Football (real)

[Frigidus]

THE JETS RULE

Yo, if the Jets keep playing like they did this past Sunday, all of you will be weeping.

Thomas Jones brought my Fantasy Football team a win with that rampage. Keep it up!

[strike wolf]

California: Land of the losing NFL teams. Is it just me or is it just getting pathetic? Right now all three California teams are under 500 with a combined record of 8-19 Which means they would have to go a combined 16-5 to break even and that's with 3 teams that already have 5+ losses already.

Oddly enough New York is doing the exact opposite with three teams combining for a 19-8 record none with less than 5 wins.

[strike wolf]

Well, Georgia's leading Auburn 7-6. A shaky start but Georgia seemed to settle down some towards the end of the second quarter. Could have been 14-6 if Georgia had some better goal line calls on their first drive. Other than that way too many penalty yards for Georgia (what else is new?) and wind or not that fumbled punt return that led to Auburn's only score was inexcusable. As for other teams, Navy's battling it out in a close game against ND and Ohio State has looked solid against Illinois.

[strike wolf]

Navy almost beats ND and Georgia holds on to win 17-13. A little too close for comfort in the Georgia game but about what I was expecting from such a big rivalry game.

[pimpdave]

Also, the JETS were awesome on Thursday night!

Came from behind TWICE to win it. I'm so accustomed to disappointment with the old Jets, I thought the game was over once they had blown their lead.

Favre is A-OK in my book.

[oVo]

It's still strange seeing Brett Favre in a JETS uniform.

Does the SEC really have the market cornered on DEFENSE?
Guess we'll see when Florida and Alabama collide in Atlanta.
The Gators sure looked tough today.

[strike wolf]

Does the SEC really have the market cornered on DEFENSE?
Guess we'll see when Florida and Alabama collide in Atlanta.
The Gators sure looked tough today.

I don't know if they can but I would say that if there is a team in the SEC who can beat Florida when Florida's playing at their toughest it's Alabama. Alabama may not have the speed that Florida has but they're bigger than Florida. I don't think Tebow will be much of a factor running the ball on the game and I would expect Alabama to control the line of scrimmage, making it tough for Florida to get going. However if Florida's able to get out into the open, which is by no means impossible or even improbable, than Alabama's defense won't be able to keep up.

[oVo]

I really can't wait to see it unfold... should be a great game with so much on the line
but first... we get Texas Tech at Oklahoma in Norman which is also a biggie.

[pimpdave]

I like the coach at Texas Tech since reading a nytimes article about his life story, so (major admission) it's been a guilty pleasure watching them play this year. Generally, I couldn't give two shits about college football, since my alma mater is never on the national stage (although some players from my school make it to the NFL), but when I like a coach, it covers a multitude of sins.

Lets go Texas Tech!

[strike wolf]

Alabama's having trouble with Mississippi State. Looks like they've been caught looking ahead to Auburn maybe even the SEC championship.

[oVo]

Mississippi State is not a bad team... and Alabama needed overtime to slip past LSU last week.
Now LSU has 2 first downs, 63 total yards and trails by 3 touchdowns to Troy State.

[Neoteny]

Whoo! Go Troy!

[strike wolf]

Mississippi State is not a bad team... and Alabama needed overtime to slip past LSU last week.
Now LSU has 2 first downs, 63 total yards and trails by 3 touchdowns to Troy State.

Alabama played a lot better against LSU last week than they did the first half of this game and what LSU is doing against Troy is probably the worst they've played all season. Besides, Alabama did show they were better the way they stepped it up in the second half.

[oVo]

Update: LSU has just scored to take a 33 - 31 lead...4:50 left in the 4th quarter.
and the local ABC station has OK State v Colorado on... sheesh.

[strike wolf]

Just proving that LSU is a good team, not great but good. Sure they shouldn't have let themselves fall so far behind but to come back like that shows something.

In other news, Vanderbilt is now bowl eligible for the first time in well a long, long time. This brings the total of bowl eligible teams in the SEC up to 8 though Auburn could join in if they manage to beat Alabama. Don't think it will happen as Alabama should be more mentally prepared for this game than any other this year considering what's happened in the past few years, but who knows.

[oVo]

Make that 40-31 with 1:40 remaining...
the Tigers have roared back with 30 unanswered points in the 4th.

I heard a rumor that if the Big 12 South finishes in a tie, that Missouri's opponant in the title game
will be determined by the teams' BCS ranking.

[oVo]

I'm ready for Saturday already!
Texas Tech at Oklahoma

I noticed that Troy State let LSU back in the game with a muffed punt
giving the Tigers the ball in the red zone... resulting in the go ahead TD.

[strike wolf]

Yes, if it's like the rest of the big Big 12 games this year it will be a good game (unlike most of the highly anticipated SEC match-ups *cough*Georgia-Florida*cough*). I would also like to note that I am an SEC fan.

[oVo]

Well... the Alabama/Auburn and Florida/Florida State games have promise,
but Alabama/Florida should be the best SEC game of the year.

Home field advantage might be big... it's been awhile since Oklahoma has lost on their turf.

[strike wolf]

I'll be very surprised if Florida doesn't beat Florida State and maybe even more surprised if Auburn beats Alabama.

[oVo]

I agree... but three teams in the Big 12 South finishing with one loss wouldn't be as shocking
because I do believe they are not only some of the best we've seen play this year...
they also seem to match up very well against each other.

[strike wolf]

Not really I'd be much less surprised to see TT lose as the Big 12 is really just like the SEC has been in recent years where it's incredibly hard to go undefeated.

[strike wolf]

Well, other than TT getting trampled (I knew that they would probably be beaten but that was just pathetic), it's interesting to find that Michigan has it's first 8+ loss season ever. Now the question is will Tennessee find the same misfortune? The Vols are currently 4-7 with a game against Kentucky left. Like Michigan Tennessee has never had an 8 loss season before this year, yet now the Vols are just 1 loss away from that happening. Now stats would suggest that it will happen, however if stats were always right they probably should have lost to Vandy today. So will Kentucky embarass Tennessee by handing them their worst season ever?

[oVo]

Tennessee's biggest misfortune is yet to come... this season was a disappointment and the "what have you done for me lately" mentality has sacked another excellent coach. Letting Fulmer go will probably extend the Vol's suffering while they attempt to keep pace with the SEC teams that already have all the pieces of the puzzle in place... like Alabama, Florida, Georgia... and yes... even LSU. I believe Coach Nutt will even make Ole Miss a power to be reckonned with. So screw Arkansas too... like Tenneessee... they look at the rest of the conference and think the grass is greener everywhere else and don't even remember the solid foundation that has built them some national powerhouses.

HOLY CRAP! ... Oklahoma was favored by a touchdown and I do believe they covered the spread. Nobody saw that Sooner ambush hiding in the wings... in fact... OU/TT looked a lot like the Florida/Citadel game... and the score nearly matched it, 'cept Tech added a TD with 11 seconds to go... and The Citadel isn't exactly ranked #2 in anything.
U N F R E A K I N G B E L I E V A B L E !
Looked a lot like the Big 12 impersonating the SEC for one game...
and maybe another kick in the ass for the BCS.

[pimpdave]

Quick little bit of overlap from another here, check out this article about the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/sport ... =permalink

This begs the question, is the art of defensive coordination headed for a fundamental shift, the way that the stats were reanalyzed for a fundamental shift if the organization of baseball teams? Does anyone think there's something to what Schwartz is doing, or is this less engineered on his part, and more just happy coincidence that the Titans are doing well, and thus his system can be credited?