Outcomes and Aftermaths

  In sports, as in life, we talk about outcomes. Good or bad. Expected or unexpected. 

We view the final score, how the game was determined or the management decisions favorably or unfavorably. That depends on which side you’re on or if you are a neutral observer. 

The outcomes determine the course for the players. They may lead to replacement or a trade. Or a new contract or greater NIL money at another school. 

There is always an aftermath to what happens on and off the field, in the arena or on the court. Sometimes it takes time to assess what the true outcome is once past the immediate impact. 

Outcomes can be positive, neutral or negative. Aftermaths are usually associated with something that occurred once a negative event took place. There are consequences associated with both. 

I look at my current illness. Originally diagnosed as viral, the doctor told me to wait 7 to 10 days and I would be fine. That was the anticipated outcome. 

Except that the doctor did not recognize my history of sinus infections nor was she aware that I had COVID three times. Had I been treated differently, the ultimately positive outcome would have occurred sooner.. 

Instead, the aftermath of the missed diagnosis led to much coughing, discolored mucus, fatigue and some low grade fevers as my body attempted to fight off the malady. It was obvious that I wasn’t healing and if I wanted to get back to a normal life, I would need help. 

After speaking with my general practitioner, she put me on Azithromycin (Z-Pak) plus Extra Strength Mucinex DM. Her goal was to shock my body to help fight the bug which wasn’t going away. 

So now I wait for a new outcome. The aftermath of the treatment is immediate in how my body adapts to the medication. So far. So good…

I want to stay with the theme of aftermaths and outcomes. At this point, with Autumn now in full swing, it is a good time to analyze.

I was struck by some outcomes from last Saturday’s college football games. Some were predictable and others unanticipated. 

Look at the non-conference matchup in Nashville between North Carolina State and Vanderbilt. Vandy was the favorite and NC State played like they were the better team. 

The Wolf Pack was one snap away from leaving Music City with a win. All the Wolf Pack quarterback had to do was scramble a little bit then run through the back of the end zone to give the Commodores a safety with no time on the clock, preserving the victory.  

Sounds like a great outcome for NC State on the road against a SEC team? One would think so.

Except that the QB scrambled in the wrong direction—sideways—and then was swarmed by the Vandy defense. In the scrum, a defender knocked the ball loose. It tumbled to the ground, where the home team recovered the football for a game-winning touchdown. 

The aftermath was chaos on the field and in the stands. It sent shockwaves nationally as to how the game ended. 

The win boosted Vanderbilt to 3-0 before heading to face 2-1 Auburn in Alabama. NC State stumbled to 1-2 and played host to a 3-0 Appalachian State team it was supposed to beat. 

Vandy didn’t fare well against the War Eagles, losing by 6. NC State got the medicine it needed with App State, winning handily. 

The aftermath for these two teams is cloudy. That’s what non-conference play can cause—uncertainty as to how good or bad a team really is. One thing for sure—neither is likely to win their respective conferences. 

Rutgers was supposed to roll over when #12 USC visited Piscataway last Saturday. The Trojans were supposed to be far superior to a Rutgers team which was embarrassed by a UMass team which went 0-12 last season (the Minutemen are 4-0), then lost at Boston College, which was clobbered by Cincinnati in its opener. 

Nobody told RU they couldn’t compete against the vaunted team from Southern California. Employing a fake punt deep in their own territory, RU made a game of it for the entire four quarters. 

It felt like USC escaped from the East Coast with a win. They drew Oregon, ranked #2 to start the season, for their next opponent at the LA Coliseum. Oregon had been smarting from a loss at Oklahoma State and took it to the Trojans. 

There was an unseemly hit by a highly-touted USC defender on Dante Moore, the talented Ducks QB which hospitalized him. That kind of unsportsmanlike behavior, which began with bad blood between the two teams in the tunnel before entering the LA Coliseum, has to be better policed. The USC-imposed one game suspension for Desman Stephens II isn’t sufficient, either.

RU had a cream puff on the schedule. Howard came to SHI Stadium and was demolished 58-7. RU showed the swagger it should have over a weaker team. 

This doesn’t mean that the Scarlet Knights will rise up and stop defending National Champion Indiana next Saturday in New Jersey. IU had a ton of trouble with Big Ten foe Northwestern in Bloomington on Friday night, escaping with a 29-23 win in a game much closer than experts thought. 

But then again, who believed RU could play well enough to give USC trouble? Not me. I thought there would be carnage. Which it is unsurprising that Oregon took apart USC on Saturday.

In addition to IU avoiding defeat on Friday night, Penn State and Michigan lost their Big Ten openers at home. Now Iowa and Wisconsin remain undefeated and once-beaten Ohio State looms large. For those who recognized Western Michigan actually winning at Michigan, a very good Boise State team came to Kalamazoo and burst their bubble in the “Bronco Bowl” in honor of the two teams’ nicknames.. 

Then there was the much-heralded contest between LSU and Mississippi. The two SEC heavyweights, who both have called Lane Kiffin their coach—Kiffin unceremoniously left Oxford for greener pastures in Baton Rouge. 

Of course this was the headline for the national TV event. Ole Miss fans versus the villain.

It turned out to be not much of a contest between to Top 10-ranked teams. The Rebels went out to 17-0 lead and and led 24-7 at the half. LSU tried to make a game of it, but Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss—the best QB in college football not named Arch Manning— insured the victory with a late score. 

Mississippi had little time to savor its victory, as its next opponent was 3-0 Florida waiting in “The Swamp” in Gainesville. LSU had no respite, as a wounded Texas A&M came to Louisiana after a shocking conference loss to a better-than-expected Kentucky team in College Station. 

It certainly appeared that Mississippi overextended themselves in the emotional win over LSU. The aftermath of the game left them unable to fully compete with a Florida squad which could be among those vying for a college playoff spot. The Gators took it to the Rebels. 

Then again, this is the SEC, where on any given weekend, almost anybody can beat anybody. It would be a surprise if any team went undefeated this season. Florida has to play at Texas then go against Georgia; Alabama and Georgia slug it out this season. Don’t forget formidable foes like Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi, Missouri, Mississippi State on everyone’s schedule. Talk about a gauntlet. 

I am not forgetting last year's runners-up Miami and Notre Dame. The two powers meet on November 7 in South Bend, Indiana. The Irish will have to navigate some tough games with Bill Belichick’s North Carolina team up next plus a trip to Provo, Utah to take on #9 BYU. Miami has Clemson, Florida State, Pittsburgh and UNC ahead of the anticipated showdown. 

The New York Jets should be 2-0. I kept telling myself that, especially after Green Bay, which rallied to down the Green and White in New Jersey last Sunday, was walloped at home on Thursday night by an Atlanta team which nobody gave much of a chance to win. 

Historically, when it comes to the Jets, raised expectations are never a good thing. Recent history supports that, as when NYJ wins a game, invariably a winning streak rarely follows. 

Head Coach Aaron Glenn was shown repeatedly shaking his head in frustration during the fourth quarter last Sunday. He now returns to face his mentor, Dan Campbell, and a struggling Detroit Lions team which eked out an overtime win over New Orleans when the Saints elected to go for two points and a road win to open the season and weren’t successful, followed by being blown out by Buffalo when the Bills opened their new stadium.

This is the kind of game which would define the direction each team heads in. 2-1 sounds better than 1-2. More so for the Lions, as the NFC North seems to be up for grabs. 

Managing to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, NYJ couldn’t stop Detroit QB Jared Goff and RB Jahmyr Gibbs enough to secure the much needed win. It was a better offense at home doing what it needed to do to overcome a decent defense. Kudos to NYJ QB Geno Smith and WR Garrett Wilson for their stellar play.

Yet what the aftermath of this game was for Jets fans is really simple: another loss at the start of another season not making the playoffs. While Buffalo, Miami and New England appear to be vulnerable in the AFC East, winning the division is seemingly outside the Jets grasp. Even with a 1-2 record. Call me disenchanted. 

Meanwhile, the Harbaugh Era in New York came apart at the seams in Inglewood, 

California on Monday night. The Giants fans sensed something special was happening again, especially after a win over arch rival Dallas to begin the NFL season. 

QB Jaxson Dart seemed poised for a big season. The Rams might have been on their heels after the disastrous trip to Australia and the loss of All-Pro Myles Garrett, the anchor of their defensive line. 

Whatever hopes NYG fans had went to the turf when Dart fell awkwardly in the first series of Monday night’s game. NYG lost the game and lost their QB for the season. This aftermath was far from the outcome the team wanted.  

The Giants luckily drew a poor Tennessee team in rainy NorEaster conditions in the Meadowlands. They came away with a 12-7 win. 

The outcome doesn’t change the plight of the Giants. It didn’t help that division foe Washington, with QB woes still managed to defeat Seattle. The Giants’ situation is still the same without Dart—unlikely to make the post-season.  

I left baseball for last. Game 162 on the schedule for everyone. Four games still had playoff implications. 

Texas and Houston, both with sub-.500 records, were locked in a fight for the AL West crown and the chance to meet the resurgent Chicago White Sox, a franchise more known for its recent 100 loss seasons, in the first round of the AL playoffs. Houston played the A’s and Texas was in Minnesota. Houston routed the A’s. They’re in and host the White Sox. 

More acutely, the Philadelphia Phillies, once leading the Wild Card race by 6.5 games on September 1st, began Sunday in serious trouble. Having gone 5-7 in their previous 12 games including four straight losses, echoes of the 1964 Gene Mauch-led collapse were reverberating around Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Arizona was on a six game winning streak until playoff-bound San Diego stopped the Snakes 10-7 on Saturday night. Arizona held the tiebreaker if Philly lost and the D-backs won. 

Drawing AL Regular Season champion Tampa Bay while having pitching woes down the stretch did the Phils no favors. Once loud Philadelphia bats were suddenly hitless. 

Showing their pedigree, the Phillies stepped up when the pressure was the greatest. They secured the final NL Wild Card slot. They drew fellow NL East opponent Atlanta. 

Finally, Steph Curry received a 2 year $116 million extension. That’s the outcome nearly everybody wanted. Golden State still will be lucky to make the playoffs. 

Outcomes and aftermaths. Foreseen and unforeseen. That is what makes betting on games so perilous. No matter how certain something appears, it isn’t always that.