The Weekend That Was

As usual, this past weekend was great for a baseball enthusiast and college football nut like me. (It helped that I went 9-2 on my picks in the college game over the weekend.)   And the NFL was not too shabby either.  The extra wild card slot in MLB has added additional drama to the baseball season.  One has to go back a decade and a half to find the last time that the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A’s were playing meaningful games this time of the year.  You have to go back to November 1998 to find the last time that Florida State, Kansas State, and Notre Dame were all ranked in the top 10 in the country.  And you have to go all the way back to 1974 to find the last time a Cardinals football team started a season 3-0.  What is going on?  Here are four things we learned this past weekend in MLB, four things in NCAA football, and four things in the NFL.

MLB

1. Miguel Cabrera now has a legitimate shot to win the American League Triple Crown, a feat that has not been accomplished since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967.  To put that in perspective, there has never been a Triple Crown winner in the post-moon landing era.  (It has not happened in the National League since Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals did it in 1937.)  Right now, Miggy has 42 HR (tied for first with Josh Hamilton), 131 RBI, and .331 AVG.  I am not sure if he can hang on but you can expect a player of his caliber to be locked in as the Tigers are desperately trying to win the AL Central.
2. R.A. Dickey has a legitimate chance to become the first knuckleball pitcher to win the Cy Young.  Right now, Dickey is in the top two in all three pitching Triple Crown categories (wins, ERA, strikeouts).  Dickey is second in with 19 wins, first with a 2.66 ERA, and second in strikeouts.  His main competition for the award is Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez who has 20 wins but has a slightly higher ERA and slightly fewer Ks and a significantly fewer innings pitched than Dickey.  A couple things that will hurt Dickey in the vote are that he plays on a fourth-place team (which should not hurt him but probably will) and lack of respect for the knuckleball.
3. The more you see the Orioles and A’s play, the more fun they are to watch.  The Orioles are winning on the strength of a bunch of young guys in the lineup and a slew of anonymous pitchers.  And if it goes into extra innings, they are money, winning 16 in a row this season.  The A’s have some young arms but their lineup is made up of mostly castaways and has beens, at least by baseball standards.  Raise your hand if you can name five everyday starters for Oakland without looking at a box score.  (If you raised your hand, I’m calling foul on that one.)
4. The Brewers are going to make the second wild card in the NL very interesting.  They are a hot team with some experience and they have been getting timely pitching, which never hurts this time of the year.

NCAA Football

1. I have said all along you can never count out a Bill Snyder-coached team.  Snyder’s Kansas State Wildcats marched into Norman, Oklahoma and gave a good Sooner team their first loss of the season.  K-State QB Collin Klein has positioned himself as the front runner for the Heisman (cause that changes weekly these days) and if you base it on nicknames alone, he is the hands down winner.  Optimus Klein, as he has become known, has put Manhattan, Kansas back on the map and has propelled them onto the national scene.  (What else would you expect from the leader of the Autobots?)
2. Wow, Florida State is really good.  I mean, really, really good.  It has been a few minutes since they have been a factor on the national scene, or even in the ACC for that matter.  Once the ACC expanded to 12 teams and created a conference championship game, it was expected that nearly every year, the Seminoles would be playing for that trophy.  (Miami was even placed in the opposite division in hopes that the two would square off more often than not.  So much for best laid plans.)  Once the Noles went down by 14 to Clemson in the second half, I think most were eager to see how Jimbo Fisher’s team would respond.  Were they going to fold like recent FSU teams may have or were they going to fight back?  They fought back, outscoring Clemson 35-9 the rest of the way.  Jimbo, I think the Noles are back.
3. What has happened to the Big 10?  I thought those guys knew how to play some football.  The two best teams thus far seem to be Northwestern and Minnesota.  With traditional powers Ohio State and Penn State ineligible to win the conference, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, and Michigan State looked poised to be the top dogs in the conference.  Then Michigan gets pummeled by Bama and loses over the weekend to Notre Dame; Wisconsin gets a taste of their own medicine against Oregon State; Nebraska gets stretched out by UCLA; and Michigan State gets dominated by Notre Dame.  Iowa has been terrible, losing this past weekend to Central Michigan and Illinois is even worse than that, losing a home game to Louisiana Tech by a score of 52-24.  Perhaps the biggest Big 10 game this week will be Indiana vs. Northwestern; not Wisconsin vs. Nebraska.
4. The SEC has some teams that aren’t very good, other than my beloved Wildcats.  Arkansas had QB Tyler Wilson back against Rutgers but lost their third in a row.  Auburn played a great game against LSU but could not win, causing the War Eagles to lose three games before the first of October for the first time in the history of the storied program.  And honestly, they could have lost to Louisiana-Monroe and been 0-4.  Vanderbilt, welcome back.  I'm not sure if you got a good look at the semi that rolled over you but it had Georgia tags.  And my beloved UK Wildcats, playing without starting QB Maxwell Smith, kept it close for a quarter (better than they could say the previous four seasons) before getting chomped by the Gators. 

NFL

1. The Saints aren't marching in this year...to the playoffs, that is.  After an ugly offseason where several key players and coaches were suspended (the players have since been reinstated) and the team received a black eye across the league for the infamous bounty scandal, the beginning of the season has not been much better.  The Saints were sitting pretty yesterday with a 24-6 lead on the lowly Chiefs before unraveling and losing for the third straight week 27-24 in overtime.  With head coach Sean Payton out for the entire season and interim coach Joe Vitt out a few more weeks (Can someone please explain to me how the players can be reinstated but the coaches still have to sit out?), the season may be getting long in New Orleans; especially considering that they are already three games back of a stout Atlanta Falcons team.
2. While many teams have been Jekyll and Hyde the first three weeks of the season, a couple have been able to separate themselves from the pack.  While everyone was busy anointing the San Francisco 49ers as the class of the NFL after two weeks, after week 3 the Niners won't have home field advantage over the Minnesota Vikings if it comes to that.  While the jury is still out on how could the Vikes can be this year, they are off to a great start and look to be much better than projected in the preseason.  The Cardinals of Arizona are off to their first 3-0 start since 1974 when they were the Cardinals of St. Louis.  This year's teams is being led by a strong defense that has allowed only 40 points in the first three games.  The aforementioned Falcons seem to be the class of the NFC thus far and the Houston Texans appear to be their counterpart in the AFC (yes, you read that correctly).
3. Playing a game every Thursday night in the NFL does not make sense to me; especially when you let a team play on Thursday one week and give them the Monday night game the following week as is the case with Green Bay this week.  It seems to me that team almost gains a second bye week.  And how about the Ravens playing a Sunday night game and then following that up with a Thursday game.  That's a pretty quick turnaround.  I'm all for doing that on Thanksgiving and later in the year but every week just seems a tad ridiculous.  Now the NFL week runs from Thursday to Monday.  Plus, several people don't even get the NFL Network, including me.  Not a big fan of this move.
4. You might as well get over the fact that replacement officials are doing the games right now.  While the NFL did lock the officials out, they have no incentive to settle the dispute.  Fans are still filling the seats, ratings are still through the roof, no games have been decided by a bad call yet, and most importantly, the players aren't giving the officials their full support.  If the players are truly tired of having replacement officials, they would threaten to not play until the issue is resolved.  But they don't have that in them.  As for the berating, belittling, and bullying of officials by players and coaches, I think they need to concentrate on things they can control instead of acting like fools.  Chasing down officials or grabbing them as they run off the field has never been acceptable.  I have seen professional NFL refs make many terrible calls but I have never seen them brow-beaten the way these guys are getting it.  I say job well done to the official last night who flagged John Harbaugh for relentlessly arguing (he claims he was trying to call a timeout) in a crucial point in the game.  And by the way, that field goal was good.  I guess the refs got one right.

Pick 'em, Dan-O

We are nearly a month into the college football season and we have already had some amazing upsets, some teams emerge from nowhere, some show they aren't who we think they are (shout out to Denny Green on that one), and some who have just confused us.  A few weeks ago, I even attempted to pick a few games myself and managed a decent showing for the opening weekend with a 3-3 record.  Now that I have seen several of these teams, I have expanded by horizons for week 4 and have added 11 games to the pick 'em slate; and this time I am going to leave my heart out of the pick and try to give an honest assessment (which will be hard for one game in particular).

SEC GotW

Missouri vs. (7) South Carolina

Missouri is coming off a nice home win against Arizona St. but they are still looking for their first conference win as a member of the SEC.  This could be the one they have been waiting for since announcing they were switching conferences.  But dual-threat QB James Franklin (not to be confused with Vandy's head coach) will have his work cut out for him going into a hostile SEC environment for the first time.  South Carolina received good news today when it was announced that QB Connor Shaw, who has been nursing a shoulder injury, will start against the Tigers.  Look for workhorse, stud RB Marcus Lattimore to have a heavy workload.  South Carolina will be without safety D.J. Swearinger who is suspended by the SEC for an illegal hit in last week's game. Even so, I am afraid the Ol' Ball Coach will notch another win this week.

Score: South Carolina 31  Missouri 21

SEC GotW Runner-up

Vanderbilt vs. (5) Georgia

Vanderbilt is once again trying to prove they can matchup with the big dogs in the SEC.  Although they handed it to Presbyterian last week, James Franklin's (not to be confused with the Mizzou QB) Vandy is a hard team to get a read on so far this season.  Jordan Rodgers will have to be flawless against a swarming UGA defense.  Georgia, on the other hand, is looking to prove that they are worthy of a top five ranking.  Georgia's biggest problem so far this season has been with disciplinary issues.  They have had a multitude of players, mostly on defense, who have run amok off the field and had to pay the piper.  As they keep getting these guys back on the field, the defense should perform at a higher level taking the pressure off of the offense to carry the load.  Look for Vandy to still be looking for their first SEC win after the game.

Score: Georgia 34  Vanderbilt 17

Pac 12 GotW

(22) Arizona vs. (3) Oregon

When Rich Rodriguez was named the new Arizona Wildcat coach in the offseason, many wondered how quickly he would have them winning ballgames.  The answer seems to be rather quickly.  Rich Rod’s spread offense is perfectly suited for the Pac 12 conference.  Senior QB Matt Scott has winged the ball for nearly 1,000 yards with 7 TDs and only one INT thus far.  But can Rich Rod's spread out gun that of Chip Kelly’s Ducks.  Oregon finds itself in a familiar spot, ranked solidly in the top 5.  While the Ducks have not faced a BCS opponent, they have handled the teams they have played the way they should.  Oregon freshman QB Marcus Mariota has proven to be more than capable so far and they have a two-headed monster at RB with Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas.  Look for a few light bulbs to need replacing on the scoreboard after this one. 

Score: Oregon 48  Arizona 33

Pac 12 GotW Runner-up

Oregon St. vs. (19) UCLA

The Pac 12 has settled in nicely as the number two conference in the country after three weeks of play.  This matchup is huge for both teams.  The Beavers had a week off after their dominant defensive performance against Wisconsin and look to be challenged by Jim Mora, Jr.’s new look Bruins.  With a win in this game, UCLA would be sending a message that the Trojans don’t have the only game in town.  Freshman QB Brett Hundley has played like a veteran and RB Jonathan Franklin (not to be confused with either James in the SEC) has already rushed for over 500 yards in just three games.  Don't be surprised if this turns out to be the best game of the week.

Score: UCLA 27  Oregon St. 23

ACC GotW
(10) Clemson vs. (4) Florida St.

The ACC really needs this game to live up to the hype that a top ten matchup on primetime, national TV implies.  Clemson defeated Auburn in the first game of the season for a solid win against an SEC school.  The Tigers have many weapons (Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Ellington, etc.) and hope to utilize them all to gain an advantage in the Atlantic division.  Florida St. is looking to prove that they are back, even though coach Jimbo Fisher says he doesn't know what that means.  The Seminoles played Cream Puff U and Cupcake Community College to open the season before dominating Wake Forest last week.  FSU QB E.J. Manuel (who seems as if he has been there long enough to be tenured faculty) provides a steady hand at the helm of the Seminole offense.  Maybe Coach Fisher will have a better understanding of what it means to be back after the Noles take this one.

Score: Florida St. 41  Clemson 34

Big 12 GotW

(15) Kansas St. vs. (6) Oklahoma

Very few coaches are as synonymous with their football programs as is Bill Snyder at Kansas State.  If Coach Snyder can lead his team to a tough road victory over Oklahoma this weekend, it may just catapult them all the way to the Big 12 Championship.  Leading the way for the Wildcats is Heisman hopeful QB Collin Klein, who can run and pass.  Sooners coach Bob Stoops knows better than to underestimate a Snyder coached team and will have his guys ready to play.  The Sooners are led by QB Landry Jones, who seems like he has been at Oklahoma since they became a state in 1907.  The winner will grab the driver's seat for the conference title.

Score: Kansas St. 31  Oklahoma 28

Validation GotW

(18) Michigan vs. (11) Notre Dame

This is a game that makes me wish that ties were still allowed in college football because at the end of the day I don't want to pick a winner.  In this classic rivalry, Michigan has gotten the best of Notre Dame the past three seasons, winning all three games by four points and scoring a touchdown in the last minute of the game.  Michigan is led by senior QB Denard "Shoelace" Robinson who should prove to be a more difficult match for the Notre Dame defense than Michigan State did last week.  Speaking of the Notre Dame D, how about last week?  They absolutely stymied Michigan State, led by gutsy senior LB Manti Te'o.  No matter how you feel about Notre Dame, and I think I have made clear my opinion, you have to be inspired by Te'o's performance a few days after the passing of both his grandmother and girlfriend.  Don't expect the same kind of performance this week from the Irish D but they will get the job done.

Score: Notre Dame 24 Michigan 17

 

Hmmm GotW

Rutgers vs. Arkansas

Rutgers has started the 2012 season by winning their first three games.  Arkansas's chance for a dream season was upended by an ill-fated motorcycle ride in the offseason and has only gotten worse the past two weeks after losing to Louisiana-Monroe in a shocker and being completely dismantled by Alabama.  If Arkansas has any hopes of regaining control of this tailspin, they must beat the Scarlet Knights.  There is no word yet about whether Arkansas QB has been cleared to play after suffering a concussion two weeks ago.

Score: Rutgers 27  Arkansas 24

Mid-major GotW
Southern Mississippi vs. Western Kentucky

Southern Mississippi has shown in years past that even though they play in Conference USA, they can play with the big boys from the big conferences.  That has not carried over so far this season, though, as the Golden Eagles are looking for their first win.  They are not likely to get it against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.  The Toppers and coach Willie Taggart are coming off the biggest win they've had since moving up to the FBS series against the University of Kentucky. 

Score: WKU 35  So Miss 17

 

Trap GotW

Baylor vs. Louisiana-Monroe

What a difference a year makes.  Baylor surely misses their Heisman trophy winning QB from a year ago.  Although they have won their first two games of the season, the Bears struggled mightily early on against Sam Houston State.  Their opponent, the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe, have huge momentum.  They defeated (8) Arkansas in overtime two weeks ago and took Auburn to OT last week.  And Baylor is making the trip to ULM.

Score: ULM 34 Baylor 31 OT

 

Redemption GotW

BYU vs. (24) Boise St.

As is often the case, both programs really need to win this game.  BYU is coming off one of the most bizarre endings in college football history when Utah fans had to storm the field three times before finally being able to claim victory over the Cougars.  (If you haven't seen it, You Tube it).  Boise State's run against BCS schools came to halt the first weekend of the season when they lost to Michigan State. 

 

Score: Boise St. 44  BYU 26