Weekly Update November 6, 2023

Baseball: Texas Rangers World Series Champions

Basketball: Bobby Knight dies.

Football – NCAAF: 8 losses in Top 25 including Bedlam. Other storylines and top 25 rankings.

Football – NFL: 8 close games and some not close games. Injury updates. Raiders fire HC and GM.

Golf: Kuchar blows it. Van Rooyen takes the WWT.

Olympic Sports: Pan Am Team USA success. NYC marathon results.

Coming up this month:

11/7 NCAAM season begins and 11/19 debut of F1 Las Vegas GP

Baseball – MLB:

• We have a new World Series Champion.
  • We went into Monday with the series tied 1-1. Game 3 on Monday was the first of 3 played in Arizona. But it was all Rangers early scoring 3 runs in the 3^rd. Seager was the star of this game with the 2-run HR in the 3^rd and some great defense to save the game. Good thing too because clutch post season hitter Garcia and star P Scherzer went out injured in this game so even with a W, it looked scary for the Rangers.
  • Game 4 was the exact opposite meaning high scoring but it was still all Rangers. There were a combined 23 hits in this game. The Texas team put up 5 runs apiece in the 2^nd and 3^rd Arizona did put up 1 in the next inning then would rally a little in the 8^th with 4-runs and 2 in the 9^th but the damage was too big to bounce back from. Rangers win 11-7 and all they need is 1 more game.
  • Game 5 was a battle of pitchers with no runs being scored until the 7^th when Texas finally got one on the board. It looked like that might be it but for good measure, the Rangers put up 4 more in the 9^th to seal their first World Series.
• To no one’s surprise, Seager won MVP and he is the first to win WS MVP in both the NL and AL. He won with the Dodgers in 2020. The Rangers manager, Bruce Bochy, has now won 4 world series as they got him this past year from the Giants where he had 3. This is the Rangers first World Series and they had the longest odds to win the WS with 50-1 since 2003 (Marlins at 75-1)

Basketball:

• Indiana HC Bobby Knight died this week. He retired with 902 wins, 3 national championships and one undefeated season in 1976. That is the most recent team to be undefeated and win a natty in the same year. He was ultimately fired because of temper then went to Texas Tech for 7 seasons.

Football – NCAAF:

• Top 25 Losses: We had 8 losses.
  • It was the final Bedlam, which is the 2^nd longest running uninterrupted rivalry dating back to 1910. And the OSU Cowboys will forever get bragging rights as they beat Oklahoma in a wild rivalry game. Although total yards were comparable, OU had the ball 15 minutes less than OSU did – that’s an entire Q! Yes there was an atrocious missed PI call on the OU final drive that would’ve won the Sooners the game but ultimately you cant have 3 turnovers  like the Sooners did and expect to win. Also on the final 4^th down, why throw anything short of the first down line.. Pokes win by 3.
  • Big time match up in the SEC with Georgia going on a hard stretch against 3 ranked opponents in a row (for now). The Dawgs started with #12 Mizzou at home. It was a close game and tied 10-10 at half. But then Georgia had a productive 3Q outscoring the Tigers by 9. Georgia didn’t look their best and Mizzou played well. But Mizzou QB Cook threw 2 INT which you cant do against #2. including a big boy lineman interception. Georgia wins by 9.
  • #14 LSU and #8 Bama was another great game. It literally felt like a tennis match and whoever broke serve first would win. We were tied at 28 apiece late. Bama breaks it in 2H holding LSU to just 7 points to win 42-28. QB Jaden Daniels also went out of the game for LSU, granted with just 4 minutes to go in the game but that solified no comeback possible for the Tigers.

• • Clemson and Dabo needed this win. With all the scrutiny that they have faced over the last couple of weeks and Dabo yelling at callers how they should coach the team, Clemson put the beat down on #15 Notre Dame. It was 24-10 at half and while the Fighting Irish put up more points than the Tigers in the 2H, it wasn’t enough. QB cutie Sam Hartman did not have a good game, only throwing for 150 yards and 2 INT (no TDs). Clemson wins 31-23. This is Dabo’s 166^th win, he is now the winningest coach in Clemson football history.

• • Arizona has had enough of being disrespected and being thought of as the worst team in the Pac12. They have had a couple of close losses to top 25 teams and even a win here and there but this one was big. Wildcats upset the #19 UCLA Bruins 27-10.

• • #5 Washington hadn’t looked great for a couple of weeks but they had some offensive fun this weekend against #20 USC. The Huskies put up 28 points in the 2Q alone. Heisman QB Caleb Williams played great but it was not enough and now USC is out of the Pac 12 Championship (most likely) and for sure out of the CFP with 3 losses. It hit him hard too. The Huskies now have Utah and Oregon State back to back.

• • #7 Texas looked to have #23 Kansas St handled they were winning 27-7 so I stopped watching. But then the tide began to shift with K St going 3 straight TD dirives (with the aid of 2 Texas fumbles). All of a sudden were tied 27-27. Texas geta FG to go up by 3. K State then drives down to the 8 yard line but couldn’t get in the endzone so they go to kick a FG  with 1:45 on the clock and miss a 27 yard FG. Admittedly I thought that was it. But then K State holds Texas to a 3&out and get the ball back with 1:18 to go. They drive down the field and get a 45 yard FG. We go to OT. Texas starts with the ball and only gets a FG, K State starts their drive with a 19 yard pass and its 1^st and goal… and by now I’m salivating. But that is where it all came to an end and literally the QB falls on his ass for the final play. Texas escapes.
  • It was a service academy match up for #25 Air Force as they took on Army. Air Force had 6 turnovers – whoa. All the points were scored in the 1H it was 23-3 and that’s where we ended.

• Other major storylines:
  • #1 Ohio St played with its food a little bit in a hard physical game with Rutgers. This is not your dads Rutgers team, they are good this year 6-3 good. They also had the lead at half 9-7. But then the Buckeyes turned it on scoring 28 points in 2H.

• • The Texas A&M/#10 Ole Miss game was one for the ages as well. Texas A&M only had the lead for just under 3m in the final 4m of the game. Every time it looked like Ole Miss was going to run away with it, Texas A&M would just keep hanging around. Ultimately Ole Miss scored a TD with just 1:40 to go in the game and the Aggies drove it down to kick a tying 47 yard FG when an Ole Miss player got a hand on it, blocking it and game goes final 38-35.
  • I see you #18 Utah – the Utes put up 55 points against Arizona State in their route.
  • #21 Kansas puts up a TD in every Q in their game vs Iowa St. It could’ve been a hang over game but the Jayhawks bounce back nicely winning by a TD in Ames.
  • Phew #24 Tulane only beat 1-7 East Carolina by a FG. ECU scored all 10 points in the 1Q and never put up points again. Good thing for the Green Wave.

• Top 25 this week: There was no change in the top 8 because none of those teams showed us anything crazy different. Florida St, Oregon, Michigan all rolled on with ease.
• CFP rankings: The big story from the first CFP rankings was Ohio State dethroning Georgia as #1. The Big 12 was the big winner though with 3 teams sneaking in 20 or higher.
• Michigan staffer Connor Stallions has been fired following the sign stealing allegations being thrown around – duh.

Football – NFL:

• This week in the NFL: There were 8 close games this week in the NFL starting with TNF. The Titans are win-less on the road as they traveled to Pittsburg to take on the Steelers. Rookie QB Will Levis took his first NFL loss after losing this game by 4 points when the Steelers scored a TD in the 4Q. In GER, the Chiefs played the Dolphins so you figured you would take the over in this game as both teams have been heavy offense. But the KC team was done scoring by halftime putting up 21 straight points on Miami who then rallied in the 3Q, putting up 14 but that was still a TD short for the W. The Falcons/Vikings game was a tight one. The Falcons led by 1 at half but that lead disappeared in the 3Q when the Vikings scored 11 points to ATL’s 10. The Falcons took the lead in the final 2 minutes of the game, going up by 4. But MN WR Powell would catch a final TD with just 22 seconds left in the game to give them the win. Saints QB Bagent threw 3 INT but his defense came up big to help them win over the Bears by a TD. The Texans are now 4-4 after they had a tight win over the Bucs. The Houston team scored 29 in the 2H to take the win away from Tampa. CJ Stroud had 470 yards and 5 TDs!

• The Cowboys Eagles game is always a good one because the teams hate each other so much and both teams were looking to stay atop of their divisions. While Dallas had the leave at half, Phili scored 14 unanswered points in the 3Q. It was a game of inches and Dallas fell just short multiple times as they tried to mount a last minute comeback. It came down to the final play. Ceedee Lamb caught the ball but just short of the goal line (when they need a TD to win. He ended up fumbling but game was over anyway. Don’t mess with momentum, the Bengals are the hottest team in the league right now, after losing their first 3 games, they are now 5-3 after beating the Bills on SNF.

• The Browns shutout the Cardinals 27-0. Yikes! that is their first shutout since 2007. I bet most cannot name the Packers QB right now. Me neither until I did this, Jordan Love led his men to a sizable victory 20-3 over the Rams. Both teams now only have 3 wins apiece. The Giants were about to be shutout when they scored 6 points in the final Q, they still lost by 24 to the Raiders but not a shout out is good!

• OBJ had a nice birthday with the first of 4 TDs of the day for the Ravens as they beat the Seahawks 37-3, the largest margin of victory of the weekend.

• As if things couldn’t get worse for the Giants, their QB Jones is now out for the season with an ACL injury. Viks RB Akers tore his Achilles and Eagles TE Goedert fractured his forearm.
• The Raiders fired their HC Josh McDaniels and their GM this week. Those firings will cost the team $85MM or at least the owner. That means that now their interim HC will be the 12^th different coach the team has seen in 20 seasons, the most by any team over that span of time in league history. The LV team has not won the division since 2002, which is the 3^rd longest active drought.

Golf:

• Matt Kuchar looked to have this tournament in hand in Mexico, leading the field by 6 shots. Although he has a history there. Kuchar would give back all 6 shots on the field (quad bogey on 15) and RSA Erik van Rooyen played the back 9 in -8, to win by 2 strokes. The coolest part was he was tied with Kuchar and Camilo Villegas when he went into the 18^th hole, where he nailed a 16-foot eagle putt to win. He donated this win to his friend who is dying of skin cancer tearfully after he won. This is his 2^nd PGA Tour title after winning the 2021 Barracuda Championship.

Olympic Sports:

• The Pan Am Games are officially over and the USA came away with 124 gold medals with their 631 athlete roster. This means that Team USA took the top spot for the 17x. However Team USA had 7 less total medals but with 2 more golds than Peru in 2019. BRA and Mexico rounded out the top 3. CAN then CUB was 4^th and 5^th.

• • One of the gold was in breaking dancing. Grace Choi, aka Sunny, clinched the gold in a contest 3-0 over COL Luisa Tejada. The contests are decided in head ot head battles between two dancers. With this win, the 34 year old Choi has qualified for Paris 2024 games. Breaking was created in the US ~50 years ago but will only be at the Paris Olympics as LA has voted not to continue the sport.

• The NYC marathon was this weekend. ETH Tamirat Tola won with a course record of 2:04.58. He ran ahead at mile 20. In contrast, the women’s side was decided in the final mile. KEN Hellen Obiri made her move in the final 800m to win by 6 seconds and 3^rd was only 10 seconds off first place.

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Wed 11/8
  • Spurs at Knicks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Warriors at Nuggets @ 9pm on ESPN
• Fri 11/10
  • Nets at Celtics @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Lakers at Suns @ 9pm on ESPN

Basketball – NCAAM:

• Mon 11/6
  • Samford at 3. Purdue @ 5:30pm on BTN
  • Radford at 19. UNC @ 6pm on ACC
  • JMU at 4. Michigan St @ 7:30pm on BTN
  • Dartmouth at 2. Duke @ 8pm on ACC
  • Kansas St at 21. USC @ 9pm on TNT
  • Cal St Fullerton at 17. San Diego St @ 9:30pm on FS1
• Tues 11/7
  • Florida A&M at 8. Creighton @ 8pm on FS1
  • Auburn at 20. Baylor @ 8pm on ESPN
• Thurs 11/9
  • Southern Indiana at 4. Michigan St @ 6pm on BTN
• Fri 11/10
  • Le Moyne at 22. Villanova @ 5:30pm on FS1
  • 12. Arizona at 2. Duke @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Rider at 5. Marquette @ 7:30pm on FS1
• Sun 11/12
  • Lehigh at 19. UNC @ 1pm on ACC
  • TBD vs TBD @ 2pm on ESPN2 (South Car, MN, WKU, Princeton)

Football-NCAAF:

Top 25
Week 11
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV	Line
2. Michigan	9. Penn St	Sat 11/11	11:00 AM	FOX
13. Utah	5. Washington	Sat 11/11	2:30 PM	FOX
14. Tennessee	16. Mizzou	Sat 11/11	2:30 PM
10. Ole Miss	1. Georgia	Sat 11/11	6:00 PM	ESPN
USC	6. Oregon	Sat 11/11	9:30 PM	FOX
*GameDay indicated in bold*

• Tues 11/7
  • CFP Ranking Show @ 6pm on ESPN

Football-NFL:

• Mon 11/6
  • Chargers at Jets @ 7:15pm on ABC or ESPN
• Thurs 11/9
  • Panthers at Bears @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 11/12
  • Colts at Patriots @ 8:30am on NFL
  • 6 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
    • CBS: Texans at Bengals, Packers at Steelers and Titans at Bucs
    • FOX: Saints at Vikings, 49ers at Jags, Browns at Ravens
  • Falcons at Cardinals – or – Lions at Chargers @ 3:05pm on CBS
  • Giants at Cowboys – or – Commanders at Seahawks @ 3:25pm on FOX
  • Jets at Raiders @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 11/13
  • Broncos at Bills @ 7:15pm on ABC/ESPN

Golf:

• Thurs 11/9
  • PGA: Butterfield Bermuda Championship – Round 1 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 11/10
  • PGA: Butterfield Bermuda Championship – Round 2 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 11/11
  • PGA: Butterfield Bermuda Championship – Round 3
    • @ 10am on Golf Channel
    • @ 1pm on CBS
• Sun 11/12
  • PGA: Butterfield Bermuda Championship – Final Round @ 10am on Golf Channel

Hockey:

• Tues 11/7
  • Red Wings at Rangers @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Devils at Avalanche @ 9pm on TNT
• Wed 11/8
  • Panthers at Capitals @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Kings at Golden Knights @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 11/9
  • Stars at Blues @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Oilers at Sharks @ 9:30pm on hulu

Motorsports:

• Sun 11/12
  • MotoGP: Sepang GP @ 12:30pm on NBC

Olympic Sports:

• Sun 11/12
  • Sport Climbing: FRA Combined @ 9:30am on FS1
  • Figure Skating: GP in China @ 2pm on NBC

Soccer:

• Wed 11/8
  • MLS Playoff Game 2: New England Revolution vs Phili Union @ 6pm on FS1
• Sat 11/11
  • FIFA U17 Men’s World Cup: ARG vs SEN @ 5:5am on FS1
  • Premier League: Wolves vs Tottenham @ 6:30am on USA
  • Premier League: ManU vs Luton Town @ 9am on USA
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 11:30am on NBC
  • NWSL Championship: NY Gotham FC vs OL Reign @ 7pm on CBS
• Sun 11/12
  • FIFA U17 Men’s World Cup: KOR vs USA @ 5:50am on FS1
  • Premier League: West Ham vs Nottingham Forest @ 8am on USA
  • NCAAM: Big East Championship @ 10am on FS1
  • Premier League: Chelsea at Manchester City @ 10:30am on USA