Saturday vs Sunday

Texas wins an instant classic in the best game of the new 12 team college football playoff.

Cam Skattebo was the best player on the field for either team amassing almost 300 yards of total offense. But the historic effort wasn't quite enough to overcome the Longhorns.

Sam Levitt had a gritty performance with some key scrambles to bring the Sun Devils back and tie the game in the fourth quarter an send it to OT.

ASU won the time of possession by 15 mins, had 12 more first downs and 135 more yards of offense, and out rushed the Longhorns 214 yards to 53.

But the box score doesn't always tell the true story of the game. Every yard the Sun Devils gained looked like a struggle. When Texas scored it was fast and fluid with minimal resistance, non more evident than the game winning touchdown on the first play of the second overtime.

As of the time I am writing this description the Buckeyes are blowing out the Ducks by 31 points in the first half of the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl is delayed until Jan 2nd.

Texas vs ASU has been the only competitive game of the first two rounds of the playoff so far.

Illinois and South Carolina produced one of the most entertaining bowl games of the season thanks in part to the antics of Bret Bielema. Both teams played hard on defense and brought serious intensity.

Michigan and Alabama played another hard hitting defensive game. Wolverines freshman running back Jordan Marshall seems to be the next in a line of great running backs.

Jalen Milroe had an underwhelming performance in his last college game leaving NFL scouts with more questions than answers about his future at the next level.

In contract to Milroe, the Washington Huskies freshman QB Demond Williams Jr looks outstanding. The future seems bright for the Huskies.

Louisville won 9 games in what feels like an undercover good season. This program is also in good shape moving forward.

LSU to a man looked bigger stronger and faster than Baylor. The outcome of this game never really felt like it was in question.

Overall the new years eve bowl games were some of the most entertaining of the 2024 season, and gives us at least a bit of hope that these non playoff bowl games can still be competitive and meaningful.

Penn State leaded from wire to wire and took care of business in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Nittany Lions went up 14-0 in the first quarter in what felt like the beginnings of a run away blow out. Boise State managed to weather the early storm and answer with a critical touchdown, but never managed to get any closer.

Penn States' defense kept Ashton Jeanty in check all game, while they piled up 216 yards on the ground.

Drew Allar didn't need to throw much, but when he did it was outstanding with 3 TD passes.

Boise State seemed overwhelmed at the line of scrimmage. It appeared Penn State could have rushed for 300+ yards if they wanted. The Broncos secondary struggled to cover Warren and the Penn State receivers leading to multiple penalties.

Boise State needed to play a clean game to have a chance to win, but this was anything but a clean game. The Broncos piled up 13 penalties for 90 yards and 4 turnovers.

Penn State had 10 penalties of their own for 98 yards, but they only had one turnover.

The Nittany Lions dominated both lines of scrimmage which turned out to be the difference in the game.

In the non playoff bowl games we saw little if any defensive effort. These games were entertaining if you appreciate offenses marching up and down the field with no resistance. But if you appreciate well played football on both sides of the ball, these games left a lot to be desired.

In today's episode we discuss what the lackluster defensive effort in these games means for college football and the bowl game season in general. We review some of the bigger games from Dec 27th and 28th and preview some of the games coming up on new years eve:

Review:

Georgia Tech vs Vanderbilt

Iowa State vs Miami

BYU vs Colorado

USC vs Texas A&M

Syracuse vs Washington State

Uconn vs UNC

Preview:

Alabama vs Michigan

Bayor vs LSU

South Carolina vs Illinois

NFL Week 17 is in the books. We review the best and worst of the week.

The Chiefs, Ravens and Bills had strong performance and have separated themselves from the rest of the AFC.

In contrast the Steelers and Texans are limping into the playoffs and do not look like legitimate contenders.

The Bengals keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

In the NFC the Vikings continue to roll and have set up a showdown for the #1 seed next week against the Lions.

The Bucs and Falcons are still alive for their division title.

The Eagles look strong even without Jalen Hurts.

The Seahawks and Colts are now eliminated and both but in disappointing performances.

The transfer portal, NIL and the 12 team playoff seem to be having a major impact on the 'other' bowl games. It's next to impossible to know who is going to show up and play hard, let alone who is even on the team.

We discuss the impact of the new college football landscape and what it is doing to all of the non playoff bowl games. How does Vegas set the lines? How do the account for desire to play or lack thereof? Some players are in the portal but still playing, others are in the portal and state they will not play. Some teams have non of their coaches left.

The uncertainty of what to expect from the non playoff bowl games has reached an all time high this year. At some point in the very near future there needs to be some sanity brought to this system, otherwise the TV ratings are almost assuredly going to fall and when that happens all bets are off.

We try our best to pick some of these games even though it's next to impossible to know what exactly who will be starting and what kind of effort to expect. One thing is for certain, we are in an entirely new world with college football.

Games we try to pick & cover:

Iowa State vs Miami

BYU vs Colorado

Alabama vs Michigan

Georgia Tech vs Vanderbuilt

Unconn vs UNC

The second round of the 12 team college football playoff is here. We pick the games and preview how we think each team can win each game.

We both think Penn State is going to beat Boise State, and we give our take on what must happen if Boise State were to win.

Notre Dame and Georgia seem like evenly matched teams that are both happy to play a slow packed rock fight of a game. It all depends upon Gunner Stockton.

Texas is the heavy favorite against Arizona State. It's hard to know if ASU is just good at beating up on BIG12 teams, or if it will translate against Texas. We will find out!

And finally we get the rematch of Ohio State and Oregon. This game should not be happening in the second round, but I'm happy we get to see it. The Rose Bowl is the best setting in all of college football and we're expecting another awesome game between these two. As far as we can tell these teams seem evenly matched, and we're expecting a lot of scoring.

NFL Week 17 is here. We share our picks and preview of the games we are watching.

Games we are picking:

Chiefs at Steelers

Ravens at Texans

Seahawks at Bears

Colts at Giants

Cowboys at Eagles

Packers at Vikings

Falcons at Commanders

Lions at 49ers

Games we're watching but not picking:

Chargers at Patriots - Drake Maye is one of my 'must watch' QBs.

Broncos at Bengals - How can we not watch Burrow continue this MVP calibre season

Jets at Bills - Josh Allen is still in the running for MVP, and the Jets can still find a new way to lose

NFL WEEK 16 is in the books:

Michael Penix Jr finally got his first NFL start and win. Penix looked poised in the pocket and accurate with his throws. The only blemish was an interception that was entirely Kyle Pitts fault.

Lions, Vikings and Packers all hold serve and continue to prove the NFC north is the strongest division in the NFL. All three teams are in the playoffs and all three could make it to the Super Bowl.

The colts set a franchise rushing record as Jonathan Taylor seems to have learned his lesson to hold onto the ball across the goal line.

The Commanders come back to beat the Eagles as Jayden Daniels throws for 5 TDs. Jalen Hurts leave the game early with a concussion. This is bad timing for Hurts to get injured given how strong the Eagles look in all phases of the game.

Ravens took care of business against the Steelers keeping their chance to win the division alive. Staying in the AFC North the Bengals beat the hapless Browns keeping their slender hope for a playoff birth alive.

The Jets found yet another way to lose in the ongoing disastrous second season with Rodgers. Not to be outdone the Giants put in an even worst performance, leaving the city of New York with nothing to cheer about.

The Panthers put in a great performance beating the Cardinals.

The Chiefs took care of business against the Texans in a game that was overshadowed by a gruesome injury to Tank Dell.

First round of 12 team playoff saw all four home teams win in decisive fashion.

None of the games were particularly close with dominating performances by Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Texas.

Does this mean the playoff committee got it wrong, or were first round blowouts inevitable?

It seems like reseeding the teams might be required to make the first round more competitive next year.