So how about Super Wild Card Weekend? Yeah, it was a dud. I mean I was happy the Bills won and the Rams-Lions game was great but other than that? Meh. Not so super. Let’s hope the divisional playoffs are better (could they be worse…wait, don’t answer that). Here’s the schedule:
Saturday
Houston at Baltimore
4:30, ABC, CTV, TSN 3/5/+
Green Bay at San Francisco
8:00, FOX, CTV, TSN 3/5/+
Sunday
Tampa Bay at Detroit
3:00, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/3/4/+
Kansas City at Buffalo
6:30, CBS, CTV, TSN 3/4/+
A few Non-Super (I guess) Divisional Round Notes
It is kind of nice to see all four networks share the divisional round. It should be like this forever. It won’t be because I am sure Amazon is itching to get playoff games on Prime and the NFL will definitely do it for the right amount of money.
Not gonna lie: I watched a decent portion of Monday’s games on CTV. But I muted things when commercials came on. I don’t care what shitty shows CTV is highlighting for the next few months. I will watch none of them. No, I don’t care that Tim Horton’s has something new to sell because I rarely go there. Commercials, for the most part, suck now. They have an even worse track record than stand-up comedians (only 25% at any one time are funny) and podcasts (maybe 15% of them are worth listening to). It’s frightening that there is so little creativity in advertising these days. Maybe all the good ideas have been taken? Seems to have happened with movies.
Can Patrick Mahomes win on the road in the playoffs? This will, if you can believe it, his first ever true road playoff game. For it to be in the not-so-friendly confines of the Ralph in Buffalo is a tough way to get his road playoff game cherry popped.
Shades of the NFC Central: the Bucs and Lions playing in a playoff game? Almost every year in the history of either of these franchises you could never say that with a straight face. Add the Packers in the other NFC game and you have the makings of a great division, albeit one that doesn’t exist anymore.
Not going to say much about Wild Card weekend that I didn’t say above. The situation in Orchard Park was ridiculous but what can you do, right? Except put all the Wild Card games on the weekend. Can’t do that, though, because ESPN paid a lot of money to get a Monday Night Football Wild Card game. And this may become a more common thing if the NFL buys a part of ESPN. Yes, this could happen. And it would be ridiculous and most likely not good for the game but who cares because MONEY!
OK everyone, no more college football except for the wacky all-star games that remain. I guess it’s better than nothing. Then it’s no college ball until August. Brings a tear to my eye. In the meantime, let’s hope the NFL can entertain us more than it did during SUPER Wild Card Weekend. Enjoy the games everyone!
Last year around this time we were discussing the final week of the regular season, sure. However, we were also kind of recovering from what happened to Damar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest. It was one of the craziest times in NFL history and I hope we never have to deal with something like that again.
This year, let’s look at the positive. All the playoff races that are left. And there are plenty. Let’s get to that schedule and then we will do my typical final NFL regular season week analysis. Here we go!
Some Super Special Last Regular Season Weekend Notes
As per usual, it’s all divisional matchups for the final week of the season. And there are a lot of playoff races as I will discuss later on.
You see the asterisks for the Bills-Dolphins game for TSN3 and TSN4. Well, the game will start airing on TSN3 after the Jets-Coyotes game and, for some unknown and stupid reason, Sportscentre. So it will start around 10:00: a little into the third quarter. As for TSN4, they have the Raptors and Warriors so they won’t get to the game until about 11:00. The football game should be well into the fourth quarter at that point. So really, stick to TSN1 or 5 (or + if you like the “enhanced” game feed).
The three national games were pretty easy choices, for the most part. Bills-Dolphins felt like a lock for the Sunday nighter once Miami was blown away by Baltimore. Texans-Colts was also pretty much a lock for a standalone game considering it’s win-or-go-home. The other choice was interesting for sure. A lot of possibilities. Steelers-Ravens makes sense just because a win by the Steelers makes the Buffalo-Miami game all the more important for the Bills. It becomes a much bigger risk-reward game for the Bills as they almost assuredly out with a loss in this case.
Games not being shown here unless you have the Sunday Ticket or RedZone magic potion:
Kansas City at LA Chargers
Tampa Bay at Carolina
Denver at Las Vegas
No surprise really with the first and third games on that list not being available up here. The second one is a bit interesting since the Bucs win the NFC South with a win, no matter what happens with the Saints and Falcons. I think the issue north of the border was where would this be shown that would take the place of the other two games on in this timeslot on FOX. It probably could have replaced the Jets-Patriots game to be honest but I have a feeling that FOX figured the AFC East, even with a meaningless game, would be more watched than an NFC South matchup in the Northeastern United States and most of Eastern Canada. And they are probably right.
Hey thankfully I don’t have to go over the strangest set of scenarios ever like last season. Let’s hope that never happens again…more for Damar Hamlin’s case than anything.
So this is it. We have made it. The final playoff picture of the season:
#1 San Francisco (12-4) (clinched home-field advantage)
#2 Miami (11-5) (clinched playoff berth)
#2 Dallas (11-5) (clinched playoff berth)
#3 Kansas City (10-6) (clinched AFC West)
#3 Detroit (11-5) (clinched NFC North)
#4 Jacksonville (9-7)
#4 Tampa Bay (8-8)
Wild Cards:
Wild Cards:
#5 Cleveland (11-5) (clinched playoff berth)
#5 Philadelphia (11-5) (clinched playoff berth)
#6 Buffalo (10-6)
#6 LA Rams (9-7) (clinched playoff berth)
#7 Indianapolis (9-7)
#7 Green Bay (8-8)
Alright so what do we have left to determine? Four divisions still up for grabs as the AFC East, AFC South, NFC East and NFC South still hasn’t determined their champion. Also, one Wild Card spot in the NFC and two in the AFC with still a few teams in the mix there. A lot can happen during this weekend so let’s get right to the scenarios.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot under the following scenarios:
A win AND either a Buffalo loss OR a Jacksonville loss/tie
A win AND an Indianapolis tie
A tie AND two of Indianapolis, Jacksonville, or Houston lose
Jacksonville loses AND Denver wins AND either Indianapolis or Houston lose
Pittsburgh is eliminated under the following scenarios:
A Jacksonville win AND a Buffalo win/tie AND either an Indianapolis OR Houston win
A loss/tie AND either a Jacksonville win/tie OR an Indianapolis tie
A loss AND a Denver loss/tie
Houston at Indianapolis
Indianapolis clinches the AFC South with (a win AND a Jacksonville loss/tie) OR (a tie AND a Jacksonville loss)
Houston clinches the AFC South with a win AND a Jacksonville loss/tie
Indianapolis clinches a playoff spot with a win OR (a tie AND a Pittsburgh loss/tie)
Houston clinches a playoff spot wth a win OR (a tie AND a Jacksonville loss AND a Pittsburgh loss/tie)
Houston is eliminated with a loss OR (a tie AND either a Jacksonville win/tie OR a Pittsburgh win)
Indianapolis is eliminated with a loss OR (a tie AND a Jacksonville win/tie AND a Pittsburgh win)
Jacksonville at Tennessee
Jacksonville clinches the AFC South with a win OR (a tie and an Indianapolis tie)
Jacksonville clinches a playoff spot with (a tie AND a Pittsburgh loss/tie) OR (a Pittsburgh loss AND a Denver loss/tie AND either Houston OR Indianapolis loses)
Jacksonville is eliminated with (a tie AND a Pittsburgh win AND either a Houston or Indianapolis win) OR (a loss AND either a Pittsburgh win/tie OR a Denver win OR an Indianapolis tie)
Atlanta at New Orleans
Atlanta clinches the NFC South with a win AND a Tampa Bay loss
New Orleans clinches the NFC South with (a win AND a Tampa Bay loss/tie) OR (a tie AND a Tampa Bay loss)
New Orleans clinches a playoff spot with (a win AND a Green Bay loss/tie AND a Seattle loss/tie) OR (a tie AND a Green Bay loss AND a Seattle loss)
Atlanta is eliminated with a loss/tie OR a Tampa Bay win/tie
New Orleans is eliminated with a loss OR (a tie AND a Tampa Bay win/tie AND either a Green Bay or Seattle win/tie) OR (a Tampa Bay win AND either a Green Bay or Seattle win)
Minnesota at Detroit
Minnesota clinches a playoff spot with a win AND a Seattle loss AND a Green Bay loss AND either a Tampa Bay OR New Orleans loss
Minnesota is eliminated with a loss/tie OR a Seattle win/tie OR a Green Bay win/tie OR Tampa Bay and New Orleans both winning or tying
Tampa Bay at Carolina
Tampa Bay clinches the NFC South with a win OR (a tie and a New Orleans loss/tie)
Tampa Bay clinches a playoff spot with a tie AND a Seattle loss AND a Green Bay loss/tie
Tampa Bay is eliminated with a loss OR (a tie AND a New Orleans win AND either a Seattle win/tie or a Green Bay win)
Chicago at Green Bay
Green Bay clinches a playoff spot with a win OR:
a tie AND (a Seattle loss/tie AND a New Orleans loss/tie) OR (a Seattle tie AND a Tampa Bay loss/tie) OR (a Seattle loss AND a Tampa Bay loss)
a loss AND a Seattle loss AND a Minnesota loss/tie AND either a Tampa Bay or New Orleans loss
Green Bay is eliminated with (a loss AND either (a Minnesota win or a Seattle win/tie or (a Tampa Bay win/tie and a New Orleans win/tie)) OR a tie AND either (a Seattle win or (a Tampa Bay win and a New Orleans win) or (a Seattle loss AND a New Orleans win AND a Tampa Bay tie)
Philadelphia at NY Giants
Philadelphia clinches the NFC East with (a win AND a Dallas loss/tie) OR (a tie AND a Dallas loss)
Dallas at Washington
Dallas clinches the NFC East with a win OR (a tie and a Philadelphia tie) OR a Philadelphia loss
Seattle at Arizona
Seattle clinches a playoff spot with a win AND a Green Bay loss AND either a New Orleans or Tampa Bay loss/tie) OR (a win AND a Green Bay loss/tie)
Seattle is eliminated with a loss OR (a tie AND a New Orleans win AND a Tampa Bay win) OR (a tie AND a Green Bay tie) OR a Green Bay win
Buffalo at Miami
Buffalo clinches the AFC East with a win
Miami clinches the AFC East with a win OR a tie
Buffalo clinches a playoff spot with a tie OR a Pittsburgh loss/tie OR a Jacksonville loss/tie OR an Indianapolis tie
Buffalo is eliminated with a loss AND one of the following three scenarios:
a Jacksonville win AND a Houston win AND a Pittsburgh loss/tie
a Jacksonville win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Pittsburgh loss/tie
a Pittsubrgh win AND an Indianapolis tie
a Jacksonville loss/tie AND a Pittsburgh win
If there is a tie….in almost any game….this is going to become a mess. Although it does become super interesting if that is the case and I do love chaos.
I was going to do tables to show where teams could land based on the scenarios above (obviously leaving ties out) but the NFC one alone would be insane. Viewing it on a cell phone would be impossible. Hell, viewing it on a wide-screen TV might be difficult. So I will not bother with that. Instead, I will do a seeding breakdown like I did last year. I will not include ties here. Here are the seeding scenarios.
AFC
#1 seed
Baltimore locked in
#2 seed
Miami – win
Buffalo – win
#3 seed
Kansas City locked in
#4 seed
Jacksonville – win
Indianapolis – win AND Jacksonville loss
Houston – win AND Jacksonville loss
#5 seed
Cleveland locked in
#6 seed
Miami – loss
Buffalo – loss AND Pittsburgh loss AND Jacksonville loss
Indianapolis – win AND Jacksonville win AND Buffalo loss
Houston – win AND Jacksonville win AND Buffalo loss
Pittsburgh – win AND Jacksonville loss AND Buffalo loss
#7 seed
Buffalo – loss AND (Jacksonville win AND Pittsburgh loss AND either Houston or Indianapolis loss) OR (Jacksonville loss AND Pittsburgh win)
Indianapolis – win AND Jacksonville win AND Buffalo win
Pittsburgh – dog’s breakfast (win AND Buffalo win AND Jacksonville loss) OR (win AND Buffalo loss AND Jacksonville win AND either Houston OR Indianapolis win) OR (loss AND Jacksonville loss AND Denver win AND either Houston OR Indianapolis win)
Jacksonville – loss AND Pittsburgh loss AND Denver loss AND either Houston OR Indianapolis loss
Houston – win AND Jacksonville win AND Buffalo win
NFC
#1 seed
San Francisco locked in
#2 seed
Dallas – win OR (loss AND Philadelphia loss AND Detroit loss)
Philadelphia – win AND Dallas loss
Detroit – win AND Dallas loss AND Philadelphia loss
#3 seed
Dallas – loss AND Philadelphia loss AND Detroit win
Detroit – loss OR Dallas win OR Philadelphia win
#4 seed
Tampa Bay – win
New Orleans – win AND Tampa Bay loss
Atlanta – win AND Tampa Bay loss
#5 seed
Philadelphia – loss OR Dallas win
Dallas – loss AND Philadelphia win
#6 seed
Green Bay – win AND LA Rams loss
LA Rams – win OR Green Bay loss
#7 seed
Green Bay – (win AND LA Rams win) OR (loss AND Seattle loss AND Minnesota loss AND either Tampa Bay OR New Orleans loss)
Minnesota – win AND Seattle loss AND Green Bay loss AND either Tampa Bay OR New Orleans loss
New Orleans – win AND Tampa Bay win AND Green Bay loss AND Seattle loss
LA Rams – loss AND Green Bay win
Seattle – win AND Green Bay loss
Holy shit we are in for one hell of a weekend of American Professional Football. I really don’t need to say this but enjoy the games everyone!
It wasn’t long ago that Week 17 was the ultimate week. So much on the line. Playoff spots gained or lost. First round byes on the line. Entire seasons on the brink. Fantastic stuff.
Now, Week 17 is the penultimate week of the regular season. With the seventeenth game added to the regular season, it meant that Week 18 had to be added. My guess is Week 19 will be added soon enough to give each team two byes during the season and push the Super Bowl to around Valentine’s Day.
But just because this isn’t the final week doesn’t mean this isn’t a huge week! So let’s get to the schedule!
There are games upcoming that you will not be able to see if you do not have Sunday Ticket and/or RedZone. They are as follows:
Las Vegas at Indianapolis
Carolina at Jacksonville
Atlanta at Chicago
Arizona at Philadelphia
Tennessee at Houston
LA Chargers at Denver
Now this is some horseshit right here. Six games? SIX? That’s insane. And that’s after TSN decides to put a different game on TSN+ for some variety. I don’t get it. Not saying many of these games are worth watching but if you are trying to push people to order Sunday Ticket or RedZone, you may be succeeding. Or you may be pushing them to go the route I took that I will never come back from, IPTV. Either one, congratulations assholes.
No Monday Night Football this week as that would go up against the College Football Playoff semi-finals and even the NFL knows when to take a step back. What does that mean? We have the game essentially being moved to Saturday night. And it is a massive one. Lions-Cowboys in what could be an NFC Championship preview.
I don’t know how many people can even get ABC out of Cleveland so I listed it here. UPDATE: No one can but there are some who can get it out of Toledo. How about that? You learn something new every day.
Things are getting very interesting. It’s the second-last playoff picture of the season:
Look at the ridiculous logjam in the AFC. So many teams for, well, still quite a few spots. The Wild Card race is going to be insane and will require some logic puzzle-style explanations. The NFC is not much different even though it doesn’t look like it. There are 4 teams just a game back of the Bucs, Rams and Seahawks. Hell, even the Bears are technically still in it. Yeah it’s this crazy.
Before we get to the clinching scenarios, here is your updated list of eliminated teams (in order of draft position):
Carolina
Arizona
Washington
New England
NY Giants
LA Chargers
Tennessee
NY Jets
Just a reminder that the Bears have the Panthers pick because the Panthers’ front office are idiots.
Now it’s time for the clinching scenarios and, as per usual, I will not include ties until the final weekend of the regular season.
First Round Bye and Home Field Advantage
San Francisco clinches with a win AND a Philadelphia loss AND a Detroit loss
Baltimore clinches with a win
Division Title
Philadelphia clinches the NFC East with a win AND a Dallas loss
Tampa Bay clinches the NFC South with a win
Baltimore clinches the AFC North with a win OR a Cleveland loss
Miami clinches the AFC East with a win OR a Buffalo loss
Kansas City clinches the AFC West with a win OR (a Denver loss AND a Las Vegas loss)
Jacksonville clinches the AFC South with a win AND an Indianapolis loss AND a Houston loss
Playoff Berth
LA Rams clinch a playoff berth with a win AND a Seattle loss
Cleveland clinches a playoff berth with a win OR a Pittsburgh loss OR a Buffalo loss OR a Jacksonville loss OR (a Houston loss AND an Indianapolis loss)
Buffalo clinches with a win AND (a Pittsburgh loss AND a Cincinnati loss) OR (a Pittsburgh loss AND a Jacksonville loss) OR (a Pittsburgh loss AND an Indianapolis loss AND a Houston loss) OR (a Cincinnati loss AND a Jacksonville loss) OR (a Cincinnati loss AND an Indianapolis loss AND a Houston loss)
Elimination
Minnesota is eliminated with a loss AND a Seattle win AND an LA Rams win
Green Bay is eliminated with a loss AND (a Seattle win OR an LA Rams win OR (a New Orleans win AND an Atlanta win AND an Arizona win AND a Dallas win AND a Washington win AND a Cincinnati win AND a Cleveland win AND an Indianapolis win AND an Jacksonville win AND a Denver win))
Chicago is eliminated with a loss OR (a Seattle win AND an LA Rams win) OR (a Seattle win AND a Green Bay win) OR (a Seattle win AND a Minnesota win) OR (an LA Rams win AND a Green Bay win) OR (an LA Rams win AND a Minnesota win)
New Orleans is eliminated with a loss
Atlanta is eliminated with a Tampa Bay win AND (a loss) OR (an LA Rams win AND a Seattle win)
Pittsburgh is eliminated with a loss AND a Buffalo win AND an Indianapolis win AND (a Houston win AND a Denver loss) OR (a Houston win AND a Jacksonville loss AND a Kansas City win) OR (a Jacksonville win AND a Denver loss)
Cincinnati is eliminated with a win AND a Pittsburgh win AND a Buffalo win
Houston is eliminated with a loss AND an Indianapolis win AND a Jacksonville win AND (a Buffalo win) OR (a Cincinnati win AND a Pittsburgh loss AND a Denver loss)
Las Vegas is eliminated with a loss
Denver is eliminated with a loss OR (a Kansas City win AND a Buffalo win AND a Pittsburgh win) OR (a Kansas City win AND a Buffalo win AND a Houston win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Jacksonville loss) OR (a Kansas City win AND a Houston win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Jacksonville loss AND a Pittsburgh loss)
Alright, should be a fun few days of football. Chances are this will be my final post of the season so I hope each and every one of you have a happy New Year! See you all in 2024 and, as always, enjoy the games!
Does anyone say that anymore? That something is in high definition (or the now-even cringier term, High Def)? Feels very 2008-ish.
TSN seems to always deliver during bowl season. It’s funny how they absolutely don’t deliver at all during the rest of the season but with TSN+ they now have their very own built-in excuse to not have many games on the main five stations. Now, as I say every year, the TSN portion of the schedule could change so keep coming back for any updates.
Let’s not waste any more time. Bowl schedule. NOW!
Saturday December 16th
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio
11:00 AM
Thanks to issues with the Bahamas Bowl (that will be explained below if you don’t already know) Bowl Season begins on the eastern coast of South Carolina. This game pits two teams who were kind of forgotten in their conferences this season but quietly put together good seasons. Should be a good start to the college football postseason on the teal turf in Conway.
Celebration Bowl: Florida A&M vs. Howard
Noon
It feels like many times this game features one team that could have caused some damage in the FCS playoffs and one team that scraped their way into this game. This year’s edition is no different. Florida A&M ran roughshod through most of its opponents whereas Howard barely won the MEAC. And as it usually happens, the not-so-good team gives the really good a team a run for their money and sometimes ends up winning. So don’t necessarily think this will be a blowout.
New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State
2:15
Opening bowl day brings the return of RichRod to postseason competition. With the Cajuns already being there, this should at least have a raucous crowd and really, that’s a big part of the bowl experience. It’s great to see a bowl game with a great crowd as it just continues to prove that most of these bowl games mean something.
Cure Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH
3:30
What used to be the worst bowl game matchup almost every season is now being shown on ABC on opening bowl day. Great turnaround for the Cure Bowl for sure. I think we need to have more bowl games set up like this: where a good portion of the money goes to some sort of charity or towards some type of research. I think this way we can decrease the amount of people who think there are too many bowl games. I mean there will always be some that will hate it. I see their point but it’s more football. Would you prefer to take 35 minutes to find something worth watching on Netflix or Amazon Prime or would you rather watch LIVE FOOTBALL? It really shouldn’t be a choice to be honest (at least if you read this blog).
New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. New Mexico State
5:45
Time to watch America’s Team in this one. No, the Dallas Cowboys aren’t playing (and no, they aren’t America’s team and haven’t been since a year that started with a 1). The New Mexico State Aggies, coached by, arguably, the best coach in the land Jerry Kill, is now America’s Team. That’s unfortunate for the Fresno State Bulldogs who won’t have their head coach, Jeff Tedford, on the sideline. They have to face the Aggies in almost a quasi-home game for them. I want to say this won’t be close but the Bulldogs are pretty good so at the very least you should see a good game here. America’s Team. Now you know. And knowing’s half the battle…………………………………………GI JOE!!!!!!
LA Bowl: UCLA vs. Boise State
7:30
For once, the Broncos had to grind to get to a bowl game. 5-5 with their head coach being shitcanned and they somehow win the Mountain West Championship. But now with no potential Chip Kelly drama, this game loses a lot of spots in the rankings.
Independence Bowl: Texas Tech vs. California
9:15
Shreveport seems like an odd spot for two Power Five teams in their bowl game but that used to be the norm. Maybe the Independence Bowl should have been used in the new 12-team playoff somehow. I mean who says no, other than ESPN who would prefer to put every game in the biggest neutral site stadium they can find for MAXIMUM MONEY.
Monday December 18th
Famous Toastery Bowl: Old Dominion vs. WKU
2:30
This will most likely be my favourite one-off bowl ever. Because of renovations at Thomas Robinson Stadium, the Bahamas Bowl could not be played on the island since there are no other stadiums able to hold the game there. Charlotte got the call and this game will be played at the 49ers’ home field and with a new sponsor, Famous Toastery. I don’t think it’s even famous at all in that area of the country but I like their confidence. I pray that the winning coach gets buried in a mountain of toast.
Tuesday December 19th
Frisco Bowl: UTSA vs. Marshall
9:00
Frisco gets two postseason games: this one and then the FCS Championship. The FCS title game is there through at least next season but beyond that, who knows. The Frisco Bowl, on the other hand, is here to stay. At least we have two good Group of Five teams here and with UTSA not being too far away it may approach a sellout.
Thursday December 21st
Boca Raton Bowl: Syracuse vs. USF
8:00
Back to grinding for bowl-eligibility, here are two teams that epitomized that. Syracuse, who has completely re-done their coaching staff and USF, whose close game with Bama earlier on in the season made the College Football Playoff debate that much worse. Look it’s either this or the Saints and the Rams on Amazon Prime. You know what to choose.
Friday December 22nd
Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. UCF
6:30
Interesting start time for this game. I get that it’s only half-an-hour before games normally would start locally but why do that? Bizarre. This is probably the highest-profile matchup this bowl game has ever had and it should bring a good amount of fans with one team not too far from Tampa. Hey, at least’s it not at the Trop.
Saturday December 23rd
Birmingham Bowl: Duke vs. Troy
Noon
This should be a good game and it’s the kind of game I always talk about. A Group of Five conference champion getting their shot at a Power Five team. That’s part of what bowl season should be all about and I have said that often in the past. Will college football listen to me? No. And it’s their loss.
Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois
Noon
Two teams that have got basically no coverage this season. I’m honestly surprised that no team looked at Butch Jones to be their new head coach. He’s brought ASU back from being horrible for both of Jones’ first two seasons (and Blake Anderson’s last in Jonesboro) to being respectable. I think the fact that the Sun Belt is so damn good now (in G-5 terms), this team gets overshadowed a lot.
Idaho Potato Bowl: Utah State vs. Georgia State
3:30
Again, two teams who were overshadowed by a bunch of better teams in their respective conferences. Plus it’s on the blue turf and that’s always a bit of fun, especially if it’s freezing cold (OK not so much for the players and fans but hilarious for us viewers at home).
Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. James Madison
3:30
The Dukes in a bowl game! As it should be. And it shouldn’t have taken the lengths it did but luckily there weren’t enough 6-win teams to fill all the bowl slots. Air Force had a monumental collapse to end their season after being the Group of Five favourite to go to the New Year’s Six coming into November so momentum is not on their side.
68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan
7:00
Chris Creighton has done amazing things in Ypsilanti. He has made EMU relevant for really the first time ever. As for South Alabama, it looked like they would be the Sun Belt’s darling this year after an early win over Oklahoma State. The bottom fell out for this team and they barely made it to bowling. Massive contrast of seasons here.
Las Vegas Bowl: Northwestern vs. Utah
7:30
Northwestern and Utah aren’t exactly the fanbases I think of when I think of fans who could completely wreck hotel rooms and drink a bar dry…well, Utah maybe. Maybe that is by design. Have to give credit to a Northwestern team that should have been terrible and ended up doing quite well in the final Big Ten West season. And we will never know how good the Utes could have been with the injuries they had.
Hawaii Bowl: San Jose State vs. Coastal Carolina
10:30
It’s the annual Stocking Stuffer Bowl where many parents finally fill the stockings of their children so that when they wake up they will know Santa (or some other fat white dude) came down the chimney (or more like through a window because he’s fat) to give them presents because…we as parents didn’t give them enough? Is that how the story goes? Anyway, I will enjoy a nice scotch after all that stocking stuffer stuff is done and watch some great football during a bowl that should start at one minute before Midnight on Spectrum Sports so most of the college football world has to scramble to find it.
Tuesday December 26th
Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Bowling Green
2:00
OK not exactly what I’ve always had in mind but still. It’s a G-5 team against a P-5 team. The P-5 team is in because they are smart. The G-5 team is in because the MAC, past the top three teams, was pretty bad this year. Advantage? The fans who get to watch college football on a weekday afternoon when you probably will be off work. Probably. For those who must work I hope you have a good PVR setup.
First Responder Bowl: Rice vs. Texas State
5:30
Hey remember when this bowl game was cancelled because of weather? What a shitshow that was. I’d be surprised if they ever let that happen again considering the fallout. When it comes to this year’s First Responder Bowl, you have to like what you see in Texas State. In a really good Sun Belt, they were able to go 7-5 and get to their first bowl game ever. Tulsa is going to rue the day they decided not to hire G.J. Kinne as their coach. Rice, I believe, lucked out due to a much-less powerful AAC. Not to say they didn’t play well but I believe the Sun Belt, top to bottom, is the best Group of Five conference.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV
9:00
This is why bowl games matter. UNLV is back in a bowl game for the first time in a decade thanks in large part to a guy who should have got more votes for Coach of the Year, Barry Odom. Speaking of guys who should have got Coach of the Year consideration, Lance Leipold has done wonders and the Jayhawks are doing everything they can to keep him in Lawrence. Big question for this game will be if Jalon Daniels will play after his somewhat mysterious back injury from earlier this year kept him out of action for most of the season.
Wednesday December 27th
Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane
2:00
Maybe we will see some snow for this one. Not gonna lie: VaTech was WAY the fuck better than I thought they would be. They did a masterful job in an ACC that, below FSU and Louisville, wasn’t that great. They will face a Tulane squad that just lost Willie Fritz to Houston. I know some teams struggle when their coach leaves before a bowl game and I could see that happening here.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia
5:30
North Carolina with a big home advantage at the Mayo Bowl. In the end, though, that advantage means little. The game itself only means so much. No, what really matters, is who is going to get a big tub of mayo dumped on them, Mack Brown or Neal Brown? Either way, Duke’s Mayo is going to be down on Brown in this one………wait, that doesn’t sound right.
Holiday Bowl: #15 Louisville vs. USC
8:00
Caleb Williams has opted out of this one. No surprise there. But they could be playing a team that, despite being ranked 15th in the nation, hasn’t exactly lit it up lately. Let’s see if Louisville can actually play a decent game for the first time in weeks after shitting the bed against Kentucky and looking mediocre against Florida State.
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. #20 Oklahoma State
9:00
Some classic Big XII action here. Cue the Big XII on FOX Sports Net music and get Joel Meyers back to call this one. The Aggies should be doubly pissed since the Pokes had a chance to knock those damn Longhorns off their perch and they couldn’t get it done. So now they have to watch Texas play in the College Football Playoff while the Aggies are in a decent bowl but one quite a ways down the pecking order.
Thursday December 28th
Fenway Bowl: Boston College vs. #24 SMU
11:00 AM
Morning football at Fenway. See, morning football is fine if it bleeds into the afternoon. None of this 9:30 in the morning horseshit. I guess this could be considered the Ponies’ first ACC test as these two teams will be roommates next year.
Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami
2:15
I honestly think this will end up being a good game. I mean what’s not to like? OK there are probably a few things not to like, such as Mario Cristobal’s continued contract as head coach of the Miami football Hurricanes but I digress. It’s Rutgers football. In NYC. An old Big East matchup (I really wish the Big East was back…in football). I look forward to it, especially if there is some serious football weather that day.
Pop Tarts Bowl: #18 NC State vs. #25 Kansas State
5:45
OK so get this. The mascot for the new Pop Tarts Bowl is, of course, a Pop Tart. So far, so uninteresting. Then everything goes off the rails when we are told that this will be the first edible mascot ever and that the winning team gets to eat it. What? I mean, hey, it’s got me interested just to see what absurdity will unfold after what should be one of the better non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl games.
Alamo Bowl: #12 Oklahoma vs. #14 Arizona
9:15
Usually the Alamo Bowl gives us one of, if not the, best non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl matchups. This year is no exception. Oklahoma’s final ride in the Big XII before they head to the prosperous SEC. Jedd Fisch’s resurgent Arizona Wildcats who are looking to head to the Big XII next year with a lot of momentum. This feels like it will be a slobberknocker to quote good ol’ JR.
Friday December 29th
Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. #22 Clemson
Noon
If Kentucky hadn’t beat Louisville I would have said this could end up being complete domination by the Tigers. It probably still will be but at least there feels like the Cats could have a fighting chance here.
Sun Bowl: #19 Oregon State vs. #16 Notre Dame
2:00
This game sold out in about an hour or so. And all because of a random draw. All the bowls left with ACC tie-ins wanted Notre Dame so I guess they did the whole coin toss thing they did in Friday Night Lights or a no holds barred cage fight or whatever the fuck they do to figure these things out. The Sun Bowl won out. So for the last time that they get a Pac-12 team, one of the oldest bowl games around got the one with one of the most rabid fanbases and then got them paired with Notre Dame, the team whose fans travel, arguably, the best. OK I changed my mind…this is the best non-CFP/non-NY6 matchup. I’m starting to feel like Bobby Heenan changing my pick all the time.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Memphis
3:30
So Memphis is playing at home so this bowl game should have a great turnout. They will have to wait to get eyeballs on their game since the Sun Bowl will overlap the Liberty Bowl’s first half.
Cotton Bowl: #9 Missouri vs. #7 Ohio State
8:00
Quite the prove-it game for a team that some still don’t feel truly belong in the SEC. This is the type of big time bowl game that people expect the Buckeyes to be in but the Tigers, not so much. This will be a definite contrast of styles. Missouri’s run game with one of the best running backs in the country, Cody Schrader going up against the Ohio State passing attack led by Marvin Harrison Jr. The absence of Kyle McCord, as average as he could be at times, could play a role here.
Saturday December 30th
Peach Bowl: #11 Ole Miss vs. #10 Penn State
Noon
Interesting matchup. Fans were making a myriad of arguments as to why one of these teams shouldn’t be in the New Year’s Six. And then both make it and get paired up down in Atlanta. No matter how some fans feel, a potential Top 10 season should cut down on the hate for both teams’ head coaches. It won’t but it should.
Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. Maryland
2:00
Divisions in the Big Ten are going away. “Hooray” – Maryland. Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA are joining the conference. “FUCK!” – Maryland. Hey Terps fans, look, it could be worse. You could be in the ACC, a conference that seems to be ready to join the Pac-12 in completely imploding.
Orange Bowl: #6 Georgia vs. #5 Florida State
4:00
My brief thoughts on the whole Florida State/College Football Playoff situation is this: The Committee have no plans for anything. Everything is a knee-jerk reaction. Want proof? They knew what they were heading towards. They were going to have to make a decision between a Jordan Travis-less Noles team and two of Texas, Georgia or Alabama, depending on the outcomes on conference championship weekend. So what did they do in the final CFP rankings before that weekend? Have FSU at #4. They could have moved Oregon ahead of them instead into the #4 spot but didn’t. It set everything up for the chaos that occurred during Selection Sunday. Deep down I don’t really care who made it but if The Committee were more transparent and thought about things for more than two minutes then the anger would have been reduced immensely. But no, they fucked up and now FSU fans have a right to be furious. Anyway, I hope this game is at least close because otherwise SEC fans and talking head morons like Paul Finebaum will never let anyone hear the end of it.
One note about this game: it will start on TSN1 at about 6:30. My guess is that it will be because of a World Juniors game being aired at the same time as the start of the Orange Bowl but who knows since the tournament is in Sweden.
Arizona Bowl: Wyoming vs. Toledo
4:00
Could this be an interesting game? Perhaps. Unfortunately, it will be overshadowed by two things: that this game is the first bowl game ever to appear on The CW and that it is sponsored by Barstool Sports. The game is also being called by Barstool personalities and seeing what it was like last year, they go overboard on certain things, especially the gambling aspect of college football. Not saying others don’t talk about it because they do but they beat you over the head with it all game. Oh well, you don’t have to watch if you don’t want to since the Orange Bowl is on at the exact same time (someone didn’t think this one through).
Monday January 1st
ReliaQuest Bowl: #13 LSU vs. Wisconsin
Noon
I have a feeling this game might not be that close. Wisconsin feels like a shell of Badger teams in the past. Then again, there have been crazier bowl results.
UPDATE: Looks like this bowl game is on TSN2 which is a bit surprising. This means no TSN+ and no specialty pack.
Fiesta Bowl: #8 Oregon vs. #23 Liberty
1:00
This could be an big-time shootout if Liberty can keep up. Nice to see Conference USA finally get into the New Year’s Six for the first time. All it took was for a program that many people do not like to jump up from the FCS and immediately become the conference favourite. Easy stuff. Look, I’m sure many players don’t care about what the leaders at Liberty are all about. Same as at BYU or Notre Dame or Baylor or any other university with a religious affiliation. They just want to play football. I think people forget that (or want to forget that).
UPDATE #2: This game will also appear on TSN 1, 4 and 5. It will start on TSN5 right at 1:00 and join in progress on the other three stations at about 3:30.
Citrus Bowl: #21 Tennessee vs. #17 Iowa
1:00
Thankfully Tennessee is in this game. Otherwise, this could smash the record that is repeatedly set by this year’s Iowa team for lowest over/under ever. Kirk Ferentz is desperately hoping for a 7-6 with a good ol’ Iowa touchdown (a field goal and two safeties).
Rose Bowl: #1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama
5:00
Did Nick Saban do one of his best coaching jobs ever with this group? Yes. Yes he did. Should Michigan be allowed in the College Football Playoff? I’m sure there are many (SEC fans) who think that Michigan should have their entire football program shut down because “Michigan cheated.” Not that I disagree that Michigan cheated because it sure felt like they did but I am under the assumption that at least half the Power Five schools cheat in some manner. It’s college football: it’s never been squeaky clean. Ever. To think it was…well, you’re just wrong.
UPDATE #3: This will appear on TSN1, 4 and 5 as well. There will be an update sometime in the next few days to determine which feed appears where.
UPDATE #6: The entire game will appear on TSN1, 4 and 5.
Sugar Bowl: #2 Washington vs. #3 Texas
8:45
Will I watch this entire game? Abso-fucking-lutely. Will I be a bit tired at work the next day? Maybe. I wonder if I should just book a vacation day. “Hey Bossman, doing anything fun on your vacation day?” “Well I’m definitely not recovering from watching the Sugar Bowl, that’s for sure.” Then they’d look at me like I have six heads.
UPDATE #4: Same update as the Rose Bowl.
UPDATE #7: The entire game will appear on TSN1, 4, and 5.
Monday January 9th
College Football Playoff National Championship
8:00
At this point, this game isn’t appearing on the TSN schedule. Neither are the New Year’s Day ones although that might come as early as tomorrow. If it’s the same as last year then those are three stations it will appear on. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the special feeds goes to TSN+. Final game of the year (other than the wacky all-star games that are fun but not as exciting as the rest of the games). I will probably be wearing a frown when this game ends.
UPDATE #5: This game will also appear on TSN4. Determination of feed will probably happen closer to New Year’s Day.
Breakdown time!
TSN only (regular channels) – 22 games
TSN+ & specialty pack – 10 games
ABC & TSN – 6 games
ABC & TSN+ – 2 games
FOX – 1 game
CBS – 1 game
The CW – 1 game
TSN is showing EVERY bowl game. Every. Single. One. With a caveat. We are starting to see the TSN+ effect. TSN+ will have 12 of the bowl games, either paired with airing on ABC or paired with appearing on the specialty pack. This is the future. Get ready for it. And also get ready for a day when at least the college football portion of the specialty pack goes away since I think that day is coming as well.
Next up are the bowl game rankings and the NFL schedule post for the upcoming week. I am still going back and forth on whether I will do another post on how I would fix the postseason. It’s a bit tougher now that they have gone to a 12-team playoff but with less conferences. Expect at least (AT LEAST) seven Big Ten/SEC teams in every playoff going forward unless something wacky happens. That would leave, at most, the G-5 champ and two each from the ACC and Big XII. Sounds about right (unfortunately for many schools). Anyway, I will make the decision at some point over the next week or so. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and get ready for the bowl games in THREE DAYS!
And you know what means. That’s right. It’s Army-Navy time. And the Heisman Trophy presentation. Two of the most important occurrences in any college football season. Look, let’s just get right to the schedule since it’s not that long and then get to some Heisman discussion.
Friday
FCS Quarter-Final: Furman at Montana
9:00
Last year was an FCS doubleheader in this spot. Why they didn’t do that this year? Well, my best guess is that since there are no teams from the Eastern Time Zone, it would make no sense for either South Dakota State or South Dakota to begin their game at 6:00 local time. That would make it very tough on attendance for sure. I am sure otherwise that would have been the plan since there is nothing else that was going to air on ESPN2 this night.
Saturday
FCS Quarter-Final: Villanova at South Dakota State
Noon
FCS Quarter-Final: North Dakota State at South Dakota
2:30
Army vs. Navy (in Foxborough)
3:00
FCS Quarter-Final: UAlbany at Idaho
10:00
Well, we have two new wrinkles this year. Normally we would get an FCS playoff game at Noon and the Army-Navy game at 3:00. This year, ABC is showing NDSU-USD at 2:30 which is, I believe, the first time ever that an FCS quarter-final game has appeared on ABC. Plus, the final quarter-final game should also be appearing in this area (if you have TSN+ or one of the specialty packs). Now, at this point I see no info for the final two games on the specialty pack. I honestly don’t know why the afternoon game is scheduled for TSN+ when it’s already on ABC but it is. As for the nighttime affair, I only see it appearing on TSN+ although it might end up on the specialty pack at some point. I will keep you updated on this.
TSN3 will be showing the Heisman Trophy presentation ceremony this year (Saturday night at 8:00) after being fucking dicks and not showing it last year. They probably needed to show Top 50 plays in Arizona Coyotes history or something like that. Anyway, here are the odds going into Saturday night’s ceremony:
Jayden Daniels, LSU (-1200)
Michael Penix, Jr., Washington (+900)
Bo Nix, Oregon (+1500)
Marvin Harrison, Ohio State (+20000)
Wait, +20000? Twenty thousand? So basically, Maserati Marv might as well not show up. Not saying Daniels won’t win it because he probably will but Penix and Nix are still at least in the ballpark when it comes to odds. Harrison’s odds are like if they took a single-A baseball team and put them up against an MLB all-star team. Or like if the worst football team in your high school district was going to play the Western Mustangs. It would be a bloodbath.
Anyway, Daniels most definitely deserves the award, especially considering the fact that LSU was never a contender this season. If it wasn’t for him, the Tigers are sniffing .500 and a scramble to become bowl eligible. I wonder what would have happened if either of the two Pac-12 quarterbacks had gone off during the Pac-12 Championship but, alas, neither did and they basically handed the trophy to Daniels.
And hey, remember College GameDay not going to the Army-Navy Game last year? Well, this year they will be going. It seems like there is a lot of divisiveness with the show now that Pat McAfee has joined the show and essentially replaced David Pollack. I get that they are trying to tap into a different audience. What that audience is I don’t know since I am sure most people who are fans of the Pat McAfee Show already watch copious amounts of college football but I may be wrong. And it sounds like eventually he will be the replacement for Lee Corso. I honestly don’t understand that but in the end it doesn’t matter to me. Why? Because I don’t really watch pre-game shows for any sport. They usually aren’t good or are way too long (or both). And GameDay definitely falls under the latter. I don’t even bother with the final helmet pick part of the show because I will see hundreds of people post it anyway. No skin off my back. Live sports. That’s what I watch. So just bring on the football.
The bowl schedule is up for TSN so I will go about doing that post soon along with my bowl game rankings. Whether TSN makes changes as it goes along, who knows although they were pretty good last year with it. There is no need to make changes unless something happens with any of the World Junior Hockey Championship games which is obviously priority number one to them (and I get that). Other than that, no reason to change things because they just needed to show a repeat of NFL Live or That’s Hockey (is that even a show anymore?).
Alirght, enjoy the games everyone. We are close to the end of the season so bundle up and watch as much college football as you can (or are allowed to).
OK where do I begin here with the MILF Hunter? So The Athletic (I won’t say much about that website other than they believe much more highly of themselves than they probably should) reports that Zach Wilson does not want to start for the Jets. Would I blame him? No. The Jets O-line is basically papier-mache. Saying that, he’s a professional athlete and it is EXTREMELY rare to find the one that does not want to compete. And Wilson isn’t that guy.
So after seeing Tim Boyle (TIM FUCKING BOYLE) start and Trevor Siemian pass Wilson as the backup, Jets head coach Robert Saleh has finally seen the light (kind of) and put Wilson back under centre as the starting quarterback. Boyle has been released (and shouldn’t have got a shot in the first place) and Siemian can be the experienced backup. If…IF the Jets can somehow win their next three games, don’t be surprised if a certain recurring guest on the Pat McAfee Show makes his long-awaited return. That’s also if the Jets aren’t mathematically eliminated at that point as well which is a dicey proposition in the AFC as you will see later in this post. Look, the Jets do have a somewhat bright future if they can get some O-line help and have Rodgers for a full season. Barring that, it’s more agony for fans of the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.
Huh, that’s two Jets introductions in a row. Must be a record. OK now let’s get to the schedule which does include the Jets and a very weird occurrence that’s never happened before.
Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, FOX Boston, CTV2, TSN 1/+
Philadelphia at Dallas
Sunday, 8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/4/5/+
Green Bay at NY Giants
Monday, 8:15, ABC, TSN 3/+
Tennessee at Miami
Monday, 8:15, TSN 1/+
Just a Bunch of Schedule Notes
The games that will not appear on Canadian television networks (or American ones you can view) unless you have Sunday Ticket or RedZone:
Tampa Bay at Atlanta
Denver at LA Chargers
Carolina at New Orleans
Oh, the NFC South. The worst division in football. And all four teams are not being shown here. Sounds like justice to me.
So you notice something about Monday night? Yeah, two games going on at the same time. The only thread between them? The ManningCast which is on TSN+. Get that, you can watch Peyton and Eli and whatever stupid guests they have try to watch and analyze two games at once. Interesting idea and again it’s a lookahead towards when the NFL expands (and they will expand, make no mistake about it).
The Thursday Nighter. My god. The schedule maker must have thought this was hilarious. Then again, I don’t think he could have even envisioned two offenses so woeful. At least the Steelers got rid of Matt Canada and are opening up somewhat on the offensive side of the ball. The Pats? They might as well tank at this point and get that long snapper quarterback of the future since Mac Jones ain’t it.
The Bills and the Chiefs get a national audience this week which is nice to see (only one really…Jags-Browns are close but no cigar). Now while the two teams are only two games apart in the standings, it feels like they are miles apart on how good they really are. The Chiefs are doing OK by recent KC standards but the Bills have been terrible at times. Just don’t have the Chiefs needing to score with 13 seconds to go since it might send the Bills (and their fans) over the edge.
Updated playoff picture time bitches!
AFC
NFC
#1 Miami (9-3)
#1 Philadelphia (10-2)
#2 Baltimore (9-3)
#2 San Francisco (9-3)
#3 Kansas City (8-4)
#3 Detroit (9-3)
#4 Jacksonville (8-4)
#4 Atlanta (6-6)
Wild Cards:
Wild Cards:
#5 Pittsburgh (7-5)
#5 Dallas (9-3)
#6 Cleveland (7-5)
#6 Minnesota (6-6)
#7 Indianapolis/Houston (7-5)
#7 Green Bay/LA Rams/Seattle (6-6)
Not quite three-quarters of the way through the season but with 17 games there is no way to do fractions nicely so let’s just say we are in the home stretch. It’s December. Close enough. No one has clinched yet but there will be opportunities as I will state below. The NFC South is a complete fucking mess and I hate to say this but I hope the, ugh, Cowboys mop the fucking floor with whoever wins that sorry division. Pains me to even type that but I believe it.
Might as well get right to clinching scenarios. As you know, I do not include ties until the final week of the regular season and even then, only if I absolutely have to since otherwise the amount of scenarios goes through the roof. Let us begin.
Playoff Berth
Philadelphia clinches with a win AND (an LA Rams loss OR a Seattle loss OR (a Minnesota loss AND a Green Bay loss) OR (a Green Bay loss AND a Detroit loss))
Dallas clinches with a win AND a Detroit win AND a Tampa Bay loss AND a Seattle loss AND (an LA Rams loss OR a New Orleans loss) AND a Green Bay loss AND a Minnesota loss
San Francisco clinches with a win AND (a Minnesota loss OR a Green Bay loss)
Elimination
Arizona is eliminated with an LA Rams win AND a Green Bay win
New England is eliminated with a loss OR a Houston win OR a Cincinnati win OR (a Las Vegas win AND a Buffalo win)
OK that Dallas scenario is insane. Would be fun if it happened!
Everyone have a great rest of the week and enjoy the games…even tonight’s affair.
I have to say it was a fun final regular season weekend of college football. Especially the Iron Bowl. What a ridiculous finish. Now we get into the postseason part of the season. So there has to be some chaos, right? Some upset? Any upset? Sure there were a few during the season but really the big upset has taken a big nap this year. And that’s part of college football. Not having those has taken something away from this season. Let’s hope this coming weekend can bring some of that chaos back. Fingers crossed. Let’s get on with the schedule.
Friday
Conference USA Championship: New Mexico State (+10.5) at #24 Liberty
7:00
This network continues to be smart in the way they figure out WHEN to put a game. They get an entire national audience for almost an entire half and then, if the game is close, many people will stick with it to the end. Brilliant. Plus, with the added possibility of seeing a potential New Year’s Six berth clinched here, it means they should get more eyeballs on this game than ever before. Prediction: This game is the biggest one, not only in Liberty’s history, but in Conference USA’s history. This is their chance to put a team in the New Year’s Six for the first time. The first part gets done this night. Liberty 39 New Mexico State 34.
Pac-12 Championship: #5 Oregon (-9.5) vs. #3 Washington (in Paradise, NV)
8:00
The final Pac-12 Championship and, arguably, the most important conference championship is being held on a Friday night starting at 5:00 local time. Hell, ESPN/ABC is sending their best crew to this. This feels like the final slap in the face to the Pac-12. Anyway, this is massive. The winner is a lock for the College Football Playoff and the loser gets relegated to the New Year’s Six. It’s that simple. Prediction: This is going to be an offensive showcase between two of the Heisman contenders in Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. The guy who wins, I believe, won’t be the Heisman winner. Although I guess there’s always a possibility Jayden Daniels wins it instead of either of these two. Washington 49 Oregon 38.
Saturday Early
Big XII Championship: #18 Oklahoma State (+14.5) vs. #7 Texas (in Arlington)
Noon
Easily the only game that matters early on. Texas has to win and get quite a bit of help to get into the College Football Playoff. They will know the lay of the land after the Pac-12 Championship, especially if Oregon wins since that will mean a better shot to join the party. Prediction: The Longhorns do what they need to do but will have to wait to see if it is enough. Texas 52 Oklahoma State 27.
MAC Championship: Miami-OH (+7.5) vs. Toledo (in Detroit)
Noon
Well, from the College Football Playoff rankings we now know that Toledo has no chance at the NY6, despite having an 11-1 record. Nothing will allow them to leapfrog Tulane, Liberty or SMU. I would say this is for a trip back to Detroit for the Quick Lane Bowl but even that is in doubt thanks to tie-ins that don’t even tie a conference in to a bowl game. Prediction: Should be close like their regular season matchup. Toledo 24 Miami-OH 20.
Saturday Afternoon
Mountain West Championship: Boise State (-2) at UNLV
3:00
Now that the strange computer rankings saga to figure out who would actually be in the conference championship game is over, we can focus ont the game itself. Really, they are probably playing for a spot in the LA Bowl but who the hell knows. It will be interesting to see how many people are in Allegiant Stadium as it hosts its second conference championship in less than 24 hours. Prediction: This isn’t on the Smurf Turf so you have to give the advantage to the Rebels here. UNLV 41 Boise State 38.
Sun Belt Championship: Appalachian State (+6.5) at Troy
4:00
Where does the winner go? Who the fuck knows anymore. Prediction: I will be thinking about how this would have been a hundred times better if James Madison was hosting Troy. Troy 34 Appalachian State 16.
SEC Championship: #8 Alabama (+5.5) vs. #1 Georgia (in Atlanta)
4:00
Is Georgia in no matter what? Probably although you never know how things will shake out with The Committee. Bama is going to have win this by like 50 to even get a glance from them as they are probably too far out to get their shot. Prediction: This is going to be really close and really good. I just feel it. Georgia 49 Alabama 42.
American Championship: SMU (+4) at #22 Tulane
4:00
Tulane goes back to the NY6 with a win in this one. But what happens if SMU wins? That is where the fun begins (as long as Liberty wins their game on Friday). I still believe that SMU would have to hope Liberty loses since there is no way to pass them but I could be wrong. Prediction: Tulane is heading back to the promised land but it won’t be easy. Tulane 41 SMU 34.
SWAC Championship: Prairie View A&M at Florida A&M
4:00
Florida A&M has been money since joining the SWAC. Honestly, I think Deion Sanders may have been right. Have all the MEAC schools join the SWAC. One huge mega-HBCU-conference. ESPN might not like that though because they have the Celebration Bowl on the opening day of Bowl Season and you know how ESPN is about their bowls. Even with the 12-team playoff they will want to add bowls so that 4-8 Houston can face 4-8 Colorado. Prediction: The Rattlers are going to beat the brakes off of Prairie View and move on to the Celebration Bowl where they will be in an uncomfortably close game with a team that’s not even close to their level in Howard. Like most of the Celebration Bowls. Florida A&M 56 Prairie View A&M 14.
Saturday Primetime
ACC Championship: #14 Louisville (+2.5) vs. #4 Florida State (in Charlotte)
8:00
All the FSU talk is about the loss of Jordan Travis. I get it. With him, you look like a national championship contender. Without him, not so much. Saying that, they know what they have to do. Win. Doesn’t matter how. Just win. And I wondered if they were going to be able to do that against this Cardinals team but after Louisville’s performance against Kentucky, I started to wonder about that. Prediction: The Noles do enough to win. The defense keeps the Cardinals offense at bay. FSU off to the CFP. Florida State 37 Louisville 27.
Big Ten Championship: #16 Iowa (+23) vs. #2 Michigan (in Indianapolis)
8:00
The spread is almost as high as the over/under for Iowa’s game last week against Nebraska. How sad/hilarious is that? Michigan is in with a win and maybe even with a loss depending on what has happened before this point. Prediction: Iowa has survived a lot of games with their defense. They won’t here. This could get ugly. Michigan 44 Iowa 10.
FCS Second Round: Southern Illinois at Idaho
10:00 PM
Hey, an added bonus! Some FCS playoff action! From what I can tell this may be close but we shall see since my FCS knowledge isn’t that great. And despite the fact they are playing in the awesome Kibbie Dome, wouldn’t it have been ten times more hilarious if this were outdoors…in Moscow, Idaho…in December? Oh my. Prediction: Watch this prediction be WAY off. Idaho 38 Southern Illinois 33.
We are almost at the end. It’s college football’s Judgment Day and it’s coming quickly. And we are slowly heading towards bowl season and the end of the college football season. So enjoy the games everyone!
Let’s start with a ranked list since this blog totally needs to be Buzzfeeded…I am sure someone over the age of 70 would not understand most of that sentence. The definitive ranking of Thanksgiving foods! And I am going to include some American delicacies that I may or may not like. Here we go:
Mashed potatoes. Easy choice at #1.
Stuffing. Another easy choice at #2.
Gravy. Yeah you need a good gravy.
Turkey. Sure, some people are ham people and I respect that but turkey is just the quintessential Thanksgiving meat.
Ham. I like ham too! Especially those spiral hams. God damn delicious!
Apple pie. Oh man, apple pie is the perfect dessert.
Corn. Got to have at least one good Thanksgiving veggie.
Rolls. Again, rolls are made for holiday dinners.
Peas. Peas are fine but corn is the better veggie in this case.
Glazed carrots. Don’t see it too often but carrots (and parsnips) done in butter and brown sugar is quite tasty.
Mac and cheese. I would put it higher but it’s just not something we serve up here at Thanksgiving.
Cornbread. I actually like cornbread but it feels not Thanksgiving-y? Maybe I’m wrong.
Candied yams or sweet potato casserole. Not really a fan of either but will have a bite or two.
Brussels sprouts. Now, I’ve heard they are good cooked with bacon. Maybe I should try that.
Pumpkin pie. Not a fan and hate the pumpkin spice craze that still goes on.
Salad. No one wants a fucking salad at Thanksgiving.
Cranberry sauce. I hate cranberries in general for a few reasons that I won’t get into here.
Rotten garbage.
Green bean casserole. The dirt fucking worst. Green beans? Tasty. But when you add all sorts of stuff to it it turns into shit for some reason.
There, the definitive list. I’m sure I missed something here but I think I got most of the Thanksgiving staples. Don’t @ me, as the kids say.
All affiliates (except Vancouver Island & Alberta)
New Orleans at Atlanta
1:00
TSN+
Buffalo at Philadelphia
4:25
All affiliates
Kansas City at Las Vegas
4:25
Vancouver Island, Alberta
TSN1, TSN3, TSN4
Primetime, American Thanksgiving & Black Friday Games
Green Bay at Detroit
Thursday, 12:30, FOX, CTV2, TSN 1/3/4/5
Washington at Dallas
Thursday, 4:30, CBS, CTV2, TSN 1/3/4/5
San Francisco at Seattle
Thursday, 8:00, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/3/4/5/+
Miami at NY Jets
Friday, 3:00, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN 1/5
Baltimore at LA Chargers
8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/4/+
Chicago at Minnesota
Monday, 8:15, ABC, TSN 1/3/5
Some Turkey-Related Comments (with Gravy, of course)
The following games will not be shown in relatively turkey-less Canada unless you have a subscription to Sunday Ticket or RedZone (or both):
Tampa Bay at Indianapolis
Carolina at Tennessee
LA Rams at Arizona
With the games as spread out as they are, we somehow still have three games not being shown up here on regular cable. It’s going to be very interested when the NFL expands, even if it’s just by two teams since that will just mean more games not available on cable.
Do you think there will still be people that struggle to realize that the Thursday afternoon game will be on CBS and not FOX? I’m sure those people still exist.
Now that they CFL season is over, TSN will step up and show NFL on damn near every one of their channels. You know, unlike college football where they barely make one or two available.
The Thanksgiving sked is not bad although I could easily see blowouts in the first two games. The night game has become very interesting as the NFC West is now a bit of a tighter race with San Fran having their struggles and the Rams getting back into the thick of things.
Yes, you read it right. The NFL is putting a game on Black Friday. “Wait, Bossman, I thought the NFL couldn’t air games on Fridays.” That’s kind of correct. The NFL cannot overlap high school football games and many of those leagues are deep into the playoffs now. But those games are always evening games, obviously. This game should be done by around 6:00 (unless there’s overtime) so they are able to skirt around this rule. Also, Amazon is trying to get more eyeballs on Prime so they asked the NFL to move the game to Friday. Amazingly enough, Amazon trails the bigger shopping outlets like Walmart and Target by a very wide margin when it comes to Black Friday shopping. So of course they want to close the gap and they believe this will help. Yes, money is always involved in these decisions even if it isn’t the main reason.
Playoff picture time! Has the gap between the haves and have-nots widened in the NFC?
AFC
NFC
#1 Baltimore (AFC North)
#1 Philadelphia (NFC East)
#2 Kansas City (AFC West)
#2 Detroit (NFC North)
#3 Jacksonville (AFC South)
#3 San Francisco (NFC West)
#4 Miami (AFC East)
#4 New Orleans (NFC South)
Wild Cards:
Wild Cards:
#5 Cleveland
#5 Dallas
#6 Houston
#6 Seattle
#7 Pittsburgh
#7 Minnesota
It hasn’t widened but the teams on the outside haven’t gained any ground. I am sure more than half the teams that are in playoff spots going into Thanksgiving probably end up making the playoffs, if not close to two-thirds. So this weekend becomes a big deal for some teams hanging around the bubble. In the AFC, the Bills, Colts, Broncos and Bengals are just out of a playoff spot so it’s not going to be easy for the current playoff teams to hold them all off. Interesting point here: the Panthers, at 1-10, cannot be eliminated from playoff contention this weekend. That is how bad the NFC South is this season. No teams can be eliminated this week although several can lose their chance at the #1 seed, not surprisingly, with losses. The Patriots-Giants game is basically a Loser-Can’t-Be-Top-Seed game.
Savour this, people. So much football. And, if you decide to, make a big meal. Enjoy yourselves. And enjoy the games.
As you probably know, Ken Dorsey was fired as offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills earlier this week. Was it a surprise? A bit of one, sure.
Despite the stats that say the Bills have one of the best offenses in football, you can also honestly say they are wildly inconsistent. Josh Allen has one of the best completion percentages in the league yet the throws that aren’t complete are what take centre stage. Overthrows by 10 yards, throws into double and triple coverage constantly, leading the league in interceptions. He has become one of the biggest risk-reward quarterbacks in recent memory. He either does amazing things or does stupidly shitty things and there seems to be very little in-between.
Also, the Bills running attack has been non-existent for years. And when it did show up it was usually Allen running the ball, almost daring to get injured. This past Monday night, they showed they can run the ball when they need to…with their running backs. They aren’t great but they can be good enough when needed.
So putting this all together, Dorsey has to be responsible for some of this. His playcalling is not good. Period. The results may a lot of times end up being great but it’s not because of him. The talent on the field is there. Saying that, he does feel like a bit of a scapegoat. He was promoted when Brian Daboll left to become head coach of the New York Football Giants and who knows if he was truly ready for the job. He has no say in the personnel he has to work with and who knows how much influence Sean McDermott has over the offense. McDermott has to take some of the blame, as does general manager Brandon Beane, for all of this. It’s a bit of a mess right now as a team that was supposed to contend once again is failing to do so.
Will firing Dorsey help? It remains to be seen. Sometimes change for the sake of change can be a good thing. Either way, something has to be done. This is a franchise that feels like it has been broken twice in the past two seasons. The unbeliveable loss to the Chiefs in the playoffs in 2021, followed by Damar Hamlin’s on-field heart attack last season seem to have partially destroyed this team. They aren’t excuses: it just feels like the franchise isn’t what they were or what some thought they would become. As a fan of the team, I hope they can turn it around but at least for this season, it doesn’t look promising for them.
OK that’s enough Bills talk. Let’s go to this week’s schedule which…OK it does have the Bills on it but they aren’t the feature this week, make no mistake about that. Well, that’s not entirely true either. A lot of the country will be…let’s just get to the damn schedule.
American Networks
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
1:00
All affiliates
Dallas at Carolina
1:00
Tacoma, Seattle, Boston, Presque Isle
LA Chargers at Green Bay
1:00
Minneapolis
Chicago at Detroit
1:00
Detroit
NY Giants at Washington
1:00
Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington
Tampa Bay at San Francisco
4:05
Spokane
NY Jets at Buffalo
4:25
All affiliates (except Seattle & Spokane)
Seattle at LA Rams
4:25
Seattle, Spokane
Canadian Networks
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
1:00
All affiliates
Chicago at Detroit
1:00
All affiliates (except Vancouver Island)
Dallas at Carolina
1:00
Vancouver Island
TSN2
Las Vegas at Miami
1:00
TSN+
Tampa Bay at San Francisco
4:05
TSN2
NY Jets at Buffalo
4:25
All affiliates (except Vancouver & Alberta)
Seattle at LA Rams
4:25
Vancouver, Alberta
Primetime Games
Cincinnati at Baltimore
Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN 1/3/4/+
Minnesota at Denver
8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN2
Philadelphia at Kansas City
Monday, 8:15, ABC, TSN 1/3/4/+
Potentially Important Notes and Things And Trash and Such
What did people do to deserve the Giants-Commanders game? Upstate New York always seems to get stuck with these shitty games but it’s rare for western New York to get them as well. Hopefully who gets their FOX affiliate from that area has Sunday Ticket or RedZone. Otherwise, ugh.
Speaking of Sunday Ticket and RedZone, here are the games not being shown in Canada if you don’t have one of the two, at least:
Tennessee at Jacksonville
Arizona at Houston
Finally done with the morning games. Thank god. I sincerely hate them. As you can tell, I am not a morning person. At all.
The Grey Cup is this Sunday. This is why only TSN2 is being used for the NFL. After this weekend, though, it should open up quite nicely the rest of the way.
So yeah the Bills are in a prominent spot since most of the country will get their game with the Jets. And, fair enough, it is an important game in the AFC East since the loser is going to have a very tough time making the playoffs.
Finally, look at the primetime slate. Now that’s what I’m talking about. The worst team of the bunch, by far, is Denver and they have started to turn things around. This is always what the NFL was looking for when primetime football started decades ago and, unfortunately, they have gotten away from that. I understand that it’s nice to see your team in a primetime, standalone game. But it also means you have to shut your trap when we are stuck with the Panthers and the Bears. Can’t have it both ways.
Alright now let’s get to the playoff picture which is still pretty AFC North-heavy:
AFC
NFC
#1 Kansas City (AFC West)
#1 Philadelphia (NFC East)
#2 Baltimore (AFC North)
#2 Detroit (NFC North)
#3 Jacksonville (AFC South)
#3 San Francisco (NFC West)
#4 Miami (AFC East)
#4 New Orleans (NFC South)
Wild Cards:
Wild Cards:
#5 Pittsburgh
#5 Seattle
#6 Cleveland
#6 Dallas
#7 Houston/Cincinnati
#7 Minnesota
You have three teams half-a-game out of the final Wild Card spot in the AFC and three more teams only one game out. Realistically, the Patriots are the only team truly out of it in the conference. Imagine typing that any time this century. As for the NFC, there seems to be a gap between the top teams and the teams either trying to claw their way into the playoff picture or coming close to tanking to get a better draft pick. That’s why it already sucks when two teams who have combined for a 6-14 record so far this season is the game in your area.
A reminder that next week is one of America’s football celebrations: Thanksgiving (south of the border)! So if you want to partake as well, go ahead and make a 40-pound turkey for four people, enough mashed potatoes to drown a rhino and that fucking disgusting green bean casserole that could be used as a weapon in ground warfare. I will try my best to get the blog post out next week in time for you to have all the information you need. As for this week, just enjoy the games everyone! And if you want to make a turkey this weekend as well, have at it.
Yep, firing season in college football has commenced! In what was, honestly, a shocking shitcanning, Texas A&M followed up an absolute drubbing of Mississippi State by keeping the good times going and firing Jimbo Fisher. Yes, Jimbo has been let go and will get $76 god damn million dollars as a buyout. Holy shit. Stupid me trying to be a teacher, then an accountant when the real money was in being a failed college football head coach. How dumb can I be?
Following that, Boise State announced that they, too, followed an easy win by firing their head coach. Andy Avalos was never really accepted in that position and he never kept the Broncos at the level everyone expects them to be. I guess that’s what happens: a long string of good seasons means expectations go up for everyone.
Then Mississippi State decided that Zach Arnett isn’t the right guy going forward and he was dismissed from his head coaching position. That one game put huge dents in two coaching staffs. Impressive.
Back to the Aggies situation, they now will have to hire someone after the season is over. As fucking hilarious as it would be to promote Bobby Petrino, they will definitely go outside the school in their search. And remember: the Texas A&M job is still a big one. So most coaches would love to have it. Right now I would put Mike Norvell, Mike Elko and Dan Lanning as 1A, 1B and 1C to be hired. Don’t rule out a guy like Lance Leipold, though. He has done amazing things at Kansas and will get a lot of looks in the offseason.
OK let’s get to the Bossman Top 26 which will probably not resemble the College Football Playoff rankings whatsoever:
#1
Georgia (10-0)
#2
Michigan (10-0)
#3
Washington (10-0)
#4
Oregon (9-1)
#5
Alabama (9-1)
#6
Ohio State (10-0)
#7
Florida State (10-0)
#8
Texas (9-1)
#9
Louisville (9-1)
#10
Missouri (8-2)
#11
Oregon State (8-2)
#12
Ole Miss (8-2)
#13
LSU (7-3)
#14
Tulane (9-1)
#15
Penn State (8-2)
#16
Utah (7-3)
#17
Oklahoma (8-2)
#18
James Madison (10-0)
#19
Arizona (7-3)
#20
Notre Dame (7-3)
#21
Tennessee (7-3)
#22
Liberty (10-0)
#23
North Carolina (8-2)
#24
Oklahoma State (7-3)
#25
Iowa (8-2)
#26
Kansas State (7-3)
There are five undefeated Power Five teams at the top. There could end up being four going into conference championship weekend. Something’s gotta give but honestly, will it? Georgia, Washington, Florida State and the Michigan/Ohio State winner in two weeks have clear paths to the playoff. Run the table and you’re in, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If one falters, that’s where the fun begins. Also, yes I have Tulane at #14 and I’m sure The Committee will have them at like #23 at best. I know it pained them to have Cincinnati so high a couple years back and they never wanted to replicate that again. And if they have their choice, they still won’t even with the expanded playoff starting next season.
Now we turn to bowl projections which actually have a bit of meat to them now that we are closing in on the end of the regular season. Unless we see chaos (which I always hope for), many of these projections can be backed up with relatively easy answers. Let’s go!
Sugar Bowl
CFP #1 vs. CFP #4
Michigan vs. Washington
Rose Bowl
CFP #2 vs. CFP #3
Florida State vs. Georgia
I believe Michigan ends up winning The Game and then the Big Ten Championship. Florida State and Washington I have running the table. Georgia, I think, will have a hiccup this week against Tennessee but still end up winning the SEC Championship to move back into the Top 4. Pretty easy, right? Let’s see if the New Year’s Six predictions make just as much sense.
Fiesta Bowl
CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1
Oregon vs. Memphis
Orange Bowl
ACC Champ vs. Big Ten/Notre Dame/SEC
Louisville vs. Ohio State
Peach Bowl
CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1
Alabama vs. Penn State
Cotton Bowl
CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1
Texas vs. Ole Miss
I’m sure one thing really stands out here so let’s get to that first.
Yes, I have Memphis winning the American and the Group of Five spot in the NY6. How does the current fourth-place team rise to the top? It starts with Memphis beating SMU this coming Saturday. Then Tulane defeats UTSA on the final weekend and, due to tiebreakers, the Tigers get the spot opposite Tulane. Then they pull the upset and beat the Green Wave to move up high enough to get the spot. That shouldn’t be too hard with James Madison ineligible, Liberty’s stupidly easy schedule and The Committee’s MAC disrespect which kills Toledo’s chances.
As for the rest, they are pretty self-explanatory. Louisville ends up losing the ACC Championship but is the best representative from the conference and gets the Orange Bowl spot. The Orange Bowl selects Ohio State as the top team left from the Big Ten or SEC. Oregon, Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss are almost shoo-ins at this point. I do think Penn State sneaks back into the Top 10 and passes Missouri to garner the final spot. Whether they face a pissed off Alabama or a Bama that doesn’t care would remain to be seen.
So far, so good. Nothing crazy (other than Memphis). I’m sure there could be some debate but it would be minor (other than Memphis). Let’s look at the rest of the bowl picture:
Citrus Bowl
SEC vs. Big Ten
LSU vs. Iowa
ReliaQuest Bowl
SEC vs. Big Ten
Kentucky vs. Maryland
Arizona Bowl
MWC vs. MAC
Fresno State vs. Miami-OH
Music City Bowl
SEC vs. Big Ten
Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin
Liberty Bowl
SEC vs. Big XII
Missouri vs. Kansas State
Sun Bowl
ACC vs. Pac-12
Miami vs. Arizona
Gator Bowl
SEC vs. ACC
Auburn vs. North Carolina
Alamo Bowl
Big XII vs. Pac-12
Oklahoma vs. Utah
Pop Tarts Bowl
ACC vs. Big XII
Notre Dame vs. Kansas
Pinstripe Bowl
Big Ten vs. ACC
Rutgers vs. NC State
Fenway Bowl
2 of ACC/AAC/C-USA
Georgia Tech vs. Tulane
Texas Bowl
SEC vs. Big XII
Tennessee vs. Oklahoma State
Holiday Bowl
ACC vs. Pac-12
Boston College vs. Oregon State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
SEC vs. ACC
UCF* vs. Clemson
Military Bowl
ACC vs. AAC
Duke vs. UTSA
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
2 of Big Ten/Big XII/MWC
Wyoming vs. Iowa State
First Responder Bowl
2 of ACC/Big XII/AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA
Syracuse vs. Texas Tech
Quick Lane Bowl
Big Ten vs. MAC
Illinois vs. Northern Illinois
Hawaii Bowl
AAC vs. MWC
Rice vs. Boise State
Las Vegas Bowl
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Minnesota vs. USC
68 Ventures Bowl
2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Georgia Southern vs. WKU
Idaho Potato Bowl
2 of MWC/MAC/Sun Belt
UNLV vs. Marshall
Armed Forces Bowl
Big XII vs. C-USA
BYU vs. Utah State*
Birmingham Bowl
2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA
Louisiana* vs. Jacksonville State**
Camellia Bowl
2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
South Alabama vs. Toledo
Gasparilla Bowl
2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA
James Madison** vs. Florida***
Boca Raton Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Appalachian State vs. Bowling Green
Frisco Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Arkansas State vs. North Texas***
Bahamas Bowl
MAC vs. C-USA
Ohio vs. New Mexico State
Independence Bowl
Big XII vs. AAC
West Virginia vs. SMU
LA Bowl
Pac-12 vs. MWC
UCLA vs. Air Force
New Mexico Bowl
2 of Group of Five
San Jose State vs. Texas State
Cure Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Coastal Carolina vs. Eastern Michigan
New Orleans Bowl
Sun Belt vs. C-USA
Troy vs. Liberty
Myrtle Beach Bowl
2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC
Georgia State vs. Central Michigan
A few notes on this:
One asterisk (*) means there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill that bowl slot. Two asterisks (**) means that all bowl-eligible teams have been slotted in a bowl game and there are still spots remaining. Three asterisks (***) means a team that gets in due to APR. That final one I have no idea how it will be filled since I don’t have a great idea as to the smarter schools compared to the not-so-smart schools.
James Madison and Jacksonville State are almost guaranteed bowl games. JMU is pretty much a lock since I can’t see many scenarios where all the bowl games are filled with bowl-eligible teams.
Remember, Notre Dame gets an ACC spot as long as they have one more win than a team they would be replacing….which is pretty much every team left in the ACC to slot into a bowl game.
The other Independents are not going bowling so that doesn’t really matter.
We are WAY too early to see bowl bids being accepted. And with the Bahamas Bowl having to be played in Charlotte there are no issues with issuing passports that would make it so bowl bids would have to be accepted in November. For this reason, I see no bowl bids going out until the first of December at the earliest.
Tomorrow night we have more MACtion. I will try my best to put out the college football TV schedule post tomorrow as well. Rankings will have to be edited in since the CFP rankings aren’t being released until 9:00 tomorrow night. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!
I’m a Bills fan as you know. And yes, Damar Hamlin returning to Cincinnati for the first time since last year’s horrific incident was a big story. But I have to admit there was an even bigger story coming out of the NFL this past weekend.
How about Josh Dobbs? He went from playing in Cleveland to being traded to the Cardinals to replace injured starter Kyler Murray to being traded yet again to the Vikings to replace another injured quarterback, this time Kirk Cousins who is out for the season. He joined the Vikings after he was acquired last Tuesday at the trade deadline. He had almost no time to prepare but no big deal, right? He was the backup to Jaren Hall. Well, Hall ends up getting a concussion in the first quarter so in comes Dobbs. He had to go over cadences with the offensive line since he hadn’t done that before and the O-line hadn’t heard him do it. Hell, he barely even knew most of their names yet.
So this ended up in disaster for the Vikings, right? Nope. The Vikings ended up scoring 31 on the Falcons, including the game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds left on a drive engineered by Dobbs. That win put the Vikings back not only in the playoff race, but back in the NFC North race which no one expected to happen. It would be something if they could make the playoffs and its not out of the realm of possibility if Dobbs develops a great chemistry with his teammates.
OK let’s get to the schedule, which does include the Vikings and Dobbs!
Hey, no one gets stuck with a shitty game while you know the rest of the country can enjoy a good football matchup (at least on paper). Unless you count the potential blowout with the Cowboys and Giants.
Games not being shown up here in now suddenly cold Canada (at least where I’m from) unless you have the Reddest of Zones:
Tennessee at Tampa Bay
Atlanta at Arizona
Only two games not appearing on Canadian television this Sunday and let’s be honest: I doubt many people give a shit about any of those four teams right now unless you are gamblers or fantasy football players. Hmmm…I guess that actually means a lot of people would care about those games. Well, get Sunday Ticket or RedZone or stop complaining then.
With the CFL moving the first two rounds of their playoffs to Saturdays, it frees up more TSNs to show the NFL. That’s why you will see three (count em, THREE) TSN stations showing games on Sunday. This will change next week with the Grey Cup so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Oh, is this the worst Thursday Night Football matchup ever? It very well could be.
Hey, let’s look at what the updated playoff picture looks like:
AFC
NFC
#1 Kansas City (AFC West)
#1 Philadelphia (NFC East)
#2 Baltimore (AFC North)
#2 Detroit (NFC North)
#3 Jacksonville (AFC South)
#3 San Francisco (NFC West)
#4 Miami (AFC East)
#4 New Orleans (NFC South)
Wild Cards:
Wild Cards:
#5 Pittsburgh
#5 Seattle
#6 Cleveland
#6 Dallas
#7 Cincinnati
#7 Minnesota
How about the AFC North? I know we are only going into Week 10 but holy shit to have all four teams in playoff spots is pretty damn amazing. The Eagles already have a one-and-a-half game lead on the field in the NFC and looks like they may waltz to that number one seed in the conference. The AFC is a hell of a lot tighter as all seven current playoff teams are one-and-a-half games apart. Yes, the same amount that the Eagles lead the #2 seed Lions. Impressive. By the way, the Cardinals can already lose their shot at the #1 seed this weekend. I know…I’m shocked as well.
Wow, we had shitty weather yesterday in my neck of the woods. And I know many parts of Canada have had either freezing rain or snow already and we are still in early November. So good thing we have FOOTBALL to keep us company inside while the weather sucks outside. Enjoy the games everyone!
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