I have watched football this past week. It’s not that I watched every game I didn’t. But I watched every down of a couple of games and I felt like I had watched more than I did. And what I did view was mesmerizing.
The festival of football involved both colleges and the pros. It got started in earnest on Thursday with games at baseball stadiums. An early start at 11:00 a.m. gave SMU an even greater disadvantage in the New England chill.
The Mustangs’ opponent was Boston College, located a mere 3.8 miles away from the stadium. Outside of playing on campus, SMU could not have drawn a worse opponent in terms of crowd noise. No wonder BC won by a score of 23-14. SMU came into the game 11-2 while the Eagles were a measly 6-6 and on a 3 game losing streak. If I were a sports gambler (and I am not), I would have bet on BC, an 11 point underdog. That would have stood given the conditions—rainy, windy and in the 40’s—not optimum for playing football and certainly not for a team out of Texas.
But don’t feel sorry for SMU. The Dallas school will be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024. Among the school’s home games will be Boston College. How do you spell revenge?
Further down Interstate 95, and just a few miles south of the George Washington Bridge, The Bad Boys Mowers Pinstripe Bowl took place. The conditions weren’t appreciably better. Which favored the team from Piscataway, NJ as opposed to the one from Coral Gables, FL, where the temperature surely was much milder. Plus the fan base for Rutgers, bowl starved for a number of years despite the last minute appearance against Wake Forest as a 5-7 substitute last season, was ecstatic with Rutgers’ 6-6 record which legitimately qualified RU for a bowl slot.
It didn’t hurt that due to the transfer portal, injuries and players sitting out the game not to hurt their NFL prospects, Miami was not fielding a complete squad. The final score was 31-24 Rutgers, behind the powerful running of Kyle Monangai, who gained 170 yards on 25 carries. This kid is legit—he was the Big Ten leading rusher and he runs with intent, like another recent RU player, Isiah Pacheco, now playing a key role for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Before Rutgers fans get too loopy over this win, it is a small stepping stone. The passing attack is non-existent, which cannot stand if the Scarlet Knights want to be more competitive in the Big Ten.
While RU does not have to play tormentors Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, which is playing for the National Championship, next season’s slate includes the other team in the National Championship—Washington. Also meeting the Knights are new conference members UCLA and USC in back-to-back weeks; at least the Huskies and Bruins come to New Jersey in 2024. Where RU will have to make strides to keep up its bowl eligibility status, the Knights will have to take advantage of Nebraska, Minnesota, Maryland, Illinois and Michigan State along with non-conference opponents Howard, Akron and at Virginia Tech.
Head Coach Greg Schiano must come up with some stellar players from the transfer portal, possibly including a quarterback, while retaining a solid core of returning veterans. Not an easy task.
Thursday night was the start of Week 17 for the National Football League. The New York Jets, floundering towards the end of another mediocre season, visited the playoff-bound Cleveland Browns. The game wasn’t much of a contest. Cleveland, behind the rejuvenated Joe Flacco at QB, who had been with the Jets in 2022 and would have been interested in coming back when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon, decimated the previously solid New York defense. Cleveland might actually be a force in the playoffs and have an opening round home game; the Jets will have to wait until next season. Again.
When questioned about how upset he was after the team’s loss, New York Head Coach Robert Saleh questioned the questioner by answering “Do you want me to throw the podium?”That about sums up the predicament of the Jets as they head to New England to face the Patriots and potentially Head Coach Bill Belichick in his last game coaching the team.
Friday brought a rally to victory by Clemson over Kentucky in the Gator Bowl; Notre Dame walloped Oregon State; Memphis defeated Iowa State; and Missouri stuffed Ohio State at the Cotton Bowl. Nothing very noteworthy.
However, Ohio State has had a fall from grace. In its finale, Michigan beat the Buckeyes. Then an undermanned team had to face a nearly full squad of Missouri Tigers, and Mizzou took it to OSU. How the mighty have fallen. When three key players including top talent wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. and the top tackler on defense did not suit up and the team was playing quarterbacks with limited experience, this is the product on display.
On Saturday, Ole Miss vanquished Penn State; Maryland topped Auburn; and Toledo downed Wyoming. Again, noting earth-shattering here.
Once announced, the Georgia-Florida State game looked interesting. The once number one team, upset by Alabama in the SEC Championship and unable to try for a third straight national title against the undefeated Seminoles, whose supporters vociferously argued that the selection committee got it wrong and that they, not Alabama, should be in the Rose Bowl playing Michigan.
Except that many disheartened Seminoles’ players took flight from this game, while Georgia remained intact for the game. And it showed. To the tune of 63-3 in favor of UGA.
Which led Georgia’s head man, Kirby Smart, along with a host of college football fans stretching from Columbia, Maryland to Columbia. Missouri to bemoan the poach where college football finds itself when players enter the transfer proposal before bowl games (the semester is over so it is their right to not register for the Spring semester) or sit out not to risk injury which would mar their NFL chances. I agree with the fans and Smart.
Something needs to be done. And soon. Before college football become a joke and fans lose their enthusiasm. Star players like Bo Nix at Oregon will not play just to end their collegiate careers with a win. Even the expanded playoffs for 2024, including 8 more schools, won’t lessen the impact.
After a romantic anniversary dinner at the place we went to for our first anniversary in 1983, we watched the Detroit Lions invade AT&T Stadium to take on the Dallas Cowboys. Detroit had clinched its division and with a lot of luck could have gotten the top seed in the NFC. Dallas had secured a playoff spot but was hopeful that the Philadelphia Eagles might lose out and Dallas would win the NFC East.
Detroit took it to Dallas. Yet it came down to the end of the game and the score residing at 20-19 in favor of the Cowboys. Detroit Head Coach Dan Campbell opted to go for the win. Using a trick play, the reserve lineman playing an end position caught the ball to put the Lions ahead in a gutsy move.
Except that a flag was thrown and the play was nullified for an ineligible receiver. Campbell said he had alerted the referee that this might occur. The player said he reported as required. The referee said he didn’t.
Why? Because he blew it with inattentiveness. Which isn’t the first time his crew botched something—including a clear penalty eater which would have allowed Dallas to run out the clock. My wife is right—umpires, and referees have too much to do with the outcome of games. Absent instant replay or robotic officials, the best that can happen is to weed out the bad ones—like this crew.
In Sunday games, Baltimore absolutely dominated a relatively good Miami team. Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson is going to be the M.V.P. Buffalo, Houston, Pittsburgh, Green Bay kept their Wild Card chances alive; Buffalo could win the AFC East with a win at Miami. Kansas City, the LA Rams and San Francisco clinched various seeds or spots in the playoffs. Others still are fighting next weekend for division crowns. And Philadelphia has lost four of its last five, opening the door for Dallas after all.
Finally, the College Football Playoffs were a rousing success. It took overtime for Michigan and Alabama to settle who would move on. On perhaps not a good play call, Alabama was stopped on fourth and goal at the three yard line, and the Wolverines moved on in a tough, hard fought contest. The level of the player personnel was outstanding, even if there were plenty of miscues by both teams. It was a thoroughly enjoyable game, no matter who you were rooting for.
Top seed Michigan will face #2 seed Washington, which held on to a late lead when Texas was pushing the Huskies on the last play of the contest. This seems to be UW’s handle—win the close games. Ask Oregon, which lost its only two games to the Huskies, each by three points.
Now we are into 2024. The NFL is a weekend away from its playoffs. College football decides a champion on Monday.
ESPN, in its infinite wisdom, showed a live crowd shot from notorious Bourbon Street on Monday night, as the Texas-Washington game was being played in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Whoever decided to air that mad scene gave viewers an eyeful, with a woman displaying her breast for all to see on National TV. ESPN issued an apology. I was asleep, worn out from all the football I had watched.
Happy New Year, I guess.
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