Category: Sports

Top 25 scoreboard

It was essentially a week of rest. The top five teams remained undefeated. Of course, four of the top five took the week off, and the other one was Clemson, which took on the major challenge of playing Wofford. If I were on the playoff committee, I’d consider eliminating Clemson just because they have Wofford on the schedule. I think Clemson could probably have won this game if their football team switched places with the debate team. Clemson was ahead 42-zip at halftime and might have hit triple figures if they had played the regulars for the entire game. At least Wofford’s punter got plenty of practice.

The game of the week was #6 Florida against #8 Georgia. Florida simply could not move the ball on the ground, and lost at home, ending their dream of a playoff appearance.

There were some vaguely interesting developments further down the “top 25” list. Two undefeated teams lost. That might be big news except nobody really thought of SMU and Appalachian State as your basic powerhouse undefeated teams in the first place. At least now they are no longer pretenders.

#12 Baylor did continue its undefeated reign atop the Big 12, but they have yet to face Texas or Oklahoma. They did, however, crush #22 Kansas State 31-12 earlier this season. They are doing something rarely seen in that conference – playing defense. They’ve held the opposition below 20 in five different games this season. They held West Virginia to just 14 points, a marked improvement over the 58 they allowed them last year; they allowed only 12 against Kansas State, versus 34 last year.

Greinke was unhittable for six innings, but the game is nine innings long, more than enough time for the Nats to pull away. Their victory capped a spectacular run which began in late May when they were 19-31 and culminated with a 4-0 sweep of the Cardinals for the pennant, followed by a 4-3 World Series triumph over baseball’s best pitching staff.

The series ended with seven road victories. That has never happened in the history of major league baseball, not just in the World Series, but in any post-season series. The phenomenon transcends baseball. It is so rare that it has never happened in a post-season series in any major sport. Both the NBA and the NHL play post-season series that can extend to seven games, but there has never been an all-road series in a series of that length.

As ol’ Casey used to say, “Amazin'”!

Six consecutive road wins!

Game 7’s announced starters are Scherzer and Greinke. That’s a classic on paper.

The Astros made it 5 road wins in 5 games.

The Nationals were humongous favorites after winning two road games and taking the series home for three.

Now the Astros are overwhelming favorites with a 3-2 edge and two coming up in Houston.

Damnedest thing I can recall in recent times.

The rich get richer, the Bengals get poorer.

(And the Dolphins play today – another bummer for Monday Night Football)

I don’t care about the Broncos other way, but they are having a crazy season. They have lost three games this year to scoring plays which left no time on the clock.

Depressing stat of the week: Panthers QB Kyle Allen was 19-for-37 with no TDs. three picks and seven sacks.

The top teams, week 9

The top four teams all won and remained undefeated. OSU had no trouble at all with a Wisconsin team that was supposed to present a challenge. LSU was the only one of the top four that had a difficult time, but that was to be expected against another tough top-ten team in Auburn. It is not possible for all of the Big Four to remain undefeated because two of those teams, Alabama and LSU, will play on November 9th. The winner of that game seems like a sure bet to make the playoff.

Two other undefeated teams, THE Ohio State and Penn State, will play on the 23rd. It seems that the winner of that game will also determine one of the playoff teams, so the likely playoff teams now seem to be: (1) LSU or Alabama;  (2) Penn State or THE Ohio State; (3) Clemson; (4) ???

That fourth spot was expected to be filled by Oklahoma, but in this week’s shocker, formerly undefeated #5 Oklahoma seems to have dropped out of the playoff picture with a loss to unheralded Kansas State in a typical Big 12 shootout, 48-41. If anyone in the Big 12 ever hires a competent defensive co-ordinator, they might win a national title.

#8 Notre Dame fell totally out of the playoff picture with a humbling 45-14 loss to Michigan.

It appears that a powerful one-loss team will probably make the playoffs, but there is still some faint hope for this year’s Cinderella teams:

The unexpectedly undefeated Golden Gophers of Minnesota (#17), pounded the daylights out of Maryland. Next week may be their Waterloo since they will face Penn State, but everyone will take them seriously if they win that one! If they can also defeat Wisconsin and Iowa, they would still have to win the Big Ten championship game. I’m willing to bet against all of that coming together for them.

#14 Baylor is also undefeated. They must defeat Oklahoma and Texas to stay that way, and would then have to win the Big 12 championship game. That probably ain’t gonna happen, but if it does, they would be the surprise playoff entry of the century.

#16 SMU remained undefeated, and may finish the season that way in the American Athletic Conference, but their schedule is too easy to qualify them for the playoff. They may, however, get a very good bowl game.

#21 Appalachian State also remained undefeated but, let’s face it, they only compete against online universities, and even then they only play against the women’s pickleball team. Do the poll participants really think Appalachin is among the top 21 teams in the country? (And they’ll probably go up by the time you read this, because some of the teams above them lost!) I’m even skeptical of the computer that ranks them #30. I’m betting the worst team in the SEC would kick their asses.

North Dakota State also remained undefeated. Unlike Appalachin, they have received no support in the polls, but you never know what those voters may do. (Sagarin’s computer ranks NDS #37, ahead of South Carolina and Stanford. That computer may need a tune-up.)

Four games, no home wins, series tied.

“Every year, it seems, some little-known player unexpectedly grabs the October spotlight by turning in the performance of his life. In Game 4 of the 2019 World Series, that player was Jose Urquidy of the Houston Astros. The rookie right-hander – with a total of 41 major league innings under his belt – held the Washington Nationals to just two hits in five shutout innings Saturday night as the Astros evened the series with a 8-1 victory and ensured the two teams will return to Houston next week.”

The Astros really have their backs to the wall.

The scores at ESPN

The rich got richer. The poor got poorer.

The Dolphins almost pulled off a miracle against Buffalo. They were ahead 14-9 after three quarters, but it was not to be. They and the Bengals remained winless, while the Skins went to 1-6, with their only win over Miami.

The Niners, at 6-0, have won more games than they did all last year. Their defense was impeccable, allowing only 154 yards from scrimmage, but they could not score a TD against the lowly Skins.

The Pats play Monday night.

Aaron Rodgers scored a perfect QB rating of 158.3 for the week, based on 25 for 31, with 5 TDs, no picks, 429 yards.

Now THAT was an exciting game.

The Yanks tie it up in their last chance, then Altuve wins it with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Wow.

Osuna got one of the least-deserved wins in post-season history. He comes in and blows a nice lead, then gets bailed out by Altuve.

The Bronx Bombers only had five hits in the game, but two of them were first-inning homers. James Paxton and the Yankee bullpen did an excellent job.

It’s lookin’ dire for the Yanks.

They basically had the game won in the first inning when they exploded for seven runs. Their sweep of the Cardinals means that they now have about a week to rest up while the Astros and Yankees sort things out.

The Astros won last night, as Gerrit Cole extended his amazing win streak. He didn’t dazzle this time, but he kept the Yankees off the scoreboard and got the job done. Stros up 2-1.

Scoreboard

After this game, they are on the verge of going to the World Series with all their pitchers rested. That means Strasburg and Scherzer could theoretically start five games in a seven game series, all of them on full rest. That’s a big edge.

During the regular season, the New York Yankees hit the second-most team homers in the history of major league baseball.

During the regular season, the Houston Astros set the all-time record for team slugging average.

This was not the regular season.

Together they managed only 13 hits in 11 innings. That said, a walk-off homer is always thrilling in any season, regular or post-.

All of a sudden it’s one game apiece, with Gerrit Cole in the wings, waiting to extend his incredible streak of 18 wins in a row, counting the post-season. Did you remember that Cole started this season 1-4? After May 22nd, when he suffered his last loss, he was 16-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 226 Ks in only 147 innings (13.9 per 9 innings!). He then added two more wins in the post-season.

His streak is almost identical to what Doctor K did in the 1985 season. After May 25, Gooden was 18-1 with a 1.39.

• On the surface Gooden’s ERA in the 1985 streak seems better than Cole’s in 2019, but in context they were virtually identical. The National League ERA was 3.60 in 1985, while the American League ERA was 4.62 in 2019. BOTH were at 39% of the league average.
• Their strikeout totals were also virtually identical in context. Cole averaged 13.87 K/9 in that streak, but the American League average is now 8.75. Gooden struck out “only” 8.67 per nine innings, but the NL average then was 5.50, so they are BOTH 58% above the league average!

The statistical similarity of the two streaks is absolutely amazing!

Results

The 49ers and Patriots remained undefeated. I guess we can say that the 49ers are obviously for real since they defeated the Rams in LA! The Patriots win was atypical. They scored 35 points without a passing touchdown.

The Seahawks and Saints advanced to 5-1. The Bills had a bye. The two other one-loss teams, the Packers and Lions, square off tomorrow.

The Jets and ‘Skins won, leaving only the Dolphins and Bengals winless. Of course, the ‘Skins win was tainted by the fact that it came against Miami, and they only won because the weak Dolphins chose not to play for a tie, but it’s still a W in the standings. The Jets win was legit. They saw the first light at the end of their dark tunnel, beating the Cowboys behind a promising performance by Sam Darnold.

• I’m not sure how much more Matt Ryan could have done (30 for 36 with 4 TDs, no picks), but the Falcons lost anyway – on a missed extra point! To be fair, Arizona’s Kyler Murray matched Ryan almost step for step (27 for 37 with 3 TDs, no picks).
• Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs really helped your fantasy team. He had 167 receiving yards and 3 TDs.

In college news, Georgia lost and LSU leapfrogged over Clemson and THE Ohio State, so the LSU Tigers went from #5 to #2 in the AP poll. The Coaches’ Poll does not agree fully, preferring the other Tigers (Clemson) in the #2 spot. The computer ratings are completely different. Ohio State is #1, while LSU and Clemson don’t even crack the top four.

It has been a good year for Tigers. Princeton is also undefeated, although three of those wins came against their own family butlers.

Top 25 round-up

Texas/OU weekend was more chaotic and violent than usual, and this time it was not on the streets of Austin. Both teams were charged with unsportsmanlike conduct penalties before the game even began. Two of the officials were hit in the process. When the game finally got started, it was #6 Oklahoma all the way. The final score sounds close (34-27), but the Sooners never trailed in the process of amassing 500 yards from scrimmage and holding the Texas passing offense below 200. What was the name of the Oklahoma defensive co-ordinator who stole Christmas from the #11 Longhorns? Grinch.

Speaking of defense. #8 Wisconsin cruised to its fourth shutout of the year. They seem to be tuned up well for their big game in a couple of weeks against THE Ohio State University, with the winner very likely to make the playoff.

#3 Georgia found out just what a tough town the SEC is. They lost to a South Carolina team that came into the game 2-3.

#5 LSU broke free in the second half to hand #7 Florida its first loss.

And weakly, at that. They had three hits apiece.

The Cards have to be especially worried. They played two home games and got only four hits altogether, none of them in innings 1-5. The highlight of their first five innings Saturday was Molina’s flyout – it was the only time they got the ball out of the infield.