5-at-10: Weekend winners, losers, SEC craziness and Missouri protests and SNL political impressions


              FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2015, file photo, Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks to pass against the Cleveland Browns during an NFL football game, in Cleveland. Mariota appears set to return after missing two weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee. The Titans quarterback could be without his top receiver in Kendall Wright on Sunday, Nov. 9 against New Orleans.  (AP Photo/Ron Schwane, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2015, file photo, Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks to pass against the Cleveland Browns during an NFL football game, in Cleveland. Mariota appears set to return after missing two weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee. The Titans quarterback could be without his top receiver in Kendall Wright on Sunday, Nov. 9 against New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane, File)

On a Monday, you know the drill.

From the "Talks too much" studios, pull up a chair.

Weekend winners (there are a bunch - and we have more on the SEC later)

Vegas. More than 80 percent of all wagers had Denver, Atlanta and Green Bay covering the spreads as road favorites Sunday. Each lost out right. As of 11 a.m. Sunday morning the only NFL Sunday afternoon games Vegas lost (meaning there was more than 50 percent of the public's money bet on the winning side) were the Patriots (-14), Bills (-4), and the Giants (-2.5). Enjoy those free drinks Mr. Underhill.

Fab 4 (plus 3) picks. Back in the entertainment saddle. We went 5-2, hitting Mississippi State, Tulsa, under in the Florida-Vandy game, and Marshall plus 3.5 (valuable lesson in buying the half people). We also had Navy plus 8 as the Midshipmen drilled everyone's darling Memphis. We got betrayed by BYU (new rule, never take the Cougars in games that start after 10 Eastern, they normally are in bed by then) and our other loss was Michigan State, which got hosed.

Clemson. The Tigers rallied to top Florida State and stay unbeaten. For all intents and purposes, Clemson has punched its ticket into the college football playoff; the Tigers are a 26.5-favorite this week at Syracuse and will be a multi-TD pick against Wake Forest and South Carolina and whomever they see in the ACC title game. So that means the rest of the country is playing for three spots.

photo FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2015, file photo, Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks to pass against the Cleveland Browns during an NFL football game, in Cleveland. Mariota appears set to return after missing two weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee. The Titans quarterback could be without his top receiver in Kendall Wright on Sunday, Nov. 9 against New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane, File)

Marcus Mariota. Wow. After missing two games with a sore knee - and 'treating' us to the show that was the S.S. Mettenberger (only the S.S. Minnow was a more painful three-hour tour) - Mariota went for 354 passing yards and four TDs as the Tennessee Titans rallied by New Orleans in overtime.

Special teams craziness. Louisiana LaFayette's Travis Crawford flipped over an up back to block a punt. Montana scored the game-winning TD in the final minute after a bad snap on a potential game-winning Idaho State field goal. Marshall lost in overtime at MTSU when the Thundering Herd's field goal kickers went bonkers (and one started crying). Then there's this, yes, that's a fake field goal with a no-look, behind-the-back scoring pass. Wow.

East Ridge High School. Kudos to Tracy Malone and Co. Friday night's overtime win makes the Pioneers 11-0 for the first time in school history.

Weekend losers (there are a bunch)

Aqib Talib. The Denver cornerback went all Three Stooges in an altercation with a finger poke on a Colts player, then unloaded the "it was an accident" excuse. C'mon man.

LSU's offensive line. First, they got pantsed on Saturday by an Alabama defensive front that is be the best position group in the country. How bad was it? Well, Leonard Fournette is getting a ton of love, and deservedly so since he was averaging almost 200 yards per game coming into Saturday's slugfest. Fournette finished with 31 yards on 19 carries, and on only one of those attempts did he get at least three yards before first contact and 13 of those attempts his first contact with a Tide defender was at or behind the line of scrimmage. After the game, proud LSU tackle Vadal Alexander said the Tide front was no different than any other they have faced. Sure they are Vadal.

Vontaze Burfict. There are certain headlines that can be vague and complete clear. Like this one that said "Bengals linebacker throws $80,000 TV camera to the ground and injures cameraman." It simply had to be Burfict.

Dan Quinn, medicine woman. What was that? Quinn kicked a field goal from the 1 down four late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 17-16 loss to San Francisco.

photo Philadelphia Eagles' Jordan Hicks (58) runs back an interception from the Dallas Cowboys for a touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

The Dallas Cowboys. Be them self-inflicted or happenstance, the Cowboys' problems are real and growing. The Cowboys have lost six straight since Tony Romo's broken collarbone. (Crazy stat here: Since he became the starter, Romo is 77-48; the Cowboys are 6-15 without him during that timeframe.) And amid it all, the Greg Hardy scandal only continues to leave a rancid residue on everyone involved. After the photos of his victim were released on Friday, owner Jerry Jones said the team had not seen them (why not is our question; it's not like the most-valuable franchise in all of sports is short on resources) but they stand by Hardy. Then Hardy apologizes - reportedly for the first time publicly - on Twitter of all places. Gross

Football officiating. Another weekend, another blown call that alters the landscape of college football. This time it allowed Nebraska a game-winning touchdown with 17 second left that handed Michigan State its first loss. (Side note: The way Michigan State's coaches and players handled the scenario was top shelf. Well-played indeed Mark D'Antonio.)

UTC's playoff hopes. Losses happen - especially when you turn it over four times - so UTC's 17-14 loss at Mercer on Saturday is part of the price of doing business when you get everyone's best shot. That said, it turns Saturday's date with The Citadel into a winner-goes-to-the-playoffs game. And and the loser - because of the weakness of the SoCon - is likely out. We expect UTC to be ready Saturday, but the Mercer loss certainly hurts any chance for a super-high seeding.

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SEC craziness

Every SEC game this weekend was nuts. Well, the Georgia thumping of Kentucky was pretty pedestrian, but there was an epic stiff-arm from Keith Marshall on Kentucky safety Mike Edwards and we were faced with a scenario in which it was a must-win for Mark Richt.

That said, the landscape across the league was nuts, and filled with a slew of winners and losers on every sideline. There was Alabama flexing its muscles over LSU and proving that it deserves a spot in the top four. There was Auburn looking a lot like the Auburn a lot of us expected from the start of the season.

There was the first 14 plays of offensive bliss that was UT's start and then the nail-biting finish that has become UT's mantra. (Side note: Putting teams away is a skill not unlike blocking and tackling. It must be learned and the Vols certainly have not acquired it. And like inertia, the negative forces of not putting teams away can be just as powerful. Side note, II: Is there any result from this season that looks more puzzling today than South Carolina beating UNC? Yes, since that loss, UNC is 9-0 and make a run into the top 15.)

photo Arkansas coach Bret Bielema leavs the field after a football game against South Carolina in Fayetteville, Ark., in this Oct. 12, 2013, file photo.

There was Arkansas. Oh, Bret Bielema, don't you go changing. The Hogs bounced Ole Miss in overtime by converting a fourth-and-forever with a crazy lateral play. They went for two - and got it - after the first extra session, all but ending any grand dreams Ole Miss may have. Then in the postgame interview, Bielema's Fruedian slip was classic.

There was Texas A&M, which a month ago was in position to make a case for playoff inclusion and now has quarterback issues and wonderings about Kevin Sumlin.

There was Florida, which needed a kick with two minutes left from a guy who almost lost his kicking gig to a dental student for a 9-7 season-saving, SEC East-clinching win. (Side note, III: We thought before the season that Derek Mason was going to get got. But Vandy has fought for him and played hard with dreadful, Dreadful, DREADFUL quarterback play. And defensively, Vandy is legit. Think of this: If they had just gotten average QB play, Vandy would have at least three more wins - including Saturday - and be in the mix for Atlanta.)

And all of it now takes a back seat to what is happening at Missouri.

We believe the Missouri players have every right to protest whatever they believe to be inputs. Take a stand. Make your views known.

If you inapt change - if said change needs to be incased - great for you. You have made the world a better place by being strong and courageous.

That said, there are a couple of life lessons that are at play here. First, are they prepared to see this through? There already are reports of divide in the camp. That's fine.

Second, there are consequences to every move, reactions to every action. If they do not practice this week or - as they stated - boycott the game Saturday against BYU, there are real questions about whether they can - or should - keep their scholarships. Life is about deals and contracts, and the contract between the school and player is about playing football.

Finally, and we wouldn't know the Missouri president if he walked in here and kissed us on the cheek. He may be the grand wizard of the KKK or he may walk old ladies across the street in his spare time, we don't know.

But, the protest is not as much about him in its current state as it is about the football program. Does any leadership branch believe in answering to these methods. To some, this is protest. In the eyes of others, it's a clear threat that borders.

Again, that's fine and the players are using the one power they have for a cause they believe in. But if you're the University of Missouri and you grant that wish, what's next? Protests for better cafeteria food? Sit-ins for better study lamps?

Here we are, and as crazy as the weekend was on the field, the actions off it now are making national news.

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photo Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton (1) reaches the ball over the goal line for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)

This and that

- We will have our NFL power poll in Tuesday's 5-at-10, but man New England and Carolina look sharp.

- Side note about the Panthers: Cam Newton's value far outweigh his stats, and that's hard for a lot of people to understand, especially for a quarterback. Also, he ripped a Packers banner off the side of the stadium and the fans called the police on him.

- Speaking of on-field legal news, Reggie Bush is suing St. Louis for the condition of the field when he hurt is knee. This is a monster precedent whether folks realize this or not.

- Kudos to the Colts for bouncing back and handling their BID-ness. Crazy win against Denver on Sunday.

- More NFL news: Antonio Bryant (17 catches, 284 yards) is really good at tackle football. Also, the Steelers have been butchered by injuries, and now Big Ben Roethlisberger is hurt again.

- Man, the great thing about college football is that it is so Darwinistic in November. Wonderings about TCU's place or Memphis crashing the party or Michigan State's value all gets tossed aside when November losses mount.

- Pssstttt. College hoops starts this week. We'll have more on that in a minute.

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photo This Nov. 3, 2015 photo provided by NBC shows, "Saturday Night Live" cast member Cecily Strong, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in New York. Trump will host the show on Nov. 7. (Dana Edelson/NBC via AP)

Today's question

The Donald hosted SNL this weekend. We missed it unfortunately.

It comes on the heels of new cast member Kate McKinnon making waves with a great Hillary Clinton turn.

That got us thinking, and yes that's a somewhat serious proposition.

What's our Rushmore of SNL political impersonations? (Here's a CNN look at some of the more recent ones.) Tina Fey's Sarah Palin and Dana Carvey's George H.W. Bush are the frontrunners for far left, right?

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