I have started to run the scenarios in my head and I still think Cincinnati – even with a win and a 13-0 record – may get left out of the college football championships. Here is my reasoning: If Georgia beats Alabama, the Dawgs are in as a top seed. Michigan will– and should leap-frog Cincinnati– this week after beating number #2 Ohio State and the Wolverines will claim a spot in the playoffs if they beat Iowa in conference championship game. Oklahoma State will probably not jump Cincinnati this week but most likely will claim the number three spot with a win over Baylor in their conference championship game as it will give the Cowboys back-to-back-wins over Top 10 teams. If those things happen as expected, it will leave Cincinnati in the fourth spot and the following scenarios could possibly derail them. If Alabama beats Georgia and both Oklahoma State and Michigan win, I definitely think Cincinnati will be the odd team out. If Alabama loses and Cincinnati is less than convincing in their conference championship game against Houston (11-1), I absolutely believe the committee – which is biased towards power five and name schools – will look for a reason to send Notre Dame past Cincinnati. It’s not like they haven’t already ignored on-field results, putting one-loss Michigan over one-loss Michigan State earlier this season despite the Wolverines loss to the Spartans. The bottom line is you could have two 12-1 teams (three if Alabama beats Georgia) and an 11-1 Notre Dame battling Cincinnati for three spots in the tournament. Of course, an upset or two could change this and if Houston beats the Bearcats, the whole question becomes moot…
Funny how we tell people to “not judge a book by its cover” and then we turn around and gush fondly at “love at first sight”….
In a move totally out of character, the Tampa Bay Rays signed shortstop Wander Franco to a long-term deal, agreeing to give the 20-year-old player $182 million guaranteed over 11 years with a club option for $22 million for a 12th year. This is a far cry from what the organization has done in the past, as Tampa Bay always seemed to take advantage of rules that allowed them to essentially control (and underpay) a player for six years – trading them away when they got expensive. The deal is more than twice as big as the largest contract in franchise history (Evan Longoria. $100 million for six years) and four times bigger the second largest for Kevin Kiermaier ($52 million over five seasons)…
After the Patriots manhandled the Titans Sunday, New England is starting to look like one of the best teams in the AFC. This leads me to believe that all the old talk about whether Tom Brady or Bill Belichick being most responsible for the Patriots dynasty could get really interesting again if the player GOAT and the coaching GOAT were to meet in this year’s Super Bowl. Not being a conspiracy theory guy, I don’t think the NFL would purposely “arrange” that to happen but guessing the “suits” at 345 Park Avenue would be pretty excited if it happened….
Guessing scientists would find fault with the rule “I” before “e” except after “c”…
If there is doubt the word “fan” is short for fanatical, google the name Milton Munson. The long-time Nebraska fan used his obituary to lament the fortunes of his beloved Cornhuskers football team. Munson passed away a few weeks back and his obituary read: “The grim reality of the Nebraska Cornhuskers finishing yet another season with a losing record proved to be too much to bear for Milton Andrew Munson, who decided he’d seen enough of this world during the team’s recent bye week,” At least he kept his sense of humor as his passing came during Nebraska’s bye week, prompting this comment: “The Huskers may not have sent him into the afterlife with a victory but at least they didn’t lose. And sometimes, that’s the best you can hope for.” Munson final words of encouragement came at the end, when he implored all fans to “place an irresponsibly large bet” on Nebraska to beat Iowa in last Friday’s season finale…
Y’all have a great week…
