Holy shit that came up fast. It felt like only a week ago we were a ways away from conference tournament time. Then BOOM! Here we are. Even with a leap year, March crept up on me.
This is my eighth time doing this. This will be some of the last games of any sport shown on the Pac-12 Network so indulge yourself. Or don’t. Not like it’s a great conference network or anything. Alright, let us begin.
March 8th
OVC Semi-Final #1
8:00
March 8th
OVC Semi-Final #2
10:30
March 9th
MVC Semi-Final #1
3:30
March 9th
MVC Semi-Final #2
6:00
March 9th
OVC Championship
8:00
March 9th
WCC Quarter-Final #1
10:00
March 10th
WCC Quarter-Final #2
12:30 AM
March 10th
Big South Championship
Noon
March 10th
MVC Championship
2:00
March 10th
A-Sun Championship
2:00
March 10th
Patriot League Semi-Final #1
2:00
March 10th
SoCon Semi-Final #1
4:00
March 10th
Patriot League Semi-Final #2
4:00
March 10th
SoCon Semi-Final #2
6:30
March 11th
CAA Semi-Final #1
6:00
March 11th
Horizon Semi-Final #1
7:00
March 11th
SoCon Championship
7:00
March 11th
Sun Belt Championship
7:00
March 11th
CAA Semi-Final #2
8:30
March 11th
WCC Semi-Final #1
9:00
March 11th
Horizon Semi-Final #2
9:30
March 11th
WCC Semi-Final #2
11:30
March 12th
ACC First Round #1
2:00
March 12th
ACC First Round #2
4:30
March 12th
America East Semi-Final #1
5:00
March 12th
Southland Semi-Final #1
6:30
March 12th
ACC First Round #3
7:00
March 12th
NEC Championship
7:00
March 12th
CAA Championship
7:00
March 12th
Horizon Championship
7:00
March 12th
Big Sky Semi-Final #1
8:30
March 12th
WCC Championship
9:00
March 12th
Summit Championship
9:30
March 12th
Big Sky Semi-Final #2
11:00
March 13th
ACC Second Round #1
Noon
March 13th
Big XII Second Round #1
12:30
March 13th
ACC Second Round #2
2:30
March 13th
Pac-12 First Round #1
3:00
March 13th
Southland Championship
5:00
March 13th
Pac-12 First Round #2
5:30
March 13th
ACC Second Round #3
7:00
March 13th
SEC First Round #1
7:00
March 13th
Patriot Championship
7:00
March 13th
Pac-12 First Round #3
9:00
March 13th
SEC First Round #2
9:30
March 13th
ACC Second Round #4
9:30
March 13th
Big XII Second Round #4
9:30
March 13th
Big Sky Championship
11:30
March 13th
Pac-12 First Round #4
11:30
March 14th
ACC Quarter-Final #1
Noon
March 14th
Big Ten Second Round #1
Noon
March 14th
Big XII Quarter-Final #1
12:30
March 14th
American Second Round #1
12:30
March 14th
SEC Second Round #1
1:00
March 14th
ACC Quarter-Final #2
2:30
March 14th
Big Ten Second Round #2
2:30
March 14th
Big XII Quarter-Final #2
3:00
March 14th
American Second Round #2
3:00
March 14th
MWC Quarter-Final #1
3:00
March 14th
Pac-12 Quarter-Final #1
3:00
March 14th
SEC Second Round #2
3:30
March 14th
MWC Quarter-Final #2
5:30
March 14th
Pac-12 Quarter-Final #2
5:30
March 14th
Big Ten Second Round #3
6:30
March 14th
ACC Quarter-Final #3
7:00
March 14th
Big XII Quarter-Final #3
7:00
March 14th
American Second Round #3
7:00
March 14th
SEC Second Round #3
7:00
March 14th
Big Ten Second Round #4
9:00
March 14th
MWC Quarter-Final #3
9:00
March 14th
Pac-12 Quarter-Final #3
9:00
March 14th
ACC Quarter-Final #4
9:30
March 14th
Big XII Quarter-Final #4
9:30
March 14th
American Second Round #4
9:30
March 14th
SEC Second Round #4
9:30
March 14th
MWC Quarter-Final #4
11:30
March 15th
Big Ten Quarter-Final #1
Noon
March 15th
C-USA Semi-Final #1
12:30
March 15th
American Quarter-Final #1
1:00
March 15th
SEC Quarter-Final #1
1:00
March 15th
Big Ten Quarter-Final #2
2:30
March 15th
American Quarter-Final #2
3:00
March 15th
C-USA Semi-Final #2
3:00
March 15th
SEC Quarter-Final #2
3:30
March 15th
MAC Semi-Final #1
5:00
March 15th
Big East Semi-Final #1
5:30
March 15th
MAAC Semi-Final #1
6:00
March 15th
Big Ten Quarter-Final #3
6:30
March 15th
ACC Semi-Final #1
7:00
March 15th
Big XII Semi-Final #1
7:00
March 15th
American Quarter-Final #3
7:00
March 15th
SEC Quarter-Final #3
7:00
March 15th
MAC Semi-Final #2
7:30
March 15th
Pac-12 Semi-Final #1
8:00
March 15th
MAAC Semi-Final #2
8:30
March 15th
American Quarter-Final #4
9:00
March 15th
Big Ten Quarter-Final #4
9:00
March 15th
ACC Semi-Final #2
9:30
March 15th
Big XII Semi-Final #2
9:30
March 15th
SEC Quarter-Final #4
9:30
March 15th
MWC Semi-Final #1
9:30
March 15th
WAC Semi-Final #2
11:30
March 15th
Big West Semi-Final #2
11:30
March 16th
MWC Semi-Final #2
Midnight
March 16th
America East Championship
11:00 AM
March 16th
Ivy League Semi-Final #1
11:00 AM
March 16th
A-10 Semi-Final #1
1:00
March 16th
Big Ten Semi-Final #1
1:00
March 16th
SEC Semi-Final #1
1:00
March 16th
MEAC Championship
1:00
March 16th
American Semi-Final #1
3:00
March 16th
SEC Semi-Final #2
3:00
March 16th
A-10 Semi-Final #2
3:30
March 16th
Big Ten Semi-Final #2
3:30
March 16th
American Semi-Final #2
5:00
March 16th
SWAC Championship
5:30
March 16th
MWC Championship
6:00
March 16th
Big XII Championship
6:00
March 16th
Big East Championship
6:30
March 16th
MAAC Championship
7:30
March 16th
MAC Championship
7:30
March 16th
ACC Championship
8:30
March 16th
C-USA Championship
8:30
March 16th
Pac-12 Championship
9:00
March 16th
Big West Championship
9:30
March 16th
WAC Championship
11:30
March 17th
Ivy League Championship
Noon
March 17th
A-10 Championship
1:00
March 17th
SEC Championship
1:00
March 17th
American Championship
3:15
March 17th
Big Ten Championship
3:30
March 17th
Selection Sunday
6:00
Some Greg Gumbel-ish notes
Hey what happened to the Selection Sunday show being on TBS every other year? They tried it once, realized it was one of the dumbest ideas in recent college basketball broadcasting history and turfed it. Greg Gumbel (and his Selection Sunday pals) belong on CBS at 6:00 after the Big Ten Championship. Period.
There are still so many conference tournaments in the New York City and Las Vegas areas. I find it hilarious that some of these conferences, despite not even having NYC or Vegas in their conference footprint, continue to put the tournaments there and then wonder why they aren’t selling out games. Mindblowing.
So it looks like if you don’t have TSN+ you aren’t watching much conference tournament action. Damn near every game that TSN is showing is going to their new streaming platform. Is it surprising? Not really. Now, if TSN+ starts getting a shit-ton of everything, including more college basketball and football, junior hockey, maybe some Canadian university sports as well, then I can say it may be worth the cost. It’s the path we are heading towards so if you are a big-time cablehead and don’t want to move off of it then get ready to be frustrated.
As I mentioned above, this is the last few months of the Pac-12 Network, which we have more access to than most Americans. How stupid is that conference. Or was that conference…*pause to shed a tear*…Anyway, the final Pac-12 Network basketball game ever will air on March 15th so if you want to, um, witness some history, watch that game. Then all that will be left, in terms of team sports, is baseball and softball. Then no more Pac-12 come the summer. What a quiet, sad end.
I am under the assumption that the First Four will also go to TSN+. I would be shocked if it didn’t. As for the first round games, with TSN’s wraparound coverage on a few different channels, you should be able to see portions of every single game so no problems there. I will keep things updated here if any conference tournament games magically get pushed from TSN+ to one of the TSN stations (although I don’t see that happening).
The Kreepy Kombine is over so I will be putting up another mock draft. Maybe I will add another round in there. Who knows!
I am slowly putting together the schedule for this upcoming season and it is quite difficult since so much has changed that there are some things I can’t compare to previous years. Hell, the MAC hasn’t even put out their schedule yet so that makes it damn near impossible to complete this puzzle (the MAC finally announced their schedule yesterday). I mean I would I love to put out schedule-based posts in May? Sure. I may even do that and not worry about broadcast information at that point. Everything is up in the air. Have a great week everyone!
I did this post over nine years ago. Crazy, right? I went over some of the things I would do if I was put in control of college football. So maybe it’s about time to see how I did and then look at a few more things I would do. Let’s fucking go with this potential bullshit!
In OT, they should start farther back than the 25-yard line. OK they still haven’t changed this and they have made it worse by going to the 2-point shootout after the second overtime period. That is so ridiculous. Either take out the gimmick (which reminds me of the penalty shootout at the end of regular season hockey games which also drives me nuts) or make it so teams can tie after two overtime periods like in the CFL. College football had the greatest overtime format and they have somehow been overtaken by the NFL who, for all the good they do with rule changes, spent years fucking up their overtime games and basically stumbled upon rules changes thanks to the Bills and…well, I don’t want to talk about it.
Stop time after EVERY first down makes the game a little longer than most can handle. They listened! THEY LISTENED! Kind of. I had proposed doing it in the final five minutes of each half or even in the second and fourth quarter only. They do it all game now. Which is good? Problem is, some of that saved time has gone to more ad breaks. That is not so good. All in all, we will call this a push but it definitely leads into my next point that I had made…
Three-hour TV windows are dumb. This is still the case. And it’s done even more than it was back then. ESPN does it a few times a year with their evening games by pushing them to 6:00 and 9:00 so that the late SEC game isn’t TOO late. Now the ACC Network also does this one week, usually Week 2. They have so many games for their teams that they have to do this. At least they are smart enough to start at 11:00 and this past season, moved to three hour, fifteen minute windows for some of the games. That’s a perfect compromise. Expect other conference networks to potentially try this with conferences becoming bloated.
Can we stop with the games against FCS schools outside of the first month? No, it seems like they can’t. The SEC has dialed it back a bit. Only about half their teams (if that) play those games during the penultimate weekend of the regular season. But now we have the ACC doing it now. Stop it. Please. Play them in October. November should be for the biggest games, not Western Illinois (no offense to the Leathernecks) going to Georgia to get their asses handed to them for three-quarters of a mil.
Start Division 4 right now. I think I need to tweak this idea since a fuck-ton of realignment has happened in nine years. I am going to change this into football becoming its own special college sport and not totally following conference alignments in the rest of the sports. Don’t get me wrong, some of the realignments have been good but many have been weird, head-scratching, money-hungry or just plain dumb. So let football have their own conference alignments and allow the rest of the sports to go back to having the Southwest Conference or the Metro Conference or maybe other, better, more geographically sensible conferences since even in basketball, going halfway across the United States for a Tuesday night conference game is beyond ridiculous.
Is it time about time that CIS teams move south so to speak? At the time, I used Simon Fraser being in D-II as a starting point. Now, SFU doesn’t even have a football team thanks to their athletic department being a complete dumpster fire (not to mention much of the administration). Rogers still has their NHL contract for another few years (and there seems to be a bit of regret on their end which I mentioned would happen) so any CIS football, especially OUA, won’t be shown on their network any time soon. Maybe TSN can step up a bit with TSN+. Putting even one game a week (to start) on the streaming platform would be a good beginning to get eyeballs back on university football in this country. So, do I still think CIS teams should join the NCAA? Not nearly as much as I used to but some programs (I’m looking at you, York) need to seriously think about whether continuing having a football program is worth it.
Let us all be able to get the ESPNs, FOX Sports 1, etc. Yeah not even close. The amount of games available to us up here is still the same, if not a bit less now. Peacock has joined the fray and we cannot get those games up here. Still can’t get any of the FOX, FS1 or, now, FS2 games up here in Canada. I’ve always said (and I will continue to say it) that the death of cable (which still will happen regardless of all these streaming services teaming up in a way) will partially come down to not giving the customers what they want to see, especially if they are willing to pay for it. I had mentioned years ago that I would pay a few hundred bucks a season if I could have access to have every FBS game on TV. Every one. I don’t care about news or movies or TV shows or much else. Those I can watch when I want on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime or some other streaming service if I really want to. But college football is the one thing I would want all of and should have the ability to get but I have the god damn audacity to be Canadian. What a dick I am. So yeah, this should still happen.
Do not put out the CFP poll until the bowl games are being selected. Because The Committee is filled with people who know college football but struggle with logic, you get situations like you got this past season. It easily (and I mean FUCKING EASILY) could have been rectified if when they had dropped Florida State to #5 after Week 13, they kept them there after Week 14, even though they knew one of Michigan and Ohio State was going to lose. Sure it wouldn’t have been that well received but then they wouldn’t have looked like complete assholes when they dropped them in the final poll to destroy their national championship hopes. If they wait until just as the bowl games and playoff seedings are being selected, then there’s not nearly as much of a problem. Debate all you want but at least you don’t compare it to previous weeks’ polls which make The Committee look like fucking idiots.
Alright, that was the list nine long years ago. I was in my 30s. And, looking at my body, a lot fitter. I hate the fact that injuries can happen due to nothing but air and movement these days. Other than what I see in the mirror, a lot has changed in college football as well since then. So I guess I have to come up with a few more things I would change. Here we go.
Someone other than the NCAA has to put forth strict NIL rules and regulations. This feels like a no-brainer. When NIL started, it was great. Great stories of these players getting some nice deals and some players even sharing the wealth with their teammates. Awesome. Then, to the shock of absolutely no one, things got out of hand. Quickly. Now players are making hundreds of thousands of dollars (which is fine) but it has nothing to do with their name, image or likeness. All it has to do with a booster (or group of boosters) ponying up a bunch of money to buy a player’s loyalty (for at least a year). Isn’t this the same kind of shit SMU got the death penalty for? There has to be rules to all this and keeping boosters out of the player payment business would be first and foremost on that agenda. Start there, draft something up, tell all the teams they will abide by it or there will be penalties. Keep going against the rules, you will give up the one thing they all covet: money. If a program is fined millions of dollars, they will think twice of allowing some of these boosters, who think they can do whatever the fuck they feel like, from digging their claws into some of their roster.
Football players (if not players in other sports) should be able to drop down to a part-time course load during the season. Playing college sports is not easy. You have to organize your time. I remember when I was a university athlete. I couldn’t get things right. I found it too difficult to commit to a sport AND a full-time course load. I am sure other athletes feel the same way. And the way college athletics are going, these students don’t need to finish their degrees before they leave school. They should be able to finish when they can. This may also push some student-athletes to be in more difficult programs. I mean there can only be so many communications jobs out there, right?
Targeting HAS to be figured out. Does anyone really know what targeting is? Hell, the officials struggle to figure it out so I am not surprised everyone else is perplexed by it. Most of it seems to centre around hitting a player with the crown of your helmet. And yes, it’s dangerous. I still remember getting speared in practice in high school by a guy who had never been on special teams before. It knocked the wind out me something fierce. It’s a player safety issue and has to be taken seriously. Splitting the penalty into Targeting 1 and Targeting 2 penalties is a good start in my opinion. Targeting 2 can be reserved for the egregious penalties where the player deserves to be ejected. And hell, throw a 20-yard penalty on to it instead of a 15. Hopefully that helps a bit. Targeting 1 can still be 15 yards but the player stays in the game. The coaches and players may understand this better and we can see how it goes for a few years before looking into it again and adjusting it where need be.
If there are going to be more superconferences (and less conferences in FBS in general) it’s time all conferences go to nine conference games. A few years back I would have railed against this idea but I didn’t realize that conferences might hit the 20-team mark in the next few years. Give it a decade and there is no way there will be nine conferences like there are now. At least one, if not multiple, conferences will cease to exist. With upwards of 18 teams at this point, putting an extra conference game makes all the sense in the world. Many Power Five teams can still have their one FCS non-conference game (which gives some FCS teams a much needed infusion of cash), along with a Group of Five non-conference game. Add a P5 non-conference game and there you go. See how easy that is? Do I have to figure everything out for you guys?
Are there other things needed to “fix” college football? Of course. It feels like college football is barreling down (in one of those Japanese bullet trains) towards no return. Where it will look not a whole lot different than the minor league of the NFL. It kind of is already but in 2030 I have a feeling we will look at even just before COVID and say “college football wasn’t like that, was it?”
The combine is occurring and I am glad to see some players saying “Fuck that noise.” If scouts can’t figure things out from the absolute avalanche of game film on these guys then they should find another line of work. No, instead we have to do drills that, as much as some want to say otherwise, don’t mean a whole lot compared to how they play the game. Tom fucking Brady just ran the 40 faster at 46 years old than he did when he was at the Combine. If that doesn’t tell you that the Combine is just basically Scouting Bonerfest, I don’t know what will.
Anyway, the UFL is coming up at the end of the month and I am less than mildly interested. I’ll watch but I won’t be really watching. Now, this European League of Football…if I could get that it would be interesting. It looks like if you had MACtion in Germany. I love it. Anyway, everyone have a great week.
Let’s be honest: this is not the Super Bowl matchup that most wanted. Most wanted the darlings of the NFL, the hapless Detroit Lions, to finally ascend the big game for the first time in franchise history. Who did many want as their opponent? Not the Kansas City Chiefs. It wouldn’t have mattered who the Chiefs were up against, most would have wanted the other team to win. Alas, neither thing happened
The Ravens decided to play their worst game of the season at the most inopportune time, abandoning their running game in rainy weather because…well I don’t know why. Some say the Chiefs had the Ravens number but Baltimore ran the ball only sixteen times. Idiots. The Lions, on the other hand, allowed a pretty damn big comeback from the Niners to lose their shot at glory. Now, we can all debate whether Dan Campbell’s penchant for being uber-aggressive and going for it on fourth down twice was the right call (I lean to the second time, at least, being a spot where you try the field goal, if not both but that’s just me). In the end, however, they missed on both of those plays, the Niners took advantage and Mr. Irrelevant gets a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Which isn’t a bad backup feelgood story, no?
Anyway, last year I did a bit of a Super Bowl preview post. Then again, I was off work at the time so I had plenty of time to do so. But…..let’s just do another one, for old time’s sake. (Short) Breakdown of the game:
Offense – Very close. Both teams have arguably the best offenses in the league. They can be fun to watch and tough to defend. I think the Chiefs have the slight edge with the better offensive line but this is almost a push.
Defense – Not quite as close but maybe closer than you think. The Niners have the better defense but the Chiefs looked awfully good against the Ravens a couple weeks back.
Special Teams – Tough call here. Harrison Butker is one of the best kickers in the league but the Niners have a great return game. Call it a wash once again.
Coaching – It’s Andy Reid, folks. Despite his sometimes questionable clock management skills, he is still one of the best coaches of all-time. Kyle Shanahan is good too but has already lost once to Reid and everyone remembers the Falcons debacle back at Super Bowl LI.
So what did we learn? Absolutely nothing. This should be a close one. The Bossman’s prediction…
*drum roll please*
Niners 30 Chiefs 28.
Now watch it be a blowout. Anyway, where can you watch the game? It’s on CBS this year so you get some “Hello, Friends” along with a lot of “I DON’T KNOW JIM!” from our pals Nantz and Romo. For people who are just itching to see what Tim Horton’s has done for the next mediocre commercial, the game is on all CTV affiliates and all the TSNs (including TSN+) except the ugly duckling, TSN2.
Then…that’s it. No more football. Well, that’s not true. The new UFL starts late next month and then the CFL starts in early June. I’m sure there’s some arena football in there too and I see there’s even a European League of Football that we probably can’t get here (legally). So we won’t be totally starved of football but it is a long six-and-a-half months until the start of the college football season. So savour this one final game of the year, even if it does end up sucking. For the final time this season, enjoy the game everyone.
I would have put more exclamation marks in the title but I can’t be as excited as I would have been thanks to Wide Right II – Pro Edition.
Let’s just get right to this Bills-less conference championship weekend schedule, shall we?
Sunday
Kansas City at Baltimore
3:00, CBS, CTV, TSN 1/3/5/+
Detroit at San Francisco
6:30, FOX, CTV, TSN 1/3*/5/+
Quick Notes!
(The now) classic 3 and 6:30 start times for the games. Having the late game end between 9:30 and 10:00 is honestly pretty fucking awesome I have to say.
TSN3 will be getting to the NFC Championship game late. After the AFC Championship, the Raptors face the Hawks. That game should end around 8:30 or so meaning TSN3 should join in progress around the start of the fourth quarter. Now I have no clue who only has one TSN (along with TSN2 which has always been the “alternate” TSN) in this country anymore but for the ones out there that only get TSN3, there you go.
There’s a chance it will be a completely sloppy NFL Sunday. Baltimore will be hosting yet another super wet playoff game (do they think they are Seattle or something?) and there is a decent probability for rain in Santa Clara as well. I want to say rain and other non-sunny weather evens the playing field but I am not sure anymore (and chances are there are analytics that refute that notion).
My prediction for the Super Bowl…Ravens-Lions.
Look, all we can hope for is at least one good game this weekend, right? If we get two? Very nice.
Since I won’t be doing a blog post between this one and the Super Bowl, might as well clue you in on the few college football all-star games there will be coming up. Thursday night will be the East-West Shrine Bowl, now taking place in Frisco at The Star which is where I believe they also do the Conference USA basketball tournament on two separate courts with games going on at the same time. Leave it to C-USA to do something wacky like that. Then next Saturday it is the Senior Bowl. The Shrine Bowl begins at 8:00 on Thursday and the Senior Bowl kicks off at 1:00. Both games have slightly altered rules but it is kind of fun to see some players who are getting draft-ready. Both games will be on the NFL Network.
Alright, have a great weekend and hopefully things dry up a bit. It’s one thing to just have snow on the ground; another to have slush and water. Ugh. Anyway, enjoy the games everyone!
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!
Playoff time is here! And what a last week it was in the regular season. Fun times! And for what feels like the first time in a long time, there really isn’t a true Super Bowl favourite. The #1 seeds, San Francisco and Baltimore, have their issues and have been exposed already this season. Plus, until Lamar Jackson can do his normal Lamar Jackson things in the playoffs, it’s tough to trust the Ravens. Even the other division champs have their wrinkles. The Bills, Cowboys, Chiefs and Lions have all looked bad at times this season. So who knows? Maybe we get the worst division champ coming out of it all smelling like roses. Maybe we see the first ever seventh seed Wild Card win. It’s all up in the air. So let’s get down to what could truly end up being a SUPER Wild Card Weekend.
Saturday
Cleveland at Houston
4:30, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/3/+
Miami at Kansas City
8:15, CTV, TSN 1/3/+
Sunday
Pittsburgh at Buffalo
1:00, CBS, CTV, TSN 4/5/+
Green Bay at Dallas
4:30, FOX, CTV, TSN 4/5/+
LA Rams at Detroit
8:00, NBC, CTV, TSN 4/5/+
Monday
Pittsburgh at Buffalo
4:30, CBS, CTV, TSN 3/5/+
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
8:00, ABC, CTV, TSN 3/5/+
Juuuuuuuuuuuuust a Few Wild Card Notes
I don’t know how many years I have been saying this but I will keep saying it: division winners should not be guaranteed a home playoff game. Period. End of story. It’s like saying it’s Philadelphia’s fault for being in a division with Dallas. How dare they. See how stupid that sounds? Well that’s what the NFL says.
It is going to be one of the coldest NFL games on record on Saturday night in KC. Tickets are now going for $33 which is completely fucking insane for an NFL playoff game. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to some crazy weather games, including the 1996 Grey Cup, better known as the Snow Bowl. I don’t think I’ve ever been to one that, as of right now, looks like it could dip to a windchill of -34 Celsius by the end of the game. That’s too cold for even my blood.
Other weather issues will come about in Buffalo. Right now, as I type this, the snow has just started here in the Guelph area and I can’t see across the street. I can just imagine what Buffalo might look like by Sunday morning. The issue shouldn’t be the snow that has already fallen as they are getting people to start shovelling now. It’s the fact that there is supposed to be a good amount of snow just before and during the game. That’s when the chaos happens. This is great fodder for the “Buffalo should build a dome for their next stadium” people.
The ManningCast will be back for the Monday night playoff game…but only if you have TSN+ (or another way of getting it that may or may not be illegal).
Back to the Dolphins-Chiefs game, you will notice it is the only one without an American network listed. That’s because it will air on Peacock. And yes, it is pissing off a lot of Americans. Lucky for us we have a few different options to watch but down there? Nope. I hear Peacock is a pretty decent streaming service but still, to have to subscribe to it to get this one game is insane. Then again, Amazon Prime has their own night of the week for pro football so we can’t be too surprised at this point.
UPDATE: Due to the snowfall that has hit the Buffalo area and the snow still to come, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a State of Emergency for the area to go throughout the weekend. This means that the Steelers-Bills game will now be played at 4:30 on Monday (think of the ratings!) on CBS, CTV and a couple of TSNs. You know, they could have avoided this by, oh I don’t know, HAVING ALL THE GAMES ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY! This way you could have used Monday night but oh no, can’t do that. Money over brains. Every time.
Like last year am I going to add my updated predictions. Actually, my original prediction of Niners-Chiefs in the Superb Owl could still hold up. The biggest disappointment from my original playoff picks? Jacksonville. What a fucking collapse in a relatively easy division. Alright so let’s get to the updated Bossman Playoff Picks of Passion and Probable Disappointment.
Wild Card Round
Cleveland def. Houston
Kansas City def. Miami
Buffalo def. Pittsburgh
Green Bay def. Dallas (yes, a big upset)
Detroit def. LA Rams
Philadelphia def. Tampa Bay
Divisional Playoffs
Baltimore def. Cleveland
Buffalo def. Kansas City
San Francisco def. Green Bay
Detroit def. Philadelphia
Conference Championships
Baltimore def. Buffalo
San Francisco def. Detroit
Super Bowl LVIII
San Francisco def. Baltimore
Would I love to see the Bills win? Absolutely. It would make my year already. Even with the chaos that this year’s playoffs is bringing, I don’t think they quite have the team to do it. I still believe the Niners will win it all but the Chiefs I just don’t have as much faith in as I did at the beginning of the season. Lamar Jackson finally looks good in the playoffs even with a Super Bowl loss and gets a lot of people off his back about his poor playoff performances of the past.
So….it looks like pretty much all of Canada is going to be either snowy or cold or somehow both. So why not stay inside and watch some football? 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!
This was the scene at Bank of America Stadium this past weekend in Charlotte for the Falcons-Panthers game. And if you think that’s just maybe part of the upper deck, think again. The entire stadium looked like this. Don’t believe me?
That is during the game as you can see a play going on in this picture. How sad is this? How dreadful must it be to be a Carolina Panthers fan right now? Not only does your team suck-diddly-uck but you don’t even get the chance at the number one draft choice. Why? Well, the Panthers wanted Bryce Young so badly that they exchanged first round picks with the Bears last year. The Panthers had to sweeten the deal so sent a 2025 second rounder, D.J. Moore and…..their first round pick in the upcoming draft. Yeesh. There is a good chance that will be the #1 pick and Bears fans are salivating at the thought. Marvin Harrison Jr.? Caleb Williams? Drake Maye? Maybe another position of need since they aren’t very good either? The possibilities are endless.
For Panthers fans, though, the possibilities aren’t. They won’t pick first overall, they very well might finish last in the league and unless some of their young players (and 2024 draftees) step up in a hurry, this is not a playoff team next season. Nowhere close. Frustrating for sure.
Not frustrating? Getting to watch NFL football on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!!! Let’s fucking go! Here’s the schedule to get you all amped up!
There are some games on this week that, somehow, are not being shown here in Canada without the assistance of a Sunday Ticket or a RedZone:
Washington at NY Jets
Green Bay at Carolina
Arizona at Chicago
How in the blue hell can three games not be shown at all here with how spread out the games are this week? The power of scheduling. Maybe they do need to go to Matt Zemek’s idea of three Sunday timeslots.
Look at all the national and almost-national telecasts. It is, I believe, an NFL record for the most national broadcasts in one week with seven. Then there’s two on Sunday that might as well be national broadcasts as well.
Just so you know, the Bills-Chargers game will be joined in progress on TSN3 and TSN5 at about 10:30 after the World Juniors pre-competition game between Canada and the U.S. (on TSN3) or the Lakers-Thunder game (on TSN5). Man, TSN loves the World Juniors.
As I said before, a lot of nationwide broadcasts. If you love watching football on CTV, then I hope you love one of four teams because those are the only ones appearing on Sunday afternoon. Lions-Vikings followed by Cowboys-Dolphins across the entire network. At least they should be two really good games.
Finally, the Nickolodeon game is back. This year’s “Nickmas” game will be the early Christmas Day affair between the Raiders and the Chiefs. It’s only on TSN+ up here but if you have it and have younger kids who may be interested it’s….kinda fun, not gonna lie.
OK we are getting close to the end of the season. Three games remain. Here’s what the playoff picture looks like at this point:
AFC
NFC
#1 Baltimore (11-3) (clinched playoff spot)
#1 San Francisco (11-3) (clinched NFC West)
#2 Miami (10-4)
#2 Dallas (10-4) (clinched playoff spot)
#3 Kansas City (9-5)
#3 Detroit (10-4)
#4 Jacksonville (8-6)
#4 Tampa Bay (7-7)
Wild Cards:
Wild Cards:
#5 Cleveland (9-5)
#5 Philadelphia (10-4) (clinched playoff spot)
#6 Cincinnati (8-6)
#6 Minnesota (7-7)
#7 Indianapolis/Houston/Buffalo (8-6)
#7 LA Rams/Seattle/New Orleans (7-7)
As I’ve said before, this Wild Card race may be the wildest in years, no pun intended. Oh and my dream of a 7-10 NFC South champion has gone up in flames as the Bucs and Saints face each other next week so the division champion can have no fewer than eight wins. Damn.
And behold, your list of eliminated teams:
Carolina
New England
Arizona
Washington
NY Jets
Tennessee
Only six. And only maybe three or four will join the list after this week. Good to see a lot of teams still in the mix instead of a few of the seasons in the recent past where half the league was pretty much done with a couple weeks to go.
Now some clinching scenarios. That’s what we are looking at these days anyways and wait until you see some of the scenarios. Fucking ridiculous:
First-Round Bye and Home-Field Advantage
San Francisco clinches with a win AND a Dallas loss AND a Philadelphia loss AND a Detroit loss
Division Title
Detroit clinches the NFC North with a win
Baltimore clinches the AFC North with a win AND a Cleveland loss
Kansas City clinches the AFC West with a win
Miami clinches the AFC East with a win AND a Buffalo loss
Playoff Berth
Detroit clinches with an LA Rams loss OR a Seattle loss
Miami clinches with a win
Cleveland clinches with a win AND (a Denver loss AND an Indianapolis loss AND a Buffalo loss AND a Miami win) OR (a Pittsburgh loss AND (a Denver loss AND an Indianapolis win AND a Jacksonville loss) OR (a Denver loss AND a Miami win and one of Buffalo/Indianapolis/Jacksonville losing) OR (a Buffalo loss AND an Indianapolis win AND a Jacksonville loss AND (a Miami win OR a Kansas City win)))
Elimination
Chicago is eliminated with loss AND (an LA Rams win) OR (a Seattle win AND one of Minnesota/Green Bay/Tampa Bay winning) OR (a Tampa Bay win AND one of Minnesota/Green Bay/NY Giants winning)
NY Giants are eliminated with a loss AND (an LA Rams win) OR (a Seattle win AND (one of Minnesota/Green Bay/Tampa Bay winning) OR (an Atlanta win AND a Chicago win)) OR (a Tampa Bay win AND (one of Minnesota/Green Bay winning) OR (an Atlanta win AND a Chicago win)) OR (a Minnesota win AND a Green Bay win AND an Atlanta win AND a Chicago win) OR (a Green Bay win AND a Chicago win AND an Atlanta win)
Las Vegas is eliminated with a loss
LA Chargers are eliminated with a loss OR a Jacksonville win OR (a Cincinnati win AND an Indianapolis win AND (a Houston win OR a Denver win OR two of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)) OR (a Cincinnati win AND a Houston win AND (a Denver win OR three of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)) OR (a Cincinnati win AND a Denver win AND (a Las Vegas win OR one of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)) OR (a Cincinnati win AND four of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Houston win AND a Las Vegas win) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Houston win AND one of Washington/Detroit/Green Bay/New Orleans/Arizona/Baltimore/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Denver win) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Cleveland win AND one of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Houston win AND two of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND a Denver win AND a Las Vegas win) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND a Denver win AND a New Orleans win AND one of Washington/Detroit/Green Bay/Arizona/LA Rams/Baltimore/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND a Denver win AND an LA Rams win AND one of Washington/Detroit/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND three of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)
For fuck’s sake that is crazy. But if you are a betting man (or woman) you could make a boatload of money if one of these stupid Chargers scenarios hits.
So there you go. Enjoy the NFL football over the holidays and have a Merry Christmas!
We are a little over a week away from Christmas. You have your Bowl Season schedule and now you need some Bowl Game rankings and Bowl Game predictions from your friendly neighbourhood Bossman.
Time to go back to basics…I think? After introducing the Play-by-Play Announcer Scale last year we are heading back in time to the broadcasting network scale. An oldie but a goodie but since much has changed in the past few years, there are a couple of newbies and some networks that just don’t broadcast college football anymore. So let’s get right into this!
Now one thing that will change is this will be in tiers. 8 tiers like last year but with networks instead of announcers. Let’s fucking go!
The ABC Saturday Night Tier
Game of the Year type games right here. The games that matter. In this day and age that means the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six.
Rose Bowl – #1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama (Jan. 1, 5:00, TSN3) – This will get a lot of viewers. I am starting to wonder if ESPN kind of helped with all the controversy to get even more people to watch. Let’s be honest: these two teams may be the two most hated college football teams in the land right now. And they are both just fine with that. Expect this to be a very close and very exciting game. My pick: Michigan 36 Alabama 31.
Sugar Bowl – #2 Washington vs. #3 Texas (Jan. 1, 8:45, TSN3) – They should have had the Rose and Sugar as the College Football Playoff semi-finals from the get-go. But it’s college football so they sometimes trip over themselves figuring things out. They still haven’t learned from having games on New Year’s Eve where the ratings, while still good, were probably much lower than they could have been. Normally one CFP semi-final is a fair amount worse than the other. This is the case this year and it has nothing to do with the Huskies or the Longhorns. At least it feels like both game will be really good because it’s rough to watch a CFP game get out of hand (see 2022 national championship). My pick: Washington 27 Texas 24.
Peach Bowl – #10 Penn State vs. #11 Ole Miss (Dec. 30, Noon, TSN5) – Two teams with head coaches that their fanbase doesn’t fully trust. I kind of get it but, because it’s college football, many go overboard. I mean who is going to State College or Oxford and doing a lot better than James Frankin or Lane Kiffin are? It would be a tough sell at Penn State to get a truly elite coach and even tougher at Ole Miss. Honestly, both coaches will probably be around through the end of next season so fans might as well focus on this game and stop talking about their next hypothetical coach. My pick: Penn State 21 Ole Miss 14.
Orange Bowl – #5 Florida State vs. #6 Georgia (Dec. 30, 4:00, TSN1/5) – This bowl has gone off the rails and it’s two weeks away. Now we have some Georgia lawmaker wanting to make the Orange Bowl another semi-final. So how the fuck is that going to work, Jethro? The winners get together for a hot game of rock, paper, scissors? Or maybe a three-way Cage of Death match up in Barrow, Alaska. Televised LIVE by ESPN AND NO ONE ELSE of course. What a fucking shitshow. I’m almost ready for the 2024 season to start so we can be done with this season. My pick: Georgia 35 Florida State 25.
Alamo Bowl – #12 Oklahoma vs. #14 Arizona (Dec. 28, 9:15, TSN3) – Well hey look at this. Not a CFP bowl and not an NY6 bowl! I say it almost every year but the Alamo Bowl, on paper, is one of, if not the very, best bowl games outside the major bowls. I wonder what will happen with the tie-ins with the Pac-12 being history. Either way, a great game to watch even if you end up exhausted at work the next day. My pick: Arizona 42 Oklahoma 39.
The SEC on CBS Tier
I’m shedding a tear right now looking at that logo. Long live the SEC on CBS. Things will never be the same again.
Cotton Bowl – #7 Ohio State vs. #9 Missouri (Dec. 29, 8:00, TSN2) – One team who was one win away from being in the College Football Playoff against one team who played way better than anyone expected. I can’t see this game being done before Midnight. Thankfully it’s Saturday the next day. We shall see if the absence of Kyle McCord really does affect the Buckeyes. I think it will. My pick: Missouri 34 Ohio State 20.
Armed Forces Bowl – James Madison vs. Air Force (Dec. 23, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – The best pre-Christmas bowl game and of course it features America’s (Eastern) Team, the James Madison Dukes (America’s (Western) Team resides in Las Cruces as you already know). As for the Falcons, talk about a horrible slide to end their season. They were at the top of the Group of Five mountain going into November and by Selection Sunday were an afterthought. My pick: James Madison 31 Air Force 10.
Pop Tarts Bowl – #18 NC State vs. #25 Kansas State (Dec. 38, 5:45, TSN3) – This has to be the bowl game with the most questions. Nothing to do with the two teams involved who did very well this season but were one or two bad losses away from causing potential chaos. No, I’m talking about the edible Pop Tarts Bowl mascot. You read that right. Edible. Mascot. We don’t even know what flavour it is. Watch it be a really shitty flavour like blueberry or the disappointing chocolate fudge one or grass and dirt. Wait, there’s a pumpkin pie one? That one then. Ugh, just the thought of that makes my stomach churn. My pick: Kansas State 36 NC State 28.
Fiesta Bowl – #8 Oregon vs. #23 Liberty (Jan. 1, 1:00, TSN3) – The worst of the New Year’s Six games and it’s really not even close. That seems to be the take everyone has, partly because Oregon is one win over Washington from being in the playoff and partly because many hate Liberty because of the university itself. Ugh. Oh well, I’d love to say this could be close. I just don’t think it will be. My pick: Oregon 52 Liberty 28.
Citrus Bowl – #17 Iowa vs. #21 Tennessee (Jan. 1, 1:00, ABC/TSN+) – It must look weird to have an Iowa game here but hey, the Iowa defense was one of the best in the country. Sure they couldn’t score for the life of them but defense wins championships, right? It feels like football is trying to do away with that adage. Look, at least the over/under isn’t as ridiculous as the last few Hawkeye games this season (it’s 36.5 the last time I checked which is still low but I digress). My pick: Tennessee 21 Iowa 14.
The Big Noon Kickoff Tier
Really good games that are approaching the SEC on CBS level except when they end up showing Indiana or Nebraska playing a team like Ohio State. Then it’s not so fun and you fear for Gus and Joel’s sanity.
Holiday Bowl – #15 Louisville vs. USC (Dec. 27, 8:00, FOX) – Of course the BNK section has to have the only FOX bowl game. I’m just happy they don’t have a bowl game on FOX Sports One anymore. Sure I can watch it but many Canadians can’t and I am a man of the people. Anyway, GUS won’t get to call any Caleb Williams on-field action because he’s not playing. Between players opting out and players transferring before bowl games, Bowl Season is becoming, I hate to say, a bit of a mess. Hopefully someone fixes it. They won’t though. My pick: Louisville 36 USC 19.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Kansas vs. UNLV (Dec. 26, 9:00, TSN2) – UNLV has been better than advertised this season. Barry Odom has done an unbelievable job in Vegas. And you know my thoughts on Lance Leipold and the direction of the Jayhawk football program. Hell, the renovations are going to be so big that it may cause them to have to play at least one game at Arrowhead Stadium next season. That wouldn’t have happened with the 2010s Kansas Jayhawks. This may end up being one of the most fun games to watch. My pick: Kansas 31 UNLV 27.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl – North Carolina vs. West Virginia (Dec. 27, 5:30, TSN5) – I don’t usually like picking sides. But there is something intriguing about the idea of Mack Brown being buried in Duke’s Mayo. OK wait, buried was the wrong word. I didn’t mean… My pick: North Carolina 45 West Virginia 42.
Liberty Bowl – Memphis vs Iowa State (Dec. 29, 3:30, TSN2) – This could be a bit of a track meet game if the Tigers get rolling in front of their home crowd. What I’m saying is: take the over. My pick: Memphis 49 Iowa State 40.
Sun Bowl – #16 Notre Dame vs. #19 Oregon State (Dec. 29, 2:00, CBS) – At one point this was going to be THE non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl game. Then we have D.J. Uiagalelei transferring. Jonathan Smith is now head coach at Michigan State. Sam Hartman might not play for the Irish. From a game that looked like it would be loaded with points, it might not end up being that way now. My pick: Notre Dame 23 Oregon State 21.
The Notre Dame and/or B1G on NBC Tier
Notre Dame games still hold a lot of reverance for fans and the Big Ten will slowly make their mark, especially with Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge calling their games.
Arizona Bowl – Wyoming vs. Toledo (Dec. 30, 4:00, The CW) – Yes the C Fucking W. They may go down in the list of notable networks that have broadcast bowl games like Mizlou Network and the American Sports Network. This bowl is sponsored by Barstool Sports so many won’t watch it just for that. I do kind of get it since it’s like watching a game at one of those sportsbooks in Vegas with 10,000 screens and odds on everything and anything. But it could end up being a good game and I don’t want to miss that, right? My pick: Toledo 33 Wyoming 27.
Cure Bowl – Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH (Dec. 16, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – Even though it’s on ABC it might be overshadowed by other bowl games. Which is too bad since we have the MAC champs and the Mountaineers that are back after missing Bowl Season last year (in one of the craziest seasons in Sun Belt history). Don’t sleep on this matchup despite the fact it could be a bit of a defensive slugfest. Like if you enjoy Iowa football this may be your type of game. My pick: Appalachian State 20 Miami-OH 18.
ReliaQuest Bowl – #13 LSU vs. Wisconsin (Jan. 1, Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – The first football game of 2024 is also the first game on this list that is on TSN+ and the specialty packs. Also, if Heisman winner Jayden Daniels does decide to play, this shouldn’t be cloase at all. My pick: LSU 48 Wisconsin 13.
Music City Bowl – Auburn vs. Maryland (Dec. 30, 2:00, ABC/TSN+) – Auburn has been all over the place this year. The highs are always high playing in the SEC. The lows can be very low although a loss to New Mexico State doesn’t look as bad as some may think. This is the younger Tagovailoa’s final game at Maryland and I think he goes out with a bang against an inconsistent Tigers team. My pick: Maryland 49 Auburn 29.
Gator Bowl – #22 Clemson vs. Kentucky (Dec. 29, Noon, TSN2) – If the Tigers hadn’t had a hell of a November, this may have been an even matchup. But it won’t be. At least I doubt it. My pick: Clemson 41 Kentucky 15.
The Late Night ESPN Tier
Jesus Christ that looks horrible. Oh well, I don’t feel like finding another logo. Basically this tier is the ESPN game that’s not the SEC primetime ESPN game of the week. So it could be the Noon, 3:30 or late night affair. So still a pretty good game but a step below the rest.
Independence Bowl – Texas Tech vs. California (Dec. 16, 9:15, TSN+/specialty pack) – This feels like an odd pairing in Shreveport of all places. Maybe next season they can get the Sun Belt champ to play an SEC team here, like God (or the Bossman in various posts) intended. I’m going with the team that scratched and clawed their way to bowl eligibility and have a bit of momentum as they head to the ACC. My pick: California 41 Texas Tech 27.
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. Boise State (Dec. 16, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – This is going up against the rest of opening day of Bowl Season plus a few NFL games plus a couple of lower-level playoff games. So, yeah this isn’t exactly high up on anyone’s list of appointment viewing I’m sure. Considering Gronk is involved, my interest has dwindled even farther. Maybe it will be close and keep my attention. I don’t think it will be though. My pick: Boise State 39 UCLA 26.
New Mexico Bowl – Fresno State vs. New Mexico State (Dec. 16, 5:45, TSN+/specialty pack) – Hey it’s America’s (Western) Team, the New Mexico State Aggies! They ended up giving Liberty quite the run for the Conference USA Championship. They get a head coach-less Bulldogs squad that had the inside track to the Mountain West Championship and blew it because of a loss to, well how about that, New Mexico. The script writes itself. My pick: New Mexico State 44 Fresno State 31.
Texas Bowl – Texas A&M vs. #20 Oklahoma State (Dec. 27, 9:00, TSN5) – Usually this game has been a fairly good one so at least we have that going for it. Problem is you have a team that might not have one of the best running backs in the nation for the game up against a team that just spent a shit-ton of money to get rid of their old coach. It will be close only because neither team will be able to pull away. My pick: Texas A&M 28 Oklahoma State 23.
Birmingham Bowl – Duke vs. Troy (Dec. 23, Noon, ABC/TSN2) – This was looking like a really even game and the kind of game I love to see during bowl season. Instead, Duke loses their quarterback and I have a feeling the Trojans will run away with this one. My pick: Troy 36 Duke 20.
The FS1/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC Network/ACC Network Tier
If you’re a college football fan you are watching these games. If not, well………
Fenway Bowl – Boston College vs. SMU (Dec. 28, 11:00 AM, TSN3) – It’s late morning football in what should be chilly BAW-stun. This could be considered the Mustangs’ first ACC game as they join the conference next season. I believe they will show the Eagles why they were coveted by the conference. My pick: SMU 48 Boston College 21.
Gasparilla Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. UCF (Dec. 22, 6:30, TSN5) – I don’t get the start time but whatever. The Knights have to consider their first season in the Big XII a success as they go bowling. And Brent Key may have just started the Ramblin’ Wreck’s ascent back up the ACC standings. This should be another good one but I will go with the home cookin’. My pick: UCF 22 Georgia Tech 17.
Hawaii Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State (Dec. 24, 10:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – Coastal has had a great run recently so this season feels…a little blah by their now lofty standards. Much of that has to do with the rest of the conference catching up and, for some teams, passing them. I honestly have no real intuition about this game so I will pick the team that doesn’t have to travel clear across the entire country and then half the Pacific Ocean. My pick: San Jose State 45 Coastal Carolina 24.
New Orleans Bowl – Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State (Dec. 16, 2:15, TSN+/specialty pack) – The Ragin’ Cajuns are close to home where they have played in front of some good bowl game crowds at the Superdome. But the Gamecocks are playing in their first bowl game ever and are doing it with RichRod at the helm! No offense to Cajun fans but I have to go with my heart. My pick: Jacksonville State 36 Louisiana 28.
Military Bowl – Virginia Tech vs. Tulane (Dec. 27, 2:00, TSN5) – I am shocked at how well the Hokies did this season. And I was so close at getting my G-5 NY6 pick correct but the Green Wave fell in the American Conference Championship. I usually don’t feel good about teams whose coaches have left for (usually) greener pastures but I think this will be a very close and competitive game. My pick: Tulane 30 Virginia Tech 29.
The CW Tier
When it was announced The CW would be doing an ACC game most weeks, most laughed. I sure did. But holy shit, despite the average commentary, the sub-HD look and the overall lack of production values, they had a few games that hit it out of the park. So you can’t sleep on this station because you might miss a really good game!
Pinstripe Bowl – Rutgers vs. Miami (Dec. 28, 2:15, TSN3) – Ah, an old Big East showdown. Maybe years from now, when conferences hit 28 teams, some teams start to hate it and they break off into smaller conferences, like the Big East. Just a thought. I don’t trust Mario Cristobal to coach this team to a bowl victory as far as I can throw my car. My pick: Rutgers 34 Miami 19.
First Responder Bowl – Rice vs. Texas State (Dec. 26, 5:30, TSN2) – G.J. Kinne has done a fantastic job in San Marcos, coaching the team to its first bowl game ever. Rice did better than expected and could look even better next year in the AAC. This feels like the kind of game that should be on ESPNU that everyone will turn to because there’s the possibility of a fantastic finish. My pick: Texas State 45 Rice 39.
Las Vegas Bowl – Northwestern vs. Utah (Dec. 23, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Got to give the Wildcats kudos for a great season considering what things were looking like heading into it. But they are facing a Utah team that, if it weren’t for injuries, would have been in that super dogfight at the top of the Pac-12. I still think the Utes on most nights are safe pick and this is no exception. My pick: Utah 31 Northwestern 10.
Myrtle Beach Bowl – Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (Dec. 16, 11:00 AM, TSN+/specialty pack) – Ohio has Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke here so…wait…they don’t? Looks like Rourke entered the transfer portal and has already been picked up by Indiana of all the teams. So my Bobcats pick has to be changed to an Eagles pick since without Rourke I don’t think they have a shot here. My pick: Georgia Southern 32 Ohio 13.
Frisco Bowl – UTSA vs. Marshall (Dec. 19, 9:00, TSN3) – This is the same spot the Frisco Bowl was in last year. So yeah it’s not like they are getting amazing teams to come to Frisco (other than North Dakota State most seasons). At least it’s another Texas team here as the Roadrunners meep their way up the state to face the Thundering Herd. I see Frank Harris, in what his finally his final game, lighting it up one last time. My pick: UTSA 51 Marshall 27.
The Pac-12 Network Tier
They should have taken the two worst teams in football and had them play a “bowl game” on a weeknight at 11 Eastern on the Pac-12 Network. Just to show how little that conference network mattered. I don’t get it. You create a conference network and make it available to most people and people will watch. Hell, the Longhorn Network is still around and that thing is garbage. Yet, this network will die sometime in the late Spring (I assume) and pretty much no one will miss it because they COULDN’T FUCKING WATCH IT! Man. Anyway, this is the bottom tier. Still games I will watch but if you miss them it’s not the end of the world (at least watch the highlights though).
Famous Toastery Bowl – Old Dominion vs. WKU (Dec. 18, 2:30, TSN1/3) – This was supposed to be the Bahamas Bowl but because of renovations to their only stadium on the island capable of hosting this game, it had to be moved. Thus is the creation of the Famous Toastery Bowl. My hope is that the winning coach gets a whole whack of toast dumped on him. Or even French toast. Ugh that would be so sticky (especially if you include syrup which you should) but would be worth it for my entertainment. The game? It will probably be close only because these two are arguably the worst two teams to make bowl season. The closeness keeps it from the bottom. My pick: Old Dominion 23 WKU 20.
Camellia Bowl – Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (Dec. 23, Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – Despite the fact ASU has done better than I thought they would this season, their defense is still atrocious. They couldn’t stop a slight breeze. NIU loves to run the ball so despite the clock always moving this could see a lot of points. My pick: Northern Illinois 50 Arkansas State 38.
Idaho Potato Bowl – Utah State vs. Georgia State (Dec. 23, 3:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – Let’s follow one lowly bowl with another. Sometimes Boise gets a great matchup. This, I’m sure, does not qualify as one. GSU limped into the postseason on a 5-game losing streak. Make it six. My pick: Utah State 37 Georgia State 13.
Quick Lane Bowl – Minnesota vs. Bowling Green (Dec. 26, 2:00, TSN2) – Almost everything about this spot on the list is the same as last year. Same bowl. Bowling Green is in it. It’s on Boxing Day. Hell, it’s on a TSN station and only half-an-hour earlier than last year’s edition. Kind of creepy. I remember a time when the MAC champion would go here and face a fairly decent Big Ten team. I guess those days are gone. My pick: Minnesota 21 Bowling Green 14.
Boca Raton Bowl – Syracuse vs. USF (Dec. 21, 8:00, TSN+/specialty pack) – USF might get a boost from being so close to home. That is until their defense hits the field and they have to try to stop the pass which they couldn’t all season. Look, their game against Alabama was wild and fun to watch but Bama struggled to throw the ball all day. Syracuse won’t. My pick: Syracuse 45 USF 14.
68 Ventures Bowl – South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 23, 7:00, TSN+/specialty pack) – Different name, same shitty bowl game. This is the second straight year the former LendingTree Bowl ends up in the bottom spot on my list. Even the Jag-you-ares playing in front of a home crowd isn’t enough to pull this out from the bottom rung of the ladder. I like EMU but this won’t be even remotely close. My pick: South Alabama 44 Eastern Michigan 9.
There you go! Bowl schedule, bowl rankings, bowl predictions: all complete. All there is now to do is watch the games.
As an add-on, there are some lower-level playoff games. Hell, let’s do another mini-schedule right here!
FCS Semi-Final: UAlbany at South Dakota State
Friday, 7:00
Division III Championship: Cortland vs. North Central (in Salem, VA)
Friday, 7:00
Celebration Bowl: Howard vs. Florida A&M (in Atlanta)
Saturday, Noon
Division II Championship: Harding vs. Colorado School of Mines (in McKinney, TX)
Saturday, 1:00
FCS Semi-Final: North Dakota State at Montana
Saturday, 4:30
All of these games are on TSN+ and the specialty pack except for the Celebration Bowl which goes to ABC.
It looks like other than one game, your boy Bossman can watch every game if he wishes. I most definitely will, thank you very much. And you too…enjoy the games. We’re almost ready to wrap up this season of college football season so get as much viewing in as you can.
Yep, the NFL is heading to Brazil next year! Not Rio, which is pictured here but Sao Paulo. The plan is to have a game at Corinthians Arena and it will be the fifth country outside the U.S. to host a regular season game after Canada, England, Mexico and Germany.
So how do I feel about this? Eh, I’m fine with it. It won’t be played in the morning which makes me happy and I’m sure the NFLers that get to go there will be happy to enjoy some Brazilian culture like walking down the beach and things that occur on LiveLeak.
I think the bigger story was after this when it was announced that there would be EIGHT international games in 2025. My guess is, at some point, every team in the league will play one international game a season until the NFL eventually expands there because that’s what Commissioner Goodell wants, dammit!
Until then we are stuck with 32 teams and schedules that still aren’t too large. So let’s get to that not-too-big schedule followed by a few musings:
Saturday, 1:00, NFL Network, CBS Minneapolis, TSN 1/3
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis
Saturday, 4:30, NFL Network, TSN 1/3
Denver at Detroit
Saturday, 8:15, NFL Network, FOX Detroit, TSN 1/3
Baltimore at Jacksonville
Sunday, 8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/3/4/+
Philadelphia at Seattle
Monday, 8:15, ABC, TSN 1/3/+
Non-Brazilian Musings
Are you ready? Are you ready for some football? A, uh, Saturday afternoon and evening partayyyyyyyyy? Yep, it’s that time of year where the NFL says fuck it, we are taking over more days and if we were allowed we’d have games every day of the damn week. Problem for me is that it’s the start of Bowl Season. Will I watch some of these games? Sure but my focus is almost always on college football (sorry pro football enthusiasts/college football haters).
Games not being shown in the region of Canada without the use of Sunday Ticket or RedZone:
Houston at Tennessee
Atlanta at Carolina
Washington at LA Rams
Quite the mixed bag for all the non-Sunday afternoon games. For every Ravens-Jags there’s a Chargers-Raiders. Can’t win em all with six games in those timeslots. Hey, at least we get Kevin Fucking Harlan on the call for the Saturday nighter which is a Mount Everest-sized step up from the earlier play-by-play guys, Chris Rose and Rich Eisen.
For the first time in a long time, we have an Absolute National Game. The Cowboys and Bills are on every FOX station in the U.S. meaning the same thing in Canada. Not surprising with so many games not on Sunday but in previous years the Niners and Cardinals would have been shown on televisions in about 53 combined city blocks in the cities of San Francisco and Phoenix. Why I’m so glad the true AFC on CBS/NFC on FOX thing has ended. Progress. Should have done it years ago.
Hey let’s get an updated playoff picture since there’s a team ACTUALLY ALREADY IN THE PLAYOFFS (it’s the Niners):
#7 Green Bay/LA Rams/Seattle/Atlanta/New Orleans (6-7)
Holy shit. What an absolute clusterfuck at the bottom of the Wild Card list. In each conference, five teams are tied for the final spot with the first team in each list (the Colts and Packers) holding what I assume are insane tiebreakers over the other four teams. This could end up being one of the best final months of a season in a long time.
And now on to the teams that have been officially eliminated:
Carolina
New England
That’s it. Two. With three games to go. Yeah this is nuts. This week that number should go up but maybe by only a couple as you will see in all the clinching scenarios:
Division Title
San Francisco clinches the NFC West with a win OR an LA Rams loss
Playoff Berth
Philadelphia clinches with a win OR (a Minnesota loss AND an Atlanta loss AND (an LA Rams loss OR (a San Francisco win AND a Detroit win))) OR (a Minnesota loss AND a Tampa Bay win AND (an LA Rams loss OR (a San Francisco win AND a Detroit win))) OR (a Green Bay loss AND an Atlanta loss AND (an LA Rams loss OR (a San Francisco win AND a Detroit win)))
Dallas clinches with a win OR (a Tampa Bay loss AND (a Detroit win AND a San Francisco win) OR (a Detroit win AND an LA Rams loss) OR (a Minnesota loss AND a Detroit win) OR (a Minnesota loss AND an LA Rams loss) OR (a Minnesota loss AND a Seattle loss)) OR (an Atlanta loss AND a Green Bay loss AND (a Detroit win OR an LA Rams loss OR a Seattle loss)) OR (a Seattle loss AND (an LA Rams loss) OR (a Minnesota loss AND a NY Giants win AND a New England win AND a Cleveland win AND a Pittsburgh win AND a Tennessee win AND an LA Chargers win))
Detroit clinches with a win AND (a Seattle loss AND a Green Bay loss) OR (a Seattle loss AND a Minnesota loss) OR (a Seattle win AND a LA Rams loss) OR (an LA Rams loss AND an Atlanta loss AND a Minnesota loss) OR (an LA Rams loss AND a Tampa Bay loss AND a Minnesota loss) OR (an LA Rams loss AND a Green Bay loss AND an Atlanta loss)
Baltimore clinches with a win AND (a Pittsburgh loss AND a Buffalo loss) OR (a Pittsburgh loss and a Denver loss) OR a (Buffalo loss and a Denver loss) OR (a Cleveland loss AND a a Buffalo loss) OR (a Cleveland loss AND a Denver loss) OR (a Houston loss AND a Buffalo loss) OR (a Houston loss AND a Denver loss)
Elimination
Arizona is eliminated with a loss OR (an LA Rams win AND a Minnesota win) OR (an LA Rams win AND a Green Bay win) OR (an LA Rams win AND a New Orleans win AND a Chicago win AND an Atlanta win) OR (a Minnesota win AND a Green Bay win AND a New Orleans win AND an Atlanta win AND a Chicago win)
Washington is eliminated with a loss
Tennessee is eliminated with a loss AND (a Pittsburgh win) OR (an Indianapolis win) OR (a Cincinnati win) OR (a Denver win AND a Las Vegas win) OR (a Buffalo win AND a Denver win AND a LA Chargers win)
NY Jets are eliminated with a loss AND (a Buffalo win AND an Indianapolis win) OR (a Buffalo win AND a Pittsburgh win) OR (a Buffalo win AND a Houston win) OR (a Buffalo win AND a Cincinnati win) OR (an Indianapolis win AND a Cincinnati win AND a Houston win) OR (a Cleveland win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Cincinnati win) OR (a Cleveland win AND a Pittsburgh win AND a Houston win)
For fuck’s sake that is ridiculous. And it’s only Week 15. Can you imagine that last Dallas scenario hitting? It would be the ultimate parlay win. A $10 bet would probably make you a millionaire. OK enjoy the games everyone and remember there are Saturday games this week (although the NFL will never, EVER let you forget).
Bossman's Blog 