More college football picks
CBS has trotted out the latest run of preseason polls and to no one's surprise THE Ohio State is atop the poll.
Also, CBS predictor Jerry Palm pegs the bowl shake-out to be Ohio State vs. Clemson and Auburn vs. TCU.
He picks possible matchups for every bowl, and let's stick on three items that may raise eyebrows:
First, Clemson in the playoff is a bit risky. But it's a pick with an upside. The Tigers' three toughest opponents - Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Florida State - all come to Clemson. Also, quarterback DeShaun Watson is the real deal and has the skill set to elevate a team to unforeseen heights.
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against North Carolina State during their game, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, in Clemson, S.C.Second, there is no bigger swing team this year than Auburn, which has been regularly ranked among the top eight nationally but also peaks as high as No. 2 in the SI poll and falls all the way to the high teens in several power rankings. Could Auburn win it all? Yes, it could. Could Auburn win only three SEC games? Yes, yes it could.
Third, to continue a discussion that we started here and carried some to Press Row on Wednesday, Palm projects Tennessee to the Belk Bowl against Duke. While that would be a chance to catch up with longtime good dude David Cutcliffe, with all the excitement and energy, the Belk Bowl would be a pretty good-sized disappointment for Butch's Brick Brigade.
A ticket to Charlotte for the Belk Bowl would mean the Vols finished at best 7-5, since a UT team that's 8-4 and with a lot of fan buzz (i.e. bowl-ticket buying boosters) would go somewhere better than the Belk.
So, UT's range from 7-5 to potentially 10-2 means three swing games.
Can UT win those three - you would have to consider those three to be Oklahoma, Arkansas and most likely Missouri - and handle rebuilding Florida and South Carolina?
That's the question, and that's now the focus on Butch Jones and staff. He has proven he can build a talented, and high-powered race car.
Will he be able to drive it?
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Around college football
It's been a busy week in college football, and a busy week this time of preseason practice is never a good thing.
Let's update some big moves and how they affect several teams with lofty aspirations:
Auburn head coach Gus MalzahnAuburn's Duke Williams still remains in purgatory in Gus Malzahn's world. We believe this: Auburn is not a title contender - in the nation, the SEC or the West - without Williams.
Tennessee lost experienced guard Marcus Jackson earlier this week. That's painful.
Florida State five-star linebacker Matt Thomas is in NCAA academic limbo. Seminoles teammate Dalvin Cook's assault trial has been moved up.
Michigan State starting linebacker Ed Davis tore his ACL.
Clemson corner Korrin Wiggins tore his ACL on Wednesday. Wiggins was one of only four returning players on defense who started six or more games last year. Ouch-standing.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is reminding us all how much we will miss him when he does eventually retire. Here's his less-than-Hallmark-moment/satircal assessment of his team.
And there's this, which seriously means the first huge test of the season for a potential college football championship contender is today.
That's right, today, as Vernon Adams takes his final test at Eastern Washington and he needs to pass that exam to graduate and become a graduate transfer and play for Oregon later this month. Not since Thornton Melon took the last-minute exam in "Back to School" before he completed the Triple Lindy has a potential star of this magnitude gone to 11th hour like this.
Yes, Oregon fans are holding their breath today.
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Baseball
OK, there are some cool baseball story lines out there.
Seattle got a no-hitter from a pitcher named Hisashi Iwakuma, who is not from Hixson.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma throws to the Baltimore Orioles during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Toronto is 13-1 since trading for Troy Tulowitzki and have passed the Yankees in the AL East standings.
Clayton Kershaw allowed three hits in eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over Washington. Since June 27, Kershaw's numbers are scary: 62 innings pitched in eight starts, six earned runs, five walks, 74 Ks and all of 40 hits allowed.
Still, the coolest baseball story we saw this week was Mike Hessman.
Yes, Mike Hessman, the real life Crash Davis who has a record 433 minor league homers, and counting.
Man, bouncing around that long - he was a 15th-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 1996 - on busses and in the bushes is amazing.
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This and that
- More Punch Bowl. First isn't nice to have an NFL controversy without the 'gate' suffix. Yes, we are calling Geno Smith's broken jaw Punch Bowl. To add layers to this story, Rex Ryan, the former Jets coach who obviously knows all the participants involved, signed IK Enemkpoli
- Man, Michael Jordan beat the game. Dude made almost $500 million in endorsements from 2001-2012. He's a billionaire.
Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan watches an NBA basketball game in this April 16, 2014, file photo.- We did not meet the 5-at-10 baseline number of golf entries for a PGA Championship. Apparently the Masters carries more gravitas than this one. So it goes. That said, if you are interested in winning two tickets to Bristol in 10 days, Tweet who you think will win this week at Michigan to @1051TheZone. We'll announce the winning entry Monday at 5 p.m. on Press Row.
- For what it's worth, here are the NFL preseason games on tap for tonight: New Orleans at Baltimore, Green Bay at New England (NFL Network), New York Jets at Detroit, Miami at Chicago, Washington at Cleveland, Dallas at San Diego (NFL Network).
- Here's an intriguing trailer for the next Tarantino flick called "The Hateful Eight." Yes please.
- The NBA schedule was released. Yes, we figured OG would likely take the day off and start circling which games he would DVR and which games he'd watch live.
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Today's questions
We have three:
First, who you got in the PGA. We are staying with Jason Day (at this point we're locked in and he likely won't win a major until we pick someone else, but we're loyal/hard-headed like that).
Mickey MantleSecond, there are reports that some college football programs - Clemson and FSU among them - are forbidding players from Twitter during the season. That's within their right, but is that a good idea? Thoughts?
Finally, a trio of pretty famous and beloved names in the sports realm died on Aug. 13 through the years. Mickey Mantle (died in 1995), Phil Rizzuto (2007), and NASCAR driver Tim Richmond (1989) kicked off their cleats on this day.
We'll toss out the Rushmore of athletes deaths that truly made you sad.
And yes, Dale Sr. is far left.
Whatcha' got? And remember the mailbag.