Better late than never, right?? We weren’t going to pick the Thursday night game anyway, so it’s all good. This is a pretty neat weekend for football fans. Not only are there NFL games on both Saturday and Sunday, but the college bowl season gets underway as well. I hope y’all have your Christmas shopping finished and can stay home vegging out & watching football. Last week was pretty rough for yours truly, as I went 0-5. The blow was softened just a bit when I won an exciting game in my dynasty league and made the playoff, so I’m excited about that. Zach fared a little better at 2-3, which means that he’s taken back the season lead. We’ll see what happens after this weekend.
My Season: 46-45
Z’s Season: 47-44
Philadelphia (-7.5) at NY Giants
Holy quarterback condundrums Batman!! The Eagles have lost QB Carson Wentz for the remainder of the season to a torn ACL. The good news 
is that they’ve already clinched the NFC East, and as far as backups go there are worse options than Nick Foles. The Giants have Eli Manning back under center after firing their coach a couple of weeks ago, but other than that I’m not sure there is any good news for them. The Giants are actually worse than the Jets right now. Who would’ve predicted that a few months ago?? Having said that, The Vibes are whispering to me. While I think Foles is a decent quarterback and Philly is obviously a talented team, any thoughts of them being a legit Super Bowl contender have gone away, and I think The G-Men might actually steal this game. Zach disagrees and is making the more logical choice.
My Pick: NY Giants
Z’s Pick: Philadelphia
Green Bay at Carolina (-3)
As opposed to the folks in Philadelphia the Cheeseheads have good quarterback news. Aaron Rodgers returns from injury this week, and the sports media has been slobbering all over themselves. It’s going to be an uphill climb for Green Bay to sneak into the playoffs, but it is still mathematically possible. The Panthers are in a dogfight for a playoff spot as well. They’ve won 5 out of their last 6 games after a rough first half of the season, and feel like they could become a formidable post-season threat. I’m all for heartwarming fairy tales, but I think Rodgers’ comeback might not go as well as many hope it will. Zach concurs.
My Pick: Carolina
Z’s Pick: Carolina
Tennessee at San Francisco (-2)
I really thought that the Titans were solid favorites to win the AFC South this season, but I don’t believe anybody saw the success of the 
Jacksonville Jaguars on the horizon. That being said, Tennessee is only one game out of first place and are in good wildcard position. Conversely, the 49ers are dwelling at the bottom of their division as has been the norm the past few years. I understand that it’s commonplace for the home team to be favored by about three points in NFL games, but I’m not sure why that would hold true in a game like this where the visiting team is clearly superior. Zach feels like Tennessee is too inconsistent and ‘Frisco is much better with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback.
My Pick: Tennessee
Z’s Pick: San Francisco
LA Rams at Seattle (-2.5)
The Rams hold a one game lead in the NFC West, but Seattle’s home field advantage is one of the most daunting in the NFL. The Seahawks have been more…erratic…this season than we’re used to seeing, but when the chips are down in big games it’s hard to bet against QB Russell Wilson, meaning that if they can get into the playoffs all the questions & inconsistency will quickly be set aside. Meanwhile, the Rams, with all of their young talent, have really put things together this year, though they’ve also been a little up & down. If this game were being played in Los Angeles I might be inclined to take the underdogs because that’s just how I roll. However, the home field is just too much to overlook in this case. Zach concurs.
My Pick: Seattle
Z’s Pick: Seattle
Atlanta (-6.5) at Tampa Bay
The NFC South is really interesting, with three teams being possible playoff contenders. One of those three, however, is not the Buccaneers. They’re currently on a three game losing streak, and that’s not even their worst skid of the season. I haven’t been paying enough attention to know exactly what has gone wrong, but I don’t foresee things suddenly turning around this weekend. The Falcons haven’t had smooth sailing this year after being in the Super Bowl last season, but they’ve done enough to still be in the playoff hunt and feel like they might be peaking at the right time. Zach likes Atlanta to win big.
My Pick: Atlanta
Z’s Pick: Atlanta
Bowl season has arrived. It’s a month long college football smorgasbord, and just like any other buffet there are some really tasty vittles, a few offerings that you might be kind of curious about but are somewhat hesitant to sample, and some things that most everyone looks at with an expression of nauseous antipathy. There are two schools of thought when it comes to bowl games. Many of us feel like there are too many of them and are troubled by the idea of rewarding mediocrity. Others opine that even bad football games are good entertainment and have no issue with having as many meaningless post-season games as possible. Regardless of one’s outlook it is undeniable that the next few weeks will be fun. Some games will live up to high expectations, while others will be just as boring as anticipated. The best games are the ones that no one thinks will be at all remarkable, but then all the sudden you find yourself glued to the television watching the 4th quarter of an epic battle involving two teams you know nothing about and now you are strangely invested in the outcome. That’s why bowl season concurrently matters yet doesn’t matter. It’s very odd.
Picking these games is pretty much a crapshoot. There are just so many wildcards. Injuries. Coaching changes. Neutral sites. Last year I was 18-23 with these picks, while Zach was 21-20. The whole idea of a bowl game is to pit two unfamiliar opponents against one another, so I assume much goes into scouting & film study. For Zach & I there are many teams that we know virtually nothing about outside of their record, and since we have lives and aren’t paid to spend time doing research most of our picks are semi-educated guesses based on the general knowledge we have as fans. We don’t do point spreads for these picks, and no money is on the line. We’re just having fun, which is what football fans should do this time of year. As usual I have broken down the games into three tiers. Tier 1 are the games that hold very little interest for me. Two .500 teams from a bottom dweller conference playing in a bowl game on a weekday afternoon in December is kind of like watching an Adam Sandler movie…I have very low expectations and if the result is even mildly entertaining I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Tier 2 games come with somewhat higher hopes. I might not go out of my way to watch them, but if I happen to be home and flipping thru the channels I’ll probably check out such a game if it is on. Tier 3 are the games that I’m really looking forward to and have the potential to be tremendous fun.
teams). Having said that, they are teams that very few outside their respective fan bases pay any attention to, so it’s difficult to be excited about the matchup. I’m feeling generous, so allow me to suggest…free of charge…some ideas to the game’s organizers for a name with a bit more pizzazz: Bayou Bowl, Cajun Bowl, Creole Bowl, Lagniappe Bowl, Jazz Bowl, Crawfish Bowl, Beignet Bowl, Big Easy Bowl, Gumbo Bowl, Jambalaya Bowl. See, it’s not that hard. You’re welcome.
angry Jem Finch. The game itself holds zero interest for me. Zach has actually watched an Arkansas St. game, so he knows more about what’s going on here than me.
community feels like he needs another season of being humbled?? Anyway, I don’t expect this to be much of a game. Zach likes FAU’s offense to make it look easy.
over a decade. So essentially this is a home game for the SMU Mustangs, whose coach just left for Arkansas.
spending Christmas in The Big Apple will be fun for all involved. Zach isn’t a fan of playing a football game in a baseball stadium.
call this the Turkey Bowl. The matchup involves middle-of-the-road teams from the Pac 12 & Big Ten, so I suppose one could think of it as a really mediocre version of a Rose Bowl.
conference and having a little bad luck tends to have a negative impact on the numbers. It might end up being a more entertaining game than I’m giving it credit for, which would be fine with me. Zach expects a relatively low scoring defensive struggle.
NFL head coach & ESPN commentator Herm Edwards prepares to take the reins in 2018.
been an above average program for awhile. One thing is for sure…the Wildcats will win this game.
second-rate game with subpar teams being played at 5:30pm on a Friday. Perhaps they could call it the Who Cares Bowl.
have plenty of fun. Boise has had the kind of season they usually have…ten wins & the Mountain West title. However, due to the success of Central Florida the Broncos aren’t playing on New Year’s Eve/Day like they’ve become accustomed to doing. The Ducks have fallen off a bit from the days when they were winning 10+ games and competing for the national championship, but were a few games better this year than last. Unfortunately head coach Willie Taggert has already bolted after just one season to take over at Florida St. Zach likes Boise’s defense to make the difference in a close game.
believe the Rams usually have a high octane offense that scores a lot of points, so this game might be pretty fun to watch. Zach has doubts about Marshall’s ability to win big games.
Spanish pirate that may or may not have actually existed, but apparently he is infamous in the Tampa, FL area and in fact inspired the nickname of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That story alone makes it a much cooler game than the New Orleans, Boca Raton, & Texas Bowls.
he’d be able to lead his team to victory in a bowl game, but Zach doesn’t think that’ll happen.
could still finish in the Top 25 by defeating a team from a “power” conference. Zach never bought into the USF hype, but he thinks their defense can make a difference in this game.
have a little too much offense. Zach believes Army’s ground game can dominate time of possession and make the difference in a victory.
play in this game I think he’ll lead the ‘Eers to an exciting victory. Without Greer it’s going to be tough sledding. I choose to think positively. Zach’s outlook is a bit more pessimistic. He doesn’t believe Greer will be healthy enough to play, and he has no faith in WVU’s defense.
cool places like Hawaii, The Bahamas, or Las Vegas, there are two teams that are rewarded for allegedly successful seasons with a trip to Detroit. I’ve never been there to be honest though. Perhaps it is nicer than I think?? Feedback is always welcome.
overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Alas, K-State gets that chance. Zach points out that Rosen can be somewhat inconsistent, but thinks he’ll play well in what is basically an NFL audition.
Texas A&M, and All-American defensive back Derwin James will not play in the bowl game to protect his NFL Draft status. Despite all of that I have to think that the Golden Eagles would count beating Florida St. in a bowl game amongst their biggest all-time victories. Zach believes the upheaval in Tallahassee may serve as motivation for the team.
late night football here in the east. What can I say…I’m easily amused. The Spartans have rebounded nicely from an abysmal 9-3 season in 2016, but the Cougars have top NFL prospect Luke Falk at quarterback. Zach likes Michigan St.’s defense better than he likes Falk.
The Tigers have won atleast eight games in four straight seasons, and this is really a home game for them. Zach has high expectations for this to be a really good game.
clear I am not a fan of such things, but in this case I can atleast imagine that the game is an homage to Crocodile Dundee or kangaroos & koalas. The Wolverines & Spartans have been participants more than any other teams, so if the matchup seems familiar there’s a reason for that. Surprisingly Zach is picking against his beloved Wolverines because he just doesn’t feel like their offense is good enough.
undefeated but getting very little respect because they play in one of those “other” conferences. I’ve been wondering aloud for years why Central Florida hasn’t become more of a collegiate sports powerhouse since the school itself is the largest university in the United States. Perhaps in the next round of conference realignment (you know it’s going to happen) they’ll be invited into the inner sanctum. The question is, despite their spotless record, can UCF compete on a big stage against an athletically superior opponent?? Head coach Scott Frost is leaving for his alma mater Nebraska, where he was a great quarterback in the mid-90’s, but it is my understanding that he might coach UCF one last time in the bowl game. I’d love to pick UCF, and I hope it turns out to be a really fantastic game, but I’m just not sure that’s the way this is going to go. Like me Zach loves what UCF has accomplished but doesn’t think this is a good matchup for them.
they were 8-4 but fired their coach just a third of the way thru. Both programs seem to be on more familiar solid ground nowadays, which means that this might be a better game than expected.
sponsors as the Kardashians have had pro athlete boy toys. Despite my hatred for bowls with such names I cannot deny that the matchup is terrific. In my pre-season poll I ranked the Hokies 18th and had the Cowboys in the playoff conversation at 3rd. OK St. fell far short of my expectations, while VA Tech isn’t too far from where I predicted. My Mountaineers were a common opponent, unfortunately losing to both teams. The Hokies began the season by beating WVU by a touchdown, while the Cowboys won a high scoring shootout over the ‘Eers. I’d take the over on this one…if I was a gambling man.
has burst onto the scene and finished second in the Heisman race, which deserves props. This game is on at the same time as the Holiday Bowl, so I foresee a fun night of channel flipping in my future. Maybe I should buy some batteries. Zach thinks Love will have a big game.
then, and that’s what they remain in my mind. But with the playoff and a bunch of other factors all bets are off and nothing is like it once was. Progress?? I don’t know. Anyway, it weirds me out that this game is being played three days earlier than what I perceive as normal, but I’m sure no one important gives a rat’s petoot about my opinion. Did Ohio St. get screwed out of a playoff spot?? Well, on one hand I find it troubling that conference titles mean nothing to the committee. By definition one of the “power” conference champs will always be left on the outside looking in, and this year two of them didn’t make it, which feels wrong. On the other hand, the Buckeyes didn’t do themselves any favors when they got beat down by 30 points at Iowa last month. The committee could have overlooked the early season loss to Oklahoma, but such a resounding defeat to a mediocre opponent apparently made a huge difference, and wins against Army & UNLV didn’t help. The powers-that-be in Columbus have to do better when putting together the schedule. The Trojans, despite winning the Pac 12 title, weren’t serious playoff contenders due to a 35 point loss at Notre Dame in October. However, they’re riding a five game winning streak and QB Sam Darnold could be a first round pick if he declares for the NFL Draft. I expect this to be a moderately high scoring game…something with both teams hovering around 28-35 point range…with turnovers and (sadly) officiating making a difference. Zach is just thrilled that Ohio St. didn’t make the playoff.
Heisman Trophy, and I took it for granted that he’d atleast be invited to New York. However, the Heisman is a numbers award, and Barkley only topped 100 yards rushing in four games. I still believe he’s the best running back in college football, and I’ll be interested to see what he can do in the NFL behind a legit offensive line, but I understand why he fell out of favor with the talking heads. The Huskies are a pretty darn good team too, so this game could be a lot of fun. Zach isn’t nearly as enthusiastic as me because he feels like both teams have been vastly overrated.
season, but with early season victories over Utah St., Florida Atlantic, & BYU (teams with a combined total record of 20-18) I understand why folks have been hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. Still, if they would have beaten Ohio St. for the Big Ten championship and finished undefeated they would have probably made the playoff. The ‘Canes finished the season by dropping two games, including the ACC championship. But before that they vaguely resembled The U of the 80’s & 90’s. Miami is flash & speed, Wisconsin is old fashioned smashmouth football…a definite clash of styles. Both of us think size will outlast speed.
Heisman winner and NFL bust Johnny Manziel. However, as much as it pains me to say it since he does seem like kind of a prick, in my opinion Mayfield has a Bret Favre vibe. Keep in mind that Favre was a 2nd round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons before being traded to the Green Bay Packers, and you know the rest. Mayfield obviously has a higher profile than Favre did coming out of Southern Mississippi, but there are doubts about how his talent may fit into the NFL. At any rate, casual fans are probably more familiar with Oklahoma than Georgia because, despite spending some time at #1 this season, the Bulldogs have kind of flown under the radar a bit. I expect this game to be really enjoyable and very close, with turnovers & special teams making the difference. Zach believes in the old maxim that defense wins championships, and he thinks Georgia has a better defense.
won with a last second touchdown a year ago. Does Alabama even deserve to be in this game?? It’s an interesting debate. I don’t like how the playoff committee has essentially rendered conference titles meaningless. The Tide didn’t lose the SEC championship game…they didn’t even play in it. But Ohio St,’s incomprehensible mid-season loss to Iowa was deemed to be a bigger faux pas than Alabama’s fairly close loss to Auburn. I don’t totally agree with the logic, but I understand it. I honestly thought that Clemson would decline just a little after QB Deshaun Watson moved on to the NFL, but the defending national champions have looked even more impressive this year. I’m not sure what happened at Syracuse back in mid-October, but that game was definitely an anomaly. I’m kind of tired of the Alabama hype myself, although I recognize that’s a fringe viewpoint. Conversely, I really like Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who seems like a genuinely good dude. Zach feels like ‘Bama has had some extra time to get healthy, and he just can’t go against Coach Saban.
difference maker in Zach’s opinion. I also think coaching is a huge factor. I never thought Oklahoma would be so successful under first year head coach Lincoln Riley. The future is bright in Norman, OK if they can find a solid replacement at quarterback next season, but in this game I can’t overlook that this is Clemson’s third straight appearance and I think that experience is the deciding factor.
Greetings fellow football fans!! Since we are picking the Thursday night game this week and I am woefully behind I shall not be verbose today. ‘Tis the season, and yours truly has been a busy elf without actually getting anything accomplished. I’ve been meaning to curb my inclination toward procrastination for years but haven’t quite gotten there yet. At any rate, I was 4-1 in picking the conference title games, while Zach was 3-2. I have a few thoughts about how all of that worked out, but I’ll include them with our bowl picks. Stay tuned. For the purposes of this fun little weekly competition we move on to the NFL for the stretch run. Enjoy.
preferable. This is the Thursday night game, which players reportedly hate but fans kind of enjoy. It’s interesting to me that the Falcons aren’t favored on their home field. Zach likes the Saints’ running game to take some of the pressure off quarterback Drew Brees.
It’s been a rough year for the Colts. They are completely lost without quarterback Andrew Luck, but it seems like a 3-9 team probably has more
than just one issue. Meanwhile, the Bills have dropped 4 out of the last 5 games and have not only fallen four games behind New England but wouldn’t even qualify for a wildcard if the season ended today. They also have quarterback issues, as the coaches are seesawing back & forth between Tyrod Taylor and rookie Nathan Peterman. Taylor is injured and might not be available this week, and that’s bad news for Buffalo. Zach is aware of the Bills’ quarterback conundrum, but believes that Indy is so bad it doesn’t matter.
so far in 2017, to the point that there’s buzz about a Vikings Super Bowl run, which would conclude in February on their home field. But let’s not count out the Panthers just yet. They’re right in the mix in the aforementioned NFC South and have won 4 out of their last 5. The matchup to watch is Carolina quarterback Cam Newton versus the Minnesota defense, and I am a firm believer that defense wins championships. Zach concurs.
In 
Legion of Boom has imploded and Seattle is a game behind in the NFC West, but a lot of folks would still consider them among the favorites to get to the Super Bowl. Fair?? Probably not, but that’s the situation. Jacksonville needs this win to quiet the doubters, while the Seahawks seeks to keep pace with the Rams. If the game were being played in Seattle it’d be an easy pick, but since it’s not there is reason for hesitation. Zach concurs.
After last weekend’s upset losses by Alabama and Miami I jotted down my thoughts on who should be in the college football playoff as well as which teams I’d still have in contention. My top four were Clemson, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, & Auburn, with Georgia & Alabama right there ready to pounce and Miami & Ohio St. still having an outside shot. The playoff committee looked at things a little differently. They also have Clemson #1, but like Auburn a couple of spots higher than me, with Oklahoma & Wisconsin one spot lower. They also have Alabama & Georgia knocking on the door, just flipped, and Miami & Ohio St. exactly where I had them. So the same eight teams, in slightly different order. Speaking of last weekend, Zach was 3-4, while I bested him by one game at 4-3. I’m really glad we had UCF-South Florida as one of our games, not because I won (UCF didn’t cover the points) but because it was so much fun to watch. Ohio State failed to cover as well…by half a freakin’ point…which worked out well for Zach. Anyway, we now move on to conference championship week and what are essentially playoff quarterfinal games. Four of the five major conference title game outcomes will have a direct effect on the playoff, which is pretty gosh darn cool for football fans. These will be the last college games we pick this season since the only thing remaining on the schedule is next week’s Army-Navy game. We’ll do our usual Bowl-a-Palooza, but that is a separate deal. Enjoy this weekend’s lineup…it could be really entertaining.
Neither one of these teams are getting into the playoff, and since the Rose Bowl is one of the playoff games the winner won’t go there either (one
of the issues I have with the current system…a topic to be addressed some other time). But the winner will be a conference champ and be playing somewhere…presumably the Fiesta Bowl. Stanford is 9-3 and riding a three game win streak, while the Trojans are 10-2, have won four games in a row, and beat Stanford by nearly three TDs in the second game of the season. This is a Friday night game at the 49ers stadium just outside of San Francisco, so there is no home field advantage. I really don’t know what to expect, but The Vibes are leaning toward USC. Zach likes what Stanford has accomplished thus far and believes they’ll hang tough throughout this game, pulling out a victory in the fourth quarter.
are the Sooners guaranteed a playoff spot with a victory, they also beat the Horned Frogs by 18 points just a few weeks ago. I see no reason to think this game will go any differently unless Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield kills or rapes someone, in which case he’d probably be suspended for the first quarter and have to lead his team to a slightly less dominant mauling of TCU. Zach concurs.
It’s pretty simple for these two teams…win and you’re in the playoff. The committee has Auburn ranked #2, which is a couple of spots higher 
than I’d have thought, but at this point it doesn’t really matter. The only thing that’s important is being one of those final four teams. The Bulldogs were the top team in the country not that long ago, but stubbed their toe against…you guessed it…Auburn. So this is a rematch of a game that took place about three weeks ago in which the Tigers dominated by more than three TDs. There is some discussion that Auburn could still get into the playoff even if they lose this game, but I don’t think that would happen, and more importantly I don’t believe it will be an issue. Zach points out the difficulty of beating the same team twice in one season and thinks Georgia will score the upset.
themselves in an uphill battle to get back in even with a victory in this game, although one would have to assume defeating the #1 team in the country would be too impressive to overlook. Still, their early season schedule is weak and the Pitt defeat isn’t a “good loss” (I really hate that terminology), so if you want playoff debate & chaos Miami upsetting Clemson would be a great place to start. One might consider the possibility that Clemson could still make the playoff even with a loss, which would further stir the pot. I had the defending national champs as my #1 team in the pre-season and I see no reason to jump off that particular steamroller now. Zach wasn’t surprised by Miami’s loss to Pitt but believes they’ll bounce back to play a competitive game. However he likes Clemson to score the victory.
& plethora of other outlets who make big money scrutinizing things from every angle to the point that undefeated isn’t necessarily indicative of 
anything special. Basically what that boils down to is that the Badgers have to win this game to even slink into the back door of the playoff. Conversely, the 10-2 Buckeyes are actually favored in this game and still have playoff aspirations. Currently ranked #8, they’d need a whole lot of dominoes to fall their way, and I don’t think that’s going to happen. Maybe they’ll end up playing USC in a “What the hell happened to our traditional Rose Bowl invitation??” game where the announcers can dwell regretfully on Ohio St.’s inexplicable meltdown against Iowa and the Trojans’ losses to what turned out to be vastly overrated Notre Dame & Washington State. At any rate, I think Ohio St. wins the Big Ten title and Alabama ends up in the playoff and probably the national title game. Zach likes the size of Wisconsin’s lines. He believes that advantage might be enough to wear down the Buckeyes and snag a close win for Wisconsin.
In my pre-season poll I predicted that it’d be the Bulls who would reign supreme among the “non-power” teams, but it’s the undefeated Knights 
who have emerged at the top of that particular heap. USF isn’t far behind though, and with a victory could catapult themselves into a New Year’s bowl game against a “power” opponent. The winner of this game will face Memphis in the AAC title game. I’m pretty stubborn when it comes to sticking with my pre-season picks, and it’s not as if 9-1 USF is a bad team. The two campuses are less than a hundred miles apart, so I don’t think the home field advantage is much of a factor. Kickoff is on Black Friday afternoon, and I’ll be glad to be home cheering for the Bulls rather than fighting crowds at a shopping mall. Zach likes UCF head coach Scott Frost (who’s probably leaving soon for Nebraska), so he’s going with the favorites.
Lamar Jackson took the NCAA by storm en route to winning the Heisman Trophy, but they’ve still had a nice season. The Wildcats are also 7-4 with impressive wins over Tennessee and South Carolina. Kentucky has the home field and the double digit points are a bit much in my opinion, so I’m leaning toward the underdogs. Zach concurs.
must win to even become bowl eligible, a circumstance they’re certainly not accustomed to in Tallahassee. The Gators are also 4-6 and have already fired their coach. They have no chance at qualifying for a bowl unless the NCAA makes some kind of exception since an early season game was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. What it all boils down to is that this is as close to post-season action as one or both of these teams might get, which makes it atleast somewhat interesting. Because the Seminoles still have a reasonable shot at being invited to a bowl game I have to give them the nod. Zach agrees.
bowl game. Stanford may or not be heading to next week’s Pac 12 championship, but at 8-3 will be playing somewhere in the post-season. This game doesn’t affect their conference situation either way, but pride, momentum, & bowl position are on the line. It feels like a toss-up to me, but I’m going to pick the home team to score the mild upset. Zach agrees.
meet USC next week based on their victory over Washington a couple of weeks ago. They call this game the Apple Cup, and when you peel away the hype and look at the core of the matchup the more fruitful offense belongs to Washington St., while Washington’s defense has a bit more juice. Ok…yeah…that was fun!! Anyway, The Vibes are telling me that Cougars’ QB Luke Falk…a potential first round NFL draft choice…will have a big day and lead his team to a huge win. Zach really likes State head coach Mike Leach and believes he will lead his team to victory.
playoff conversation or conference title contention, while the 9-2 Buckeyes will be playing in the Big Ten title game but are 9th in the playoff poll and would need a lot of dominoes to fall the right way. Still…it’s Ohio St.-Michigan. This IS college football. I’m not sure what exactly has gone wrong with the Wolverines this season, but I believe they are better than their record. The game is in The Big House in Ann Arbor, which is another factor to consider. Ohio St. is clearly the superior team and motivated by a lingering yet admittedly miniscule chance at a playoff spot so I think they’ll win, but what about the points?? The smart assumption is probably that it’ll be a closer game than the oddsmakers indicate, but sometimes one has to go big or go home. Zach’s opinion…in the interest of full accuracy…is “screw Ohio St”.
They call this the Iron Bowl because the city of Birmingham was a big producer of iron & steel back in the 70’s. More tangibly, this has become
one of the most anticipated annual games on the calendar because one or both teams are consistently near the top of the rankings and there is usually a lot riding on the outcome…this year is no exception. ‘Bama is the undefeated #1 team in the country and will secure a spot in the SEC title game with a victory. In my opinion if they make it that far they’ll be in the playoff win or lose. However, Auburn would take that SEC championship game spot and vault themselves into the playoff conversation with a victory. Tide head coach Nick Saban grew up in Monongah, WV which is about a half hour up the road from me, so most folks around here like to see him be successful, but as a football fan not only do I usually cheer for the underdog but I am also thoroughly bored with Alabama. Dynasties are only entertaining to fans of that particular team…everybody else is rooting for them to get knocked off. I also love chaos when it comes to the playoff because the methodology just doesn’t frost my cupcake. So that’s why I’ll be cheering for Auburn. Zach is fully invested in the Saban lovefest and thinks the Tide will roll by three TDs.
The spring of 2006 saw the beginning of one of the most difficult stretches of time in my life, a period that I refer to as My Unfortunate Incarceration. At the relatively young age of 33 an ulcer on my tailbone led to six months in a “skilled” nursing facility, a year completely homebound, surgery, another stay in a nursing facility, then some additional recovery time at home. All told, two years in the prime of my life passed by while I was unable to drive, work, or have any semblance of normalcy. During that time I watched ALOT of television. I watched TV shows that I may never have noticed otherwise. I recall watching just about every second of the 2006 NBA Playoffs. I developed an affinity for reruns of Ted Danson’s underrated sitcom Becker, which I had completely ignored during its run on CBS from 1998-2004. And at some point in this lonely, depressing, frustrating two year span I discovered a morning sports talk show called Mike & Mike in the Morning, which had premiered on the radio in January 2000 and began being simulcast on ESPN2 in 2004. I was a little late to the party but was almost instantly hooked.
Mike Golic had been a journeyman defensive lineman in the NFL during the late 1980’s & early 90’s. Mike Greenberg was 
amongst a plethora of virtually indistinguishable ESPN anchors. At best I was vaguely aware of the two. Like so many retired athletes Golic segued into sports media after his playing career was over and eventually landed at ESPN doing a morning radio show with a guy named Tony Bruno. Greenberg got his degree in journalism from Northwestern and spent a few years covering sports in Chicago during the latter half of Michael Jordan’s epic career before landing in Bristol. When Bruno abruptly left The Mothership Greeny was asked to fill in on the radio show, and the rest is history. The show grew into a powerhouse, with Greeny & Golic becoming household names (atleast to sports fans). They did commercials, wrote a book, appeared multiple times on Letterman, and dined with Presidents.
On a personal level Mike & Mike became a semi-regular part of my daily routine. Work schedules & sleep habits have changed a few times in the past decade, and I can’t honestly say that I have consistently been glued to my television every weekday for all four hours, but I made an effort to catch chunks of the show as often as life allowed. It has not been unusual for me to wake up or arrive home from work and immediately turn the television to ESPN2 to check out what Mike & Mike had to say about last night’s ballgame, the latest blockbuster
trade or unfortunate injury, and whatever else might be happening in the world of sports. On top of that we were regularly treated to discussions/debates/arguments about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie (it is), the relative merits of Batman as a superhero (he is the BEST superhero), hilarious conversations about turkey giblets at Thanksgiving, & other pieces of The Mikes personalities that they willingly cast forth for public consumption. They integrated pop culture into their show without losing focus on sports and didn’t ignore big news stories yet never got bogged down with them. They made the annual NCAA March Madness basketball tournament even more enjoyable with their Sheets of Integrity Bracket Wager, which led to memorable moments like Greeny milking a cow and Golic getting his body waxed. From 2010 to 2013 they won the Sammy Award for Favorite TV Show during my annual fake awards year in review, something that may not mean anything to anybody else but which I assure you I take as seriously as almost anything I post here at The Manofesto.
or poetry reading as you would a sporting event, while Golic is the laid back, straight talking, pudgy tough guy that you’d hang out with in a mancave drinking beer & watching the ballgame. That kind of “opposites attract” formula has worked forever, from Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello to Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson or Felix & Oscar in The Odd Couple.
A few years ago I read somewhere that the show was going to be relocating from Bristol, CT to New York City, which seemed odd. One important aspect of Mike & Mike had always been its plethora of guests, from various ESPN insiders to former players & coaches to guys like comedian Frank Caliendo. They had also made various members of their staff semi-famous by utilizing them in on-air segments, an idea popularized by David Letterman. Also, if I have had one criticism of Greeny & Golic over the years it is that they seemed to take copious amounts of time off, with one or the other or sometimes both missing days here & there. However that was never a huge issue because there was always a 
deep pool of talent on the ESPN campus to use as substitute hosts. How was all of that going to work if they transplanted the entire production to The Big Apple?? The story was never addressed by The Mikes on the program or anywhere else that I am aware of, and so the idea just kind of faded into the ether. I didn’t know if it had been a false rumor all along or if someone…possibly Greeny, Golic, or both…killed the plan. I’m a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kind of guy, so not moving the show was just fine by me. But then…..
About a year ago the rumors began swirling again, only this time it was being said that ESPN was ending the show altogether!! And it wasn’t one of those things that I had to question whether I had actually read it or not or if maybe I was losing my mind…the story was everywhere. At one point it was being said that the two had turned against each other and were no longer speaking, that their continued on-air interaction was just an excellent performance. That made me profoundly sad. Eventually The Mikes did address the situation on-air, announcing that Greeny was getting his own show in 2018 (emanating from NY City), and that Golic would continue on with a revamped version of the current show co-hosted by ESPN mainstay Trey Wingo. The situation was clearly uncomfortable for the two men, especially Golic. However, I came away with the impression that the two are legitimately on good terms and that these decisions were not made by them or motivated by any dislike, anger, or negativity.
I am still not clear on why the powers-that-be decided to make these moves. Perhaps it is kind of like splitting pairs in blackjack. Someone decided that these two guys are at the top of the ESPN food chain so why not have two shows instead of one. That makes sense to a degree, although as a fan I still hate it. Maybe I am wrong and Greeny did desire to move on. While Golic seems perfectly content to be doing just what he is doing and probably understands that as an ex-athlete co-hosting ESPN’s flagship show is a better outcome than he ever could have dreamed of, Greeny is a “journalist” who has a track record of side projects like writing a couple of novels and hosting game shows on ABC. Did he feel like his career had stagnated?? Did he feel the need to flex his professional muscles and do something different?? Or was this just another head-scratching decision by corporate types who seem hell bent on ruining the remarkable legacy of ESPN?? I don’t know the answers and no one is offering any further explanation. There will probably be a tell-all book in the future, but for now we’ll just have to wonder.
they always had. They continued to make us laugh and make us think. They dressed up for Halloween as in previous years (Mike & Mike always did Halloween right). The show has been early morning comfort food just as it always has been. I made more of an effort to tune in than I had been making for the past year or two because sometimes you don’t fully appreciate something until it’s gone, but fortunately in this case we all got to say a long goodbye.
And now it’s over. I’m an 80’s kid, and because of my physical 
limitations I have always leaned toward more sedentary pursuits like reading books & watching television. I believe there are two types of people in the world…TV People and Non-TV People. My friend & brother from another mother The Owl doesn’t even own a television and hasn’t cared about any show for decades. Conversely, I watch way too much television and have always had a special place in my heart for series finales, probably because I’m sentimental & hate change, so endings always kind of make me verklempt. I have seen a lot of fantastic TV shows come & go. The Cosby Show. Cheers. Dallas. Friends. Seinfeld. Mike & Mike joins an impressive lineup in the television graveyard.
like Trey Wingo well enough, and I’m sure that program will be entertaining…but it won’t be the same. Citizens of The Manoverse know of my fondness for The Andy Griffith Show and may recall that it ran for eight seasons in the 1960s. However, after Season 5 Don Knotts (aka Deputy Barney Fife) departed, and his exit happened to coincide with the show transitioning from black & white to color. It’s not that the final three seasons of TAGS aren’t good…but sans Knotts and produced in color they just aren’t as…enchanting…as the black & white episodes. It’s all about chemistry & balance, and I’m just not feeling the Golic & Wingo vibe quite yet. It’ll be an uphill climb to equal the impact of Mike & Mike. We’ll see.
find that combination appealing at all. I suppose I’ll check it out, but my initial reaction is that it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I could be wrong.
lives. In the grand scheme of life the fate of a silly little television show doesn’t amount to all that much. We certainly face more significant concerns. But for those of us who invested so many morning hours in Mike & Mike and looked forward to being entertained, informed, & briefly distracted from life’s bigger problems there is some degree of mourning. We don’t know why these changes have been made and 
would have preferred things remained the same. That’s not how it went down though. There is a maxim that says “don’t be sad because it’s over…be happy that it happened in the first place”, and I suppose that’ll have to suffice. Kudos to Greeny & Golic for almost two decades of excellence and best wishes for the new shows. Thank you, and goodbye.
Despite what NFL players might feel, as a fan I sort of like having football on Thursday nights, and I am especially excited about tonight since my Steelers are playing the Tennessee Titans. It’s a personal highlight during an otherwise prosaic football weekend. The college schedule is unappealing at best, with makeup games like Alabama vs. Mercer and Clemson vs. The Citadel littering the landscape due to hurricane issues a couple of months ago. I understand the various reasons (mostly financial) that those games are being played, but as a fan I’d almost rather they’d been cancelled altogether. At any rate, we forge ahead as best we can, and I can’t resist being slightly braggadocious coming off of a 5-0 week, something I’ve accomplished all too rarely over the years. Zach was 2-3 last week, which means that we are back to being even for the season and both of us have winning records. We’re leaning a little more on pro instead of college games this week, so we’ll see how that goes.
regular season game but they’ll be playing in the Pac 12 title game. Conversely, the 5-5 Bruins haven’t rebounded from a tough 2016 like I thought they would and are simply playing for bowl eligibility at this point. NFL scouts will be watching this game closely, as UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and USC quarterback Sam Darnold could very well enter next spring’s draft and would likely both be first round picks. Having said that, football is a team game and USC is clearly the better team. The points make me a bit skittish, but I think they’ll cover. Since this is a rivalry game Zach believes it will be much closer than the oddsmakers think.
While no one was paying attention somehow the Rams have actually become a decent NFL team. 31 year old head coach Sean McVay has the 7-2 
Rams in first place in the NFC West and young QB Jared Goff suddenly looks worthy of having been a #1 overall draft pick. Not to be outdone, the Vikings are also 7-2 and leading the NFC North. Their quarterback situation is a little strange. Sam Bradford is injured (shocker), journeyman backup Case Keenum is starting, & former starter Teddy Bridgewater was recently activated after being on the shelf for nearly two years. Whatever they’re doing is working though. I haven’t followed these two teams enough this year to have any insightful commentary or expectations, but I do get the sense it might actually be a really fun game to watch. When in doubt I tend to favor the home team, and since I’m stubborn the Rams are going to have to show me a little more before I buy in. Zach calls this a coin flip game, although I’m not sure if he literally flipped a coin before deciding to pick the Rams.
The Super Bowl Curse is real y’all!! After going 11-5 in 2016 and then pulling the most epic choke job in Super Bowl history the Falcons are 
really behind the eight ball as far as making the playoffs. They aren’t winning the NFC South and the wild card competition is fierce. Conversely, it’s business as usual for the 6-3 Seahawks, except for the fact that the Rams are much improved and lead the division by a game. If this game were being played in Atlanta I might have to ponder things a bit, but Seattle’s home field advantage is amongst the best in the NFL. Zach believes the loss of DB Richard Sherman will have a negative impact on the Seahawks and the Falcons will show flashes of their former glory.
It’s been a busy week so I am behind. That’s cool…I like being busy. At any rate, once again bonus picks weren’t a good idea, as I was 3-5 and Zach was only slightly better at 4-4. The college football playoff rankings remain the same at the top, although a few teams (most notably Penn St. & Ohio St.) have played themselves out of contention so the field is narrow. The NFL is a war of attrition on a scale I don’t recall seeing, with so many big stars out for the year with injuries. We’re going to do our best to stay / get back above .500, but it’s probably best if we take things slow with almost two months remaining in our season.
out of the college football playoff, but I suppose a conference title would be a nice consolation prize. On paper the Huskies are a better team, but Stanford does have the home field advantage and Heisman worthy running back Bryce Love. This is a late night game on Friday so I’ll be able to keep my eye on it at work. I’m going against the grain and with the home team underdogs. Zach is completely confused and believes Washington State coach Mike Leach is coaching in this game, which he is not. But anyway, he’s picking Washington…I think.
schedule (Utah St., Florida Atlantic, BYU) isn’t doing them any favors. The Hawkeyes are coming off of a surprising beatdown of Ohio St., and I think if this game were being played in Iowa I might have to ponder whether they could pull off a shocker two weeks in a row. However, with everything that’s at stake and the fact that the game is in Madison I don’t think the Badgers are going to mess things up. Zach is unimpressed by Wisconsin and thinks Iowa is good enough to get a second straight huge upset win.
this is the first time in a long time that the game has really mattered in the bigger picture. The Irish are a solid playoff entrant at the moment, but that could easily change with a loss. Conversely, the Hurricanes are on the outside looking in and have to get a victory. They’re going to be playing in the ACC title game regardless, but obviously a playoff berth is a bigger goal. A lot of folks say Miami hadn’t really played anyone until they beat Virginia Tech last week, and that may be a valid point. Notre Dame has had the tougher schedule…but not that much tougher unless you’re counting #1 Georgia, a game Notre Dame lost. I’m a sucker for home field advantage. I really do think it can make a difference, especially in college. That’s why I am leaning toward Miami. Zach concurs.
quarterback woes have doomed the 3-5 Broncos. I don’t know who’s starting behind center for Denver this week, but I don’t think it matters all that much. This is the Sunday night game on NBC, and since its being played in Mile High territory I guess there is always a chance it might be more fun & competitive than one might assume…but probably not. Zach believes the Pats will win big…possibly four TDs big.
Congratulations to the Houston Astros for winning their first World Series championship. I didn’t think I’d be all that interested in the Series this year, but a disaster was averted when Houston beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS because a Yankees-Dodgers World Series would’ve had zero appeal for me. I know that sounds strange, but as a sports fan I need an underdog, a little engine that could, to root for. I enjoy a good David vs. Goliath story. I realize that’s not how the real world works. In reality the bigger, better entity with more power, money, & influence wins the vast majority of the time in virtually all walks of life. However, part of the romance in sports is that sometimes the little guy actually wins, and that’s not just a fantasy birthed in 1976 with Rocky. In my opinion it’s kind of weak & uninspiring to jump on the Goliath bandwagon. Before this season the Astros hadn’t won a division title since 2001 and had only made the playoffs once since 2005. They’d played in just one World Series since the franchise’s inception in 1962, losing to the Chicago White Sox in 2005. In the past decade they’d had 
seven losing seasons, including a three year stretch from 2011-13 in which they were a combined 162-324. So even though Houston itself is the 4th largest city in America the Astros have never been among baseball’s elite…until now. It doesn’t hurt that the games themselves were really fun to watch, and anytime we get to a Game 7 in anything it’s pretty cool. I’m sure the L.A. Dodgers will be back in the thick of things next year. They’ll go out and buy a couple of bigtime free agents or make a blockbuster trade. Same with the Yankees. Second place isn’t good enough for such teams. They think that, because of their huge TV market and bottomless coffers, they’re entitled to a trophy. But all of that just makes me yawn.
Dear ESPN: Declining ratings for football has EVERYTHING to do with anthem protests and politics interfering with our enjoyment of sports. Y’all can try to spin things all you want, blaming injuries and weak teams to deflect from the controversy, but just as your ratings have deteriorated due to not-so-subtle sociopolitical propagandizing with which a sizeable portion of the audience disagrees, football is suffering for also promoting a provocative agenda unrelated to the sport that fans tune in to watch. These people are so insufferably full of themselves and impressed with their own intellect that they’ve become totally out of touch with the viewing public.
starts, and the Golden State Warriors have lost more games in the first few weeks of the season than they did before the end of November last year. Perhaps if players & coaches for those teams had spent the offseason appreciating their success and preparing for more of the same instead of flapping their gums and displaying their ignorance about real world issues they’d be winning more games right now. Sadly it is probable that all three teams will be just fine, make deep playoff runs, & battle for the NBA Championship, but I’d like nothing better than for them to struggle all season and make early playoff exits. Just as the NFL is learning, the NBA needs to eventually realize that we just want them to shut their pieholes and play ball.
It seems unlikely that the Big 12 Champion will get a spot in the playoff, but it is possible. So who will that champion be?? The 7-1 Horned Frogs 
are one of four teams battling for a spot in the conference title game, and they have a challenging stretch run, beginning with in-state rival Texas. The 4-4 Longhorns have shown signs of life this season, upsetting Iowa St. & Kansas St. and losing heartbreakers to USC, Oklahoma, & Oklahoma St. Texas could easily be 7-1. TCU has the home field advantage and is considered the better team by most, but Texas is…well, they’re Texas, even though it hasn’t seemed like it for awhile. The road back to supremacy in college football has to begin not only in the conference but within the state of Texas itself. They won’t win back respectability until they can defeat the teams they used to beat consistently. Does that process begin this week?? I think it might. Zach thinks TCU will bounce back after last week’s tough loss to Iowa St. He predicts that the Longhorns will stay close for awhile but the Horned Frogs will pull away in the second half.
I still despise these two teams. Their departure from the Big East eventually killed the conference and was a huge domino in all the upheaval 
we’ve seen in college football in the past decade. Having said that, it seems that both programs have rebounded from rough patches and are back amongst the better teams in the country. The 7-0 Hurricanes are 10th in the CFP rankings but have their two biggest games this week & next. A couple of huge wins and a loss by a team or two ahead of them could vault Miami into serious contention. The Hokies aren’t in the playoff discussion, but they could still get to the conference title game. That’d require a victory over the ‘Canes. It makes no logical sense that Tech is favored here, so I’m not really sure what the oddsmakers are thinking. Perhaps they know something that we don’t?? All I know is what I know, and it seems to me that the home team and the higher ranked team should also be the better team. Zach doesn’t believe that Miami has played a very challenging schedule (he’s not wrong) and will fall to their first legit opponent.
talking about the 6-2 Wildcats, who could play themselves into the Pac 12 title game, especially with a victory in this game. My burning hatred for former WVU coach Rich Fraudriguez has cooled a bit over the years, and I have to admit that his Arizona team is fun to watch. This one will be on ESPN Saturday night, which will make my night at work a little less tedious. I still think the Trojans are a better team, but are they seven points better?? Maybe not. Zach takes it a step further, predicting Arizona’s high-powered offense to score the winning TD late in the 4th quarter.
(correctly) as motivation, which is bad for all of the Tide’s opponents. The Bayou Bengals have had a low-key season after last year’s chaos, with a shocking loss to Troy the only thing that has caused a bit of concern. At 6-2 they still have an outside shot at making the SEC title game, but would need to defeat Alabama. If this game was being played in Baton Rouge I might be tempted to predict the outright upset, but it’s not. Still though…a three TD point spread?? The last six games in this rivalry have been won by the Tide, but only two of those victories have been by 21 points, so I’m going out on a limb by guessing that ‘Bama will win but won’t cover. Zach concurs.
chance to sneak into the playoff. The 7-1 Sooners have an early season victory over Ohio St. in their back pocket, and it’s pretty solid playoff collateral. The 7-1 Cowboys have a loss to TCU as a mark against them, but there’s no shame in that. In 
After a solid start the 4-4 Ravens have proven to be just as mediocre as we all thought they’d be. Of course in the NFL even average teams are 
pretty decent, just inconsistent. Conversely, the Titans haven’t been as good as I predicted, but at 4-3 are still leading an unexpectedly competitive division. So which Ravens team will show up in Nashville?? Either way I think Tennessee is better. It’ll probably be a low scoring, smashmouth type of game, but the home team will probably get a couple of big plays from QB Marcus Mariota to secure the victory. Zach disagrees. He believes the “good” Ravens will make an appearance and get a close win.
At 1-6 they aren’t getting anywhere near the playoffs unless they buy a ticket, which is quite a fall for team that won 11 games last season. Of course they’d had three straight losing seasons before that, so maybe 2016 was the mirage and this is the real New York Giants. It would be just like the NFL…parity and all that jazz…for the home team to score the upset. However, as tempting as it may be to overthink it to that extent I’m just going to make the obvious choice, and so is Zach.
interesting trivia. The modern day Chiefs are 6-2 and running away with the AFC West. Conversely the Cowboys are 4-3 and going to have a tough time securing a wildcard. Is RB Zeke Elliott playing this week?? Is he suspended or is the whole deal still be decided in court?? I don’t even know anymore. Dallas gets a small home field advantage, but this game is essentially a pick ‘em, which in my opinion is disrespectful to a clearly superior Kansas City team. I don’t think it’ll be much of a game. Zach concurs.
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