5-at-10: Weekend winners and losers, UT's roller coaster weekend, Rushmore of Lee


              Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Weekend winners

The Atlanta Falcons. Wow, Dan Quinn's bunch went to Denver and handled the previously unbeaten Broncos. Atlanta has beaten the Super Bowl participants in consecutive weeks, and did it Sunday with an improving defense (yes, we have been very critical of Vic Beasley and yes, Beasley had 3.5 sacks in the Falcons win, so congrats). Julio Jones, who crushed the Panthers last week with 300 receiving yards, did very little Sunday for the Falcons, who won with a rushing tandem and ball control. That's a tell-tale sign of a good football team - winning when someone takes away your best offensive player.

Tom Brady. The suspension finally served, Brady returned to the field and reminded everyone what an elite quarterback looked like. He completed 70 percent of his throws for more than 400 yards and three TDs.

Kevin Sumlin. Three months ago at SEC media days, Sumlin and Les Miles were atop the hot seat list in college football's best conference. Miles is now out of a job, but Sumlin could not be more bullet-proof after a 6-0 start that included the double-overtime win over Tennessee on Saturday. Plus, according to this article, there were a slew of star-studded recruits in attendance as the Aggies toppled the Vols and they liked what they saw.

UTC. That's how you handle your BID-ness, especially on Homecoming. Quick, efficient, fluid. And as TFP ace sports columnist Mark Widener writes here, this Saturday shapes up to be huge for both the Mocs and the Vols.

Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are handling their BID-ness against a very dangerous San Francisco bunch. Facing Madison Bumgarner tonight in Game 3, the Cubs simply had to have the first two games at home. They delivered and take a 2-0 lead into a date wth MadBum, who has been pretty unhittable when the Giants are in an elimination game.

photo DB Baylen Buchanan (28) tackles a Florida runner. The Florida Gators visited the Tennessee Volunteers in a important SEC football contest at Neyland Stadium on September 24, 2016.

Weekend losers

Everyone involved in the decision to 'postpone' the Florida-LSU game. It starts with Greg Sankey, who gave multiple interviews on multiple stations this weekend and said next to nothing informative, but did refer to himself in the third-person proper-title Sunday by saying "The Commissioner" so there's that. (Side note: If you want to appear like you are answering the tough questions, coming on with Verne and Gary on Saturday and then with Brent Musberger on Sunday is not exactly sitting in with Meet the Press, you know? I was waiting for Musberger to ask 'The Commissioner' what he had for lunch Sunday, it was that bad. Also, and we all know that Verne's ability to handle the speed with correct names and numbers - dude has to hate the midline, zone option packages since he is completely guessing who has the ball now - is all but gone. But Mr. Musberger is struggling too. He was less than good Sunday, and that has to be especially tough for Jesse Palmer, who is actually improving steadily.) And, yeah, Jeremy Foley, if this LSU-Florida game doesn't get played, your lasting legacy will be the cowardly move of cancelling a game that benefitted your team to not play. Foley has been an amazing AD at Florida and helped lift them to the top of the SEC across the board. And he - and coach Jim McElwain - looks like a chicken.

Houston. Maybe this has been brewing for a while, but after winning the opening weekend by toppling an Oklahoma team that is not as good as we believed in August, the Cougars have gotten a river of bad news. The reports that the Big 12 now appears against expansion. The whispers that are becoming chants of Tom Herman being the hottest name in what will be a very busy college football offseason. Now, Saturday's loss to Navy all-but ends Houston's hopes of being an interloper in the college football playoff.

Hot seats at power places. Yes, Kevin Sumlin has moved into the comfy confines of a Lazy-Boy recliner. (Maybe even one of those ones with a cooler under the seat. Put some Co-Colas in there for a football Saturday good times.) And Clay Helton and USC beat Colorado, but escaping Colorado is hardly an exclamation point victory for a proud program such as USC. That said, the seat heat index scale at three very prominent jobs has to be increasing. Charlie Strong at Texas - nuclear, considering he's a defensive dude and Texas couldn't stop a Pop Warner team right now. Mark Helfrich at Oregon - boiling and going nowhere by up, which is not a surprise since the Washington put 70 on the Ducks in Eugene on Saturday. Brian Kelly at Notre Dame - heating up, and yes the loss at NC State in the monsoon was unpredictable, but what should be expected is the frustration of the Irish fan base who were expecting a run at the college football playoff rather than having to win four of their last six to be bowl eligible.

The Miami Dolphins. Wow, when the Titans manhandle you to the tune of more than 250 rushing yards - and your only win is over Cleveland - then whatever your plan is, it is flawed. Period.

Texas. The Rangers moved a lot of pieces - and prospects - to get to a place where they had the best record in the AL and serious World Series hopes. Now, after being swept by Toronto, those thoughts are dashed.

Fab 4 picks. We did seven this week, and left out a couple of picks that we should have stuck with - we have been all over Washington State, which was getting points and beat Stanford 42-16, and we should all know by now the under is the play in monsoon games - but alas, that's the name of the entertainment hunting game. We went 3-4, which is not terrible but still is losing entertainment. Did it matter that we lost two games on blocked punts returned for TDs? Nope. Did it matter that one over/under missed because a team was 1-for-5 in the red zone? Not at all. Did it matter that one loss was the worst 'bad beat' of the weekend, as Bowling Green State, which trailed by 13 at the time and was a 12-point underdog, hit a Hail Mary on fourth-and-36 to score in the final minute and cover in a 30-24 loss? Not in the least. All that matter was 3-4, and that dropped us to 21-13 (61.8 percent) against the number this year.

photo Tennessee kick returner Evan Berry fumbles after being hit by Texas A&M's Larry Pryor during Saturday's game in College Station, Texas. The Aggies, who recovered the ball on the play, won the game 45-38 in double overtime.

Self-inflicted

We have thought about the Tennessee football game Saturday. And there are several clear points here.

First, these Vols refuse to quit. We compared them to Jason Voorhies of the Friday 13th series. Every time you expected them to finally be dead, here comes Josh Dobbs and Co., machete in hand and fighting and clawing.

Also, not all losses are treated equally. Saturday's double-overtime defeat was painful in the standings and even doubly so on the depth chart because of the tsunami of injuries UT is facing.

Finally, is there a worse time to see the Big Red Elephants storming to Knoxville?

That said, even the most ardent UT antagonist has to be impressed with the Vols ability to make play after play in must-have scenarios. Yes, seven turnovers and 12 penalties mean a lot of the Vols struggles on Saturday were self-inflicted.

But, that's a Tennessee bunch that simply keeps swinging. No matter what. (With all those injuries - you have to start wondering how many healthy arms are left to swing.)

And one final thing: Alvin Kamara is really good at tackle football.

This and that

- Here's the story on season premiere of The Simpsons in which it took some less-than-veiled shots at the Boston Americans, a pro football team that Homer believes cheats. Good times.

- The Ann Arbor Ruth Chris' Steakhouse has offered discounts in percentages matching the margin of victory of the Wolverines on Saturday's this fall (up to 50 percent). As the Fighting Khakis continue to crush people - UM won 78-0 Saturday - this may get pricey for Ruth Chris' this fall.

- Man, this is a tough celebration where the Kansas State p;ayer punches his teammate in the stomach - hard - after he scored on a 99-yard kick-off return.

- Because it's America, this family is suing Girl Scouts for $30 million because their daughter sold 80 boxes of cookies. The girl was kicked out of the troop because her mom questioned the use of the funds collected from the famous annual sale. (The girls in the Brooklyn troop voted for a party; the troop leader elected to use the money for a troop camping trip.) Sounds like a scene in which some folks made some mistakes, but $30 million. Egad.

Today's question

You know the deal: Weekend winners and losers.

Also if you need a Rushmore, today is Oct. 10. It's Columbus Day. There are a lot of sneaky good birthdays - Brett Favre is 47 today and Dale Jr. is 42. Mario Lopez - AC Slater from Save by the Bell - is 42 and David Lee Roth is 61.

Let's stick with that last one: Rushmore of Lee.

Whatcha got?

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