"Action" Jackson here. We continue into the middle of the 2016-2017 college football season with some great match-ups, including one in the Big Ten that could shake things up and an annual SEC battle that could turn into the upset of the century. We're not even going to talk about that Michigan game. (Good God, Harbaugh.) Welcome to Week 7. College Football Top 25: Week 6 RecapThe Oklahoma Sooners took on their rivals the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown, the annual grudge match of historic fame, winning a shootout with some big days from quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver DeDe Westbrook. Final Score: 45-40. The Tennessee Volunteers couldn't conjure up another late game comeback even though the Texas A&M Aggies gave them plenty of opportunities. The game coming down to kickers once again forced an overtime thriller as Texas A&M put a damper on Tennessee's season, final score: 45-38. The Florida St. Seminoles went into the Hard Rock Stadium in Coral Gables and escaped with a victory over their rivals the Miami Hurricanes in grudge match for the history books. Of all the ways it could've ended, this one came down to a blocked extra point, of all things. Final score: 20-19 Week 7 Match-ups and BreakdownsSome big games on tap for this weekend: classic SEC rivalry, coaches seeking to save their season, and a top 10 Big Ten match-up that could have major playoff implications. This is going to be another good weekend. #1 Alabama Crimson Tide at #9 Tennessee VolunteersThe Alabama Crimson Tide travel to Rocky Top this weekend to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in a game called "The Third Saturday in October" because of the traditions associated with this game. These two teams are historic rivals, having played one another for over a century. This season, the Crimson Tide are once again an unstoppable juggernaut, with a high flying offense and an impenetrable defense, boasting future NFL 1st round draft picks playing on both sides. Nick Saban is coaching a well-oiled machine, and it's a thing of beauty to watch him churn out championship after championship. Tennessee, meanwhile, has been trying to play catch-up for years now, lacking the talent and coaching the the Tide have enjoyed for so long. This season, their roster boasts plenty of talent, and they look to be able to match the Tide for the first time in 8 seasons. Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs has engineered plenty of late game comebacks this season, but after failing to beat the Texas A&M Aggies last week in overtime, the Volunteers know they need to keep their season alive with a solid win at home. Who better to beat then their most hated rivals? Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Fighting IrishThis season started off with so much promise for these two squads. Both boasted Heisman contenders, both were vying for a playoff spot, and suddenly, both are on the downswing and looking to save their seasons. Rivalry games used to mean something; now, this one is just to save their skin. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey has been running into a wall the past couple of games, unable to replicate the production he enjoyed the last season and the first few games of this one. The Cardinal are on a two game skid, losing to PAC-12 opponents Washington and Washington St., but a win on the road against a declining Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad could be the turn around they need to make a push for a mid-level bowl. On the other sideline, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is all but fired. Already down their defensive coordinator, this whole season has been a disappointing one for both the Fighting Irish players and fans alike. Winning against an old school rival like Stanford on the road would go a long way to helping Kelly keep his job, or at least pad his resume on his way out. #2 Ohio St. Buckeyes at #8 Wisconsin BadgersThis one is going to be bloody, I promise you that. The Big Ten has 4 teams in the AP top 10 this season for the first time since 1960 for a reason, with plenty of teams learning the hard way that these schools mean business.
With wins against LSU and Michigan St. and a close loss on the road to Michigan, the Wisconsin Badgers haven proven that they are tough and deserving of a top 10 ranking. They host the Ohio St. Buckeyes this weekend, and they want nothing more than to ruin another team's playoff chances. The Badgers are tough, battle tested, and hungry to prove that the Big Ten belongs to them. For Ohio St., this is another business trip. They've already traveled to Norman and beaten the Oklahoma Sooners, and this young Buckeyes team is ready to win another one for head coach Urban Meyer. Like most games they've played this season, this game could be either a curb-stomp or a shootout, depending on which Ohio St. team shows up on Saturday night. Either way, this one will have major playoff implications and affect rankings later in the year.
0 Comments
Get into some QB matchup's, the upcoming NBA season, commiserate the death of even year magic, as well as your favorite regular segments.
-CC "Action" Jackson here, once again celebrating a Raiders victory. After 5 games, we stand at 4-1 and are tied for 1st place in the AFC West division. With a 34-31 victory over the San Diego Chargers, I'll break down each aspect of this past weekend's game as the team prepares to host the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend. OffenseDerek. Dallas. Carr. That's all. He is our franchise quarterback and he reminds us of this every single weekend. He can read the defense pre-snap, he throws an excellent deep ball, he anticipates the throws into coverage, and he gets away from pressure to deliver the ball to his playmakers on the perimeter. Amari Cooper scored his first touchdown of the season (FINALLY), Michael Crabtree continues to make circus catches look normal, and the offense converted another 4th down play into a long first down. No Latavius Murray? That's ok, our offensive line got the young back-ups plenty of room to make plays in both the passing and running game. The offense looks good, ranking in the top 5 in the NFL. Grade: A+ DefenseOur defense ranks dead last in terms of yards allowed per game. That is not good. That is the opposite of good. That allows teams to force us to win by 3 points in a shootout every week. My heart can't continue to take these close wins. Although they gave up a lot of yards, the defense forced 4 turnovers against a pretty good Chargers offense, giving the offense more chances to score, as well as forcing crucial stops late in the game. Rookie Karl Joseph netted his first career interception, hopefully the first of many, and the Sean Smith experiment is looking like it's finally starting to pay off. A long NFL season will show if the defense can improve down the stretch. Can't win a playoff game without a good defense on your side. Grade: B- Special TeamsSebastian Janikowski made 4 long field goals in crunch time in a game where every single point counts. He's the leading scorer in Oakland Raiders history for a reason. Marquette King continues to impress; he's a top punter in this league, and it's not just my opinion. That's the consensus. Being able to pin the opponent deep in their territory helps this defense out. Grade: A CoachingAnother week, another Del Rio miracle. Going for it on 4th and long when you're down by a touchdown? Del Rio, you dog. Way to pull the trigger, way to move the chains, way to trust your players to make a big play. Going for two in order to force the opponent to need a field goal just to tie? Del Rio, you mad genius. Way to involve your playmakers and get everyone involved in the game plan throughout the game. The young players in the line-up continue to make splashy plays while the veterans are showing on-field leadership. This is a well-coached team, but there is room for improvement. Kansas City coming to Oakland will be a big test; we haven't beaten Kansas City in years. Showing out against them in front of the home crowd would cement our status as playoff contenders.
Grade: A+ * all video credit/highlights are owned completely by the MLB, please don't sue me Rob Manfred They did it again folks, damnit the even year stayed alive. This Cubs team is so good, and even got Bum out in 5 after 2 innings prior their pitcher took him yard. Early in this game, it looked as if everything was coming up Cubs, Arrieta was looking dominant and Madbum human. This is what sets the Giants organization apart to allow them to go on these magical post season runs. This team creates folklore hero's in the future analogs of Giants history every other year like clockwork.
Conor Gillespie once again stuck his name to that claim by hitting the ball quite literally 1 foot further than the Cubs outfielder could reach. Somehow, someway every even year in October those balls find a way to drop. The Giants were riding high, going into the 9th with a 2 run lead, until possible NL MVP Kris Bryant gets his own Gillespie-esk moment, hitting the shortest HR possible for the Cubs to tie the game up and suck the air out of AT&T. This game was far from over, turning back into the game this series started with, a pitching duel. Ty Blach came in and calmly shut down the cubs offense, and the giants couldn't move runners to save their life. Finally, it was the bottom of the 13th inning, and Brandon Crawford steps to the plate to smack a double to right field, and instantly, that feeling came back. That every other October feeling Giants fans get when they start to feel something special happening, that rally thong feeling, that Pandamonium feeling, that Ishikawa getting us to the world series feeling. Calm and collected, Joe big balls Panik hits a shot off the right field wall and the Giants live to fight another day. 5 hours later, the Giants win and get the momentum back. Anyone who tells you momentum doesn't matter in baseball simply does not know baseball. Today we have game 4, Matt Moore vs. Jon Lackey, and I am hoping to see the Giants we saw last night. My prediction for today's game is tonight will be known as the Hunter Pence game. He has not shown up and tonight he will be HUGE for us, and I would love to see Belt go yard. Either way, I am ECSTATIC to have another day of Baseball in San Fransisco. -CC Panthers vs. Bucs (+6Cam Newton is not playing. I repeat Cam is out for tonight game. I have no Idea what vegas is thinking on this one, but I am loving what I have seen from the bucs this season. The Panthers are clearly the better team but giving the Buc's 6 against them is bananaland. Look for Jameis to have big day and this defense to limit Panthers backup derrick anderson.
MY Pick Bucs +6 |
Liam Conley
Everything you need to know about the yay. Archives
November 2017
Categories |