Category: VideoMRSS

Week 11 Roundup: 5 Things That Matter, Winners, Losers, Overrated, Underrated

The Week 11 college football roundup. The 5 things that matter, winners and losers, overrated and underrated, and what it all means.

[jwplayer PkCtjTd4-boEY74VG]

The Week 11 college football roundup. The 5 things that matter, winners and losers, overrated and underrated, and what it all means.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

College Football Week 11 Roundup

CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Early Week 12 Line Lookahead
Rankings: AP | USA Today Coaches | FWAA
– Chad Morris fired: 5 possible options
– Predicting Second CFP Rankings
– Predicting every remaining game, conference race
Quick Thoughts: Big Ten | Big 12 | SEC
– 10 Quick Thoughts On LSU 46, Alabama 41

Week 11 Roundup
The Really Big Thing | Most Overrated Thing
Most Underrated Thing | What It All Means

5. Winners & Losers From Week 11

Winner: Ohio State’s defense 

The offense might be hanging up ridiculous numbers, but the defense – with or without Chase Young – has been more impressive. The Buckeyes lead the nation in total defense, allowing just 215 yards per game. To put this into perspective, Wisconsin is second, giving up 231 a game. No defense since 2011 Alabama has finished a season allowing fewer than 250 yards per game.

Loser: Missouri’s offense

This got bad, fast. QB Kelly Bryant has been less than 100%, and he was out in the loss to Georgia. Now, the Mizzou offense that came up with 400 yards or more in five of its first six games hasn’t hit the 300-yard mark in any of its last three.

Getting stuffed and shutout by Georgia is one thing, but the Tigers have scored a total of 21 points over the last three weeks playing Vanderbilt and Kentucky before going to Athens. However, they’re 5-0 at home, 0-4 on the road, and they host Florida this weekend.

Winner: Tennessee

Well would you look at that. Tennessee, after starting 1-4 with losses at home to Georgia State and BYU along the way, has ripped off wins in four of its last five games to get to 5-5. And now, after all the pain, and all the suffering, it just has to win one of its last two games at Missouri or at home against Vanderbilt to go bowling. As a warning, thought, the Vols were 5-5 last year before playing Mizzou and Vandy, too, and were outscored 88-30 in the two losses.

Loser: Kentucky  

Kentucky is keeping it all together with Scotch tape and bubble gum, but the lack of offensive punch has now become a problem. It had its shot late in the 17-13 loss to Tennessee, but couldn’t get into the end zone. Now, after failing to score 14 points in four of its last six games, it has two win two of its last three to go bowling. At Vanderbilt, UT Martin, Louisville – beat the Commodores, or else.

Winner: Illinois 

And they did it with room to spare. Not three weeks ago, the Illini were done. The Lovie Smith era was a disaster, there was no hope for anything positive, and the idea of going to a bowl game for the first time since 2014 and the second time since 2011 seemed ridiculous. And then it beat Wisconsin, rolled by Purdue and Rutgers, and last week, took down Michigan State on the road to get to six wins with two games to go. It also helped that …

Loser: Michigan State collapsed

There was the 12-men on the field debacle in the 10-7 loss to Arizona State. There was the blowout loss at Ohio State. There were the losses to Wisconsin and Penn State by a combined score of 66-7. There was the suspension of heart-and-soul LB Joe Bachie to a PED test.

But everything was back on track with a 31-10 lead against Illinois going into the fourth quarter, and then … it was the biggest comeback win in Illini history. Now MSU has lost four straight and has to win two of its last three against at Michigan, at Rutgers, and Maryland to get bowl eligible.

Winner: Florida program bowl projections

USF is the one team probably out of the hunt – needing to win two of the last three games against Cincinnati, Memphis and at UCF to get to six wins – and FIU has to win one of its last two games against Miami or Marshall, but everyone else in the Sunshine State will get a vacation.

UCF became bowl eligible a few weeks ago, and so did Florida. Florida Atlantic is all but locked in with seven wins. After a win over Louisville, Miami is set, and now … Florida State is there. After the win at Boston College – despite the loss of head coach Willie Taggart – all the Noles have to do is beat Alabama State and it gets to start a new bowl streak.

Loser: The Pac-12 bowl projections

The Pac-12 needs some crazy things to happen in a hurry to get more teams bowl eligible. Arizona, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State and UCLA are all 4-5 and need to win two of their last three games. Arizona State is no lock, needing to win just one more with at Oregon State, Oregon, and Arizona to go, and 4-6 Colorado has to beat both Washington and Utah. Cal is 5-4, and it has to win one of its last three against USC, at Stanford and at UCLA.

Winner: SMU 59, East Carolina 51

1,280 yards of total offense. 912 yards of passing. Just four penalties, one turnover each, and a finish that went down to the wire. Both teams are incapable lately of playing uninteresting games.

Loser: UCF

There was some thought that UCF was going to rip through the rest of its schedule, catch a big break, and get right back to a New Year’s Six bowl game. And then the O came to a complete stop with just three points in the second half of the 34-31 loss to Tulsa.

Week 11 Roundup
The Really Big Thing | Most Overrated Thing
Most Underrated Thing | What It All Means

NEXT: The really big thing was …

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

College Football Playoff Rankings Projection, Week 2: What Will They Be On Tuesday Night?

What will the College Football Playoff rankings be in the second unveiling on Tuesday night?

[jwplayer PkCtjTd4-boEY74VG]

What will the College Football Playoff rankings be in the second unveiling on Tuesday night?

This just cleared up fast in a whole slew of ways.

After a big weekend with a slew of important results, there are now seven teams that control their own destinies. LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Minnesota, Baylor and Penn State. For those seven, win out, and get into the College Football Playoff.

For everyone else – and this includes Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah – it’s going to take winning out and getting some help. This year, 12-1 with a Power Five conference championship might not be good enough because of …

Alabama.

The Crimson Tide haven’t beaten anyone of note other than Texas A&M, but how much will the committee care? With a date at Auburn to close out, if the Tide win and go 11-1, and if LSU wins out and goes 13-0 with an SEC championship, can there be a new precedent set?

There’s a long way to go, but unlike last year when there were just two unbeaten Power Five teams – Alabama and Clemson – along with Notre Dame by this point, there are five.

As always, a few things to keep in mind …

1. This is simply a snapshot. We can see how the committee is thinking early on, and we can get a first look at what it seems to like, but it gets thrown out next week and the process starts over.

2. In general, the committee over the first five years of this thing loves big wins and hates ugly losses. You can lose, but don’t get wiped out. At the end of the day, the committee can like any team it wants to, just because. However … big wins, big wins, big wins.

3. Each spot in the order is argued over. It’s not just a random list thrown together in a room. Everyone has to agree that team X needs to get put ahead of teams Y and Z. You might not agree with the rankings, but each spot in the top 25 has been meticulously debated.

And after all of that, it’s about feel, eye-test, and resumé.

So what will they be? Here’s the best guess for what the second College Football Playoff rankings will be on Tuesday night.

25. Kansas State Wildcats 6-3 (16)

Being the one team that beat Oklahoma will be just enough to allow the Wildcats to hang on in the top 25. The wins over Mississippi State and TCU help, and the three losses were to Baylor at home, and Texas and Oklahoma State on the road. All three will be likely be ranked.

24. Oklahoma State Cowboys 6-3 (25)

Arguably the biggest surprise in the first top 25, the Cowboys managed to somehow slip into the first rankings thanks to a win over a Kansas State team that beat Oklahoma. There isn’t a lot else to like, but despite the off-week, they’re not going to slip out of the rankings.

23. Texas Longhorns 6-3 (NR)

The win over Kansas State changes the game. The Longhorn loss to TCU hurts, and the rough game against Kansas is a problem, but the team managed to get by the Wildcats this week, and the two other losses were to Oklahoma and LSU – nothing wrong with that. The win over Oklahoma State a few weeks ago will be enough to get into the top 25.

22. SMU Mustangs 9-1 (25)

The offense is still a blast. There’s no defense whatsoever, but there’s still a win over a TCU team that beat Texas, and the offense has not scored 41 points or more in eight of its last nine games. It’ll move up a wee bit, but not enough to get in range of the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six bowl quite yet.

21. Navy Midshipmen 7-1 (24)

Navy was off this week, but it gets its chance to make a massive statement to the committee with a trip to Notre Dame this week and with SMU to follow. The win over Air Force was good, but that’s it. The ranking is almost all about the 7-1 record.

[lawrence-related id=499823]

20. Iowa Hawkeyes 6-3 (18)

How far will the Hawkeyes slide? Not far. The three losses were to Wisconsin and Michigan on the road and at home to Penn State by a combined 14 points. There isn’t a strong win – Iowa State comes close – but that chance is coming against Minnesota this week.

19. Boise State Broncos 8-1 (22)

Boise State isn’t remotely passing the eye-test – it’s struggling way too much lately with QB Hank Bachmeier banged up and having a hard time staying on the field – but there’s still the win at Florida State, there’s still a win over Air Force, and in all, there’s a good chance it has wins over seven teams that will go bowling.

18. Memphis Tigers 8-1 (21)

The Tigers didn’t play this week, but their ranking will be strengthened – and improved – thanks to SMU coming up with a ninth win – MU beat SMU 54-48 two weeks ago. At the moment, the Tigers gave both SMU and Navy their only losses.

17. Cincinnati Bearcats 8-1 (20)

This will be one of the key teams that will benefit from the several losses this weekend. The 48-3 blowout of UConn won’t matter to the committee, but with losses by Iowa, Kansas State and Wake Forest, UC will move on up and stay on top of the Group of Five pack.

16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7-2 (15)

The 38-7 blowout win over Duke on the road was nice, but the Fighting Irish can’t get moved ahead of Michigan – they lost 45-14 a few weeks ago in Ann Arbor – and they need a lot of help to start moving up. However, beat Navy, Boston College and Stanford to finish at 10-2, and at worst, they’ll get one of the ACC’s top bowl games.

[lawrence-related id=498621]

15. Michigan Wolverines 7-2 (14)

The Wolverines will be stuck in neutral – and should drop a spot – after not playing this week and with a slew of other big things happening. With Michigan State, at Indiana, and Ohio State still to play, a New Year’s Six game will still be possible as they stay in the top 15.

14. Wisconsin Badgers 7-2 (13)

The 24-22 win over Iowa was nice, but it needs Minnesota to lose once, and it needs to win out against Nebraska, Purdue, and the Gophers to get to the Big Ten Championship. There’s going to be a LOT of traffic ahead of the Badgers to get to the Rose Bowl, but they’ll be in range.

13. Auburn Tigers 7-2 (11)

Will the committee fix the glitch? Auburn lost to Florida and LSU – it should be ranked behind those two. Florida also lost to Georgia – it’ll be ranked lower than the Dawgs. Auburn beat Oregon, who doesn’t have that many great wins, but the Ducks were No. 7 and AU 11. The Tigers can’t win the SEC West, but if they beat Georgia this week and shock Alabama, they’re a lock for the New Year’s Six, and maybe the Sugar Bowl.

12. Florida Gators 8-2 (10)

The committee will get it right by putting the Gators ahead of Auburn, but they’ll still be ranked too low. They’ll drop a bit only because of all the other things going on, and the 56-0 whacking of Vanderbilt won’t get a whole lot of respect. However, if they get by Missouri and Florida State to close things out, watch out for them to slip into a New Year’s Six game.

11. Oklahoma Sooners 8-1 (9)

The near-collapse to Iowa State will be enough for the committee to correct last week’s mistake. Now it’ll put an unbeaten Baylor – who beat the same Kansas State team that beat Oklahoma – higher, and the 89 points allowed in the last two games will jump off the page.

NEXT: Top Ten

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

LeBron James becomes first Lakers to get 4 triple-double in 1st 10 games

LeBron James made more franchise history for the Los Angeles Lakers even in their first loss in eight games.

[jwplayer dLhKyw02-z6KDnl0B]

Sunday night was the first time in two weeks that the Los Angeles Lakers felt what it was like to lose as the Toronto Raptors used a huge second half to end the Lakers seven-game win-streak. But even in the loss, LeBron James managed to make a small bit of Lakers history with his play.

With 13 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, James recorded his fourth triple-double of the season. James became the first player in Lakers franchise history to record four triple-doubles in the first 10 games of the season. Interestingly enough, Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic has also accomplished the same feat this season. The Lakers still have one game left before they get to 10 as they sit at 7-2 after nine games.

Although James gets into the history books for the Lakers, he had a particularly bad night in his attempts to score the ball against a rangy and athletic Raptors front court. James was 5-15 from the field on Sunday and an uncharacteristic 3-6 from the free-throw line.

LeBron and the Lakers will head to Phoenix on Tuesday for a quick trip before returning to L.A. on Wednesday to face the Golden State Warriors.

Preston Smith wins race to 10 sacks, plans Rolex watches for entire Packers defense

Preston Smith won the race to 10 sacks. Now he’ll buy Rolex watches for every player on the Packers defense.

[jwplayer s2wMepUo-ThvAeFxT]

The race to 10 sacks between Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith already has a victor, but everyone on the Green Bay Packers defense is about to be a big winner.

Preston tallied two sacks of Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen on Sunday, pushing him to 10 sacks through the first 10 games of the 2019 season. Za’Darius, despite being close to several sacks, remained stuck at 8.5.

The two Smiths put a friendly wager on the race to 10. Whoever got there first would be responsible for buying gifts of their choice.

Preston, the winner, has made his decision.

He said in the locker room Sunday night that he’ll be buying Rolex watches for every player on the Packers defense. Not just for the outside linebacker room, but everyone on defense.

Za’Darius said he was planning to buy every player a chain with their number if he had gotten to 10 sacks first.

Preston beat him there and then beat his present idea.

“Yeah, that’s big,” Za’Darius said, smiling.

Preston should be able to afford it. He signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Packers in March that included a $16 million signing bonus.

The two Smiths were dominant on Sunday, producing two sacks, seven quarterback hits and at least a dozen total pressures. Preston even got credit for tackling Christian McCaffrey on the game’s final play, preserving the Packers’ eight-point lead and securing the victory.

Together, Preston and Za’Darius Smith have 18.5 sacks through the first 10 games of 2019. The Packers are getting their money’s worth, and then some. Now, with Preston officially a member of the double-digit sack club, everyone on the Packers defense is about to benefit.

[lawrence-related id=34705,34680,34672]

Steelers-Browns odds: Cleveland favored vs. Pittsburgh in Week 11

The Cleveland Browns are favored over the Pittsburgh Steelers when the two meet in Week 11’s Thursday Night Football action

[jwplayer TgRw3Jrx]

The Cleveland Browns (3-6) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) during Week 11’s Thursday Night Football of the NFL regular season Thursday, Nov. 14th, at 8:20 p.m. ET at First Energy Stadium. The game can be watched on Fox, NFL Network and Amazon. The Browns enter as the slight favorite, according to odds from BetMGM.

The Browns (-150) are favored by 2.5 (-121) points against the spread (ATS) over the Steelers. New to sports betting? With a spread of -2.5, that means the Browns need to not only beat the Steelers, but they need to win by at least three points for an ATS wager on them to cash.

Looking to place a bet on this game or others? Get some action in the game at BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

Feeling a upset? A $10 wager on the Steelers (+125) would pay $12.50 in profit should they win outright. Meanwhile, a $10 wager on the Browns to win outright returns a profit of just $6.67.

The Over/Under on the Browns-Steelers game has been set at 40.5, with a -121 line on the Under and a 100/EVEN line on the Over for this Week 11 NFL matchup.

Want to get some action on this game? Place a sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, access SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1367]

Baker Mayfield: win over Bills ‘can get us going here’

Browns QB Baker Mayfield believes the Week 10 win over the Buffalo Bills ‘can get us going here’

[jwplayer TgRw3Jrx]

A composed, measured Baker Mayfield addressed the media after the Cleveland Browns’ 19-16 win over the Buffalo Bills. Wearing a knit cap and an approachable demeanor, the Browns QB described how he believes the win can launch something big for the team.

“We didn’t play perfect by any means,” Mayfield said. “We can still learn from the film and move forward and improve. But having a tight victory against a great team is something that we needed — especially at home.”

Mayfield played well in the win. He completed 26 of his 38 pass attempts, netting 238 yards and two TDs. It was the first game of the season where Mayfield threw for multiple touchdowns. He did not turn the ball over, either.

The second-year QB seemed relieved at the win as he continued,

“We kind of got the monkey off our back with that one. First one, at home, in game nine is not something usually that happens but it can get us going from here.”

The Browns don’t get long to savor the victory. They host the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of four in a row, on Thursday Night Football this week.

Savvy Raptors snap Lakers streak despite LeBron’s triple-double

The Raptors turned on the afterburners in the second half and showed their championship pedigree in the win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

[jwplayer dLhKyw02-z6KDnl0B]

Anthony Davis had 27 points and four blocks while LeBron James recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds but the defending champion Toronto Raptors snapped the Los Angeles Lakers seven-game win streak on Sunday, 111-102.

Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 24 points, including a couple of huge transition baskets in the final seconds of the game when the Lakers had cut the Raptors lead to just four points in the final two minutes to seal the game.

After the Lakers jumped out to an 11-point lead in early in the first quarter, the Raptors showed their mettle by coming back to slice the Laker lead to just one point heading into the quarter. Energy plays and big shots by the Raptors bench helped neutralize what had been an otherwise terrible quarter.

The Lakers starters again asserted their dominance towards the end of the first half, with James coming close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds at halftime while Anthony Davis and Avery Bradley each scored nine points as well. In addition to the play of the starters, Troy Daniels broke out of a shooting slump to score 11 points off the bench in the first half. With the strong finish, L.A. led by eight at halftime.

The two teams continued to play to a standstill the fourth quarter when the Raptors showed their championship pedigree, going on a 13-3 run to go up by 10 with just over nine minutes left in the games. In addition to the strong play of VanVleet and Siakam, the Raptors got a major lift off the bench from Chris Boucher who had 15 points, three blocks and two steals.

The normally great Lakers bench didn’t make the same impact they have over the course of their seven-game win streak, even against a slightly depleted Raptors group missing both starting point guard Kyle Lowry and power forward Serge Ibaka.

Up next for the Lakers will be an interesting test against a surprisingly strong Suns team in Phoenix on Tuesday night.