOTT 33-to-1

Baylor QB BRYCE PETTY 40-to-1

FSU QB JAMEIS WINSTON 40-to-1 too much baggage to repeat

UPDATE:

As of yesterday, the race has come down to the two favorites and a bunch of other guys fighting for 3^rd place. Mariotta is still a 1-to-3 favorite to win the award, with Gordon shortening his odds to 2-to-1.

LOWER FOOTBALL DIVISIONS

FCS PLAYOFF SEEDINGS

#1 New Hampshire Wildcats (9-1) Lost at FBS Toledo 54-20

#2 North Dakota State Bison (10-1) Lost at Northern Iowa, 23-3

Won at FBS Iowa State, 34-14

#3 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (9-1) Lost at Michigan State 45-7

#4 E. Washington Eagles (9-2) Lost at FBS U-Dub and at FCS N.Arizona

#5 Illinois State Redbirds (9-1) Lost at Northern Iowa

#6 Villanova (9-2) Two 1-point losses: at FBS Syracuse and at Richmond

#7 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (11-0) No wins vs. FBS teams

#8 Chattanooga Mocs (9-3) Lost at FBS C.Mich & at FBS Tennessee

Lost at home in OT to Jacksonville State

The first eight seeds get a bye week for the first week of the playoffs. The other 16 teams in the 24-team tournament play first round games. The FCS title game will be played on January 10^th in Frisco, TX.

The Northern Iowa Panthers (7-4) host Stephen F. Austin in the first round this weekend, and the winner of this game plays at #5 seed Illinois State on Saturday, December 6th.

Last weekend in their rivalry game to end the regular season, FCS #12 Montana State played at FCS #13 Montana. FINAL: Montana Grizzlies 34, MT State Bobcats 7.

Montana hosts University of San Diego in the first round of the playoffs, and the winner plays at #4 seed Eastern Washington (Dec. 6^th).

Montana State hosts South Dakota State in the first round of the playoffs, and the winner plays at #2 seed ND State (Dec. 6^th).

DIVISION II

This division has a 24-team playoff.

The title game will be played in Kansas City on December 20^th.

DIVISION III

This division has a 32-team playoff. The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl (title game) will be played on December 19^th in Salem, VA.

Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mount Union have faced each other in the title game 8 of the last 9 years.

LOOKING AHEAD – selected games, not the full slate

COLLEGE FOOTBALL - FFHL WEEK #13

Tuesday Ohio U -2 at Miami, OH Athens vs. Oxford

Thursday LSU -3 at Texas A&M

TURKEY DAY TCU -6h at Texas Fort Worth vs. Austin

Friday Nebraska (Pick) at Iowa Hawkeyes not favored? J

Virginia -1 at VA Tech Charlottesville vs. Blacksburg

Stanford +4h at UCLA Bruins for PAC-12 South title

Arizona St at Arizona Territorial Cup (no line yet)

Navy -9h at South Alabama

Central FL -12 at South FL Orlando vs. Tampa

Houston -22 at SMU Houston vs. Dallas

East Carolina -16 at Tulsa

Colorado St -7 at Air Force Fort Collins vs. CO Springs

N. Illinois +7 at W. Michigan

Toledo -23 at Eastern Michigan

Ball State +9 at Bowling Green

Akron at Kent State (switched from Tues-Buffalo snow)

Buffalo at Massachusetts (no line yet)

W. Kentucky +21 at Marshall

Saturday “PLAYOFF” GAMES:

Minnesota +13h at Wisconsin for Big 10 West title

Rice +6h at Louisiana Tech for CUSA West title

RIVALRIES and other good matchups:

Auburn +10 at Alabama Iron Bowl

Mississippi State -2 at Ole Miss Egg Bowl

Arkansas (no line yet) at Missouri MU for SEC East Title

Georgia Tech +13 at Georgia ACC vs. SEC

South Carolina +4h at Clemson SEC vs. ACC

Florida +8 at Florida State SEC vs. ACC

Tennessee -17 at Vanderbilt Knoxville vs. Nashville

Kentucky +13 at Louisville Governor’s Cup

Michigan +20 at Ohio State “Former” rivalry

Purdue +3 at Indiana West Lafayette vs Bloomington

Illinois +8 at Northwestern Champaign vs. Evanston

NC State +8 at UNC Raleigh vs. Chapel Hill

Wake Forest +18 at Duke Winston-Salem vs. Durham

Notre Dame +7 at USC ND won last 2 SU & ATS

Oregon -20 at Oregon St Eugene vs. Corvallis

U-Dub -4 at WA State Seattle vs. Pullman

Baylor -24h vs. TX Tech at neutral site Arlington, TX

Kansas +28 at Kansas St Lawrence vs. Manhattan

Utah State +9h at Boise State maybe for Mountain title

Nevada -9h at UNLV Reno vs. Vegas

Playing for bowl eligibility:

Virginia at VA Tech Both need win to qualify; only one wins

Illinois at Northwestern Both need win to qualify; only one wins

California vs. BYU

Oregon State vs. Oregon

Tennessee at Vanderbilt

Kentucky at Louisville

Pittsburgh at Miami.FL

Temple needs 1 win in two games: CIN, at Tulane

Michigan at Ohio State

UAB at S. Miss

Old Dominion at FL Atlantic

Navy needs 1 win in 2 games: at S.ALA, Army

Ohio U at Miami.OH

Akron at Kent State

Fresno State vs. Hawaii

Oklahoma State at OKLA on Dec 6^th

NFL WEEK #13 – SELECTED GAMES

BYE WEEKS: there are no more “BYE” weeks this year

Thursday Chicago (+7) at Detroit

TURKEY DAY Philadelphia (+3h) at Dallas

Seattle (+1) at San Francisco

Sunday Divisional Matchups:

Tennessee (+6h) at Houston

Denver (-1h) at Kansas City

Other interesting games:

San Diego (+5h) at Baltimore

Cleveland (+2h) at Buffalo

New England (+3) at Green Bay

Monday Miami (-5h) at NY Jets

QUIZ QUESTON

QUESTION #1: Two weekends ago, Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon broke the all-time NCAA single-game rushing record with 408 yards from scrimmage. One week later (last weekend), that record was eclipsed by Oklahoma’s true freshman RB Samaje Perine (427 yards). Who held the record prior to the start of the 2014 season?

HINT: He rushed for 406 yards in a game during the 1999 season, and ended up being a well-known running back in the NFL.

ANSWER #1:

LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU).

Last Saturday, the Sooners’ Samaje Perine rushed 34 times for 427 yards and 5 TD’s (49, 33, 34, 66, and 27) against an obviously porous Kansas Jayhawk defense. He didn’t even start the game, and was pulled from the game after only a few plays into the fourth quarter. In comparison, Melvin Gordon rushed only 25 times for 408 yards against a then-ranked Nebraska team (sat out the 4^th quarter). Nevertheless, Perine’s performance was impressive; he became the only player in NCAA history to rush for 200+ yards in both halves of a game.

Also, he broke the all-time NCAA freshman rushing record previously held by San Diego State RB Marshall Faulk (386 yards in 1991), and he also broke the all-time Big XII conference record of 378 yards by Troy Davis (Iowa State, 1996).

Did you think that it was a shocker that the rushing record was broken so quickly (back-to-back weeks), after the previous record had lasted about 15 years? Maybe so, but it also happened back in 1989. Cal State Fullerton RB Mike Pringle had tied the previous record set by Washington State RB Rueben Mayes (1984) with 357 rushing yards from scrimmage on November 4, 1989. The next week, Indiana RB Anthony Thompson rushed for 377 yards and broke the recently-tied record (although it took Thompson 52 carries to amass that yardage – FIFTY-TWO!).