Saturday vs Sunday

Indiana completed the 12-0 regular season in a frigid game at Purdue. The Hoosiers run game put up 355 yards and the defense held the Boilermakers to just 3 points. 

The Hoosiers are waiting to see who they will be facing in the BIG10 title game which they are absolutely capable of winning. 

Star players Elijah Sarratt (WR) and Mikail Kamara (DL) returned. Indiana is getting healthy at the right time and are poised to go on a long run in the playoffs.

Texas finally found a run game. The Longhorns rushed for 170 yards in the second half of the game pulling away from the Aggies. Once Texas took the lead, they did not relinquish it. Each time the Aggies scored to close the gap, the Longhorns responded and stayed in front. 

With 5 mins left in the game the Aggies had a chance to come back, but Marcel Reed was picked off on back to back possession. The Longhorns defense rose to the occasion shutting down any chance the Aggies had for another improbably comeback. 

Regardless of this loss, the Aggies 11-1 record should be enough to guarantee a spot on the playoffs. The Longhorns on the other hand might still be on the outside looking in. We will have to wait and see what the committee decides to do.

Joe Burrow once again has come back from injury and lead the Cincinnati to a critical win over division rival Baltimore, keeping their ever so slim playoff hopes alive.

The Bengals maligned defense was the story of the game combined with the Ravens lack of ball security. The Raven repeatedly turned the ball over in either the plus or minus red zones killing drives, and handing the Bengals the ball in scoring position. 

To the Ravens credit their defense held the bengals to field goals on multiple turnovers keeping the game close at half time. The turnovers however kept coming.

In the second half it appeared Burrow had shaken off the rust and started connecting down field with Chase. Burrow also completed a 29 yard TD strike to Iosivas, and another 14 TD strike to Tanner Hudson who made an impressive one handed catch being guarded by Kyle Hamilton.

The Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive no matter how small the chance is.

The Ravens have a turnover problem, and what is worse, it's coming from their best players in the biggest games against division and playoff rivals.

NFL Week 12 is almost in the books and the true contenders for a playoff spot are starting to emerge. 

The New England Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 10-2 and could easily be 12-0. Will Campbell their star rookie left tackle suffered a knee injury, as of the time of this post we still do not know the severity.

The Los Angles Rams look like the best team in the NFC. Matthew Stafford looks like an MVP candidate and the defense is nasty.

The Chicago Bears are leading the NFC North, and it looks like Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are starting to figure it out. 

QB Injuries:

Multiple QB's have missed significant time including Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, Brock Purdy, Aaron Rodgers, CJ Stroud, Kyler Murray, Michael Penix Jr., JJ McCarthy and Jaxson Dart. 

In a QB driven league whoever can stay healthy at that position is likely going to be one of the few teams that can go on a long playoff run.

Shedeur Sanders gets his first start and his first win. There was some good and some bad, namely a 52 yard completion to Isaiah Bond on the run, and then a bad interception to a defense end. Just about what you would expect from a rookie starting QB. 

Sanders popularity and controversial nature overshadowed a dominant defense performance from the Browns who got 10 sacks, lead by Myles Garrett with 4. Garrett is on pace to break the single season sack record and looks utterly unstoppable.

The Raiders have sunk to a new low mustering up only 10 points and Chip Kelly has since been fired. The road back to being a competitive team for the Raiders seems impossibly long. The Browns on the other hand have a championship level defense, and some nice young pieces on offense. 

The real question that is yet to be answered, is who will be the quarterback of the future. It looks like they're going to give Sanders his chance to make his case as he's getting the start next week against the 49ers even though Dillon Gabriel has cleared concussion protocol.

Oregon put up 42 points despite missing multiple wide receivers and offensive linemen. The Ducks are a true testament to team depth and next man up philosophy.

The Trojans were also coming into the game missing multiple offensive pieces included the top two running backs, multiple offensive lineman as well as both starting safeties. At this point of the season everyone is dealing with injuries and team depth is just as important as star power.

Kenyon Sadiq is a freak of nature at Tight End and his full power was on display in this game. The Ducks also have a three headed monster at running back with Whittington, Davison and Hill. It's likely that the Ducks are in the playoffs regardless if they get the win next week against Washington. But coach Lanning and the quack attack surely do not want to go into the playoffs on a loss, and a win next week likely secures a first round home playoff game.

LJ Martin runs for 222 yards and 2TDs, and adds another 44 yards receiving for a massive 266 yard performance. He simply could not be stopped in a must win game against Cincinnati. 

The Cougars defense held the Bearcats in check most of the game while the offense held the ball for almost 39 mins. The score was closer than the box score would suggest. Cincinnati missed 3 field goals and had critical turnovers that stalled any momentum they could have built to keep pace with the Cougars.

BYU has one game left against UCF, a win will guarantee a spot in the Big12 championship game where they will mostly likely face Texas Tech in rematch. 

Cincinnati has put together a very good season for a team that largely went under the radar.

Indiana is one game away from an undefeated season. With the win over Wisconsin they are now 11-0 and likely secured a playoff birth. 

The Hoosiers seem to be on a collision course with Ohio State in the BIG10 championship game if the Buckeyes can get past the Wolverines. 

The Hoosiers are a complete team with the Heisman front runner at QB, dynamic playmakers at running back and wide receiver, and one of the best defenses in the country. The path is clear, just keep winning.

The defense lead the way in a must win game for the Sooners. Oklahoma forced three turnovers including an 87 yard pick six by Eli Bowens. The Sooners defense is carrying the team, and might just be good enough to carry them right into the playoffs if they can win out. 

Alabama suffers its first SEC loss in a game where they outplayed Oklahoma but lost the turnover battle 0-3. The Crimson Tide can still make the SEC title game and the playoffs, but the margin for error is gone.

Georgia hands Texas its third loss of the season effectively eliminating them from both the SEC title game and the college football playoffs. 

With 5 mins to play in the 3rd quarter the Longhorns scored their first and only TD of the game bringing them within 4 points of the Bulldogs. It certainly felt like Texas had the momentum and were mounting their comeback. 

Georgia had other ideas and immediately answered with a 10 play 73 yard touchdown drive taking the momentum right back. 

On the ensuing kickoff Kirby Smart called an onside kick the Bulldogs recovered. This was a demoralizing play that broke the will of the Longhorns. Texas went 9 plays 53 yards and another touchdown. Any spark of life that might have been left in Longhorns was gone as they promptly went 3 and out and the Bulldogs scored another TD.

Georgia is rounding into form just at the right time of the season and looks every bit like a national title contender.

The Longhorns are now out of national picture.