2A Football Championships set

Just got back from one of the 2A state semifinals. River Hill (Clarksville) rolled Elkton 28-0. Junior RB Malek Redd broke 55- and 70-yard TDs in the first half. River Hill pretty much grinded out the clock in the second half. They tied a state record with their 11th shutout of the year.

If you want to see these guys in action, they will play Eastern Tech (Baltimore) in the 2A final at 3:30 on Saturday at M & T Bank stadium.

Howard County's other representative in the semis, Wilde Lake, lost at Damascus 35-6.

More tomorrow morning.

--Nate Sandstrom

Leave of absence

If you've been here for two weeks you've probably noticed that I haven't posted. It was going okay for a while, but during the holidays I couldn't keep it. Might try to resurrect this this weekend — I hope to have early scores for state high school football playoff games, I should be at either River Hill-Elkton or Wilde Lake-Damascus.

R.I.P. Sean Taylor

--Nate Sandstrom

NFL Power Ratings-Nov. 15, 2007

1. New England (9-0). At least they finally didn't cover.
2. Indianapolis (7-2). Loss to San Diego knocked them out of AFC two seed.
3. Pittsburgh (7-2). Steelers fans don't take well to talk of trap game.
4. Dallas (8-1). Should move to 9-1 against 'Skins. Let the hype continue.
5. Green Bay (8-1). -9.5 vs. Carolina. Lock it down.
6. San Diego (5-4). Even when they win, they lose.
7. Jacksonville (6-3). Can they avoid a melt down this year?
8. Tennessee (6-3). Vince Young's passer rating is 62.2.
9. Cleveland (5-4). I had this team in the league's bottom three to start the year.
10. Seattle (5-4). Perhaps the league's most inconsistent team.
11. Buffalo (5-4). Lee Evans has been hot, can he win for Bills w/o Marshawn Lynch?
12. N.Y. Giants (6-3). Gutcheck game against Detroit.
13. Tampa Bay (5-4). Not losing NFC South.
14. Detroit (6-3). Gutcheck game against Giants.
15. Arizona (4-5). Still control destiny in the West.
16. Philadelphia (4-5). Westbrook is a one-man show.
17. Washington (5-4). Gibbs-speak explained.
18. Carolina (4-5). How has this team won four games?
19. New Orleans (4-5). Expect a shootout aginst Houston on Sunday.
20. Denver (4-5). Finally, a win that wasn't close.
21. Chicago (4-5). Rex is back. Is that good or bad?
22. Houston (4-5). Andre Johnson is back and they are immediately more dangerous.
23. Kansas City (4-5). Wow, there are a lot of 4-5 teams.
24. Cincinnati (3-6). Wish they could play the Ravens a lot more.
25. Baltimore (4-5). 1-8 ATS.
26. Oakland (2-7). Daunte loves playing his old teams.
27. Minnesota (3-6). No Adrian Peterson? Uh-oh.
28. Atlanta (3-6). Things are getting quietly better.
29. St. Louis (1-8). Backup O-line getting used to each other.
30. N.Y. Jets (1-8). Maybe Curtis Martin will put on a uniform.
31. San Francisco (2-7). No comment.
32. Miami (0-9). A team after Jim Mora's heart: "I just hope we win a game!"

--Nate Sandstrom

Heisman Watch-- (almost) Nov. 13, 2007

The Heisman Race is winding down, in what has been one of the least memorable races I can remember. Last year was also boring although that's because Troy Smith led almost wire-to-wire.

I think the games and upsets have been so good this year that many players from many teams are popping up. Heisman Pundit calls it a three-man race. I mostly agree with his analysis.

ESPN has Dixon in the lead as well, for some reason people are still voting for Matt Ryan. I would think the losses would hurt D-Mc more, especially since Felix out-stats him.

Chase Daniel, Sam Bradford and Todd Reesing were all near misses on my Top 10, but whichever of those three emerge from the Big 12 as champ certainly have a good shot.

1. Dennis Dixon, Sr., QB, Oregon — Runs nation's best "O." 20/3, 163.1; also 549 and 8 TD rush.
2. Tim Tebow, So., QB, Florida — 7 TDs against SC! 23/5, 177.1; 718 and 19 TD on ground.
3. Pat White, Jr., QB, West Virginia — Game winner agains L'ville. 157.7 and 803 for 10 rush.
4. George Selvie, So., DE, South Florida — Sick numbers. 14.5 sacks, 30.5 TFL.
5. Jordy Nelson, Sr., WR, Kansas State — All over. 99 rec, 2 TD pass, 2 PR TD.
6. Leodis McKelvin, Sr., CB, Troy — 3 PR TD and all over in the defensive backfield.
7. Darren McFadden, Jr., RB, Arkansas — 143 ypg and versatile, but has bad games in Ls.
8. Felix Jones, Jr., RB, Arkansas — 103 ypg and 9.1 ypc. Also averages 32.7 KR, with 2 TD.
9. Jordon Dizon, Sr., LB, Colorado — Tops in solo tackles with 93. Plus 11 TFL, FF, 2 PD.
10. Chris Long, Sr., DE, Virginia — Faces lots of blocks but still has 12 sacks, 7 PD.

Top 25 Rankings -- Nov. 12, 2007

Well, it's getting to that time of year where talk about college football needing a playoff cranks up, even though I'm betting the several of the eight teams still in it will take an L between know and the start of bowl season. I've always like college football for the way it is, when a few rivalry games are almost equivalent to championships (see the smile on my face for Wisconin's win over Michigan in this train wreck season.

I put a poll on the sidebar to see how you feel about it.

My ballot this week is definitely different from the AP, USA Today and BCS polls.

I put Oregon on top of LSU because I think LSU lets too many inferior teams hang around. I want to put Ohio State ahead of LSU (setting up what I think would be a match-up of the nation's best offense vs. best defense) but LSU has more quality wins than the Buckeyes.

Oh, that's right. They play in the "weak" Big Ten with 10 of 11 teams bowl eligible.

I am apparently the only one who puts any stock Ohio State. Both other polls have them at #7. I'm still looking for anyone to make a strong arguments about why they should be behind West Virginia.

I have the Big 12 teams at 4-5-6, but I'm not that worried about the order of those three that much because they will all go head-to-head-to-head the next few weeks. You want playoffs, it's about to start in the Big 12.

Not that any of these teams have a margin for error, but I feel like Kansas has the least with no quality wins. And even though they take on a 3-8 Iowa State team at home, this game has all the markings of a trap-door a la Rutgers fiasco vs. Cincy last year.

The Cyclones aren't scared. "They're beatable."

Arizona State and West Virginia are the two other teams with an outside shot at the title game, but both need help, in addition to running the table.

In honor of how ridiculous it was when writers were voting for App. State in the Top 25 earlier this year, I am considering doing so for the Northern Iowa Panthers. They are actually #35 in the Sagarin ratings, and if ISU (who UNI beat) were to top Kansas the Panthers would sail upward.

These were my thoughts about Randy Shannon too. How many people do you think stuck around to the end of the last Orange Bowl game with the Miami Hurricanes going down 48-0 to Virginia? Have a look. Pathetic. This year is shaping up to be worse than 1997.

Team (W-L, last week)
1. Oregon (8-1, 2). Can raise profile in Thursday game against Arizona, who hates them.
2. LSU (9-1, 3). Tops in the nation, but can they win me over. Not before SEC Title game.
3. Ohio State (10-1, 1). It's still Michigan week. And they own Carr.
4. Oklahoma (9-1, 6). No scoreboard watching here, Stoops says. Texas Tech looks to kill giant.
5. Missouri (9-1, 7). Next is reeling Kansas State. Pinkel won't run up score.
6. Kansas (10-0, 8). Dodd says Kansas is #1. I guess Hawaii is #2.
7. Arizona State (9-1, 4). Escaped a banged-up UCLA team.
8. West Virginia (8-1, 5). Louisville came way too close.
9. Georgia (8-2, 10). Have chance to lock up parity-plagued SEC East.
10. USC (8-2, 11). Could still wind up in the Rose Bowl, but hope for more.
11. Virginia Tech (8-2, 13). Miami gives them chance to pound Fla. team for 2nd straight week.
12. Florida (7-3, 17). Having a good season for what they lost.
13. Clemson (8-2, 15). Looking as good as anybody right now.
14. Boston College (8-2, 9). Finally, a Boston team is losing.
15. Auburn (7-4, 12). Look to take advantage of off week.
16. Michigan (8-3,16). Henne and Hart didn't play. Bad coaching or good excuse?
17. Illinois (8-3, 21). About three plays from playing for national championship.
18. Penn State (8-3, 18). Bowl picture murky, but shouldn't look past hot Spartans.
19. Cincinnati (8-2, NR). Hiccup against Pitt really costing them.
20. Virginia (8-2, NR). Embarrassed Miami, who should ask for 2nd last Orange Bowl game.
21. Tennessee (7-3, 22). Tough to beat at home.
22. Texas (9-2, 24). I'm looking for a way to drop them out, like winning via ref.
23. Hawaii (9-0, 25). Came out hot, but wound up with another mediocre, close win.
24. Wisconsin (8-3, NR). Where was that team all year. Will finish 5th in Big Ten w/o help.
25. California (6-4, 19). Should still finish 8-4.

My absence

I hope my blogs' few readers didn't abandon me for good after I took a week off. I had a horribly busy work week, and then I was off to Wisconsin to watch the Badgers whup Michigan (don't give me those backup excuses Wolverines fans, did you really want to finish 8-4?). Then I was up at 3:15 a.m. so I could fly back to watch the Redskins collapse against the Eagles at FedEx today.

I spent a lot of time on the plane working on things to cover write about this week, including how the college bowls are lining up. So I'm back and I'm here to stay.

Monday I will do a bigger Top 25 breakdown, but as you can see on the sidebar I already posted my vote. I'm also going to do a longer breakdown on the stretch of the Heisman race, although I feel like it is Dennis Dixon's to lose at this point.

Be back here posting in a few hours......

--Nate Sandstrom

Lockdown Saturday

Alright, this is the day I've been waiting for since last year. Wisconsin at Ohio State.

Now, as I dreamed of this day, I was expecting Wisconsin to be undefeated not the Buckeyes. But if the Badgers win today and against Michigan next week, I would still rate 2007 a quality season.

Will they do that? Their defense will decide. I think if they can finish +2 in the turnover ratio they can win. The defense had their first good game against a team with a good offense against Indiana last week.

I think the first quarter will be key. The defense needs to come up with stops the first two drives and build confidence.

The Badgers have won three straight in Columbus. I don't know if anyone has ever won four in a row in the Horseshoe. But I'm a homer, and this week's upset special is Wisconsin (+550/+16) at Ohio State, winning 16-14.

Also at noon, Northwestern looks to get to bowl eligibility at home against Iowa. Northwestern has done well in this series in recent years, and I like that trend to continue against an injury-riddled Iowa team. Northwestern (-1) wins this one 24-10.


Texas heads to Oklahoma State, who, since getting embarrassed at Troy, has been playing great. I've consistently called Texas the most overrated team in the country, and I think they get exposed in Stillwater today. Oklahoma State (+3) pounds the 'horns 37-17.

The South Florida Bulls' season is on the line. They've gone from #2 in the country to a team with a two game losing streak. Today they get another team that's fallen from grace in Cincinnati, who had an embarrassing loss to Pitt. I think the Bulls were victimized by a hangover effect, but their defense will be too much for the Bearcats' O-line. South Florida (-5) wins it 28-14.

--NS

Nate's NFL Power Rankings: Post-Week 8

The Colts-Pats game is reminiscent of a #1 vs. #2 regular season college football match-up. I've strategically avoided ESPN much of this week, so I am not so sick of the hype that I don't want to watch the game.

I'm starting to notice I'm not moving teams that much. I guess the biggest question is whether I would move the Steelers ahead of the loser of Colts-Pats, and the answer is not likely.

1. New England (8-0,1). What 'skins D? Another week, another blowout.
2. Indianapolis (7-0,2). Can they afford to start slow against the Pats?
3. Pittsburgh (5-2,3). Total lip service. They are not playing '06 Ravens.
4. Dallas (6-1,4). Pats-Colts give Dallas-Philly least coverage in years. T.O.?
5. Green Bay (6-1,5). Seem like team of destiny.
6. San Diego (4-3,6). Outscored opponents 104-27 in last three.
7. N.Y. Giants (6-2,7). Players council? What is this, Survivor?
8. Tennessee (5-2,8). Margin doesn't matter much in NFL.
9. Seattle (4-3,10). Seeking to shake up run game.
10. Jacksonville (5-2,15). Won battle for best in Fla.
11. Tampa Bay (4-4,9). Turnovers killed them against Jags.
12. Carolina (4-3,12). Indy blows out a lot of teams. They may be back to Carr.
13. Washington (4-3,13). New England blows out a lot of teams.
14. Baltimore (4-3,14). Still looking for first division win (0-2).
15. Detroit (5-2,16). Is Kitna the new Nostradamus?
16. Denver (3-4,11). Falling out of playoff picture.
17. Cleveland (4-3,19). Win against Seattle and they move up big.
18. Arizona (3-4,17). Trying to snap two-game skid.
19. Buffalo (3-4,18). Lee Evans gets in the end zone!
20. Kansas City (4-3,21). Who thought they'd start November in first?
21. Chicago (3-5,22). They've got to get better right.
22. Cincinnati (2-5,23). Is there honor in being NFL's best 2-5 team?
23. Philadelphia (3-4,27). Wins in next two (Dallas/Washington) can get them back.
24. New Orleans (3-4,26). Can move into first place tie this week.
25. Oakland (2-4,25). Another blown half time lead.
26. Minnesota (2-5,24). Now the Brooks Bollinger show.
27. Houston (3-5,20). I don't think David Carr was the problem.
28. San Francisco (2-5,28). Again, has a team that started 2-0 finished 2-14?
29. N.Y. Jets (1-7,29). Man-genius spent too much time on Sopranos.
30. Atlanta (1-6,30). Found way not to lose bye week.
31. Miami (0-8,31). Have mastered losing games by three points.
32. St. Louis (0-8,32). At least Steven Jackson is back. Oooooh. Yikes.

High School Weekend -- November 2

Two more weeks to the start of the football playoffs, and there are some games with major seeding implications this afternoon in the city. Both could wind up being playoff previews.

A link to the playoff standings.

However, perhaps the best team in the state, Friendly (PG), may be on the outside looking in because of an ineligible player.

I keep looking for a chance to sneak away and check out Tavon Austin, but I'll be in the capital covering tax bill hearings tomorrow.

For more on Digital Harbor (down the road from my house) see the Sun's Milton Kent's article here.


Here are capsules from the Sun (I inserted standings, top four qualify).

Digital Harbor (#2 1A South)
@ No. 2 Dunbar (#1 1A South)
When // Friday, 2:30 p.m.

Outlook // This game matches the Baltimore City League leaders in the Division II Rams (7-1) and the Division I Poets (8-0). Tavon Austin and Dunbar have outscored city opponents 36.6 to 8.0 per game, including a 44-34 victory over Poly (7-1), which dealt Digital its only loss, 23-6. The Poets are averaging 40 points compared with 8.8 by their foes, with Austin recording 23 touchdowns and 1,477 rushing yards. Jeron Lewis, who has 12 sacks, leads the Rams defense, which hopes to slow Austin. Trae Higgins and Aaron Hargraves look to run the ball against the Poets' defense, led by linebacker Keon Redhead. Four-year-old Digital has outscored its city foes, 24 points to 8.6 and would love to avenge last year's 36-0 loss in its first meeting with Dunbar.

Poly (#2 2A North)
@ No. 7 Edmondson (#3 2A North)
When // Friday, 2:30 p.m.

Outlook // This game is crucial to the Class 2A North region qualifiers. City (6-2) holds a slim lead over Edmondson (6-2) for fourth place and the final playoff berth. The visiting Engineers (7-1), who are second in the region behind Eastern Tech (8-0), can help City, which hosts Mervo (5-3), and hurt the Red Storm. Next week in the last games of the regular season, City visits Poly and Edmondson will travel to Lake Clifton (1-7). The game showcases two of Baltimore's top running backs in Poly's Lee Reynolds and Edmondson's Terence Wilson.

In Howard County, there are not really any headline games, although the River Hill-Howard battle next weekend will certainly draw interest. Glenelg (#5 1A South) needs to stop Hammond if they want to qualify for the playoffs. However, it's an uphill battle, and based on the numbers they may be out even if they run the table.


Here's TronBlaster's HoCo take this week: (team, W-L, PF-PA)
The elite
1. River Hill 8-0 343-14 Intriguing match-ups with the second best D
in the league this week, and the second best offense (Howard) next week
(Last week: beat Marriotts Ridge 49-6; This week: Reservoir at)
+2. (3.) Howard 7-1 232-146 OK, get excited. They're playoff bound and
if not for a week 3 loss at Atholton, they'd be 8-0 (beat Wilde Lake
21-14; at Long Reach)
-3. (2.) Wilde Lake 6-2 213-96 A few costly turnovers led to the
Howard loss, these two could have a great playoff battle (lost to
Howard 14-21; Oakland Mills at)

The good
4. Marriotts Ridge 5-3 174-210 Hovet is squeezing every win possible
out of this team (lost to River Hill 6-49; Centennial at)
5. Atholton 5-3 132-114 One-trick offense is keeping them from being
elite (beat Oakland Mills 26-20; at Mt. Hebron)
6. Reservoir 4-4 145-96 They need their incredible defense to score
more, like the 2000 Ravens did (beat Centennial 13-8; at River Hill)

The respectable
7. Glenelg 4-4 113-179 Four game winning streak to get back to .500,
good chance to win out (beat Mt. Hebron 21-14; Hammond at)
+8. (9.) Oakland Mills 2-6 172-264 Good show taking Atholton to double
overtime, two near-misses could have had them 4-4 (lost to Atholton
20-26 (2OT); at Wilde Lake)

Just go out there and have fun kids
-9 (8.) Long Reach 3-5 113-188 Puzzling loss to Hammond has to cost
them, I don't know what to make of this team (lost to Hammond 19-32;
Howard at)
+10. (11.) Hammond 2-6 186-253 Offense starting to come around, if only
they could stop someone (beat Long Reach 32-19; at Glenelg)
-11. (10.) Centennial 2-6 98-207 Only team in the league that hasn't
scored 100 points yet (lost to Reservoir 8-13; at Marriotts Ridge)
12. Mt. Hebron 0-8 115-269 Starting to play better, but 0-10 season
is inevitable with A and WL ahead (lost to Glenelg 14-21; Atholton at)

--NS/TB

Heisman Watch, Post-Week 9

Alright, it's 1:30 a.m. and I'm almost caught up.

Heisman Pundit keeps Tebow on top and has Matt Ryan #2 and Dixon #3.

ESPN's poll has Ryan #1, Dixon #2 and Tebow #3.

It seems the race is finally taking shape as we head into November.

NO Matt Ryan on my list. Despite his comeback at VT he completed less than 50% of his passes in that game and is not in the NCAA's top 50 rated passers. He is getting purely good QB on good team votes.

No player links in this section today because I've got to go to bed.
(last week)
1. Dennis Dixon, QB, Oregon. (1) No jinx last week. Leader of top offense.
2. Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon. (4) Came up big against USC D.
3. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida. (2) Still the nation's #1 rated passed passer.
4. Matt Forte, RB, Tulane. (-) 5 200-yd games in last 6. 74 against LSU.
5. Jordy Nelson, WR, Kansas St. (-) 82 yards+ in every game. Plays big in big games.

--Nate Sandstrom

Top 25 Rankings, Post-Week 9

I'm going to brief here, because I'm so late on posting these.

1. Ohio State (9-0,1). Here's OSU's playoff: Wisc, Ill, and Michigan in final three.
2. Boston College (8-0,2). Didn't score for 58 minutes and still won.
3. LSU (7-1,3). 'Bama is last major test before SEC Championship.
4. Arizona State (8-0,6). Carpenter can't throw, but will play, says Erickson.
5. Oregon (7-1,4). Top 5 showdown puts Ducks in spotlight second straight week.
6. West Virginia (7-1,5). Blowout win at Rutgers getting 'Neers back in BCS talk.
7. Oklahoma (7-1,7). Need to find early season form.
8. Missouri (7-1,9). Maintaining low profile.
9. Kansas (8-0,15). Taking advantage of teams they should.
10. Georgia (6-2,17). What a difference a (bye week) year makes vs. Gators.
11. USC (6-2,12). Lost, but so did everyone else in this range.
12. Auburn (6-3,14). Early season woes a distant memory.
13. Virginia Tech (6-2,13). They got Flutied.
14. Michigan (7-2,18). App. State now has as many losses.
15. South Florida (6-2,10). Need to show they can respond to a loss.
16. South Carolina (6-3,16). Breakthrough year slipping away.
17. Florida (5-3,8). Not winning the close ones they did last year.
18. Penn State (6-3, 19). Ohio State blows out the white out.
19. Connecticut (7-1,NR). Who knew blown call against Temple could wind up mattering.
20. California (5-3, 20). Three weeks, three losses. Where is th D?
21. Hawaii (8-0,22). Waiting for Boise match-up to move this team up.
22. Wisconsin (7-2,22). This 16-point dog has won its last three in Columbus.
23. Alabama (6-2,25). Saban's first crack at old team.
24. Wake Forest (6-2,NR). That's six straight.
25. Clemson (6-2,NR). Davis, Spiller right ship in College Park.

Maybe Ryan Leaf wants a job too.....

(St. Paul) Pioneer Press reporter does a good job summing this up in his lede:

The Vikings have reached the nadir of their search for a productive and reliable quarterback. Jeff George, who hasn't thrown a pass in an NFL game since 2001, is confident he can upgrade the team's 30th-ranked pass offense.

The rest of the article is here.

Apparently the 39-year-old, ex-Colt, ex-Raider, ex-Viking, ex-Redskin, ex-Bear and others has looked around the league and thinks he could help a team, particularly the Vikings.

This seems to build a case for what Mark (not to be seen at SoBo lately) told me last week — there are almost no good QBs left in the league.

I don't think now is any different than from year's past at that position, but if Jeff George catches on somewhere, I may be turned around.


I'll never get over the Redskins for letting Brad Johnson go for George. Here's how that worked out.

--Nate Sandstrom

Lockdown-Part II

My picks have gotten so bad the last few weeks, I should stop embarrassing myself. Here's the crap I'm picking today.
Maryland (+3)
Idaho (+17.5)
Denver (-3)
Upset Special: Northwestern (+390)

--NS

Lockdown-Part I

Fresno State (+3) vs. Boise State
It's Friday football in Fresno tonight, and the home Bulldogs are underdogs. And why not? According to covers they are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 against a team with a winning record.

Boise State is certainly that. They're 6-1 this year and have won 22 of 23 overall since the school's last trip to Fresno, a 27-7 loss in 2005.

But tonight they will again be without RB Ian Johnson. The Broncos are also working on their own bad trend 0-2 ATS on the road this year.

I think it continues tonight.

Fresno State 37 Boise State 31

--NS

Who is the NFL's MVP so far?

So has Tom Brady resurrected Randy Moss's career? Or is it Moss that has brought Brady to the next level?

I say it's a bit of both, but more the latter than the former.

The catches Moss was making against Miami is adding to a sick highlight reel he has assembled this season (to go with 105 ypg and 10 TDs). If the season were over today, I'd give him my MVP.

I have a feeling that Brady would win, and don't get me wrong I'd have him #2. But I don't think he'd have nearly the same numbers (73.8%, 304 ypg 27/2!, 137.9 rating).

Randy's old team, the Vikings, may have a guy who will win multiple MVPs in Adrian Peterson (112 rush ypg, 6.2 ypc, 5TD rush, 1TD rec, 28.5 KR). He probably means the most to his team, but had a key drop and fumble against Dallas. He gets my third place vote.

Don't look now, but LT is creeping back in the race at #4. (He's up to 88 rush ypg and 6 TDs. He's also caught and passed for a TD.) He's got a great match-up this week against Houston to pile on the stats, but needs to do it against good defenses as well.

Devin Hester is not really an offensive player, but I have him at #5. He's second in the league in punt return average and has taken two to the house. He also brought back a kick, scored a game-tying TD against the Vikes and had a good catch in the comeback against the Eagles.

What about on defense? Most people don't care, but I won't let you go unnoticed, dominant linebackers of this league.

I've had NFL leading tackle Barrett Ruud #1 from wire to wire, although he doesn't look great against Calvin Johnson here:



However, Ruud has 66 tackles, a pick, three forced fumbles and two recovered. That's an MVP stat line.

#2 is the jersey I put on most Sunday's, Sean Taylor. Taylor leads the league in INTs and passes broken up with 5 and 14. He also has 24 tackles and he makes them count.

One from the U.:



Rounding out my top five are Osi Umenyiora (8 sacks, 3 FF, 2 FR, 1TD), DeMarcus Ware (34 tackles, 5.5 sacks) and another 'Cane, Ed Reed (4 INT, PR TD).

A quick break for — golf?

I have to give a shot out to my old roommate, current poker rival and good buddy Paul Bangle.



That's him not excited. But you won't see him so dour any time soon, as the coach of the Liberty Lions saw his team set the state 1A/2A tournament championship record with a 2-day 633, topping second place Glenelg by two strokes.

The Baltimore Sun covers it here. Here's the Examiner story. The Carroll County Times has their story here.

Congrats Coach!

--Nate Sandstrom

Nate's NFL Power Ratings-Week 8

The top six hold, but last week's seven and eight, Jacksonville and Baltimore, respectively, plummet.

The Colts are getting a lot of love for whipping Jacksonville, but I put much of it on Quinn Gray, who was not ready for NFL speed. Also, what was that 4th and 1 play that Del Rio ran just before the end of the first half? I can't stand when teams get fancy instead of just running inside.

Anyway, here's my role call this week:

1. New England (7-0,1). I've been betting this team every week and am now retired.
2. Indianapolis (6-0,2). Now travel on a short week in a look-ahead game.
3. Pittsburgh (4-2,3). I'm impressed they got back in the Denver game.
4. Dallas (6-1,4). Turnovers will burn Romo eventually. Now a bye.
5. Green Bay (5-1,5). Will week off get Favre back on track?
6. San Diego (3-3,6). Can beat Houston anywhere.
7. N.Y. Giants (5-2,12). London trip could be perfect excuse for 2007 collapse.
8. Tennessee (4-2,13). Please tell them football games last four quarters.
9. Tampa Bay (4-3,9). Hope they don't have to play on turf (0-3) in playoffs.
10. Seattle (4-3,11). Find the Rams cure what ails ya.
11. Denver (3-3,15). Need to remind city they have a football team.
12. Carolina (4-2,10). Winless at home this year, now Colts come to town.
13. Washington (4-2,14). This thread teaches history. It will not repeat.
14. Baltimore (4-3,8). Ray Lewis is crying and the losing begins. Hello again, 2005.
15. Jacksonville (4-2,7). Run the ball Del Rio. Especially with Quinn in.
16. Detroit (4-2,22). Consistent they're not.
17. Arizona (3-4,17). The Fugitive's favorite team. (Get it, one-armed man).
18. Buffalo (2-4,18). Finally win a close one.
19. Cleveland (3-3,20). Need to stay focused, not look past Rams.
20. Houston (3-4,16). I've been calling for Sage since 2003, in Washington, Miami...
21. Kansas City (4-3,22). Now,they're a playoff team. Will it last? Pun intended.
22. Chicago (3-4,19). A Bears QB wins a game!
23. Cincinnati (2-4,25). They were still down 13 to the Jets.
24. Minnesota (2-4,18). Tavaris presents a quandry.
25. Oakland (2-4,28). How do you lose 17 straight division games?
26. New Orleans (2-4,23). It's a winning streak, regardless.
27. Philadelphia (2-4,24). Speaking of 2005 last place finishes.
28. San Francisco (2-4,26). Has a team that started 2-0 finished 2-14?
29. N.Y. Jets (1-6,29). Please win so Greenberg will stop debating Brady-Manning.
30. Atlanta (1-6,30). Leftwhich era shortest era ever.
31. Miami (0-7,31). Think Saban saw this coming?
32. St. Louis (0-7,32). At least Steven Jackson is back.

--NS

Heisman Watch: Oct. 23

It seems like every week I slide someone into the top spot, they fall back. No one seems to want to win this thing.

QBs dominate the ESPN poll, with Tebow on top.

I'm not loving Matt Ryan like everyone else, but I'll jump on the bandwagon if he can beat Va. Tech on Thursday (don't expect that to happen).

Heisman Pundit calls this a four-man race and also has Tebow on top.

I'm going to buck the trend and give my top vote to Ducks QB Dennis Dixon. As you can see from past posts on Heisman watch, this almost guarantees Oregon will lose to USC.

This week's top five:
1. Dennis Dixon,QB,Oregon. (NR) Pretty much 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing at rival Washington. Leads what is probably the nation's best offense. 165.8 passer rating, 69.3% and 17/3. Rushes for 59.4 ypg and 7 TDs.
2. Tim Tebow,QB,Florida. (2) Five TDs in Kentucky holds off Wildcats' bid for back-to-back upsets. Haspassed for 66.1%, 17/3 and 177.5 rating. Oh yeah, and rushed for 82.5 per and 10TDs.
3. Chase Daniel,QB,Missouri. (NR) Maybe not the same duel threat as Dixon and Tebow, but led a shredding of Texas Tech last weekend. Daniel still rushes for 30 per and 3 TDs and has passed for 69.2, 17/7 and a 150.1 rating.
4. Jonathan Stewart,RB,Oregon. (NR) Pat White and Steve Slaton got the preseason hype, but Dixon/Stewart are leading the top backfield. Stewart shredded the Huskies defense for 257 on Saturday. He now averages 134.3 ypg and 7.17 ypc! He also returns kicks to the tune of 29.8 per.
5. Felix Jones,RB,Arkansas. (NR) Felix has no chance to win, but I wanted to get him in the discussion at least one week. D-Mc gets all the pub, but his backfield mate has put up the scarier numbers. 110.6 ypg, 9.56 ypc and 7TDs in part-time duty. He also has returned two kicks for touchdowns and averages 31.6 per return.


Bonus sleepers:
I love KSU WR Jordy Nelson, but he needs to score more on offense. if Troy upsets Arkansas and runs the table, DB/return man Leondis McKelvin should get a look. No defensive players ever win, but what about USF DL George Selvie, has 11.5 sacks and 21.5 TFLs.

--NS

Top 25 Rankings: Oct. 22, 2007

Oh, number two spot. I don't really want to put BC here; I think they will be the fourth straight #2 team to go down when they head to Blacksburg.

But I'll give it to the Eagles, as the computers point to them as #1.

I'm not one of those people who scoffs at the idea of computers evaluating teams. Unlike people, computers don't have biases that, say, excuse a loss by USC to Stanford but not by South Florida at Rutgers.

Don't worry, the computers are hating on USC. In the new BCS rankings, it looks like Oklahoma is also getting help from the polls. The computers have them 14. I dropped them three spots after their narrow win in Ames.

I've got four new teams in the rankings this week. UCLA is probably the most controversial because they can't win non-conference games, but they're in the Pac-10 driver's seat after holding on against Cal.

Here's my ballot:

1. Ohio State (8-0,1). Need to avoid turnovers at Penn St. Saturday night.
2. Boston College (7-0,3). Can a Boston team finally lose? Makes me puke.
3. LSU (7-1,5). Lucky as Sh*t University. That's how Les planned it.
4. Oregon (6-1,8). The nation's best offense? USC game is next bench mark.
5. West Virginia (6-1,10). Right back in the BCS hunt with blowout of MSU.
6. Arizona St.(7-0,13). Moves up as others fall. Cal is biggest test.
7. Oklahoma (7-1,4). Apparently the Sooners are not morning people.
8. Florida (5-2,11). Lots of credit from me for win at Kentucky.
9. Missouri (6-1,15). First team to shutdown Michael Crabtree.
10. South Florida (6-1,2). Need to move on, or UConn will make it two straight Ls.
11. Kentucky (6-2,9). Still in East's wild race.
12. USC (6-1,12). Win at Oregon will turn season around.
13. Virginia Tech (6-1,14). A loss to B.C. puts VT squarely as a pretender.
14. Auburn (5-3,19). Move up with close loss at LSU. Not far from 8-0, or 2-6.
15. Kansas (7-0,18). Did what Oklahoma couldn't, won at Colorado.
16. South Carolina (6-2,6). Were looking ahead to other team from Tennessee.
17. Georgia (5-2,17). Were lucky to beat Vandy themselves.
18. Michigan (6-2,20). Wish non-conference was the same as NFL preseason.
19. Penn State (6-2,21). Look to repeat 2005. Is OSU ready for white out?
20. California (5-2,7). So close to 7-0. Now just hope to play on New Year's.
21. Rutgers (5-2,NR). Looking to knock out Top 5 team for second straight week.
22. Hawaii (7-0,25). Where will they get a signature win?
23. Virginia (7-1,NR). How do they keep winning the close ones?
24. UCLA (5-2,NR). Best team that lost to Utah 44-6.
25. Alabama (6-2,NR). May be LSU's last road block in the regular season.

Post-weekend short post

I'm late for work, but I'm still can't believe how Illinois gave the game away to Michigan on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Redskins did their best to lose the 13th game they led at halftime since 2004, but LaRon Landry saved the day. And they were lucky.

Why I'm not a gambler: As you see from the post below, I decided I didn't like the spreads in the NFL this week. So of course I went 11-2 (missed Min +9.5, Was -9). I would've at least pulled a 2-1 on lockdown if Maryland hadn't given up a 90-yard drive at the end of the 4th, but hey, I should've known better to pick against UVa., which now wins every game.

--NS