Wow, what a weekend.
From the "Talks too much" studios, there's no time for dallying.
Weekend winners
Mississippi coach Dan Mullen speaks to the media at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days Tuesday, July 14, 2015, in Hoover, Ala. College football teams in Mississippi. Ole Miss pimp-slapped Texas A&M 23-3 in a game that was not that close and in a fashion that you have to wonder who the real Aggies are. Mississippi State handled its BID-ness extremely impressively in a 42-16 victory in a game a lot of people thought UK could win outright. The truly elite coaches like Saban and Meyer and a few others win so much you are surprised when they lose. But one of the hidden hallmarks of very good coaches is winning games you are a 10-point-or-less favorites, especially at home. Hugh Freeze and Dan Mullen are very good coaches.
Georgia Tech. Wow. Just wow. If you missed it, this happened on The Flats. And college football walk-off wins are cool. (Side note: The 5-at-10 projections were pretty stout this weekend. Yes, 5-2 is not perfect, and we missed the Ole Miss-Texas A&M pick by a bunch. But the five wins were relatively stress-free. (The other loss was the over-under on Duke-Virginia Tech, which went through the roof once overtime came into play.) That said - and we could very likely be the exact end of wrong next week - we wrote the following in last picks: First team in Vandy-Missouri to 10 wins (Vandy won 10-3); UCF is bad. Like, really bad. Like no fans at the stadium and wondering if it's time to break up with coach George O'Leary bad (O'Leary resigned/retired Sunday); Miami, which going to fold on coach Al Golden sooner rather than later (Ouch); Bowling Green is going to put half a hundred on Kent State (BGSU won 48-0). And for good measure, on Press Row on Friday we said Georgia Tech was going to win the weekend. That's a pretty good roll. Some would even call it highly entertaining.)
College football coaches' agents. Two more notable gigs opened this weekend with Miami making a move and George O'Leary retiring from Central Florida. Now there are big-boy jobs open at USC, South Carolina and Miami, and good-sized jobs at Illinois, Maryland and UCF. Plus, there likely will be more, and with those types of opportunities comes the chance for guys to move up - and chances for guys to get extensions and raises from their current employers.
Kentucky hoops. What does a UK hoops fan need to smile these days beyond the three-ring crisis that has fallen on Louisville? Well to have a five-star skilled big man be declared eligible of course. As Chas stated last week, 40-0 may not be in the conversation for these Cats considering their early-season schedule, but there's little doubt who is the class of the league and on the short list of teams who can win it all.
Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) On a crazy NFL Sunday, let's go with Kirk Cousins barely over the Miami Dolphins. Cousins has come under fire recently because his stats are worse than RGIII's but Cousins is head coach Jay Gruden's guy, so the coach has been sure to note winds and such for Cousins' struggles. There was nothing to criticize Sunday as Cousins went 33-of-40 for 317 yards and three scores and no picks. The winds must have been calm, right coach?
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Weekend losers
Andrew Luck. We have been on the Andrew Luck bandwagon from Day 1, even saying that other than Aaron Rodgers, no player in the league would be traded straight-up for Luck. Well, approaching the midway point of season four of Luck's career, his penchant for turnovers and underwhelming play have become too common ignore. Yes, in the fantasy football age in which we live, Luck's final stat line of 23-of-44 for 333 yards and three scores and two picks, does not look that bad. But he had 100 passing yards on 25 attempts in the first half as the Saints built a 27-0 lead, and those stats are a touch bloated because T.Y. Hilton got loose for an 87-yard cosmetic TD. Want the baseline stat of Luck's struggles - remember this is the guy that is supposed to be the face of the league (and we're still on the bandwagon, but it's worth point out)? The Colts are 1-4 with Luck on the field; they are 2-0 with 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck taking snaps.
Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck watches his teammates warm up before an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015, in Houston. Luck will miss the game with an injury. (AP Photo/Patric Schneider) Al Golden. Wow. Forget the banners. Forget the fact that last year the 'Canes had more draft picks than wins. You get pantsed 58-bagel and someone has some splanin' to do. So Golden's gone and Miami enters the Justin coaching sweepstakes. Side note: Of all the openings out there, this one becomes the leader in our eyes that would have interest in Alabama OC Lane Kiffin. What potential head coach out there has old-school Da U swagger like Kiffin?
Bill O'Brien, the Houston Texas coach. The Miami Dolphins boatraced Houston, sprinting to a 41-0 lead on a near perfect offensive showing in the first half. Yes, this is the same Houston bunch that fell behind 42-0 at Atlanta earlier this year. It's also the same Houston bunch that has the worst QB situation in the league - something that falls directly on O'Brien since the team did not draft a QB last spring and O'Brien was a big reason the Texans added Ryan Mallett in the offseason. (Side note: Mallett the malcontent also appears to be a 6-foot-6 version of Johnny Football in terms of distractions since he missed the team's charter this weekend and had to fly commercial to catch up.) Now, add in the fact that despite having no chance late in Sunday's game, O'Brien had Arian Foster on the field, and the Texans second-best playmaker tore his Achilles' in a meaningless moment.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, drives past Paul Menard during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Chicagoland Speedway, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, in Joliet, Ill. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) NASCAR fans. Dale Jr. is to today's NASCAR what Michael Jordan was to 1990s NBA. Dude is far and away the most popular driver, and even the folks that don't like Dale Jr. don't dislike Dale Jr., if that makes sense. Well, Kevin Harvick exploited the rules and cause a wreck that caused a quick end to Sunday's race at Talladega and cost Junior a shot at the win and a potential chance to advance in the NASCAR playoffs. How upset was the crowd? They were throwing full beers at winner Joey Logano on his victory lap. Full beers. That's gold at Talladega.
Utah. In one of the many lines that didn't make sense this weekend, we all got to see why Vegas builds huge buildings and offers $5.99 Lobster Thermidor. The Utes were throttled by a USC team that is as talented as any but has dealt with a ton of distractions. It was a tough week for college football unbeatens with Georgia Tech handing FSU - and the ACC a painful loss - and Baylor potentially losing quarterback Seth Russell. College football being crazy? Say it ain't so.
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Third Saturday in October
That was a competitive, enjoyable football game. Well, let's rephrase that.
For someone with no dog in the hunt, that was a competitive and enjoyable football game between Alabama and Tennessee. Alabama heads into an off week with a 19-14 win that was closer - and tighter - than many expected.
The two questions that emerged from this are:
Will Tennessee ever figure out a way to close out a win against an elite foe? Is Alabama a true, legitimate playoff contender.
Tennessee football coach Butch Jones led his team to a near-upset of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, but the Volunteers came up short for the ninth straight game in the rivalry series. The Vols have lost four games this season by a combined 17 points.First for the Vols. Hard to know, but you have to feel like that step is within reach. (Georgia was a furious comeback that was a different beast. That's not to devalue the Georgia win in any way for Butch Jones and Co., but a head-spinning rally for an upset is not the conversation this morning.)
Tennessee is 3-4 and all four of those losses came in games that Tennessee had a fourth-quarter lead. We mentioned before about very good coaches winning games they should. Well, truly good programs hold leads they build. They make the three-or-five plays at winning time that change the outcome.
Tennessee is not there yet, and the question is if/when do they take that step. It could come in the next five weeks, because making a big play to seal a win can happen at any time, and right now UT needs experience doing that. Even if it comes against a team Tennessee should beat. Handling the pressure in those game-swinging moments is an acquired skill.
That said, the measure of progress was clear in how Tennessee competed with Alabama, the nation's most talented and NFL-ready roster. Even the biggest anti-UT fan among us (Hi, Jomo) can't deny the strides in talent UT has made in the last two seasons.
Alabama tight end O.J. Howard breaks free from the tackle of Tennessee defensive back Todd Kelly Jr. during Saturday's game in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide will enjoy an open date before facing LSU, another top-10 team, on Nov. 7.Will that talent improvement equate to meaningful wins in the nation's toughest league? Well, that question hinges on whether the Vols can become equally as talented in the moment that swings big games.
That big-moment capability is something that has been forged and passed down at Alabama. But it's fair to ask if a team that struggles to top Tennessee, lost at home to Ole Miss, which lost to Memphis remember, and needed three pick-sixes to beat Texas A&M is worthy of such lofty praise.
We say yes, and we still believe that 1-through-85 Alabama and Ohio State are the two most talented teams in the country.
Talent does not mean accomplishment, of course. Ask a Tennessee fan.
But in Bama's case we still believe they will be one of our four playoff teams (along with Baylor, THE Ohio State and Clemson) and that's because of a wave of talent that teams simply can't match.
Sure, one more loss they are done. In fact, unless they get some help, Alabama could win out and still be left out, since Ole Miss controls the SEC West at present.
Thoughts?
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This and that
- World Series starts tomorrow and it's the most expensive ticket ever.
- Speaking of World Series history, lifelong minor leaguer Matt Reynolds has a chance to make baseball history by making his big-league debut in the World Series. Crazy right/
- Here's a crazy Twitter map (shootout to Mean Gene Henley). Yep, Tennessee's favorite candy is Candy Corn. (We're not a fan for what it's worth.)
FILE- In this Sept. 9, 2015, file photo, Len Don Diego, marketing manager for content at DraftKings, a daily fantasy sports company, works at his station at the company's offices in Boston. New York's attorney general has sent letters to daily fantasy sports websites DraftKings and FanDuel demanding they turn over details of any investigations into their employees on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File) - R.I.P. Flip Saunders, who died this weekend. He was 60, and the older we get the younger that sounds.
- Adding more fuel to the fire of controversy about daily fantasy sites comes this knowledge. Yes, Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft own stakes on Draft Kings.
- Not on the loser list but someone who's stock dropped this weekend was Zach Mettenberger, who was rather pedestrian in a very unwatchable 10-7 loss for the Titans against the Falcons. A strong performance in a rare start for Mettenberger there could have greatly impacted his career. Remember, Matt Flynn got two multi-year deals off one very good start. It was far from very good. In fact, the best thing that came from Sunday's blah-tastic Atlanta win was the column from Weeds.
- Speaking of handling BID-ness, that's what UTC does. Huesman and Co. finally landed a three-point win, turning the one stat that has dogged him - he was 1-11 in games decided by three points or less coming into Saturday - before a 20-17 win at Wofford, a place UTC had not won since 1998. Kicker Henrique Ribiero, who made the game-winning 38-yarder on the final play, is a weapon.
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Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer prepares to bat during a baseball workout Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo. The Royals will face the New York Mets in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday in Kansas City. (A (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Today's question
Ton of stuff today. Wow.
We'll preview the World Series tomorrow, and the NBA starts this week (we know OG is stoked).
That said, we've got a couple of questions for you (and if you're new around these parts you can sign in an answer in the comments or play along on email at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or Twitter at @jgreesontfp):
First who won/lost the weekend? There are a slew of options.
Second, with the graphic above and Halloween on the horizon, what's the Rushmore of candy?
Go.