LSU running back Leonard Fournette (7) rushes for a touchdown as Texas A&M defensive back Deshazor Everett (29) defends during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)Weekend winners
Leonard Fournette. He and his brother Lanard - a freshman on the LSU team - combined for 228 yards and three scores on 19 carries. (Yes, all of it was Leonard's.) Dude sprinted to the front of the Heisman watch by shredding Auburn. He looked like a good high school player going against a middle school team, going for 200-plus and three scores in the LSU smoking of Auburn. In truth, the only AU player that even looked interested in trying to tackle Fournette was Tray Matthews.
Grayson Lambert. On a grand day for transfer quarterbacks - Blake Mayfield was lights out for Oklahoma; Chad Kelly earned his "Swag" nickname for Ole Miss - Lambert was the most grand. He set an NCAA record for completing percentage as Georgia stroked South Carolina.
Jason Day of Australia, hits his approach shot to the ninth green to finish the rain postponed first round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Conway Farms Golf Club, Friday, Sept. 18, 2015, in Lake Forest, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Jason Day. Day is the hottest golfer this side of Paige Spiranac. Seriously, Day is killing everything in his path right now, and he won again. He also moved to No. 1 in the world.
Tom Brady. In a crazy NFL world where the talkers get a lot of attention and the Cardinals and Raiders look relevant and we actual had a Johnny Football sighting, Brady proved again that don't doubt the Patriots, who are great when motivated. Brady shredded the highly touted Bills defense to the tune of 466 yards and three scores. Yes, Rob Gronkowski continues to be a match-up nightmare, but Brady also helped Dion Lewis, Julian Edelman and Aaron Dobson to more than 85 receiving yards each.
LATE ADD: Fair point guys, and not sure what I was thinking (or not thinking) this morning. UTC winning at Samford deserves mentioning here, especially for the way the defense responded after a less-than-Huesman-pleasing effort against Mars Hill last week.
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Weekend losers
Auburn. What was that?
Seahawks, Ravens, Saints, Eagles. Each of these teams were in the Super Bowl conversation. Each is now 0-2 and dealing with the reality that only 12 percent of the teams that started 0-2 since the current playoff format was adopted in 1990 advanced to the postseason.
Cowboys. Yes, a 2-0 start in a division that looks hapless is something nice. But facing two months with Brandon Weeden-to-Terence Williams as your best offensive option does not bring back the images of Aikman-to-Irving. Since making his first start with Dallas, Romo is 77-48; in that same time frame all other Dallas quarterbacks are 6-9.
Chip KellyChip Kelly. We think Kelly is a genius, but there are a lot of times that genius can appear like ineptitude. This may be one of those times.
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SEC shake-up
For all the talk there are considerable questions - and some quite serious - facing almost every SEC team.
We'll go into this more on Tuesday, but we'll start at the top and then go directly to the bottom.
Has Ole Miss wrestled the top spot from Alabama in the league? The Rebels
Say what you want about lucky bounces or big plays, but the Rebels forced five turnovers and hung 43 on the Tide. It's the third time in Alabama's last six games the opponent has put 42 or more on the board.
This Jan. 1, 2015, file photo shows newly-hired Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp before the Outback Bowl NCAA college football game in Tampa, Fla. Speaking of that, there's not a lot of buzz about the potential head coaching futures of Kirby Smart or Will Muschamp right about now, is there?
And speaking of Muschamp's defense - which is really quite cute when they try to tackle - we know this from the weekend across all levels.
If you're going to talk it, you best be ready to back it up.
Auburn defensive back Jonathan Ford said, Leonard Fournette would not be tough to stop.
Rex Ryan flapped at the gums all week, and Tom Brady and Co. lit up the Bills.
Then there was this from Kliff Kingsbury who reminded Bret Bielema of his summer talk.
Which brings us to the very real possibility that the loser of the Arkansas-Auburn game finishes last in the West and will have to deal with some very difficult decisions and issues moving forward.
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This and that
- Justifiably, Game of Thrones dominated the Emmys last night. Here are the winners.
- Congrats to the Chattanooga Lookouts for forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 tonight in the Sothern League championship series http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/professional/story/2015/sep/21/southern-league-lookouts-force-decisive-game/326235/.
Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on Saturday, May 16, 2015.- NASCAR started its playoffs, and yes, there are plenty of good seats available. That said, Denny Hamlin punched his ticket through the first round with a win this weekend in Chicago.
- The St. Louis Cardinals have been the best team in baseball for pretty much the entire year. They are holding their breath today as catcher Yadier Molina is having an MRI on his thumb, which he hurt against the Cubs on Sunday.
Actor Bill Murray attends the SNL 40th Anniversary Special at Rockefeller Plaza on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, in New York. ---
Today's questions
It's Monday, so who won the weekend and who lost it?
For a Rushmore, today is Bill Murray's 65th birthday. SAL-loot.
While a Rushmore of Murray performances is interesting, we were thinking of the Rushmore of most accomplished post-SNL careers.
Whatcha got?