Upsets Change the Look of the Top 10

Undefeated teams took a loss this week completely changing the look of the Top 10.This week we welcome two new comers to the mix.

1. Alabama - remain on top even though they had a bye
2. Michigan - able to exact revenge from last season defeating Michigan state 32-23 remaining undefeated
3. Clemson - pulling out the victory over Florida State kept the Tigers in the third spot
4. Washington - continuing to dominate their opponents pulling out a 31-24 victory over Utah
5. Texas A&M - with Louisville and Ohio State struggling A&M jumps into the fifth spot defeating New Mexico State 52-10
6. Louisville - Virginia took the lead with 1:57 left in the game but Lamar Jackson took his team down the field to claim a 32-24 victory
7. Ohio State - Ohio State has been struggling the last three weeks they are no longer the dominate team they were. They barely beat Northwestern by a score of 24-20.
8. Wisconsin - in a battle with the undefeated Nebraska team the Badgers held on to win 23-17
9. Florida - with all the losses above them the gators jumped into the Top 10 after beating Georgia 24-10
10. Auburn - Auburn rounds out the Top 10 with a dominating win over Ole Miss

The Top 10 changed quite a bit this week with Nebraska, Baylor and West Virginia all suffering their first loss of the season. This couldn't have come at a worst time with the Playoff rankings starting on Tuesday.

Shake up in the Top 10 for week 9

This week the top 10 saw the first huge upset with Ohio State falling to the unranked Penn State team. Alabama continues to impress with their NFL caliber defense. Michigan continues to route teams. College football is always exciting.

1. Alabama - Bama was able to hold off the undefeated Texas A&M team. They came alive in the second half putting the Aggies away staying undefeated.
2. Michigan - Michigan is up 1 from last week and deserves this spot routing teams. They defeated Illinois 41-8 holding them scoreless in the second half.
3. Clemson - Up 1 from last week. They had a bye last week. This week they have a tough matchup with Florida State.
4. Washington - Washington up 1 from last week continuing to impress with a high powered offense.
5. Louisville - Lamar Jackson continues his bid for the Heisman. Jackson was responsible for 4 touchdowns in a 54-13 victory over NC State.
6. Nebraska - remaining undefeated in a 27-14 victory over Purdue. Nebraska came from being down14-10 in the first half to pull out the victory.
7. Ohio State - Ohio state held on to a 21-7 led only to let it go. The Buckeyes fall 5 spots after a surprising loss to an unranked Penn State team.
8. Baylor - had a bye. Will look to continue to dominate this week.
9. Wisconsin - The Badgers held off Iowa walking away with a 17-9 win.
10. West Virginia - Breaking into the top 10 for the first time this season. They defeated TCU 34-10 continuing to get better every week.

Week 9 will feature some good games with Clemson playing Florida State and Michigan playing Michigan State. Will there be another huge upset on the top 10. That's what makes College Football so great it is unpredictable and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

College Football Top 10 for week 8

This weeks games had some of the top 10 teams sweating until the clock ran out of time. Alabama had no problem with Tennessee but Ohio State, Clemson and Louisville had a little more trouble putting their opponents away.

1. Alabama- routed Tennessee 49-10 keeping their claim at the top
2. Michigan - had a bye week but their previous strong play moves them ahead of Ohio State up 2 from last week
3. Ohio State - pulled out an overtime victory over Wisconsin. Struggling this week and last week drops them to third. Down 1 from last week
4. Clemson - struggled against NC State. Got lucky to walk away with an OT victory when NC State missed a game winning field goal. Down 1 from last week
5. Washington - had a bye
6. Texas A&M - had a bye
7. Louisville - struggled against Duke but came on late getting the win.
8. Baylor - continues to dominate opponents defeating Kansas 49-7. Up 3 from last week
9. Nebraska - able to hold on to a 27-22 victory over Indiana up 1 from last week
10. Wisconsin - fighting until the bitter end with Ohio State keeps the Badgers in the top 10

Dropping out is Tennessee after accruing their second loss on the year. College Football is anything but predictable anything can happen in any game. That is what makes this so exciting every week. Who knows what next week will bring to the Top 10.

Giants game 5

  After a brilliant start to the season the Giants have lost their last three games including last nights Primetime game against the Green Bay Packers. The defense played decent but are still unable to create a pass rush and the offense couldn't produce having to settle for field goals.
  Janoris Jenkins stood out in this game grabbing the Giants first interception of the season. Jenkins was able to pick off Aaron Rodgers twice and break up key catches preventing touchdowns. It's a good thing the defense came to play or this would've been a blow out. They were able to force the Packers to punt the ball trying to give the offense a chance. The pass rush was nonexistent still allowing Rodgers all sorts of time in the pocket. The money spent in the offseason has still not paid off. Spagnola needs to figure out a way to get to the quarterbacks in order to turn this season around. 
  Again in this game Manning had trouble throwing the ball and converting on third down. There were also a few drops by the wide receivers including a drop by tight end Will Tye that would've resulted in touchdown. OBJ was more involved in this game and did get his first touchdown of the season in spectacular fashion. He was able to grab a catch in the back of the end zone with both toes touching inbounds holding his heel up so it wouldn't land out. This touchdown also pulled the Giants within a touchdown with three minutes left in the game. That touchdown drive was the best drive the offense put together all game with five first downs going 63 yards.
  Unfortunately time was against the Giants when they kicked the ball off to the Packers. The defense was trying to get the ball back to Manning. The Packers were facing a 2-13 and Rodger threw a short pass to Starks. Starks fumbled the pass but was able to get the ball back giving the Pack a first down essentially sealing the victory for the Packers sending the Giants to 2-3. The Giants fell 23-16. Despite how bad they looked they only lost by a touchdown. I feel this could've gotten out of control if it wasn't for the defense making plays getting the Packers off the field. This loss places the Giants at the bottom of the NFC East.
Manning went 18/95 for 199 yards and a touchdown. Manning did not throw an interception in this game. OBJ had five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. Victor Cruz didn't get a catch and Sterling Shepard only had two catches. Coach McAdoo needs to start making calls to highlight our offensive strength, the three wide receivers. The Giants were unable to run the ball. Bobby Rainey had the most rushing yards with 22. I don't understand why Paul Perkins wasn't used more with Rashad Jennings out again. Perkins showed last game he has speed we can utilize. In order for Manning to be able to throw the ball the Giants need to be able to run the ball.
  There were less penalties this week but they still had  six. Up next for the Giants is the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens will bring a pass rush with Terrell Suggs. If the Giants don't figure out how to get more blocking this is going to be a problem all game. Sitting at 2-3 isn't a time to panic but if they don't start to fix their mistakes and take advantage of their weapons on offense nothing is going to change. Hopefully Manning will find his receivers and the offense can be more productive next week.   

College Football Top 10 For Week 7

This weeks College Football provided some more shakeups to the Top 10. The top five remained the same but after that things changed and brought in newcomers to the Top 10.

1. Alabama - defeated #16 Arkansas 49-30 remaining at number 1
2. Ohio State - Routed Indiana 38-17 under stellar play by qb JT Barrett staying in the second spot
3. Clemson - continuing to build on their win over Louisville by blowing out Boston College 56-10
4. Michigan - continuing to impress by posting a 78-0 shutout against Rutgers
5. Washington - claiming an impressive 70-21 win over Oregon a team they have had trouble with in the past
6. Texas A& M - moving up two spots with a thrilling overtime win against Tennessee
7. Louisville - stays the same with a bye week
8. Wisconsin - moving up 3 spots looking to prove themselves Saturday night against Ohio St
9. Nebraska - up 3 spots sliding into the top 10
10. Baylor - up 3 despite a bye week they have played solid and crack the top 10

Dropping out this week are Houston with a surprising loss to Navy, Tennessee couldn't get another comeback win over Texas A& M and Miami took a one point loss to Florida State. There is still plenty of College Football left so these teams could always make it back in the top 10. 

Giants Game 4

On Monday night it was Eli Manning against what has become his nemesis, the Minnesota Vikings. For some reason Manning struggles in this game the most as compared to any other opponent. Just like his other meetings, this game was no different. In some cases early on in this game it seemed as if Manning was playing scared. He was throwing the ball into the ground the second a defender started running toward him. Despite how bad the Giants played the score didn't show it. At the end of the first quarter the Giants were only down 7-0 and going into half time they were down 14-3.
The major problem that started in the last game and all of a sudden the Giants are plagued with is penalties. In this game they raked up eight for a total of 69 yards. It was like they were shooting themselves in the foot. These penalties shouldn't be happening and most of them came at crucial times negating any chance of getting a score. The one penalty everyone seems to be talking about is the Personal Foul against Odell Beckham Jr. In all fairness that penalty came after Xavier Rhodes hit him late. Everyone is complaining about OBJ's "Outbursts" but what I see is his passion for the game and for wanting to win. He reacts like that because he knows what he is capable of and how much he can do if he can get the ball. He gets frustrated which is understandable. OBJ is getting singled out but there are many great wide receivers that have had outbursts just like this ... Dez Bryant, Chad Johnson, Randy Moss and Michael Irving to name a few. So this is not a new reaction this is being a passionate wide receiver. I personally like seeing his passion for the Giants, yes the 15 yard penalties hurt the Giants but he was hit out of bounds twice and all he got was a penalty for it. Everyone is making this a big deal when it isn't. The media and everyone talking about it is the distraction not OBJ.
Back to the game. In the second half the Giants were able to score a touchdown on a running score by Orleans Darkwa. The touchdown was made possible on the best play the Giants offense had all game. Rookie Paul Perkins caught a short pass and was able to run for a total 67 yards setting up the touchdown. There wasn't much else in the way of offense. Beckham was held to 23 yards, Cruz had 50 yards and Sterling Shepard had 30 yards.
On the other hand the defense kept the Giants in the game until they didn't. The defense wasn't able to get to Sam Bradford until the second half of the game and the zone let up some huge plays. Yes they were depleted in the secondary but that isn't an excuse. The Giants ended up loosing 24-10. Manning went 25/45 for 261 yards, NO touchdowns and an interception. There isn't much time to dwell on this game only a week to improve and fix their mistakes before they meet with the Green Bay Packers. All I know is that with all the money spent on that defense they better start getting to quarterbacks and creating turnovers. Both sides of the ball need to play better and Manning absolutely needs to air the ball out and let our three offense threats take over the game. There is no defense that can guard our three wide receivers and we should be dominating on offense. We have all the pieces to be a dominate team, they just need to stop thinking about all the distractions and focus on what they are good at. The Giants are sitting at 2-2 tied at the bottom of the NFC East with Washington. Once they come together and everything starts to click there should be no more problems. Eliminate the penalties, rely on their strengths and  this team will be back on top in no time.

Shake up in the Top 10

This week like every week there were some upsets, surprises and shake ups in the top 25 of College football. With a new top 10 coming out this week I'm sharing my thoughts on what I think the new top 10 should look like. I believe the top 2 will remain the same but after that everything changes.

1.Alabama- took a little while to warm up but once they did, they defeated Kentucky 34-6 not loosing their top spot.
2. Ohio State- shut out Rutgers while showcasing their talented offense scoring 58 unanswered points.
3. Michigan- moving up one spot from last week. In a defensive battle with Wisconsin for most of the game but able get one more touchdown to remain undefeated.
4. Clemson- moving up one spot. Deshaun Watson came into the game with something to prove after everyone talked about Lamar Jackson all week long. With the help of the Tigers defense Clemson was able to pull out the upset over Louisville by the score of 42-36.
5. Washington - jumping up 5 spots from last week. Washington was able to prove that their team is the top team in the Pac-12 blowing out Stanford 44-6. Holding one of the best running backs in College Football to 49 rushing yards.
6. Houston - remains at the same spot. Getting redemption from an upset last year. Houston defeats UConn 42-14.
7. Texas A&M - moves up 2 spots. Pulling out a close win over South Carolina. Next week will determine if A&M is for real in a SEC matchup with Tennessee.
8. Tennessee - up three spots from last week. Down almost the whole game Tennessee was able to get out of Athens with a last second hail mary touchdown victory winning 34-31. They will be tested again next week going up against Texas A&M.
9. Baylor - jumps four spots from last week. Baylor was down 42-28 in the fourth quarter against Iowa State but the offense rallied pulling out a 45-42 come from behind win.
10. Miami - up four spots from last week. Miami is finally back in the top 10 after a few years out of the mix. Coach Richt has this team back to their winning ways defeating Georgia Tech 35-21.

At number 11 I have Louisville after loosing to Clemson. Also dropping out of the top 10 are Stanford and Wisconsin. It's only week five so there is a lot of time to get back in the top four. I can't wait to see what upsets come next week. This is why College Football is the best... you never know what is going to happen.

Giants game 3

     Sunday was a sad day for the sports community with the loss of a legend, Arnold Palmer and  tragic loss of an incredible baseball player Jose Fernandez. Despite that it was also Football Sunday and in the 1pm slot was a divisional matchup between the Giants and the Redskins. This game was built up because of the Odell Beckham Jr/Josh Norman match up.
     The Giants entered 2-0 while the Redskins entered 0-2. In the first half, the Giants were rolling scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter and another in the second quarter. The defense held the redskins to two field goals in the first quarter and a field goal and touchdown in the second quarter taking a 21-16 lead going into the half. The Giants dominated both sides of the ball in the first half.
     Unfortunately the second half was a different story. In the third quarter, the Giants couldn't find the end zone only scoring a field goal while allowing a redskins touchdown. Entering the fourth quarter the Giants held on to a 24-23 lead but then things fell apart. Eli Manning threw an interception in the redone, his first of the game. The defense held strong forcing the Redskins to punt. On the punt the Giants were able to block it which would've given the Giants excellent field position but there were penalties on both teams nullifying the play forcing the Redskins to punt again. There was a personal foul on the Giants which was so incredibly unnecessary and ended up being the turning point of this game. The Giants were only able to put up a field goal in the fourth and despite not allowing the Redskins to score another touchdown, they allowed them to score two field goals losing their first game of the season. Manning threw a second interception at the end of the game when the Giants just needed to get into field goal range to win the game.
     I've noticed that once they are down that is when Manning goes into panic mode and throws the ball in the wrong spot or tries to force it in the middle of defenders. This loss wasn't just on the play of Manning but also on the 11 penalties that the Giants occurred. The defense also gave up some huge receiving plays like the Jamison Crowder 55 yard touchdown. Yes they are 2-1 and sit in the second spot of the NFC East but they need to fix these mistakes real quick if they plan on having a good year.
     OBJ won the match up against Josh Norman. Norman couldn't keep up with OBJ and got burned quit a few times in the second half. OBJ did loose his cool getting a penalty and hitting the kicking net on the sideline but that was because Manning missed him wide open a couple of times. OBJ finished with seven receptions for 121 yards. Another highlight was Orleans Darkwa, who was filling in for Rashad Jennings. Jennings sat out this game with an injury. Darkwa ran hard and with conviction finding quit a few holes gaining huge yards. Victor Cruz also made some key catches to keep drives going and continuing to shine was Sterling Shepard. Shepard had five receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown.
     The Giants have all the components needed to be a good team this year but they definitely need to clean up the mistakes that they made in this game. Manning can't panic when the Giants get behind and needs to continue to play the way he did to start the game. The Giants definitely need to clean up the penalties because you can't win games giving away yards. They need to fix these mistakes quickly because up next is the Minnesota Vikings who are currently undefeated. Despite the outcome this was a good game. The first half was great hopefully they can continue that first half play going forward.

Peyton Manning is Now and Will Always Be Football

What is football without Peyton Manning because Peyton Manning is Football. With18 years in the NFL, the younger generations don't know the NFL without Peyton Manning. Before the NFL there were his years dominating college football at the University of Tennessee. I was blessed to watch him from the start of his monumental career. I've been a fan since he played for Tennessee. It has been a privilege to watch one of the greatest players to ever play the game, to watch the person that helped to make the NFL what it is today.

Manning came into the NFL as the first pick in the 1998 draft. He started his career with the Indianapolis Colts. During his tenure with the Colts, he revived an organization and made it a championship caliber team. From 1998-2011, Manning won eight division championships, two AFC championships, made two Super Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl victory in the pouring rain against the Chicago Bears and four NFL MVP titles. Also creating one of the greatest rivalries in sports: Manning v Brady. A game that became one of the most highly anticipated and thrilling games for the past 15 years. In the playoffs, everyone looked forward to that matchup because you knew it would never disappoint and would keep you at the edge of your seat for the entire game and sometimes longer.

While with the Colts, the world was able to witness one of the greatest masterminds in football grow overtime, evolving the NFL every step of the way. When Manning first entered the NFL not many were aware of his high football IQ but that quickly changed. Saying Manning worked hard everyday is an extreme understatement because day in and day out he did everything could to master his craft and to make sure he competed everyday at the highest level he could. Manning built Lucas Oil Stadium with his success and did it surrounded by teammates that became great because of him. Manning made the people around him better, because everyone wanted to work as hard as he did.

Unfortunately, circumstances brought Manning's time at Indy to an end and the organization that was thriving because of him released him. At that time he was already considered one of the best but with the neck injury the Colts thought it would be best to move on. This would prove to be a welcomed change for Manning. Manning would sign with the Denver Broncos and would rebound from an injury that had people doubting him, only to continue to add to his already elaborate resume.

During Manning's four years with the Broncos, he led them to two Super Bowl appearances, received his fifth NFL MVP, which is the most by any NFL player and in the final game of his career he won another Super Bowl While with the Broncos, Manning shattered many NFL records leaving his mark on the game for years to come.

Manning has a long list of records but the most notable ones include: being the first quarterback to have 200 career wins, being named to 14 Pro Bowls, having 14 4,000 yard passing seasons, becoming the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes, having the most passing touchdowns and passing yards in one season and having the most games with at least 400 yards passing. Manning is the epitome of greatness.

Manning's career has surpassed everyone expectations. On this day March 7, 2016, Manning has called it a career. It is sad to know Manning will never step out on that field again, that his Super Bowl victory was last time we would all witness him throw the ball but what a way to go out : The Champion of the World.

There will never be another Peyton Manning. No one will ever come close. It has been a privilege and an honor to watch Manning's entire career unfold and become a legacy. For years to come kids will strive to be like Manning and that will make the NFL great. If only we could have an NFL full of Peyton Manning's but knowing that there will be countless players working to be like him means the NFL will only continue to grow. The NFL will never be the same without Peyton Manning but he has left an everlasting legacy. Thank you Peyton for the memories, the excitement and for letting me witness greatness. You will be missed on that field come August! I will forever be a fan! Congrats on an illustrious career. Hope to see you involved in football again real soon as a coach or a commentator! Omaha!