The Big Ten Championship Game was officially settled last Saturday, as Ohio State and Michigan State finished off expected clinchings and now look ahead to their December 7 meeting in Indianapolis. Below the race for the Rose Bowl (or more) there were some key games in the jousting for bowl position, and no team helped itself more than Wisconsin.
We knew this past Saturday was going to be a big day in the Pac-12, with the Arizona State-UCLA game having the potential to settle the South Division winner. That it did, with the Sun Devils’ 38-33 win clinching first place. But no one saw Oregon’s 42-16 loss to Arizona coming. The Ducks’ loss did the following…
The BCS bowl projections took their biggest shakeup of November this past Saturday. Even though the top two teams, Alabama and Florida State, held serve in blowing out no-name opponents outside their conferences, two shocking blowouts and a couple other modest developments have revamped the picture for the major bowls. What’s more, this past Saturday set the tone for perhaps a bigger debate ahead.
We’re at the point in the careers of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning that we never know when their last showdown will be. It would be great for football fans (at least those outside Kansas City and Indianapolis) to see the two legends go at in the AFC Championship Game, but we don’t know how that’s going to play out. The Denver Broncos visit Foxboro for Sunday Night Football against the New England Patriots (8:30 PM ET, NBC) and it’s a time to stop and appreciate the moment.
There are two weeks left in the college football regular season for the conferences that have championship games on December 7, and that includes everyone except the Big 12 and the Sun Belt. The college football Week 13 TV schedule has some excellent games, although unfortunately the three best are all back-loaded into prime-time. Let’s take a look at how the day will unfold across our TV screens.
The Pac-12 South is on the line Saturday night in Pasadena when Arizona State visits UCLA (7 PM ET, Fox). If the Sun Devils win they clinch the division and the chance to play presumably Oregon for the conference championship and Rose Bowl bid on December 7. If the Bruins defend their home field, they take the inside track and could wrap up first place a week later against USC.
The bright lights of ESPN Gameday are coming to Stillwater, where Saturday night’s Baylor-Oklahoma State game (8 PM ET, ABC) will be the showcase game of the week. And why not? The Bears are ranked #4, undefeated and still hoping to slip into the BCS National Championship Game. The Cowboys are #10, and in strong position to make it into the major bowls regardless of what happens on Saturday.
What’s going to follow here is a reflection on the major events that have taken place within this organization, written from the perspective of a Redskins fan, and some definite opinions about where the team needs to go from here.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are quietly picking up some momentum in the race for either the AFC’s final wild-card berth or the AFC North title itself, two races defined by mediocrity. Since losing their first four games of the 2013 season, Mike Tomlin’s Steelers have righted the ship and won four of the last six. They’re one game back in a packed race for the second wild-card, two back in the division and plenty of opportunities on the schedule in the final six weeks.
What I want to do in this space is take a big-picture look at New Orleans. With six games to play, they’re in two races of big significance. Carolina’s controversial win over New England on Monday means the Panthers are just a game back in the NFC South and there’s two New Orleans-Carolina matchups ahead. Whomever wins that fight is going to likely battle Seattle for the #1 overall seed in the NFC playoffs.
…now, improbably, it’s the Duke Blue Devils who are on track to earn the berth opposite Florida State in the ACC Championship Game.
There were three big games starting late Sunday afternoon and moving into prime-time, and for the most part, the games lived up to the stakes. The NFC South powers each made a statement and the AFC West tightened. Let’s start our recap of NFL Week 11 with the wild finish that went down in Charlotte last night…
