Walk softy and throw touchdown...

This past week was huge for college football. It was Rivalry Week all across the nation. Several schools had their hearts and dreams broken by lower ranked programs while several schools showed us exactly what it means to be a perennial championship caliber football team regardless of what year it is. Every game I watched had absolutely everything you want to see in a college setting. Incredible fan atmosphere, back and forth scoring drives, great players making great plays and of course a bit of rivalry drama and emotions mixed into the pot to keep everyone guessing and on the edge of their seat, not wanting to miss a moment of the action. I set my ipone on silent. My TV remote never left my hand.

The game of the week was most obviously Michigan vs. Ohio State, a massive Big Ten match up which in this year had huge implications for the College Football Playoffs and The National Championship. As usual, this game did not disappoint. With over 110,000 screaming fans supporting them Michigan once again showed that they are Ohio State’s real nemesis beating The Buckeyes for the third year in a row 30-24. Sure, it was a close game, but close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. With a game now in the loss colum it’s anyone’s guess if they can make the FBS playoffs. Personally, I’ve felt all year that Ohio State is overrated but that’s just me. 

The big rivalry game in the nation’s best conference, The SEC, is the Iron Bowl pitting Alabama vs. Auburn. No matter what the two teams hold as records coming into this game seems to mean absolutely zilch as it’s always a nail biter right down to the wire. This years game was no different than in years passed. A back and forth game between Alabama at 10-1 and Auburn at 6-6 on the year came right down to the last 2 minutes of the game with Alabama scoring a miracle touchdown to defeat the Tigers. Another Iron Bowl legend has been born, this time at the expense of Auburn. 

The western part of our great nation was also roundly represented during Rivalry Week. The University of Washington continued their undefeated season against Washington State, winning on a last minute field goal kicked by a walk-on who was rewarded with a full scholarship after the game, A classy move on the part of The Huskies if there ever was one. Teams playing west of The Mississippi River are making a hard push to become increasingly relevant in the national picture and will soon become yearly contenders in The National Championship. By the way, Colorado has lost 6 straight now. Looks like the Buffalo name is cursed.

Of course several other rivalries cannot be excused as they had major implications in the FBS playoff picture. Florida State defeated The University of Florida despite loosing their star Quarterback to a season ending injury and remain undefeated. Louisville entered a home game against Kentucky undefeated but fell short in a huge upset, cutting the list of undefeated teams in the nation even shorter. Four teams now remain undefeated. Michigan, Washington, Florida State and Georgia. With every team still poised to play in their respective conference championships nothing is written in stone for the FBS Playoffs. I foresee at least one upset out of the four, so anything is possible. Keeps your hats on folks because there’s still a lot of football left to play!

All the excitement of college Rivalry Week aside, Thanksgiving week also proved to be just as exciting and, for some teams, heartbreaking and frustrating in The NFL. 

For those of us who spend our Thanksgiving gorging on Turkey and stuffing and watching football all afternoon there were some great games. The 49ers soundly defeated a struggling and decimated Seattle Seahawks 31-13 while the Cowboys and The Packers were able to dispatch the Commanders and Lions in the early game. All of San Francisco rejoices as wonder boy Brock Purdy seems to be firing on all cylinders again! 

Don’t look now, but The Denver Broncos are on a five game winning streak. I’m not sure if it’s the water or the coaching but if the Broncos make the playoffs after a dismal start to their season then Sean Payton has my vote for Coach of The Year. Luck seems to be once again on their side and they are riding the best record in the NFL since week seven, undefeated .

I’m really not sure what the problem is in Buffalo with a sinking Bills being a major national sports story. It was a Sunday night prime time game, a match up of two NFL giants, or so it seemed. A rainy, cold, ugly weather night greeted The Bills as they arrived to play The Philadelphia Eagles. What followed was a major Buffalo meltdown where they were up by ten points at the end of the 3rd quarter, then were defeated in overtime by Jalen Hurts and The Eagles 37-34. Josh Allen’s post game press conference matched the weather, dark and gloomy. At 6-6 the Bills now have just a very slight chance of making the playoffs and are stairing at the toughest part of their schedule remaining. As a life long Miami Dolphins fan, I wish that the pain will pass quickly for them, maybe. I don’t think the Bills have a problem at quarterback , they’re just unlucky.

There are a lot of teams who are still right in the thick of the playoff races. It’s not all about The Chiefs, The 49ers, The Eagles and The Cowboys anymore. The Pittsburgh Steelers get better and better every week. The Jacksonville Jaguars are 7-1 in their last 8 games and of course Miami is atop their division but have yet to seriously beat a quality opponent. Only time will tell but with 6 weeks left in the regular season anything can happen. My advice would be to take it one game at a time. 

My final thoughts on the current states of affairs in the NFL is this. Any Cinderella team out there that are eyeing the Superbowl, if there is one, are going to have to play thru Jalen Hurts, Partick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott and a couple other lights out Quarterbacks before they can raise the Trophy. It’s a formidable array quarterbacks and teams who also field great defenses. Play on I say!

Kev

Kev's Corner Our Staffs Weekly Sports perspective

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