Category: Sports

Good Growth for T.O.

I understand, and I can relate to Terrell Owens here, 9:15-10:20.  “See my article Personally Speaking.”

That line of disrespect is fine, but I know where T.O. is coming from here, unfortunately, not everyone will.  I would like to say this; This whole incident is based on T.O. learning from his mistakes, and trying to be a better person.  T.O., at this point, was growing.

When someone is making progress individually, spiritually, and as an adult, they’ll find themselves in situations where conflict is common, and that’s because conflict is what they’re evolving past.  Those situations are tests.  T.O. passed.

 

Who Is This Kid?

His name is Trevor Lawrence, and yeah, he’s still a teenager.  Oh yeah, he also just led Clemson to a College Football National Championship victory over the best team in the country, Alabama.

Despite that and the fact that he’s 6’6″ and about 215 pounds, Trevor Lawrence is still operating under the radar.  Perhaps it’s age.  Lawrence just turned 19 this past October, and as unbelievable as this may sound, he is a true freshman.

It takes a special person to graduate high school in the Spring, and lead a major college football program to a National Title in the Fall, but if anyone could, it would be him.

As it turns out, Lawrence was voted Offensive Player Of The Year and All-American in 2017 by USA Today.  Also in his senior year, Lawrence was awarded the Hall Trophey.  The Hall Trophey, also known as the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, is presented to the most outstanding high school football player in the country.  Basically, it’s the Heisman Trophey for high school athletes.

This year he added to his already impressive resume by earning Second team All-ACC and Atlantic Coastal Conference Rookie of the Year.  In his College Football Playoff National Championship victory he was awarded offensive MVP.

So there you have it.  Trevor Lawrence is young and special and Clemson will have him for a least two more seasons.  By the time the 2019 season ends, Trevor Lawrence will be a regular on the college football scene, and the topic of many conversations.

Clemson vs Alabama

Tonight’s kickoff for the College Football National Championship is scheduled for eight o’clock.  The Clemson Tigers are ranked number two in the country and the Crimson Tide are ranked number one. They’re both 14-0.

Now, I haven’t had much of an opportunity to watch a lot of college football this season, so I really can’t provide you with a complete pregame analysis.  In addition, I’m not going to stat blast you for the sake of publishing an article.

What I can and will do however, is offer you my professional opinion.

If any team is capable of beating Alabama…. it’s Clemson.  I think Clemson is going to shock a lot of people tonight and beat Alabama.

Have fun!

Wild Card Weekend

With all the excitement surrounding New Years and the College Football Bowl season we almost forgot about NFL’s Wild card weekend.

The hunt for the Lombardi Trophy begins this Saturday, January 5th when the (6)Colts play the (3)Texans at 4:35.  The action continues with the (5)Seahawks and (4)Cowboys playing at 8:15.

On Sunday, at 1:05, the (5)Chargers will visit Baltimore to play the (4)Ravens, and at 4:05, the (6)Eagles and (3)Bears kickoff in Chicago.

Penn State Makes Citrus Bowl

(14) Kentucky vs. (12) Penn State

Today at 1:00 the Kentucky Wildcats and the Penn State Nittany Lions will kickoff the Citrus Bowl.  Penn State enters the game with a three game winning streak.  They’re 9-3 overall, and 6-3 in Big Ten play.  Kentucky is also 9-3 overall.  They’re 5-3 in the SEC behind Florida and Georgia.  This will be a good one.

Georgia Lost…Good Bye

Okay, the NCAA College Football Playoff Top 4 should not contain Georgia.  Definitely not with two losses.  It shouldn’t contain Notre Dame either, but that’s another story.

Alabama (1) beat Georgia (4) 35-28 and they’re the 2018 SEC Conference Champions.

Oklahoma (5) beat Texas (14) 39-27 and they’re the 2018 Big 12 Conference Champions.

Ohio State (6) beat Northwestern (21) 45-24.  OSU are the 2018 Big Ten Champions.

Clemson (2) beat Pitt 42-10.  Clemson is the 2018 ACC Conference Champions.

The Top 4 Should Be:  All undefeated

  1. Clemson
  2. Alabama
  3. UCF
  4. Notre Dame

The Top 4 will probably be:

  1. Alabama
  2. Clemson
  3. Notre Dame
  4. Oklahoma

My Top 4:

  1. Clemson
  2. Alabama
  3. Oklahoma
  4. Ohio State

C’mon Ben

I watched the play.  The Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Denver Broncos.  I think there was a minute left in the game, and the Steelers were on the Bronco 4 yard line.

Pittsburgh was down by 7 and with a touchdown they could’ve tied the game.  Roethlisberger threw an interception and the Steelers lost.

There’s been a lot of attention focused on Ben’s comments this week during an interview concerning the play.  A lot of attention.

Let me simplify it.  Ben rushed and through an interception.  That’s it.  He should’ve held on to the ball and ran it off tackle right.

What Happened?

At the end of the first half the score was 24-19, Michigan was trailing Ohio State by 5.  Both teams were still confident and still very optomistic, and as the saying goes, it was still anybody’s game.

The final score was 62-39.  Ohio State won.  What happened?  What happened between that moment and the end of the game?

By the time the fourth quarter started Ohio State was having fun so let’s look at the third quarter.

On the Buckeye’s first possession they drove but ended up punting the ball.  Michigan’s starting corner David Long was injured and left the game.

On the Buckeye’s second possession they drove downfield and kicked a field goal with 8:25 left in the quarter.  During the possession Michigan’s starting linebacker Devin Bush was injured and left the game.  The score was now 27-19, Ohio State.

The Buckeyes kicked off to Michigan.  Michigan was held and eventually forced into a punting situation on a 4th and whatever.  Ohio State blocked the punt and scored.  With 4:48 left in the quater the score was 34-19.  OSU was up by 15 points.

On Michigan’s third possession they lost a receiver to injury.  Also, Shea Patterson was hurried and threw an interception.   Ohio scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive.  The score was 41-19, and Ohio State had a 22 point lead.

That was pretty much it.

The Wolverines fourth posession carried over into the fourth quarter, and wide receiver Nico Collins caught a touchdown pass from Shea Patterson with fourteen minutes left.

Michigan lost three players to injury in the quarter.

Ohio State’s defense played excellent.  They held Michigan to zero points in the third quarter.  They also intercepted a pass that was turned into a touchdown.

Ohio State played excellent on special teams.  They scored a touchdown off a blocked punt.

Michigan might’ve been favored, but Ohio State was clearly the better team.  Michigan had the best defense in college football, but Ohio State scored 62 points on them.

Is this even a rivalry game anymore?

College Football Top 25

  1. Alabama (12-0)
  2. Clemson (12-0)
  3. Notre Dame (12-0)
  4. Georgia (11-1)
  5. Oklahoma (11-1)
  6. Ohio State(11-1)
  7. Michigan (10-2)
  8. UCF (11-0)
  9. Florida (9-3)
  10. LSU (9-3)
  11. Washington (9-3)
  12. Penn State (9-3)
  13. Washington State (10-2)
  14. Texas (9-3)
  15. Kentucky (9-3)
  16. West Virgina (8-3)
  17. Utah (9-3)
  18. Mississippi State (8-4)
  19. Texas A&M (8-4)
  20. Syracuse (9-3)
  21. Northwestern (8-4)
  22. Boise State (10-2)
  23. Iowa State (7-4)
  24. Missouri (8-4)
  25. Fresno State (10-2)                                                                             

Well, there you have it!  As of today, November 28, 2018, these are the nation’s top 25 NCAA College Football teams.  Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and Georgia made the college football playoffs and will compete for the top spot.  

Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and UCF are still undefeated.

Personally, I think the analysts are favoring Notre Dame just a little too much.  Yes, they beat Michigan, but by a touchdown.  Ohio State blew them out.  They almost lost to Pitt, and just look at their schedule.  Wins over Navy, Ball State, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.  Blah. USC is 5-7 this year.  

It’s really amazing.  The league implements the playoff system to solve the exact problem we see occurring for the #4 spot.  Georgia gets the official ranking and the opportunity to play Alabama, but Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio State are all 11-1.