Bowl Recap #4 – Sponsored by the dawning of a new year

Yes 2015 is almost done and 2016 is right around the corner. Before we get to 2016 we have the College Football Playoff semi-final games.  Wow, that sounded like a promo you’d hear on ESPN.  Let’s get to the recap before this gets to corporate.

ARMED FORCES BOWL – California 55 Air Force 36

This should have been renamed the Jared Goff Bowl. This was all about Goff’s final game before heading off to the NFL.  Most have Paxton Lynch of Memphis as the #1 quarterback to be selected in the 2016 NFL Draft but Goff made things interesting with an amazing performance here.  Goff throws for 6 touchdowns to lead the Golden Bears to the victory and sets themselves up quite nicely for next season.

RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL – Baylor 49 North Carolina 38

Offense, thy name is Baylor. Art Briles has recreated the idea of offense.  This team has set so many passing records in the past few years that what they did during this game was unreal.  They shattered the team rushing record in a bowl game.  Almost 650 yards rushing against the Tar Heels.  No matter what UNC did, they could not compete against a team that had so many injuries on the offensive side of the ball, they were essentially running backups and, at the QB position, not even real QBs.  An amazing game.

TEXAS BOWL – LSU 56 Texas Tech 27

Fournette? More like Five-nette.  Five total touchdowns for Leonard Fournette was a nice end for a player who was dominant in the Heisman race for the first two months of the season and then dropped off the map.  To be honest I don’t know of anyone who thought that this game would be close…and it wasn’t.  Saying that, next season should be fun in Lubbock with Patrick Mahomes coming back to run that insane Kliff Kingsbury offense.

ARIZONA BOWL – Nevada 28 Colorado State 23

Almost completely forgotten in the bowl schedule was this bowl game. Many Americans (and some Canadians) would have had trouble finding this game on TV.  Campus Insiders also broadcast this game online.  I can see this becoming more of a normal occurrence in a few years but for now, many fans grumbled about this.  The worst part of all of it is that it ended up being a fantastic game that came down to the wire.  With changes in how college football is broadcast both here and in the States, it will be interesting to see how this shapes the future.

BIRMINGHAM BOWL – Auburn 31 Memphis 10

This was supposed to be the coup de grace for Paxton Lynch. With the year he had (coupled with his amazing year last season), he was getting close to cementing his status as the #1 quarterback to be taken in the next NFL Draft and getting picked probably by the Browns and then being out of football in about five years.  This game was anything but.  Lynch was awful and Auburn actually looked good in this one.  The Tigers (the Memphis ones) looked out of their weight class in this one as the AAC continues its horrible bowl season.

BELK BOWL – Mississippi State 51 NC State 28

Dak Prescott reminded all of us how close he came last year to Heisman contention. A lot of that was tied to how good the Bulldogs were last season of course.  It’s not like they did poorly this season.  They entered at 8-4 which in the SEC West is a damn good record.  I think many forgot about them.  They reminded everyone how good a team they were at the expense of a very good Wolfpack team.  This wasn’t even close for most of this one.

MUSIC CITY BOWL – Louisville 27 Texas A&M 21

With the Aggies having their top TWO quarterbacks transfer before the bowl game, it looked like this would be a cakewalk for the Motorcycling Petrinos. However, this was a sloppy bowl game as both teams looked a whole lot less than sharp.  Other than the Cards’ Lamar Jackson almost everyone involved in this game played poorly.  Which made for an exciting end which I missed because TSN decided to stagger their bowl offerings for some insane reason and my PVR stopped recording at four hours.  I love college football but these games are getting to be way too damn long.

HOLIDAY BOWL – Wisconsin 23 USC 21

I am so glad that Tanner McAvoy’s touchdown run that was whistled down didn’t factor in the final score. The referee whistled it down (with help from the Trojan bench) when he thought McAvoy had stepped out of bounds.  He hadn’t and it would have been a big controversy if USC had ended up winning.  Luckily for the Badgers (and the refs), linebacker Jack Cichy had an insane second half, culminating with three sacks on three successive plays, to hold off USC for the win.  A great game to end the night, leading us into the New Year’s Six.

And that New Year’s Six starts at noon today with the Peach Bowl, followed by the College Football Playoff semi-finals. Then some more football New Year’s Day.  Then more bowl games the following day.  Then the NFL’s final week of the regular season the day after that.  So much football.  I can’t wait.  Enjoy the games everyone and have a happy New Year.

Week 16 Short NFL Recap AND Week 17 NFL TV Schedule – Sponsored by Darth Hoodie’s Botch

Tom. I am your coooooooooooooooooach.

I guess maybe less of a botch and more of Belichick just overthinking the overtime coin toss. You never, EVER, choose to kickoff in overtime.  I get that the statistics say the receiving team wins in overtime a little less than 60% of the time but why take that risk?  Doing it cost the Patriots the win, period.  He should have took the ball and his chances.  If they end up playing the Jets in the playoffs it could be a big batch of stupid karma being thrust their way.

Week 16 Short Recap

It was kind of a sloppy Monday nighter in Denver. The Broncos pulled out the win in overtime but it wasn’t the best performance for anyone involved.  Plus, AJ McCarron is nursing an injury after that fumble in overtime that ended the game.  Finally, I am sure I could have been closer on that kick than Brandon McManus was at the end of the 4^th quarter.  It’s been a long time since I have seen a clean kick missed that badly.  Luckily he got the chance to redeem himself in overtime.

See? What did I tell you.  Seattle would be the 6^th seed in the playoffs.  I honestly figured it would be a loss to Arizona that knocked them down there but this works too.

The Panthers are no longer undefeated. It’s the first time Atlanta has played really well in a couple of months.  Talk about a fall from grace inside one season.  They are the Bizarro Kansas City Chiefs.

Speaking of the Chiefs, they didn’t make it easy but they beat the Browns to clinch a playoff spot and can now clinch the AFC West this coming Sunday. How insane is that?  If you had put down $100 back in early October for the Chiefs to win the AFC West, I am sure you would have got 5000-1 odds (meaning you would have won $500,000).

Washington clinched the NFC East with their win over Philly. I repeat, WASHINGTON has won the NFC East.  It’s almost like an accident that they are now in the playoffs.  God, the NFC East is so bad.  Also, Chip Kelly was just recently fired as head coach.  He looks to be heading to either Cleveland or Tennessee where he will get his patience tested much more than he had with the Eagles.

Week 17 TV Schedule

Alright, here’s the TV schedule:

1:00	New Orleans at Atlanta	No TV
1:00	NY Jets at Buffalo	CBS (all of Canada (except Cornwall, Quebec, & Eastern Canada))/CTV (Vancouver, Alberta, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa)
1:00	Washington at Dallas	FOX (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario)
1:00	Tennessee at Indianapolis	No TV
1:00	Detroit at Chicago	FOX (Western Ontario, K/W-Cambridge, Guelph, Ottawa-Gatineau)
1:00	Pittsburgh at Cleveland	No TV
1:00	New England at Miami	CBS (Cornwall, Quebec, Eastern Canada)/CTV (Montreal, Atlantic)
1:00	Philadelphia at NY Giants	FOX (Northern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, GTA, Peterborough, Kingston, Belleville, Cornwall, Quebec)
1:00	Baltimore at Cincinnati	FOX (Eastern Canada)/CTV (Saskatchewan)/TSN2
1:00	Jacksonville at Houston	No TV
4:25	Tampa Bay at Carolina	No TV
4:25	Oakland at Kansas City	FOX (Cornwall, Quebec, Eastern Canada)/TSN2
4:25	Seattle at Arizona	FOX (all of Canada (except Cornwall, Quebec, & Eastern Canada))/CTV (Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg)
4:25	San Diego at Denver	CBS (all of Canada)/CTV (Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Atlantic)
4:25	St. Louis at San Francisco	No TV
8:30	Minnesota at Green Bay	NBC/TSN1/TSN4/TSN5

CTV in Saskatchewan, Northern Ontario, and Atlantic Canada have not officially set their games for this Sunday but these seem to be the most educated guesses. UPDATE: All games on CTV have been set. Slight change as CTV viewers in Saskatchewan receive Baltimore at Cincinnati.  Let’s look at the games that actually have some sort of meaning this weekend (and no, there is no reason to watch St. Louis play San Francisco):

NY Jets at Buffalo – If the Jets win or the Steelers lose, the Jets are in the playoffs.  The Fighting Rex Ryans are hoping to play spoiler and perhaps keep ol’ Rex off the hot seat heading into next season.

Tennessee at Indianapolis – The Colts would need a miracle to win the AFC South.  Let’s put it this way: I have a better chance at landing a model girlfriend, winning the lottery, and all of a sudden having six-pack abs by next week than Indy has at making the playoffs.  Here’s how this works:  First they have to win.  Then they need the following to happen:

• Houston loss
• Baltimore wins
• Atlanta wins
• Buffalo wins
• Denver wins
• Miami wins
• Oakland or Pittsburgh win or tie (but both cannot tie)
• Tiebreaker after this would involve point differential which, unless Indy gets a point differential of 84 points or more compared to Houston, the Texans would qualify

So yeah, they aren’t making it. But they still hold out hope I guess.  Also, if Tennessee loses they clinch the top spot in the draft.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland – First off, the Browns need to lose and have the Titans win to clinch the #1 pick of the draft.  As for the Steelers, they get in if they win and have the Jets lose to the Bills.

New England at Miami – The Patriots clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they win or if the Broncos lose.

Baltimore at Cincinnati – The Bengals clinch a first-round bye with a win and a Denver loss.  They can also clinch if the Broncos lose, they lose, but the Chiefs win (since KC would then clinch the AFC West).  Cincy cannot get home-field advantage.

Jacksonville at Houston – I am not going through this whole AFC South scenario again.  If the Texans win they make it very easy.  If they lose and the Colts win, then we get into the silliness.

Tampa Bay at Carolina – A Carolina win or a Cardinals loss gives the Panthers home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Oakland at Kansas City – For the Chiefs it’s easy.  If they win and the Broncos lose, the Chiefs will win the AFC West.  Otherwise they are one of the Wild-Card teams.

Seattle at Arizona – The Cardinals need a win and a Carolina loss to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.  Seattle can move into the coveted #5 seed but they need to win and have the Packers win.

San Diego at Denver – So much can happen here with Denver.  They can clinch the AFC West title with a win or a KC loss.  If they win they also clinch a first-round bye.  They can also be off for the first round if they tie and Cincinnati loses, or even if KC loses and Cincy loses.  Finally, the Broncos can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they win and the Patriots lose.  The Chargers have already almost clinched a move to Los Angeles.

Minnesota at Green Bay – This one is simple.  The winner gets the NFC North and the #3 seed.  If there is a tie, the Packers would clinch the division in the most anticlimactic fashion.

This is it. The final week of the regular season.  Still we have some drama this Sunday which is good to see from a fan’s perspective.  Right now, I believe Carolina and New England are going towards a head-on collision at the Super Bowl.  FOX executives have to be salivating at the thought of a Carolina-Arizona NFC Championship since those two teams are arguably the best two teams this year.

For you college football fans out there, the College Football Playoff starts tomorrow at 4:00 with the Orange Bowl and continues at 8:00 with the Cotton Bowl. There’s also the Peach Bowl at noon.  Enjoy the games everyone!

Bowl Recap #3 – Sponsored by gaining weight over the holidays

It sucks doesn’t it? I feel like a sloth right now.  My theory to deal with this is along the same lines as the theory I use for leftover Halloween candy.  Eat as much of it as quick as possible to get rid of it.  You might feel like shit for a day or two but then it’s gone and you can get back to having a relatively normal diet.  It doesn’t seem to be working this time.  Oh well, there’s so much football to watch it’s not like I can leave the couch for too long.  That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it.  Anyway…

Bowl Recap-o

ST. PETERSBURG BOWL – Marshall 16 UConn 10

OK first off the 11am starting time on Boxing Day is interesting but sucks for anyone who has responsibilities and/or is recovering from Christmas Day festivities (read: drinks). And for the love of God, enough of playing a bowl game on this shitty field.  I would rather watch it played on a poorly maintained high school football field instead.  The Trop is a fucking dump.  They should just tear it down (and move the Rays to Montreal).  Anyway, the game was close but not really that exciting.  UConn might be an interesting team to watch next year in the AAC East.

SUN BOWL – Washington State 20 Miami 14

Sun Bowl. I always laugh at that moniker for this game because most of the time this game is played in either a) snow b) rain or c) sunny but frigid weather.  Almost never is it sunny and fairly nice weather.  It’s fucking El Paso.   I don’t get it.  It’s like it’s in some sort of weird weather vortex.  Plus they need to make it so it’s an SEC team against a Big XII team.  That’s the easiest way to fill the stands.  As for the game, Wazzu held on in sloppy snowy weather to defeat The U in the final Richt-less game for the Hurricanes.  Also, is Mike Leach drunk when he’s coaching?  His halftime and post-game interviews are equal parts hilarious and disturbing for the fact he never really answers the questions asked of him.

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL – Washington 44 Southern Miss 31

I’ll be honest: I watched very little of this game. With the Sun Bowl on at virtually the same time and the Pinstripe Bowl starting about an hour afterwards, I would be surprised if many (outside UW or USM alums/fans) would watch this one.  Another example of poor timing of bowl games.  They would have been better off putting this on at 9 in the morning.

PINSTRIPE BOWL – Duke 44 Indiana 41 (OT)

Good lord this was a fantastic game. It had a bit of everything.  A lot of scoring.  Those one or two defensive stops when absolutely needed.  Overtime.  And controversy…in overtime even.  Both of these teams are looking quite good for next season I have to say.  The controversy was over the field goal missed (made?) by the Hoosiers in their half of overtime to extend the game to 2OT.  The ball went fully over the uprights.  From some angles it looked good.  I never saw an angle that definitively showed the ball would have been outside the uprights.  However, that is not reviewable.  This one I kind of get.  How would you review it?  Either we will get a rule in the next few seasons that the uprights need to be extended a foot or two higher or this will be lost to history as a controversial but highly unusual occurrence that lends to the magic of college football (except for IU fans).

INDEPENDENCE BOWL – Virginia Tech 55 Tulsa 52

From the sublime to the ridiculous, we present you the Independence Bowl. Frank Beamer’s Last Stand.  This game was ridiculous.  Most points scored in the first half in any bowl EVER.  Yet it felt like Tulsa still wasn’t fully out of it at any point.  I’m surprised we didn’t see Bud Foster drinking right out of the whiskey bottle on the sidelines.  This was clearly defense-optional and it showed.  A nice (albeit weird) way for Frank Beamer to go out.  Very subdued at the end which kind of matches Frank’s personality.  I am sure that’s the way he would have wanted it.  As for who is now the leader at the FBS coaching ranks in all-time wins, look no further than Evil Nick Saban who is one win ahead of Papa Bill Snyder.

FOSTER FARMS BOWL – Nebraska 37 UCLA 29

This ended up being another good game. Unfortunately, with the Huskers winning, it means the idea of 5-7 teams playing in bowl games becomes that much more accepted which is the wrong way to go.  I don’t usually care one way or another who wins a bowl game as long as it’s a good game.  This one was one where I hoped UCLA mopped the floor with Nebraska.  That did not happen so we should look forward to 10 more bowl games in the next few years.  I tip my cap to Mike Riley’s team as they had one of the most frustrating seasons in recent memory.  To end like this is a nice way to end it for them and allows them to look forward to next season with a bit of momentum.

MILITARY BOWL – Navy 44 Pittsburgh 28

Normally a game like this wouldn’t have elicited much interest. However, with the Panthers players playing their hearts out for James Conner (who is suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) and Keenan Reynolds looking to retake the career touchdown record from Kenneth Dixon there was at least a little intrigue.  Also, Reynolds had the opportunity to set a new record for rushing yards by a QB, which he did.  Not very close (for the most part) but a pretty fun game to watch at a very fun atmosphere.  Whoever made the decision to have the Military Bowl be played at Annapolis is a genius.

QUICK LANE BOWL – Minnesota 21 Central Michigan 14

If it wasn’t for the fact this bowl was close it would have been thoroughly unwatchable. Even ESPN didn’t think much about it as it’s the only game to be relegated to ESPN2 this bowl season (other than on New Year’s Day but that’s a little different scenario).  All three 5-7 teams won their bowl games.  I am less than pleased.  Also, it will be very interesting to see how Tracy Claeys does over a full season in the relatively competitive Big Ten West.

Alright my NFL recap for this previous week will be combined with the NFL Week 17 schedule to create some sort of superpost (super referring to the length of the post and not the quality of the post). I am hoping to do this tomorrow but it all depends on when the coverage maps are done (courtesy of 506sports.com).  Four bowl games today with two that are almost must-see (Russell Athletic and Alamo Bowls).  Four bowl games tomorrow as well but with not nearly the hype of today’s games.  Then, in two days, the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six are finally upon us!  Enjoy the games everyone.

Bowl Game Recap #2 – Sponsored by being sick in and around Christmas

It’s the worst isn’t it?

RECAP TIME!

MIAMI BEACH BOWL – Western Kentucky 45 USF 35

In my post about fixing bowl season, I did not include the Miami Beach Bowl in the cuts. A couple of reasons for that.  The most important one should be how exciting the two bowl games there have been.  Last year’s Brawl for it All between BYU and Memphis was great.  This year’s game was pretty damn good too.  It’s a wonder Miami didn’t at least take a look at Willie Taggart (although Mark Richt is a really good hire in his own right).  Anyway, Brandon Doughty looked like the most prolific passer in college football in this one after a bit of a slow start.  It’s too bad he’s gone next year since he would have made the Hilltoppers an instant Group of Five contender.

BOCA RATON BOWL – Toledo 32 Temple 17

This one had the makings of a classic. Easily the best bowl game not involving Power Five teams.  Turned out to be a defensive battle that no one envisioned…at least until the fourth quarter when the Rockets finally had enough of that shit and put a 20-spot on the board to pull away.  But still, a good game to watch.  So far so good for bowl season watchability.

IDAHO POTATO BOWL – Akron 23 Utah State 21

A monumental win for the Akron program in this one. Their first bowl game in ten years and their first bowl win ever.  Say what you want about Terry Bowden (and I am sure many Auburn fans would) but he is a pretty good coach and has turned around a program that was pretty much FCS level for years into a MAC contender.  Again, another good game to watch as it came down to the wire.

POINSETTIA BOWL – Boise State 55 Northern Illinois 7

The string of relatively close bowl games had to end at some point. I never thought it was going to be this one.  It’s like all the close bowl games up until this point made it so this had to get WAY out of hand early.  Boise showed why it is still considered the premier Group of Five team.  They should be interesting to watch next year.

GODADDY BOWL – Georgia Southern 58 Bowling Green 27

Yikes. Two bowl games on December 23^rd.  Two blowouts.  The Eagles showed why they were moved up from FCS to the Sun Belt in this one.  To be honest, they would have been bowl-eligible in Conference USA and possibly the American Conference.  They are that good.  And if it wasn’t for Toledo, the MAC is looking horrible so far this bowl season.

BAHAMAS BOWL – Western Michigan 45 Middle Tennessee 31

Another team winning their first bowl game in program history. I didn’t know the Broncos hadn’t won one before since they had been six times previously.  A little personal sidenote: they were involved in the first college football game I ever saw: the short-lived International Bowl.  They played Cincinnati that year and it was quite the spectacle to see 30,000 college football fans in the Rogers Centre when the Argos usually play to a deafening lack of noise.  Speaking of Cincinnati…

HAWAII BOWL – San Diego State a lot Cincinnati hardly anything

OK the score was actually 42-7. Usually I use the Hawaii Bowl to keep me somewhat entertained while I wrap the rest of the presents and get all the Santa stuff out (don’t tell any kids…or do….whatever).  This game did not fit the bill.  I ended up tuning to the Chargers-Raiders game since that at least was close. Anyway, this game was pretty much boring after the first Aztec score.  The Bearcats were completely outmatched here and it showed.  SDSU still seems to be one of the most underrated teams in college football.  I guess that’s what you get when you are overshadowed in your conference by perennial powerhouse Boise State.

Alright, another recap over. Today we have six (count em SIX!) bowl games and an NFL game which could have the Washington Redskins somehow clinch the NFC East.  Good lord.  Hopefully some of the college games are good.  Also it’s Frank Beamer’s last game as a head coach so at least the last few minutes of that one should be good (and emotional).

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas with family and friends. Enjoy the games through to the New Year and the College Football Playoff.

If I ran the bowl games

Obviously it would be so much better right? RIGHT?

I think it has come to the point where the bowl game season has got out of hand. When you have three 5-7 teams making bowl games something is wrong.  And don’t get me wrong I love college football (perhaps too much); however, there are too many games to watch.  OK maybe I should clarify.  It isn’t too many games per se; it’s more the way they are laid out, the matchups they produce, the networks they are on, etc.  So let’s get down to my plan to fix bowl season…

My Plan

Cut some of the fat. First off, even I have to finally admit…ok this is tough but here goes…there are too many bowl games.  There I said it.  When you have multiple under-.500 teams in the postseason, you know it has gotten out of hand.  So despite the fact ESPN makes some sort of money out of these games and they can be somewhat big for the communities these bowl games are in, we have to make some cuts here.  So will the following bowl games please step forward:

• Cure Bowl
• Arizona Bowl
• Idaho Potato Bowl
• Bahamas Bowl
• Boca Raton Bowl
• St. Petersburg Bowl
• Heart of Dallas Bowl
• Birmingham Bowl

These bowl games are hereby cut from the schedule. Through a combination of relatively poor attendance, lack of big teams playing, playing in horrible stadiums that should be torn down (*COUGH*Legion Field*COUGH*), playing in places where very few people care (the Bahamas), and having brutal tie-ins, these bowl games are easy to cut since very few will miss them…even the people in the cities where these games are held.

Times of the games. OK when there are games on at 2:30 on the Tuesday before Christmas, there is a problem.  No one can watch these games.  What I have done is eliminate those ridiculous pre-Christmas times.  I have also tried to prevent too many overlaps of games since part of the idea of bowl games is for certain smaller programs to receive national audiences.  Overlapping bowl games splits the audience.  In some cases you can’t help it but a lot of times it can be fixed and I believe I have done that.  Between Christmas and New Year’s there has to be some day games and that’s probably unavoidable.  I have, however, extended the bowl season (other than the National Championship) to January 6^th to allow more bowls to have their own spotlight.

A few more games on non-ESPN networks. Down to 32 games, I plan to increase the amount of games on non-ESPN networks to 6.  The Cure Bowl is gone so CBS Sports Network gets the Miami Beach Bowl instead. The Sun Bowl is still on CBS but with a tweak that will be discussed a bit later.  ABC already has the Las Vegas Bowl and the Outback Bowl.  I am also putting the Texas Bowl on ABC.  FOX now gets the Alamo Bowl.  UPDATE: I can’t believe I am already doing an update on this.  I forgot the Pinstripe Bowl is already on ABC.  So I have moved that to ABC as well.

Less bowl tie-ins. Having pretty much every bowl have tie-ins has produced an inordinate amount of at-large teams going to bowl games.  It also can create some not-so-appealing matchups.  So I have done the following:

• Power Five conferences get five bowl tie-ins
• The AAC, Mountain West, and Conference USA get four bowl tie-ins
• The MAC and Sun Belt get three bowl tie-ins

Now this does not include the top Group of Five team getting inclusion into the New Year’s Six. It can get a bit sticky since two of the six NYS bowls are the College Football Playoff semi-finals.  All that means is that at least one conference will lose a true tie-in which isn’t as big a deal as you may think.

As for the tie-ins themselves, I have tweaked some a bit.  Especially when it comes to the Sun Bowl.  It has never made sense to me that CBS airs the Sun Bowl and never has an SEC team on it. I have put an SEC team to face a Big XII team which should pack the stadium pretty easily.

The creation of more at-large bids. Having less bowl tie-ins obviously means more at-large bids.  As you will see, the amount of at-large bids goes up to 14 from basically zero.  This way there’s very little chance a conference won’t have enough teams to fulfill their bowl game obligations (which I always found stupid).  This will lead to a much better Selection Sunday show.  This season, from the sounds of it, that show was pretty damn boring.  Wouldn’t it be more exciting (and a lot like CBS’s March Madness Selection Show) if not only the CFP and NYS bowls were selected, but the bowl games selected their at-large teams LIVE on the air?  I think it would.  I would actually watch that.

7 wins to make a bowl. Forget 6-6 teams.  You must win 7 and they will only go to 6 if there aren’t enough teams which usually won’t happen.  Also, if they make sure that no FBS team schedules more than one FCS team, we don’t have to worry about more than one FCS win counting towards the seven wins.

Alright so I tried to mimic what the bowl matchups this year ended up being. Most of the time it ended up being easy.  In other cases, not so much.  Here’s what we have before the at-large teams are selected:

December 31, 2015	4:00	ESPN	Orange Bowl	ACC #1	CFP At-Large	Clemson	Oklahoma
January 2, 2016	8:00	ESPN	Cotton Bowl	CFP At-Large	CFP At-Large	Alabama	Michigan State
January 1, 2016	8:30	ESPN	Sugar Bowl	SEC #1	Big XII #1	Ole Miss	Oklahoma State
January 1, 2016	5:00	ESPN	Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1	Pac-12 #1	Iowa	Stanford
January 2, 2016	4:30	ESPN	Fiesta Bowl	CFP At-Large	CFP At-Large	Notre Dame	Ohio State
December 31, 2015	12:00	ESPN	Peach Bowl	CFP At-Large	CFP At-Large	Florida State	Houston
January 6, 2016	9:00	ESPN	Cactus Bowl	Big XII #5	MWC #1	West Virginia	San Diego State
January 5, 2016	8:00	FOX	Alamo Bowl	Big XII #2	Pac-12 #2	TCU	Oregon
January 4, 2016	8:00	ESPN	Liberty Bowl	C-USA #4	at-large	Marshall
January 2, 2016	12:00	ESPN	TaxSlayer Bowl	ACC #3	SEC #3	Louisville	LSU
January 1, 2016	12:00	ABC	Outback Bowl	SEC #4	Big Ten #3	Tennessee	Northwestern
January 1, 2016	1:00	ESPN	Citrus Bowl	Big Ten #2	SEC #2	Michigan	Florida
December 30, 2015	7:30	ESPN	Music City Bowl	at-large	at-large
December 30, 2015	3:30	ESPN	Belk Bowl	ACC #4	at-large	NC State
December 29, 2015	10:30	ESPN	Holiday Bowl	Big Ten #4	Pac-12 #3	Wisconsin	USC
December 29, 2015	8:00	ABC	Texas Bowl	at-large	Big XII #3		Baylor
December 29, 2015	7:00	ESPN	Russell Athletic Bowl	ACC #2	at-large	North Carolina
December 29, 2015	3:30	ESPN	Armed Forces Bowl	at-large	MWC #2		Air Force
December 29, 2015	12:00	ESPN	Quick Lane Bowl	MAC #3	Big Ten #5	Toledo	Penn State
December 28, 2015	4:00	ESPN	Military Bowl	ACC #5	American #1	Pittsburgh	Navy
December 26, 2015	10:30	ESPN	Foster Farms Bowl	at-large	Pac-12 #5		Washington State
December 26, 2015	7:00	ESPN	Independence Bowl	at-large	American #4		Memphis
December 26, 2015	3:30	ESPN	Poinsettia Bowl	at-large	MWC #3		Boise State
December 26, 2015	2:00	CBS	Sun Bowl	SEC #5	Big XII #4	Texas A&M	Texas Tech
December 26, 2015	1:00	ABC	Pinstripe Bowl	at-large	at-large
December 24, 2015	8:00	ESPN	Hawaii Bowl	American #2	MWC #4	Temple	Colorado State
December 23, 2015	8:00	ESPN	GoDaddy Bowl	MAC #1	Sun Belt #1	Bowling Green	Arkansas State
December 22, 2015	7:00	CBSSN	Miami Beach Bowl	C-USA #1	American #3	Western Kentucky	USF
December 19, 2015	9:00	ESPN	New Orleans Bowl	C-USA #2	Sun Belt #2	Louisiana Tech	Georgia Southern
December 19, 2015	5:30	ESPN	Camellia Bowl	MAC #2	Sun Belt #3	Ohio	Appalachian State
December 19, 2015	3:30	ABC	Las Vegas Bowl	Pac-12 #4	at-large	Utah
December 19, 2015	2:00	ESPN	New Mexico Bowl	C-USA #3	at-large	Southern Miss

Now we get to Selection Sunday. We can use the NBA Draft big plastic drum for this to determine the order which the bowls will select their teams.  A reminder that in this case the Music City Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl have two at-large bids.  And with 14 at-large bids, there were 15 teams remaining who would be bowl-eligible under the new format.  Here we go.  First up, the at-large teams remaining:  BYU, Georgia, Mississippi State, Arkansas, UCLA, California, Miami, Duke, Cincinnati, New Mexico, Middle Tennessee, Akron, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois.  And now, the selections (selections done at random):

1. Pinstripe Bowl – Georgia
2. Independence Bowl – Arkansas
3. Texas Bowl – Mississippi State
4. Las Vegas Bowl – BYU
5. New Mexico Bowl – New Mexico
6. Belk Bowl – UCLA
7. Music City Bowl – Middle Tennessee
8. Russell Athletic Bowl – Cincinnati
9. Music City Bowl – Duke
10. Foster Farms Bowl – Northern Illinois
11. Poinsettia Bowl – California
12. Pinstripe Bowl – Miami
13. Liberty Bowl – Akron
14. Armed Forces Bowl – Central Michigan

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think many of these matchups are too much better than the ones that are there now; however, and I hate to say this, it eliminates some teams who probably don’t deserve to be in a postseason showcase. Plus this also makes it so no conference foes will face each other (right Arizona Bowl?).  One team would be home for the holidays and that’s Western Michigan.  Row that boat a bit harder I guess.

So after all this, this is what we would have:

December 31, 2015	4:00	ESPN	Orange Bowl	ACC #1	CFP At-Large	Clemson	Oklahoma
January 2, 2016	8:00	ESPN	Cotton Bowl	CFP At-Large	CFP At-Large	Alabama	Michigan State
January 1, 2016	8:30	ESPN	Sugar Bowl	SEC #1	Big XII #1	Ole Miss	Oklahoma State
January 1, 2016	5:00	ESPN	Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1	Pac-12 #1	Iowa	Stanford
January 2, 2016	4:30	ESPN	Fiesta Bowl	CFP At-Large	CFP At-Large	Notre Dame	Ohio State
December 31, 2015	12:00	ESPN	Peach Bowl	CFP At-Large	CFP At-Large	Florida State	Houston
January 6, 2016	9:00	ESPN	Cactus Bowl	Big XII #5	MWC #1	West Virginia	San Diego State
January 5, 2016	8:00	FOX	Alamo Bowl	Big XII #2	Pac-12 #2	TCU	Oregon
January 4, 2016	8:00	ESPN	Liberty Bowl	C-USA #4	at-large	Marshall	Akron
January 2, 2016	12:00	ESPN	TaxSlayer Bowl	ACC #3	SEC #3	Louisville	LSU
January 1, 2016	12:00	ABC	Outback Bowl	SEC #4	Big Ten #3	Tennessee	Northwestern
January 1, 2016	1:00	ESPN	Citrus Bowl	Big Ten #2	SEC #2	Michigan	Florida
December 30, 2015	7:30	ESPN	Music City Bowl	at-large	at-large	Duke	Middle Tennessee
December 30, 2015	3:30	ESPN	Belk Bowl	ACC #4	at-large	NC State	UCLA
December 29, 2015	10:30	ESPN	Holiday Bowl	Big Ten #4	Pac-12 #3	Wisconsin	USC
December 29, 2015	8:00	ABC	Texas Bowl	at-large	Big XII #3	Mississippi State	Baylor
December 29, 2015	7:00	ESPN	Russell Athletic Bowl	ACC #2	at-large	North Carolina	Cincinnati
December 29, 2015	3:30	ESPN	Armed Forces Bowl	at-large	MWC #2	Central Michigan	Air Force
December 29, 2015	12:00	ESPN	Quick Lane Bowl	MAC #3	Big Ten #5	Toledo	Penn State
December 28, 2015	4:00	ESPN	Military Bowl	ACC #5	American #1	Pittsburgh	Navy
December 26, 2015	10:30	ESPN	Foster Farms Bowl	at-large	Pac-12 #5	Northern Illinois	Washington State
December 26, 2015	7:00	ESPN	Independence Bowl	at-large	American #4	Arkansas	Memphis
December 26, 2015	3:30	ESPN	Poinsettia Bowl	at-large	MWC #3	California	Boise State
December 26, 2015	2:00	CBS	Sun Bowl	SEC #5	Big XII #4	Texas A&M	Texas Tech
December 26, 2015	12:00	ESPN	Pinstripe Bowl	at-large	at-large	Miami	Georgia
December 24, 2015	8:00	ESPN	Hawaii Bowl	American #2	MWC #4	Temple	Colorado State
December 23, 2015	8:00	ESPN	GoDaddy Bowl	MAC #1	Sun Belt #1	Bowling Green	Arkansas State
December 22, 2015	7:00	CBSSN	Miami Beach Bowl	C-USA #1	American #3	Western Kentucky	USF
December 19, 2015	9:00	ESPN	New Orleans Bowl	C-USA #2	Sun Belt #2	Louisiana Tech	Georgia Southern
December 19, 2015	5:30	ESPN	Camellia Bowl	MAC #2	Sun Belt #3	Ohio	Appalachian State
December 19, 2015	3:30	ABC	Las Vegas Bowl	Pac-12 #4	at-large	Utah	BYU
December 19, 2015	2:00	ESPN	New Mexico Bowl	C-USA #3	at-large	Southern Miss	New Mexico

Pretty solid lineup. More compact.  Gives most games a pure national spotlight.  And it fixes a few issues that ESPN especially seem to be ignoring with bowl season.  Easy right?  Which means it will never happen.

Week 16 NFL TV Schedule – Sponsored by the Beckham/Norman affair

This has taken on a life of its own. Baseball bats and gay slurs and targeting and threats.  It has got beyond ridiculous.  I get that NFL players can be competitive.  I totally understand that.  I am a competitive person by nature so that makes sense.  What doesn’t make sense is threatening a guy before a game.  Or when that threat involves a baseball bat.  Or when you hurl gay slurs at a guy.  Or when you retaliate by targeting the guy with dangerous (possibly) concussion-inducing hits to the head.  Talk about getting out of hand.

Alright enough of that, let’s get to this week’s NFL schedule:

Thursday
8:25	San Diego at Oakland	SNP/SNW/SNO/SNE
Saturday
8:25	Washington at Philadelphia	SNP/SNW/SNO/SNE
Sunday
1:00	Carolina at Atlanta	FOX (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, Cornwall, Quebec, Eastern Canada)/CTV (Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Toronto, Ottawa)
1:00	Dallas at Buffalo	FOX (Northern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, GTA, Peterborough, Kingston, Belleville)/CTV (Kitchener)/TSN2
1:00	San Francisco at Detroit	FOX (Western Ontario, K/W-Cambridge, Guelph, Ottawa-Gatineau)
1:00	Cleveland at Kansas City	No TV
1:00	Indianapolis at Miami	No TV
1:00	New England at NY Jets	CBS (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, Kingston, Cornwall, Quebec, Eastern Canada)/CTV (Montreal, Atlantic)
1:00	Chicago at Tampa Bay	No TV
1:00	Houston at Tennessee	No TV
1:00	Pittsburgh at Baltimore	No TV
4:05	Jacksonville at New Orleans	CBS (Northern Ontario, Western Ontario, K/W-Cambridge, Guelph, Ottawa-Gatineau, Golden Horseshoe, GTA, Peterborough, Belleville)/TSN1/TSN3/TSN4
4:25	Green Bay at Arizona	FOX (all of Canada (except BC & Alberta))/CTV (Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal)/CTV2 (Atlantic)
4:25	St. Louis at Seattle	FOX (BC, Alberta)/CTV (Vancouver, Alberta)
8:30	NY Giants at Minnesota	NBC/TSN1/TSN4/TSN5
Monday
8:30	Cincinnati at Denver	TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5

Man a lot of early games not on TV this week. Then again, like many weeks this season, it feels like there are really only two or three games on Sunday that have curb appeal so to speak.

We have the Thursday night game between the Chargers and the Raiders in possibly the last game in Oakland. That could be the only reason people tune in on Christmas Eve.  That and the fact they are finishing up wrapping presents and need something for background noise.  Then the inexplicable Saturday night game returns this week.  I don’t get the NFL sometimes.  Why are these games back?  And why are they branded Thursday Night Football or Sunday Night Football?  Just call it something else…maybe Saturday Night Football.  I know, sounds stupid right?

Easily the game of the week is the Packers facing the Cardinals. Problem is the game means almost nothing.  Unless Arizona collapses the last two weeks they will have locked up a first-round bye.  This game also means nothing to the Packers since next week’s game against the Vikings is winner-take-all for the NFC North crown.  So naturally, this is America’s Game of the Week.  Thanks FOX.

Clinching scenarios

Home-field Advantage

New England clinches home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win.

Carolina clinches home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win or an Arizona loss.

First Round Bye

Cincinnati clinches a first round bye with a win.

Arizona clinches a first round bye with a win.

Division Title

Cincinnati clinches the AFC North with a win or a Pittsburgh loss.

Denver clinches the AFC West with a win and a Kansas City loss.

Houston clinches the AFC South with a win and an Indianapolis loss. There are other strange strength of schedule tiebreakers that would allow Houston to clinch without the previous scenario happening but it involves calculus.

Green Bay clinches the NFC North with a win and a Minnesota loss.

Washington clinches the NFC East with a win.

Playoff Berth

Denver clinches a playoff berth with a win and a NY Jets loss OR a win and a Pittsburgh loss.

Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with a win and a NY Jets loss OR a win and a Pittsburgh loss.

Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth with a win and a NY Jets loss.

Minnesota clinches a playoff berth with a win OR an Atlanta loss OR a Seattle win.

Worst-Case Scenario

OK here I lay out a bit of a worst-case scenario for Captain Gingersnaps and his merry band of complete fucktard greedy owners. Here goes:

1. Washington beats Philadelphia. They clinch the NFC East crown.
2. Carolina beats Atlanta. Carolina clinches home-field advantage and puts Minnesota in the playoffs.
3. Kansas City beats Cleveland.
4. Miami beats Indianapolis.
5. New England beats the Jets. This gives the Patriots home-field advantage and, with the KC win, puts the Chiefs in the playoffs.
6. Houston beats Tennessee. With the earlier Colts loss, the Texans clinch the AFC South.
7. Pittsburgh beats Baltimore. Coupled with a Jets loss, the Steelers are in the playoffs and the Jets are eliminated.
8. Arizona beats Green Bay to clinch the first round bye.
9. Cincinnati beats Denver to clinch the AFC North and a first round bye.

If somehow all this happened, the amount of excitement during Week 17 would be almost nil. The Chiefs and Broncos would still both have a chance at the AFC West.  The Packers and Vikings play for the NFC North title but that was going to happen anyway unless the Packers won and the Vikings lost.  Other than that, all 12 playoff teams would be set and very little could be done the last week of the season.  Senor Goodell would cringe at the thought.

Alright we are in the midst of a mini footballgasm here. Football every day through the 4^th of January (except for Christmas Day).  Enjoy the games!

 

Week 15 Short NFL Recap – Sponsored by Odell’s Bad Temper

Aw but wait, they’re hugging it out.

So to be honest, I believe the officials should take a lot of the blame on this one. They should have warned Odell Beckham Jr. (and Josh Norman for that matter) earlier on in the game about all the shoves and pushes and all that horseshit. Instead, it leads to Beckham nailing Norman with a helmet-to-helmet hit and later on, the two of them going at it. Beckham gets a one game suspension and I believe Norman should have got one too. Also, that refereeing crew (or at least the referee himself) should have been suspended for this week’s games as well. C’mon Commissioner Shitbag. Instead of sitting in New York with your thumb up your ass maybe you could do something about it. How the owners even trust this guy I will never know.

More recappin’

Drew Brees hits the 60,000 yard passing mark and it seems like, other than ESPN, no one really cared. It doesn’t help that the Saints are playing poorly and were playing the Lions last night. I know I watched about three minutes of the “action.”

Probably the final game in San Diego and the Chargers go out with a bang, beating up on the hapless Dolphins. Too bad they couldn’t do anything close to that the entire season up until that point.

The Chiefs, Steelers, and Jets all winning this past week means a boatload of AFC teams were eliminated all of a sudden from playoff contention. It probably means there will be a lot less drama during the final weekend. I don’t know if the NFL wants this or not since you can look at it in two ways:

• On a negative note, it means that not as many teams are in the playoff hunt meaning less fans will be drawn to many last week games
• On a positive note, the games that are truly important will get a shit-ton more viewers.

Houston beats Indianapolis and Washington beats Buffalo meaning there is still a possibility that the AFC South and NFC East champs could be above .500 at the end of the season. It would be shocking but it is a possibility.

It’s too bad about the Beckham-Norman tomfoolery because the Panthers-Giants game was great. The Giants came back from 28 down to tie it. If they had won, it would have tied the largest comeback in a regular season game in NFL history. Instead, Cam Newton did his Cam Newton thing and drove the Panthers down the field for the game-winning field goal with no time left. It was as much must-see TV as you can get for an NFL regular season game these days.

Updated Playoff Predictions

I don’t know why I keep doing this since at least one of my picks makes me look like an idiot. Anyway, here goes with my predictions for what it will look like once the regular season is over:

AFC		NFC
Division Champs		Division Champs
1	New England (East)	1	Carolina (South)
2	Cincinnati (North)	2	Arizona (West)
3	Denver (West)	3	Minnesota (North)
4	Houston (South)	4	Washington (East)
Wild-Card Spots		Wild-Card Spots
5	Kansas City	5	Green Bay
6	Pittsburgh	6	Seattle

 

Currently right now, the only team that is not on this chart that would have a shot at a Wild-Card spot is probably the New York Jets, who are currently tied with the Chiefs and Steelers for the two Wild-Card spots. In the NFC, Atlanta is two games back of a playoff spot and is a very mediocre team. The AFC South and NFC East are still up for grabs but those division titles could be locked up after this coming week if the chips fall the right way (for Houston and Washington, respectively). The only real intrigue could come from the NFC North. Unless the Vikings play horrible this coming week, they should beat the Giants, setting up a winner-take-all showdown at Lambeau on the final Sunday (which should put them on NBC unless the Cowboys want to play in primetime) for the NFC North crown. I still think the Vikings will pull off the upset which could be the worst thing they do since it would get them a date with the Seahawks in all likelihood.

Bowls and bowls and bowls and bowls and bowls and bowls, etc. So much college football over the next week and a half it’s insane. Not totally complaining (although a game on this afternoon is ridiculous…even with a PVR I probably won’t watch a whole lot of it). Next NFL game is Christmas Eve night as the Chargers could end up being the answer to a crazy trivia question: “Name the only team to be involved in the last home game ever of a team on two separate occasions in the same season.” That sounded kind of wordy. Enjoy the football and the holidays!

Bowl Game Recap #1 – Sponsored by that fucking Elf on the Shelf

I wish I could say that looked familiar…

Ugh. I am getting sick of it. At first you think, “Hey this is cute and my kids will like it and it’s all sorts of fun.” Then you get to a few days before Christmas and you have run all out of ideas for this fucking thing and the last thing you want to do is do actual work to make it look like something cool at 11:30 on a Sunday night. I digress…

The first set of bowl games are complete and we actually had some pretty damn good games. Let’s recap shall we?

CELEBRATION BOWL – North Carolina A&T 41 Alcorn State 34

Yes this wasn’t part of the set of 41 FBS bowls but it is still a bowl game (kind of). They were calling it the HBCU National Championship. I didn’t give a shit what they called it, I just wanted it to be a good game. And it was. It came down to the end with Alcorn State driving but not being able to pull off the game-tying touchdown. Also, A&T’s running back Tarik Cohen may have secured himself a pick in the upcoming draft with that performance.

NEW MEXICO BOWL – Arizona 45 New Mexico 37

This felt like the Wildcats were going to run away with it. But the Fighting Davies, playing at home, valiantly came back and almost came close to tying it. This was a good start to the true bowl season with a great game, a Power Five team playing a Group of Five team, and a really good crowd. This is what bowl season is supposed to be about. Scooby Wright declaring for the draft four seconds after the clock struck zero was a little interesting but didn’t take away from the game.

LAS VEGAS BOWL – Utah 35 BYU 28

After about ten minutes of play, I took a look back at my bowl rankings/picks post. I remembered saying that hopefully this Holy War/bowl game isn’t a blowout since it should be the best pre-Christmas bowl by a country mile.   When the Utes went up 35-0 with 5 minutes to play in the FIRST QUARTER I wondered if they would shoot for 70 and destroy Bronco Mendenhall’s final game as BYU head coach. But the Cougs fought back and actually made a game of it. I honestly wondered if they would pull off the comeback. Even Kyle Whittingham, during the post-game interview, was pretty pissed his team let BYU come all the way back (almost). So yet another good bowl game (when it looked like a dud).

CAMELLIA BOWL – Appalachian State 31 Ohio 29

This was a fantastic game. And by the looks of it, Mountaineer fans travel very well. There were a ton of them in the stands and they were loud. Both teams had quick runs with multiple scores. Walk-off field goal for Appy State’s first bowl win in their first bowl game in their first official FBS season. Again, THIS is what bowl season is all about.

CURE BOWL – San Jose State 27 Georgia State 16

Georgia State’s turnaround was one of the better stories of the season. Hey, did you know the worst FBS team in Georgia this season? Arguably it was Georgia Tech which strikes me as a bit crazy. Anyway, the Spartans sent Greg Robinson (who has coached at approximately 89 schools) out the right way with a gritty bowl win over a game Panthers team. This was a good game for about 50-some odd minutes. For this to be considered the worst game of the day shows how good this day was for college football.

NEW ORLEANS BOWL – Louisiana Tech 47 Arkansas State 28

If Kenneth Dixon was at a more prominent school, who knows what kind of hype he would have. As it stands, he’s definitely an NFL prospect but it will be interesting to see how high he goes in the draft. Keenan Reynolds…it’s your turn now. This has a David Thompson-George Gervin feel to it (Google that shit).

Alright, a great first day. Now we get into some stupid bowl game times. Hopefully the games end up being good as I will be using my PVR as much as I possibly can (especially on Boxing Day…hope it can handle it). Enjoy the next set of games!

Week 15 NFL TV Schedule – Sponsored by my eyes which were burning last night

These Color Rush uniforms are garbage. Plain and simple. If I saw someone wearing one in public I would have to use all my effort not to beat the holy hell out of them. Those St. Louis Rams unis from last night were beyond atrocious. Then again it sounds about right for a franchise that has fallen so far from The Greatest Show On Turf from the late 90s/early 2000s. Just move them…anywhere. It doesn’t matter where they go because they just don’t have the fans in St. Louis. And I am sure they would not want to finance a new stadium for a team owned by a guy who may be a billionaire. It is pretty well common knowledge that the math they use to show how financially good a new stadium will be to a city or area is bogus at best.

Anyway, here’s the schedule for this coming week:

Saturday
8:25	NY Jets at Dallas	SNP/SNW/SNO/SNE
Sunday
1:00	Kansas City at Baltimore	No TV
1:00	Houston at Indianapolis	CBS (Golden Horseshoe, GTA, Peterborough)
1:00	Atlanta at Jacksonville	No TV
1:00	Chicago at Minnesota	FOX (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, Western Ontario, K/W-Cambridge, Guelph, Ottawa-Gatineau)/CTV (Winnipeg)/TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5
1:00	Tennessee at New England	CBS (BC, Alberta, Northern Ontario, Western Ontario, K/W-Cambridge, Guelph, Ottawa-Gatineau, Belleville, Kingston, Cornwall, Quebec, Eastern Canada)/CTV (Ottawa, Montreal, Atlantic)
1:00	Carolina at NY Giants	FOX (Cornwall, Quebec)/CTV (Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan)
1:00	Buffalo at Washington	FOX (Northern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, GTA, Peterborough, Belleville, Kingston)/CTV (Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto)
4:05	Green Bay at Oakland	FOX (Eastern Canada)/TSN1/TSN3/TSN4
4:05	Cleveland at Seattle	FOX (BC, Alberta)
4:25	Denver at Pittsburgh	CBS (all of Canada (except BC))/CTV (all of Canada)
4:25	Miami at San Diego	No TV
4:25	Cincinnati at San Francisco	No TV
8:30	Arizona at Philadelphia	NBC/TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5
Monday
8:30	Detroit at New Orleans	TSN1/TSN4/TSN5

Yes there is a game Saturday night for some reason. Don’t ask me why since I don’t have the faintest clue. Besides, it’s the Cowboys so I am sure I won’t be watching.

I will say though that they have done much better with balancing the Sunday schedule this week. Five late afternoon games. I don’t remember the last time there have been that many late afternoon games on one Sunday. Saying that, only three of the five are on TV in this country. Not saying there would be a huge audience for Miami at San Diego because I am sure that wouldn’t be the case either (unless you have Sunday Ticket then I am sure you would watch a bit of every game every week regardless of the circumstance).

A few picks

Carolina over NY Giants – It will be interesting to see what the Panthers do the last two weeks if they clinch the top seed in the NFC. Go for perfection or rest some starters?

New England over Tennessee – I seem to remember a game where the Titans lost 59-0 in Foxboro. It won’t be that bad….will it?

Houston over Indianapolis – Either way the AFC South champ should be throttled in the playoffs.

Buffalo over Washington – And then the Bills will lose one of their last two and miss out on the playoffs yet again.

Pittsburgh over Denver – If the Steelers, Chiefs, and Jets all win they basically eliminate the rest of the conference from the Wild-Card race.

Clinching Scenarios

Alright here are the clinching scenarios this week. This list will get longer until the last week of the season when it becomes pretty cut and dry what needs to happen for certain teams.

Home Field Advantage

Carolina clinches home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win and an Arizona loss.

First Round Bye

New England clinches a first round bye with a win and a Denver loss.

Arizona clinches a first round bye with a win and a Green Bay loss.

Division Title

Cincinnati clinches the AFC North with a win or a Pittsburgh loss.

Denver clinches the AFC West with a win and a Kansas City loss.

Arizona clinches the NFC West with a win or a Seattle loss.

Playoff Berth

Cincinnati clinches a playoff berth with a win or a Kansas City loss or a NY Jets loss.

Denver clinches a playoff berth with a win.

Green Bay clinches a playoff berth with a win or a Washington loss or a NY Giants loss.

Seattle clinches a playoff berth with (a win and a NY Giants loss) OR (a win and a Washington loss) OR (a win and a Minnesota loss and an Atlanta loss and a Green Bay win).

Minnesota clinches a playoff berth with (a win and a Washington loss and an Atlanta loss) OR (a win and a Washington loss and a Seattle loss) OR (a win and a NY Giants loss and an Atlanta loss) OR (a win and a NY Giants loss and a Seattle loss).

So we are in the midst of another stretch of FOOTBALL EVERY DAY! As far as I can tell, excluding Christmas Day, there are games every day between now and January 3^rd. So enjoy the games and don’t gain too much weight. It’s easy to sit down and watch a whole whack of football and stuff your face with all sorts of shitty food. I think I am making excuses at this point.

Da Bowl Game TV Schedule

OK for the most part the schedule is set. I have made some assumptions when it comes to a few TSN broadcasts that haven’t been finalized (but I do know they are on a TSN station). So here’s the bowl schedule and I will then have a bit of a summary breakdown after:

December 19	New Mexico Bowl (Arizona vs. New Mexico)	2:00 PM	TSN2
December 19	Las Vegas Bowl (BYU vs. #22 Utah)	3:30 PM	ABC
December 19	Camellia Bowl (Appalachian State vs. Ohio)	5:30 PM	TSN2
December 19	Cure Bowl (Georgia State vs. San Jose State)	7:00 PM	CBSSN
December 19	New Orleans Bowl (Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech)	9:00 PM	TSN2
December 21	Miami Beach Bowl (USF vs. Western Kentucky)	2:30 PM	SP
December 22	Idaho Potato Bowl (Akron vs. Utah State)	3:30 PM	TSN2
December 22	Boca Raton Bowl (#24 Temple vs. Toledo)	7:00 PM	TSN2
December 23	Poinsettia Bowl (Boise State vs. Northern Illinois)	4:30 PM	TSN2
December 23	GoDaddy Bowl (Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern)	8:00 PM	TSN2
December 24	Bahamas Bowl (Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan)	12:00 PM	TSN4/TSN5
December 24	Hawaii Bowl (Cincinnati vs. San Diego State)	8:00 PM	SP
December 26	St. Petersburg Bowl (Connecticut vs. Marshall)	11:00 AM	SP
December 26	Sun Bowl (Miami vs. Washington State)	2:00 PM	CBS
December 26	Heart of Dallas Bowl (Southern Miss vs. Washington)	2:20 PM	SP
December 26	Pinstripe Bowl (Duke vs. Indiana)	3:30 PM	ABC
December 26	Independence Bowl (Tulsa vs. Virginia Tech)	5:45 PM	TSN2
December 26	Foster Farms Bowl (Nebraska vs. UCLA)	9:15 PM	TSN2
December 28	Military Bowl (#21 Navy vs. Pittsburgh)	2:30 PM	SP
December 28	Quick Lane Bowl (Central Michigan vs. Minnesota)	5:00 PM	SP
December 29	Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force vs. California)	2:00 PM	SP
December 29	Russell Athletic Bowl (#17 Baylor vs. #10 North Carolina)	5:30 PM	TSN2
December 29	Arizona Bowl (Colorado State vs. Nevada)	7:30 PM	MyTV
December 29	Texas Bowl (#20 LSU vs. Texas Tech)	9:00 PM	TSN2
December 30	Birmingham Bowl (Auburn vs. Memphis)	12:00 PM	SP
December 30	Belk Bowl (Mississippi State vs. NC State)	3:30 PM	SP
December 30	Music City Bowl (Louisville vs. Texas A&M)	7:00 PM	SP
December 30	Holiday Bowl (#25 USC vs. Wisconsin)	10:30 PM	TSN1/TSN3
December 31	Peach Bowl (#9 Florida State vs. #18 Houston)	12:00 PM	SP
December 31	Orange Bowl (#1 Clemson vs. #4 Oklahoma)	4:00 PM	TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5
December 31	Cotton Bowl (#2 Alabama vs. #3 Michigan State)	8:00 PM	TSN1/TSN4/TSN5
January 01	Outback Bowl (#13 Northwestern vs. #23 Tennessee)	12:00 PM	TSN4/TSN5
January 01	Citrus Bowl (#19 Florida vs. #14 Michigan)	1:00 PM	ABC/TSN2
January 01	Fiesta Bowl (#8 Notre Dame vs. #7 Ohio State)	1:00 PM	TSN1/TSN3
January 01	Rose Bowl (#5 Iowa vs. #6 Stanford)	5:00 PM	TSN2
January 01	Sugar Bowl (#16 Oklahoma State vs. #12 Ole Miss)	8:30 PM	TSN2
January 02	TaxSlayer Bowl (Georgia vs. Penn State)	12:00 PM	SP
January 02	Liberty Bowl (Arkansas vs. Kansas State)	3:20 PM	TSN4
January 02	Alamo Bowl (#15 Oregon vs. #11 TCU)	6:45 PM	TSN4
January 02	Cactus Bowl (Arizona State vs. West Virginia)	10:15 PM	TSN1
January 11	National Championship Game (Orange winner vs. Cotton winner)	8:30 PM	TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5

Break it down

• The numbers come in like this:
  • Three games on ABC (one is simsubbed on TSN – Citrus Bowl)
  • One game on MyTV
  • One game on CBS Sports Network
  • One game on CBS
  • 24 games on the TSN family of networks (one is simsubbed from ABC – Citrus Bowl)
  • 12 games on the specialty pack
• Among the 24 TSN broadcasts, one-third of them (eight for math-weak people) have not been set yet. Just know they will appear on at least one of the five channels. I have made assumptions on all of these and denote them with an asterisk (*).
• Out of the 41 bowl games (this includes the National Championship), 12 (or 30%) of the games are on the specialty pack. Luckily for people without the specialty pack, TSN has stepped up with a lot of bowl game broadcasts. It could have been a lot worse.

UPDATE: The Poinsettia Bowl and GoDaddy Bowl (both on December 23rd) have been confirmed for TSN2.

UPDATE #2: The Orange Bowl will now be shown on TSNs 1, 3, 4, & 5.

UPDATE #3: The Rose and Sugar Bowls, interestingly enough, are only on TSN2 on New Year’s Day.  Also on January 2nd, the Liberty Bowl and the Alamo Bowl will appear on TSN4 and the Cactus Bowl, late at night, will be on TSN1.  Why are they switching networks?  Who the fuck knows.

UPDATE #4: The National Championship will appear on TSNs 1, 3, 4, & 5.

Also, coming up we have some other college football games that are listed here:

December 18	Division III Championship (Mount Union vs. St. Thomas)	7:00 PM	SP
December 18	FCS Semi-Final (Richmond at North Dakota State)	8:00 PM	SP
December 19	Celebration Bowl (Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T)	12:00 PM	ABC
December 19	Division II Championship (Northwest Missouri State vs. Shepherd)	4:00 PM	SP
December 19	FCS Semi-Final (Sam Houston State at Jacksonville State)	4:00 PM	SP

From what I have seen, both Fibe and Satellite have these games on their schedule. Rogers has not included them in their specialty pack schedule yet but I am sure it’s just a matter of time.  The FCS Championship is on January 9th (2 days before the FBS National Championship) at noon.  Should be on the specialty pack as well.

Enjoy the games everyone!

Bowl Game Rankings n’ Picks

It’s that time of year. So much football. So many empty seats. So many decent to high ratings. It’s the insanity known as postseason college football…BOWL SEASON! And despite the fact it feels like there are 17864 bowl games this year, there are only 40 plus the national championship. It is time to rate these bowl games. This will be done in chronological order. The rating system will be out of 6 like last year (but no Vernes…sorry). And heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!

New Mexico Bowl: Arizona vs. New Mexico – The bowl season starts again with the New Mexico Bowl (no I am not counting the Celebration Bowl since it’s not an FBS game). This should be a good one to start things out as more often than not this bowl game is an exciting one. Pick: New Mexico. Rating: 2 cacti out of 6.

Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs. Utah – The Holy War is on again! An amazing set of circumstances got these two schools together for a bowl game. In Sin City no less. Going to be damn exciting for sure. Watch it be a blowout just to disappoint us all. Pick: Utah. Rating: 5 Vegas hookers out of 6.

Camellia Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Ohio – The former FCS powers get to play in their first bowl game with a chance to complete an 11-win season. Cue Conference USA call-up rumours. Ho-hum Frank Solich brings the Bobcats to another bowl game. Pick: Appalachian State. Rating: 2 Camellias out of 6 (what’s a Camellia?).

Cure Bowl: Georgia State vs. San Jose State – A brand-new bowl played in Orlando. I think they have nine now. Also, the first bowl game to be played on CBS Sports Network. This is also one of three bowls that has a 5-7 team involved. Georgia State and their fans will be excited but very few others will be as well. Pick: Georgia State. Rating: 1 cure for insomnia out of 6.

New Orleans Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech – Another New Orleans Bowl, another team from Louisiana participating. At least the organizers for this one realize this isn’t the Sugar Bowl so you need some kind of hook to get the fans. And with some home cookin’ every year, they have done just that. Pick: Arkansas State. Rating: 2 bowls of gumbo out of 6.

Miami Beach Bowl: USF vs. Western Kentucky – Remember last year’s Miami Beach Bowl? It was awesome. It went to overtime. A high-scoring affair. And a massive brawl afterwards. If this game was in a primetime spot I am sure many would buy tickets just to potentially see one of those three things. Too bad it’s in an afternoon slot before Christmas. Who the hell figured that was a good idea? Pick: Western Kentucky. Rating: 3 black eyes out of 6.

Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron vs. Utah State – You know. I love college football. I really do. But this is going to be a tough sell, even for me. Another afternoon game just before Christmas when I kind of have to work. Yes I will put it on my PVR but it will be one of the few games I can guarantee I won’t watch most of. Pick: Utah State. Rating: 1 horrible timeslot out of 6.

Boca Raton Bowl: Temple vs. Toledo – You know you’re not in a Power Five conference when this happens to you. You have a successful season. Many are talking potential New Year’s Six bowl for your program. Even College Gameday came to your game. So what’s your reward? A trip to Boca before Christmas. Ugh. Luckily we have two very good teams so it should be a good game. Pick: Temple. Rating: 4 better conference invites out of 6.

Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State vs. Northern Illinois – From about 2006 until this past season, this would have been an amazing match to see. Not saying this won’t be, but both programs are on slightly down years compared to their usual conference domination. Just glad San Diego State isn’t there. Not that it brings a ton of fans anyway. Pick: Boise State. Rating: 3 wilting poinsettias out of 6.

GoDaddy Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern – Georgia Southern is another former FCS power getting their first bowl game opportunity. And they go up against a team that lost their offense-on-speed head coach Dino Babers to Syracuse which he may end up regretting. Option versus up-tempo should be fun to watch at least. Also, their timeslot is slightly better than their normal primetime after the last NFL Wild-Card game spot. Pick: Georgia Southern. Rating: 2 new websites out of 6.

Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan – Last year’s Bahamas Bowl was ridiculous. Central Michigan’s almost-comeback and last-second touchdown was epic. Unfortunately the game was on at noon on Christmas Eve. Same thing this season. How stupid is that? Bowls should ALWAYS be on at times where at least a decent part of the country can see them. Pick: Western Michigan. Rating: 1 tropical storm out of 6.

Hawaii Bowl: Cincinnati vs. San Diego State – This seems like a treat for the schools involved. I have never been to Hawaii but it looks like a beautiful place. Too bad the seats are mostly empty for this game and the teams involved are usually just OK. I guess this year we get the Mountain West champs there but this still feels meh. Pick: San Diego State. Rating: 3 hula dancers out of 6.

St. Petersburg Bowl: UConn vs. Marshall – A bit of an odd starting time (11 in the morning). I know UConn is looking forward to this. Bob Diaco has brought them back from being bottom-feeders to a bowl team. And no Bob, you don’t have to create a trophy for this game. They have one for you if you win. Pick: Marshall. Rating: 1 shitty stadium out of 6.

Sun Bowl: Miami vs. Washington State – So let’s see the logic of this entire bowl experience. First off, you have two teams that have to travel a ton of miles to get to this bowl game. Then, this game is on CBS, the home of the SEC Game of the Week, with no SEC team involved. This game needs to change into Big XII vs. SEC West immediately! Pick: Miami. Rating: 4 runs for the border out of 6.

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Washington – One of the great turnaround stories in college football this season is that of Southern Miss. What an amazing job Todd Monken has done down in Hattiesburg. Washington has been mired in mediocrity for years now. If Chris Petersen doesn’t show some big progress next season, he could be without a job. Pick: Southern Miss. Rating: 2 ignored bowl games out of 6.

Pinstripe Bowl: Duke vs. Indiana – So where are they putting the basketball court? Hahahaha. But seriously this should actually be a pretty good team. Duke has been good now under David Cutcliffe and Indiana FINALLY made it to a bowl game after years of experts saying they should sneak in to bowl season. Pick: Duke. Rating: 3 New YAWKUZ out of 6.

Independence Bowl: Tulsa vs. Virginia Tech – If this wasn’t Frank Beamer’s final game this would be so far down the list it may not have even qualified for the list. Another case of something great happening in a game that very few will watch (until the last minute of the fourth quarter). Pick: Virginia Tech. Rating: 2 big send-offs out of 6.

Foster Farms Bowl: Nebraska vs. UCLA – Seeing the Huskers, at 5-7, getting the opportunity to play in a decent bowl against a pretty good Pac-12 team in UCLA makes me a bit sick. I hate to say it but it is surely time to stop adding bowls (and consider taking bowls away). I hope the Bruins mop the floor with them just to prove a point. Pick: UCLA. Rating: Hopefully 4 cans of whoop-ass out of 6.

Military Bowl: Navy vs. Pittsburgh – Seems fitting that Navy gets to play in the Military Bowl. I mean they don’t get to travel but they are almost certain to get a full house for this one. Plus, Pitt is a good team so this should be a good game to watch. Pick: Navy. Rating: 4 salutes out of 6.

Quick Lane Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Minnesota – Mount Pleasant isn’t too too far from Detroit. And yet they still won’t be able to fill half of cavernous Ford Field for this one. Pick: Minnesota. Rating: 1 brake check out of 6.

Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. California – Another bowl that totally makes sense for one of the participants. Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl? Slam dunk I’d say. Also, Sonny Dykes just signed a big extension so this is where he can start earning his new bigger paycheque. Pick: California. Rating: 3 flyovers out of 6.

Russell Athletic Bowl: Baylor vs. North Carolina – Many are saying this is the biggest bowl game outside of the New Year’s Six. It could very well be true as the over/under might be triple digits for this one. Just remember last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl though. Just because a matchup is uber-hyped doesn’t mean the game will end up being a good one. Pick: North Carolina. Rating: 5 copies of Madden ’16 out of 6.

Arizona Bowl: Colorado State vs. Nevada – If this doesn’t force a change in the bowl structure, nothing will. It’s nice for Mountain West commish Craig Thompson to be pissed off about this but he’s part of the problem as he wanted more bowl games for his conference’s teams. Well now you got what you wished for, dumbass. Pick: Who cares (actually I am picking Nevada). Rating: 1 minute of viewing out of 6.

Texas Bowl: LSU vs. Texas Tech – If Leonard Fournette doesn’t run for at least 200 years on this defense then he must be either injured or not caring. This should be a romp for the Tigers but that’s the thing about teams that rarely face each other: anything can happen. Pick: LSU. Rating: 5 cowboy hats out of 6.

Birmingham Bowl: Auburn vs. Memphis – It would be quite the season if Memphis could defeat two teams from the SEC West this season. If the Big XII ever expands I am sure Memphis is quickly becoming their number one choice. Pick: Memphis. Rating: 3 swings of a hammer to knock down Legion Field out of 6.

Belk Bowl: Mississippi State vs. NC State – Hmmm…there just doesn’t seem to be any hype for this game to be honest. I feel no reason to watch it. I will watch it because it’s college football but I won’t like myself afterward for doing so. Pick: Mississippi State. Rating: 3 guesses as to what Belk is out of 6.

Music City Bowl: Louisville vs. Texas A&M – Another bowl between an SEC team and an ACC team that just doesn’t draw much interest. I do think Bobby Petrino should ride onto the field on a motorcycle for shits n’ giggles. Pick: Louisville. Rating: 4 mentions of Elvis out of 6.

Holiday Bowl: USC vs. Wisconsin – Finally we are getting to some really good bowl games. I’m kind of glad they didn’t stick Northwestern out here and gave USC a good opponent for this one. This will go a long way towards figuring out the preseason rankings for next season since both teams usually get a lot of hype. Pick: USC. Rating: 5 viewings of the 30 for 30 film Trojan War out of 6.

Peach Bowl: Florida State vs. Houston – Many are already bemoaning this as the worst of the New Year’s Six bowls (I disagree…that would be the Sugar) but it should still be an awesome matchup and will show good the Cougs really are. Pick: Florida State (but it will be close). Rating: 6 juicy peaches out of 6.

Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. Oklahoma – Even though the games are on New Year’s Eve, they will still get a shit-ton of eyeballs. This is game number one and should be a dandy. Oklahoma comes in the much hotter team but Clemson has shown they know how to win. A nailbiter for sure. Pick: Clemson. Rating: 6 juicy oranges out of 6.

Cotton Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan State – The second of the semi-final games pits the evil SEC overlords against the upstart Big Ten champs. I thought Ohio State wouldn’t keep it close last year and look what happened. I think this will be another close affair but I don’t think Sparty has what it takes to beat Evil Saban and the Crimson Tide empire. Pick: Alabama. Rating: 6 bales of cotton (I guess?) out of 6.

Outback Bowl: Northwestern vs. Tennessee – Northwestern on New Year’s Day. Tennessee on New Year’s Day. If any of you thought this would occur, stop lying. No one figured these two teams would both be in a New Year’s Day bowl. After Butch Jones’ new contract (which is fair value in the SEC) he has received a bit of hate so I think most will pick Northwestern. I am too but not for that reason. Pick: Northwestern. Rating: 5 filet mignons out of 6.

Citrus Bowl: Florida vs. Michigan – Two teams that came very close to winning their conferences. Well in Florida’s case somewhat close. In Michigan’s case, one of the worst things to ever happen on the last play of a football game cost them possibly a New Year’s Six bowl game. Anyway, two new head coaches ending their first seasons with a New Year’s Day bowl isn’t that bad a present. Pick: Michigan. Rating: 5 trips to Disneyworld out of 6.

Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State – The Fiesta has gone back to their odd traditional time of 1:00 Eastern (which is 11:00 in the morning local time). It will also absolutely dominate the early ratings (sorry Citrus and Outback Bowls). This is arguably the best game not in the College Football Playoff. I kind of wish Don Criqui was calling this game. Pick: Ohio State. Rating: 6 burning suns out of 6.

Rose Bowl: Iowa vs. Stanford – A nice consolation prize for both these teams. Stanford is making a habit of going to the Rose Bowl but this doesn’t happen very often for the Hawkeyes. The stout Iowa defense against Christian McCaffrey is an intriguing clash. Pick: Stanford. Rating: 6 Granddaddies of them all out of 6.

Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss – The worst New Year’s Six bowl is still one of the best of the bunch. And you will watch it since what the hell else is on New Year’s Day evening? Pick: Oklahoma State. Rating: 5 packages of Splenda out of 6.

TaxSlayer Bowl: Georgia vs. Penn State – Can they just call it the Gator Bowl again? TaxSlayer Bowl. What a stupid name. The Kirby Smart era starts at UGA but not quite yet since he is still with Bama so it’s kind of a limbo game here for the Dawgs. Penn State did well yet still finished a distant fourth in the Big Ten East division. It’s in SEC territory so I will go with the SEC pick as a tiebreaker here. Pick: Georgia. Rating: 4 tax cheats out of 6.

Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. Kansas State – Lucky for this game it is on a Saturday since I am sure not too many people would watch. Being a Razorbacks fan has to be so frustrating. You don’t know which team you will be getting from week to week. If they ever got consistently good it would be scary. Papa Snyder is in 104^th bowl (unofficially). Pick: Arkansas. Rating: 4 trips to the old folks home out of 6.

Alamo Bowl: Oregon vs. TCU – This should be a fantastic game. Two great coaches. Two very good programs. And Oregon has rebounded from a pretty bad first half of the season. TCU was able to beat their rivals at Baylor to finish their season so both teams coming in pretty hot. Picking based on Alamo Bowl experience (as in last year). Pick: Oregon. Rating: 6 things other than the Spurs happening in San Antonio out of 6.

Cactus Bowl: Arizona State vs. West Virginia – At this point, many fans may have tapped out due to the sheer amount of football that had been watched. I say stick it out since this is the last game before the national championship so you will get a nine-day rest. Pick: Arizona State. Rating: 2 even sharper cacti out of 6.

Tomorrow I will be posting the bowl game schedule so you can plan out how many hours you will have to create a firm buttprint in your couch. Friday there will be the NFL schedule. Friday night starts college football for people that have the specialty pack and then Saturday begins the bowl madness so strap yourself in or something like that.