Tales of a College Sports-a-holic

Ravens D celebrates important win against the Chargers, Dec. 22, 2018.

Week 9 Recap – The New Orleans Saints handed the Los Angeles Rams their first loss of the season in an exciting offensive showdown.

The Saints led 35-14 late in the 2nd quarter, but the Rams rallied with 21 unanswered points, tying it up by the 4th quarter. The Saints capitalized on their next possessions, one with a field goal and another with a 72-yard touchdown pass from QB Drew Brees to WR Michael Thomas. On their final possesions, the Rams were not able to make anything happen offensively.

Drew Brees threw 4 TDs, WR Michael Thomas had 211 receiving and RB Alvin Kamara had 3 TDs-2 rushing and 1 receiving.

For the Rams, QB Jared Goff went 28/40 for 391 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT, WR Brandin Cooks had 114 yards and 1 TD and RB Todd Gurley rushed for 68 yards and 1 TD.

Some of the early Sunday game results

Winners:

Chiefs (vs Browns)

Bears (vs Bills)

Dolphins (vs Jets)

Vikings (vs Lions)

Falcons (vs Washington)

Panthers (vs Bucs)

Steelers (vs Ravens)

In the yellowest of yellow uniforms, the Oregon Ducks win their first game of the season beating the Bowling Green State Falcons 58-24.

The Seahawks and WR Tyler Lockett agree to a 3-year, $37.8M contract extension.

Errrbody playing tonight

College football is back, hallelujah! Keeping with this blog’s tradition, every week I’ll be previewing the best games each week. There will be the overall Top Ten Games of the Week, which I believe I’ve been doing for 5 years now. We’ll also have the 5 Group of 5 Games of the Week as well as the FCS Games of the Week.

Due to my new job and its time constraints, I don’t think I’ll be doing recap posts of the games after they’re played. It’s a big departure, but I think it’s a bit redundant as I talk about most of the same teams in the next week’s preview anyway.

The Top Ten Games of the Week

10. Ole Miss vs Texas Tech (Houston, TX)

Series Ledger: 3-2 Ole Miss Last Meeting: 47-34 Ole Miss ½/2009 (Cotton Bowl)

I think the Texas Kickoff people were hoping these teams would be better when this game was scheduled, but this is what we have to work with. Both Texas Tech and Ole Miss are big unknowns in their respective conferences. Neither is expected to seriously compete, but a strong showing in Houston might be a sign of a good season.

9. Northwestern at Purdue

Series Ledger: 50-31-1 Purdue Last Meeting: 23-13 Northwestern 11/11/2018

I like the occasional early season conference game, and we have an intriguing Big Ten West matchup right off the bat. Northwestern was the second best team in the division last year and should compete for the title once again. Purdue surprised everyone last year, and the Boilermakers are hoping to turn in an even stronger season in 2018. We’re gonna get a sneak peek at an interesting division early with this game.

8. #22 Boise State at Troy

Series Ledger: 1-0 Boise State Last Meeting: 24-13 Boise State 9/2/2017

This should end up being one of the best G5 vs G5 nonconference games of the season. Boise State is the favorite to win the Mountain West and Troy should be the best team in the Sun Belt. If the AAC fails to produce a NY6 team, this game should have a part to play in that conversation.

7. FAU at #7 Oklahoma

Series Ledger: N/A Last Meeting: First Meeting!

We’ve got two G5 games in the Top Ten this week, a special treat! FAU was one of the best G5 teams in the country last year and should be very strong yet again. Oklahoma needs no introduction. The Sooners are the perennial Big 12 Champions, but they’re replacing all world QB Baker Mayfield. Make no mistake, the Owls can challenge OU if they play like they did at the end of last season.

6. #23 Texas at Maryland

Series Ledger: 3-1 Texas Last Meeting: 51-41 Maryland 9/2/2018

Oh look, Texas is ranked. It’d be a shame if they lost in Week 1 to Maryland…

5. Louisville vs #1 Alabama (Orlando, FL)

Series Ledger: 2-1 Alabama Last Meeting: 34-7 Louisville 1/1/1991 (Fiesta Bowl)

I don’t give Louisville much of a chance here, but I think we could learn a lot about each team just by how Alabama wins and Louisville loses. The Cardinals have lost their Heisman winning quarterback, but are still considered a tough out by most teams that aren’t Bama. The Crimson Tide are, of course, expected to win the SEC and make the Playoff yet again.

4. #20 Virginia Tech at #19 Florida State

Series Ledger: 23-12 Florida State Last Meeting: 28-22 Florida State 11/8/2012

Now this is a great cross-division game to start the season. Most people predict that these teams will be the second best in their respective conferences. The winner will make some waves early in the season in the ACC. The loser will be humbled but certainly won’t be out of their race. It’s a nice and refreshing matchup with conference-wide implications in Week 1.

3. #8 Miami FL vs #25 LSU (Arlington, TX)

Series Ledger: 9-3 LSU Last Meeting: 40-3 LSU 12/30/2005 (Peach Bowl)

The second best kickoff game is one that I’m really excited about. Miami was one of the feel-good stories last year and are looking to capitalize on their successes. LSU is feeling a bit embattled, but they have enough talent to bloody somebody’s nose if cornered. There are big ramifications for the SEC and the ACC in their battle to be the best conference in college football.

2. #14 Michigan at #12 Notre Dame

Series Ledger: 24-16-1 Michigan Last Meeting: 31-0 Notre Dame 9/6/2014

One of the great blue blood rivalry games returns to the field and it’s about damn time. Michigan and Notre Dame are two dark horse contenders for the Playoff and that race starts now. It’s a great rivalry game and both teams and their fanbases will be fired up for this meeting.

1. #6 Washington vs #9 Auburn (Atlanta, GA)

Series Ledger: N/A Last Meeting: First Meeting!

Two Playoff caliber teams meet in Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Washington is far and away the PAC-12 favorite and Auburn is as solid as ever, coming off a season where they beat both National Championship contestants. The game has huge ramifications for both teams and their respective conferences. I think a loss for Washington would knock the whole PAC-12 out of the Playoff race in just week 1. Those are some pretty high stakes.

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5 Group of 5 Games of the Week

5. Colorado vs Colorado State 0-1 (0-0)

Series Ledger: 65-22 Colorado Last Meeting: 17-3 Colorado 9/1/2017

The Rocky Mountain Showdown is a perennial favorite on this list, mostly because it’s a good P5 vs G5 rivalry and it’s always played earlier in the season when it’s easier to make the list.

4. SMU at North Texas

Series Ledger: SMU 31-5-1 Last Meeting: 54-32 SMU 9/9/2017

A DFW rivalry with two sneaky good teams.

3. Washington State at Wyoming 1-0 (0-0)

Series Ledger: 4-2 Washington State Last Meeting: 31-14 Washington State 9/19/2015

Did y’all see Wyoming play in Week 0? That defense is no joke. I know I don’t want my team playing in Laramie in the first week of the season.

2. Wake Forest at Tulane

Series Ledger: 2-1 Tulane Last Meeting: 7-3 Wake Forest 9/1/2016

Wake Forest had a pretty good offense last year. Tulane did as well and should have an even better one this season. Yeah it’s nerdy private schools but so what?

1. San Diego State at #13 Stanford

Series Ledger: 3-2 Stanford Last Meeting: 20-17 San Diego State 9/16/17

Last year SDSU beat a legit P5 team when they toppled Stanford. The Aztecs now have to defend themselves against the Cardinal’s revenge game. I’ll be there! Go Aztecs!

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FCS Games of the Week

I’m having trouble finding my last meeting/all-time stats so bear with me.

5. #13 Northern Iowa at #24 Montana

Two solid FCS programs with Playoff hopes battle it out in Missoula.

4. #19 Villanova at Temple

A rivalry game featuring the two best college teams in the City of Brotherly Love. The Mayor’s Cup is up for grabs in this contest.

3. #19 North Carolina A&T 1-0 (0-0) at East Carolina

If ever there was an FCS upset you could be on, this would be it. A&T has already taken down one of the best FCS teams in the country with their week 0 win over Jacksonville State. East Carolina has had some serious issues on the football field lately and will be given a very hard time by the Aggies.

2. #3 South Dakota State at Iowa State

One of the FCS’s very best takes on a regional FBS opponent who is also looking to have a big year. This one could get fun.

1. #2 James Madison vs NC State

New Chrome Alternate Helmets from Riddell Sports

I did this feature in 2016 and folded it into the Top X Games in Y Conference last year, but because I want to take on extra work I’m gonna do both! This series won’t be looking at which games are will have the biggest impact in the coming year, but at which rivalry games will be the best to watch. Obviously what constitutes a rivalry is up for debate, so give me a bit of leeway with this. I’ll be looking at which rivalries have meant a lot in recent history and how important they’ll be in the coming year.

DISCLAIMER! A rivalry can only make the list if it is going to be played in 2018. Thank you.

First off, two honorable mentions that just missed the cut:

Notre Dame-Pittsburgh Boston College-Virginia Tech

I’ve always been a fan of the ND-Pitt game. It takes a backseat to bigger rivalries for both teams, but it’s usually interesting and has some history behind it. Boston College-Virginia Tech was one of the most important games in the ACC in the last half of the 2000′s. It has fallen away with the regression of BC’s program (and to a lesser extent VA Tech’s), but I wanted to give it a shout out since it was only 10 years ago that these teams were routinely playing for the ACC Championship.

14. Penn State at Pittsburgh

I’m a big fan of old-school rivalry games and Penn State-Pitt used to be one of the biggest. In the years before the Big East this was the premier football game in the Northeast. The last 30 or so years haven’t been to kind to this game, but this brief revival has recaptured a tiny bit of the magic. The Nittany Lions insist that the game isn’t meaningful as much at the Panthers insist that it is. It certainly was meaningful in 2016, when Pittsburgh’s shootout win ended up costing Penn State a spot in the Playoff. Now the Nittany Lions return to Heinz Field to exact their revenge against their most certainly not-hated, not-rivals. The schools have so far split the first two games of their current four game series.  It’s the 99th meeting between the “rivals”.

NBA playoffs Saturday Game 1 Results

Pelicans @ Blazers in progress