Alabama, Michigan, & Nebraska All Choke and Fall

Alabama made the plays to beat the number one team in the land and rival LSU, but just couldn't put the ball in the endzone. Instead they settled for six field goal attempts and missed four of them, including one in overtime. LSU kicker Drew Alleman connected on his field goal attempt in overtime giving #1 LSU the 9-6 victory. The game was defensive dominated in most every aspect and featured many fine defensive plays, including a beautiful play where LSU safety Eric Reid took a jump ball away from Alabama tight end Michael Williams to prevent a touchdown. LSU is now in the driver seat to a berth in the SEC Championship Game and BCS National Championship Game.

Iowa was coming off a humiliating loss to Minnesota 22-21. In order for them to have a chance at a Big Ten championship, the Hawkeyes would most like win out the rest of the season. Their first opponent was the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan's defense didn't seem to have an answer for the Hawkeyes offense. Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg hooked up with wide receiver Marvin McNutt for nine catches and 101 yards. Marcus Coker ran for 132 yards and touchdowns. Offensively, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson overcame some first half turnover mistake to do all he could through the air to lead the Wolverines to a comeback win, but came up just short. Were there many possible missed calls toward the end that went against the Wolverines? Yes, there were some close calls. However, Michigan never should have put themselves in that spot. Now, they are a game behind Michigan State in the Legends Division. Iowa now sits a game back as well. The Hawkeyes get another tough opponent at home next week in Michigan State. If they can pull the upset though, they will have completed a miraculous comeback that would propel them into first place in the division.

Who is Kain Colter? Everyone at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska were just shocked to find out. Nebraska fans had to be a little concerned when their Huskers 7-0 nearing half-time, but that's when Northwestern starting quarterback Dan Persa was injured, so back Kain Colter was brought in. Colter took over the second half. He completed only 4 passes, but they were for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 57 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-25 upset win over #10 Nebraska. Nebraska played poorly early and their comeback came up just short when the Wildcats recovered an onside kick to help seal the victory. The Huskers now sit a game behind Michigan State in the Legends Division. They have tough road trip next week to Happy Valley, where they have to take on Penn State, the only team who is still undefeated in Big Ten play.

#5 M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A Will Be Too Much for #14 North Dakota

Even as the the tribe of Sioux Indians fight to keep the mascot on the plains of the hockey landscape, the University of North Dakota is in need of some fighting of its own. 

Literally. It's time for the ever-interesting brawl fest against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

This series always turns out to be a hard-hitting, bench-clearing fight-instigating series. In 2008 these teams faced-off with at least three fights, with the capstone being the fight during the handshake line. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpbXDFfeyKs

#15 North Dakota makes the trek across the border to take on their rival #5 Minnesota. The Gophers hold a strong challenge for NoDak, with Minnesota coming into the game at 7-1-0. The Fighting Sioux have struggled a bit this year with a 3-4-1 record. 

The biggest challenge this weekend will be finding a way to shut down an incredible Gopher offense. Minnesota has scored 38 goals in eight games, averaging 5.375 goals per game. This is compared to North Dakota's average of 1.727 goals per game.

North Dakota has simply not had a good start to the year. They have struggled against nearly every team they have played, while Minnesota has blown teams out. The Gophers also have an impressive sweep of defending national champion #14 Minnesota-Duluth by two scores of 5-4. North Dakota on the other hand, was swept this year by then #17 Wisconsin, and has also lost a hard game to #1 Boston College by a score of 6-2. 

I would be surprised if North Dakota gets a win this weekend. Minnesota is too strong.

Prediction: Minnesota 4-2; Minnesota 4-0.

NFL Week 9 Preview & Predictions

Just like the college football previews and predictions, starting this week, I am blogging every Friday about the Top 5 NFL games for the upcoming weekend.

5. Chicago Bears (4-3) @ Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) - 8:30 PM EST (Monday), ESPN

This Monday football game is going to be over-hyped, just like every Philadelphia game. This is largely due to the fact that the Eagles finally showed some signs of being the team people thought they would be in a 34-7 win over the Cowboys. The Chicago Bears are coming off a bye, following their quality Week 7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In fact, each team is seeking their third consecutive win. Both could really use it as well. The Bears are in third place in the NFC North. They are trailing the Detroit Lions (6-2) by a game and half and the division leading Green Bay Packers, who remain undefeated. The Eagles are in a three way tie for second in the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. All three teams sit two games behind the division leading New York Giants (5-2). The key matchup to watch is the Bears Cover 2 Defense against Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. In December 2010, the Bears defense led by Brian Urlacher did a great job containing Vick in a Bears win. Bears coach Lovie Smith will have his team ready coming off the bye week. The Bears have won three of their last four over the Eagles. Prediction: Bears 24 Eagles 20

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) @ New Orleans Saints (5-3) - 1:00 PM EST, FOX

The New Orleans Saints entered last week's game coming of a 62-7 destruction of the Indianapolis Colts. They had to be confident facing the previously winless St. Louis Rams. However, the Saints never led the game and were trailing 24-0 well into the third quarter against a Rams team that hadn't scored more than 16 points in any previous week. The game ended in a shocking 31-21 loss. The loss meant the Saints' NFC South lead dropped to only a half game over Tampa Bay and Atlanta, both of whom were on the bye last week. This was the best possible news for Tampa Bay. The Bucs can take the division lead win a win on Sunday. They already have a win over both the Falcons and Saints. Three weeks ago, Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman passed for 303 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Saints. On the other hand, Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw three interceptions in the game. Interestingly enough, Tampa Bay has won three of their last four against New Orleans. Prediction: Saints 28 Buccaneers 20

3. New York Jets (4-3) @ Buffalo Bills (5-2) - 1:00 PM EST, CBS

This Sunday should help us to have a better picture of how good the top three teams in the AFC East are. This game features two of them. The New York Jets are coming off a bye and are speaking of the importance of the game. Both coach Rex Ryan and cornerback Darrelle Revis have told the media this game is a "must win." The Buffalo Bills are looking to win their first five games at home in sixteen years. They have put up an impressive 5-2 record against the NFL's sixth toughest schedule. This is largely due to the Pro Bowl caliber play of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and runningback Fred Jackson. Jackson is a definite candidate for Offensive Player of the year and has rushed for at least 100 yards in five of the Bills seven games so far this year. The Jets have the 26th ranked rush defense in the NFL, so expect him to do it again.Prediction: Bills 24 Jets 20

2. New York Giants (5-2) @ New England Patriots (5-2) - 4:15 PM EST, FOX

This game features a Super Bowl XLII rematch. The Super Bowl game saw Eli Manning's greatest moment of his career as he led the Giants on a 12 play, 83 yard drive to score the winning touchdown. In August, Eli Manning said that he was in the same class as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Manning took a lot of heat and abuse from the media from that. This game provides another opportunity for him to prove his point. He stands a great chance against a Patriots pass defense, which ranks dead last in NFL (323.1 ypg), that allowed Ben Roethlisberger to pass for 365 yards in last week's Steelers victory. The Patriots have to like their odds with Brady under center at home. He has won 31 straight games at Gillette Stadium. Additionally, Giants starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw is questionable with a broken foot.Prediction: Patriots 34 Giants 24

1. Baltimore Ravens (5-2) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) - 8:20 PM EST, NBC

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry has been one of the greatest in recent years. However, it didn't look like it in Week 1 as the Ravens punished a turnover-happy Steelers team 35-7. But both these teams are clearly different than Week 1. Baltimore is coming off of a scare by the Arizona Cardinals last week. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had to lead his team on the greatest comeback in franchise history to come up with the 30-27 win. Pittsburgh is coming off its best and most complete win of the season. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns in an impressive 25-17 win over the New England Patriots. The defense shut down Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, limiting him to 198 passing yards. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin allowed his cornerbacks to play man-to-man defense. It worked well, and the Ravens receivers have struggled against that type of coverage, so we might see it used again. As expected, both defenses rank in the top three in almost every category. Prediction: Steelers 17 Ravens 13

College Football Week 10 Preview & Predictions

I know that this is the first one, but starting today, I will spend Thursdays blogging about the Top 5 college football games for each week. My previews will include some pregame analysis and my predictions.

5. #15 Michigan @ Iowa (or any Big Ten game for that matter) - 12 PM EST, ESPN

With the exception of Penn State (bye this week), all of the Big Ten contenders are heavy favorites this Saturday. Nebraska hosts Northwestern, Michigan State hosts Minnesota, Wisconsin hosts Purdue, and Ohio State hosts Indiana. The Big Ten game that intrigues me the most is Michigan against Iowa. Michigan has looked solid this season behind the play of quarterback Denard Robinson and runningback Fitz Toussaint. However, the Wolverines have lost two times in a row to Iowa. Additionally, they should face an angry Hawkeyes team that lost 22-21 to lowly Minnesota last week. What will happen in this game (or any of these games), who knows? It is the Big Ten after all. Prediction: Michigan 24 Iowa 17

4. Texas A&M @ #6 Oklahoma - 3:30 PM EST, ABC/ESPN 2

Last year, Texas A&M pulled a stunning upset of Oklahoma 33-19. Many people think that they will do it again this year, but I am not one of those people. Last week, Texas A&M blew a second-half lead for the third time this season. If that wasn't bad enough, the Aggies' pass defense ranks dead last among FBS teams, allowing 318.3 yards per game. Oklahoma will be without leading rusher Dominique Whaley, but should focus on airing it out with quartback Landry Jones, who only threw for a school-record 505 yards and five touchdowns last week against a then undefeated Kansas State team. Prediction: Oklahoma 48 Texas A&M 24

3. #9 South Carolina @ #7 Arkansas - 7:15 PM EST, ESPN

Wait a second. There is another SEC Top 10 matchup this Saturday. I know that all of the media is focusing on the other big SEC game (don't worry I am getting there), but it's true. While South Carolina hasn't looked pretty in many wins this season (14-12 & 14-3 the past two weeks), on thing they've done a lot of this season is winning (only loss was by 3 to Auburn). Arkansas' only loss was a manhandling at Alabama. The Razorbacks have some solid wins (Texas A&M & Auburn), but haven't looked to strong the past two weeks having to come up with come-from- behind victories, after facing double-digits deficits. The storyline of the game might be the Hogs ability to protect quarterback Tyler Wilson, who has been sacked 15 times in eight games so far. Wilson is the SEC's leader in passing yards, but will need time to throw. South Carolina is No. 14 in the country in scoring defense (17.1 points per game).The Gamecocks' d-line will look to get after Wilson. Prediction: South Carolina 17 Arkansas 16

2. #14 Kansas State @ #3 Oklahoma State - 8PM EST, ABC/ESPN 2

Kansas State (who was then undefeated) was exposed in a 58-17 loss to Oklahoma last week. The Sooners exploded for 690 total yards of offense, including 505 passing yards and five touchdowns by quarterback Landry Jones. It won't get any easier for the Wildcats who head to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have the #2 scoring (49.9 ppg) and #4 passing (373.3 ypg) offense. Quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon have been been one of the best dynamic duos in all of college football. Additionally, running back Joseph Randle has ran for 290 yards in the past two games combined. Unless the Wildcats took some miracle drug this week, this game should look like a repeat of their last game. Prediction: Oklahoma State 48 Kansas State 28

1. #1 LSU @ #2 Alabama - 8PM EST, CBS

Could this game be any bigger? #1 against #2. The two SEC West rivals are nose-to-nose in almost every way. Both teams crushed their first eight opponents in double-digit wins. They both annihilated East Division foes Florida and Tennessee by a combined 61 (LSU) and 59 (Alabama) points. LSU has the #13 scoring offense and #2 scoring defense. Alabama has the #12 scoring offense and #1 scoring defense. The winner clearly has inside track to play for both the SEC Championship and National Title. If this kind of matchup doesn't make you want to watch college football, I don't know what kind will. Prediction: Alabama 45 LSU 43 (3OT)

How good is Manchester City?

Manchester City has been trying to establish itself as a football power in Europe. The team has has spent most of the season atop the Premier League table. Tonight was another step in this direction as they convincingly beat Villarreal 3-0 in the first stage of the 2011 Champions League. Yaya Toure led the attack, scoring twice.

Manchester City began the Premier season looking good, but there loss to Bayern Munich on September 27 seemed to reveal that they weren't quite ready for the top competition of Europe. They bounced back with two solid Premier wins, before facing their next Champions League foe, Villarreal. They won the first meeting 2-1.

On October 23, Manchester City had a Premier showdown with archrival Manchester United at Old Trafford. City proceeded to demolish United 6-1. City recorded only their second win at Old Trafford since 1974, and inflicted United's first home defeat since April 2010 and ended their run of 19 consecutive home league wins.

Including its win tonight, Manchester City is 7-0 since the loss to Bayern Munich. One player to watch is Italian Mario Balotelli. He has thrived as a new addition to the team, but has had a history of off-field issues. Here are some games to keep an eye on coming up for Manchester City as they continue Premier and Champions League play:

Nov 19	10:00 ET	Manchester City	v	Newcastle United	Etihad Stadium	Premier League
Nov 22	2:45 ET	Napoli	v	Manchester City	San Paolo	Champions League (2011 First Phase)

Dec 7	2:45 ET	Manchester City	v	Bayern Munich	Etihad Stadium	Champions League (2011 First Phase)
Dec 12	3:00 ET	Chelsea	v	Manchester City	Stamford Bridge	Premier League

These games will help to show how good Manchester City really is. Are they ready to be among the elite clubs in Europe. Stay tuned to these games and this blog to find out.

Read more about Man City's victory over Man U on October 23 here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/317936?cc=5901
Read more about Man City's Mario Balotelli here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature/_/id/977685/mario-balotelli:-a-world-all-his-own?cc=5901
Read more about Man City's win today over Villarreal here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/331166?cc=5901

Bobcats Too Much for Struggling "Ivy League" Princeton

They walked to classes this morning in their preppy sweater vests and ties, carrying briefcases and portfolios that would make any public university student jealous. But when the time came to hit the ice, everyone remembers why students go to Princeton for academics and not hockey.

Despite back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009, the Princeton Tigers, at only three games into the season, would very much like to start over and better their frustrating 0-2-1 record. The frustration for the Tigers only continued tonight against # 19 Quinnipiac University (7-2-0), as the Tigers suffered a 5-2 loss to the Bobcats.

Being down 1-0 in the first isn't the most demoralizing thing in the world. But when Quinnipiac's Russell Goodman was thrown out of the game with a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct, you can't go the entire powerplay without scoring. And you certainly can't give up a shorthanded goal.

Apparently, Princeton can. Scott Zurevinski scored a shorthanded goal with just over 3 minutes left in the period to put Quinnipiac up 2-0. 

The demise continued for the Tigers when the Bobcats made it a chilling 3-0 in the second period. A bit of life flickered for a moment, however, when Princeton's Will MacDonald scored late in the period to cut the lead to 3-1. Princeton would try in vain to get the crucial next goal, but QU went up 4-1 in the third thanks to a timely goal by Bryce Van Brabant. The Tigers continued to show a glimpse of life by cutting the lead back down to two, when Eric Meland scored for Princeton.

It wasn't enough to spark a comeback. Quinnipiac buried an empty net goal, and sealed the game at 5-2.

The Bobcats of Quinnipiac have had a nice start to the season, coming in this week at #19 in the country. The schedule, though, has been only mediocre. We will see how the Bobcats perform as the schedule lets them face off against #9 Yale and #13 Union later on in the season.

And for Princeton? Looks like it's back to the books to find out how to solve a struggling season.

Rivers' Late Fumble Treats Chiefs to a Halloween MNF Victory

Arrowhead Stadium was rocking for a Halloween divisional battle on Monday Night Football. The Kansas City Chiefs were playing host to their rival San Diego Chargers.

Kansas City controlled most of the 1st half and ended it with a 13-3. San Diego kicker Nick Novak scored all the points in the 3rd quarter, connecting on three field goals to bring his team within one point.

Chiefs running back Jackie Battle scored a touchdown to make it a 20-12 lead. Philip Rivers responded by driving down the field on a scoring drive that ended with a successful two point conversion to tie the game at 20-20.

After exchanging the ball several times, Rivers drove the Chargers to the 15 yard line with under a minute left in the game. Novak had already connected on four field goals, so the game appeared to be over. With 48 seconds left, however, Rivers snapped the ball and proceeded to fumble it. Chiefs linebacker Andy Studebaker jumped on it. We're headed to overtime.

Kansas City controlled most of overtime and finally won it on a 30 yard field goal by Ryan Succop. While this game will most likely be remembered by Norv Turner's foolish decision to not just take a knee and River's failure to complete a simple handoff, it should be remembered by the resurgence we are seeing from the Chiefs. They were outscored 89-10 in the first two games of the season and started 0-3. Since then, they have won four games in a row.

The Chiefs, Chargers, and Raiders now sit tied atop the AFC West, all with a 4-3 record. Next week the Chiefs face the winless Dolphins, the Chargers host the undefeated Packers, and the Raiders come off the bye to take on the Broncos.

NCAA Rankings: Four Teams to Watch

The newest NCAA rankings are out on USCHO.com
Let's break them down.
Four things.
http://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/

Michigan Tech hockey is nationally ranked for the first time in over four years.
Lake Superior State University has it's highest ranking in over a decade.
Merrimack College has advanced into the nation's top seven programs.
Boston College maintains the top team in the country.

The Huskies of Michigan Tech (5-2-1) have finally done it. After a four year drought, they have advanced to the #16 team in the nation with a 7-2 thumping of then #2 Denver and a 2-2 tie against Denver on Saturday night. It was another statement weekend for the Huskies, showing that they will be WCHA contenders for the first time in a long time. This weekend sees them go up against Minnesota State (1-5-1), who are coming off a bye week. Their last series, however, was against the same Denver Pioneer hockey team; they were the recipient of two losses, including a 10-2 shellacking. Look for Tech to handle MSU and maintain the undefeated streak. Prediction: 5-1 MTU; 4-0 MTU


# 11 Lake Superior State University is the surprise of the year, taking the top spot in the CCHA conference, and receiving their highest NCAA ranking since the year 2000.  LSSU (7-1-0) is coming off a sweep of the downward spiral that is the Miami Redhawks, handing MU it's first sweep at home since the Lakers beat them in the playoffs in 2006-07. Lake Superior State plays host to old rival Bemidji State (3-5-0). The Beavers are only 1-5 on the road this year, and it is not expected to change. LSSU's momentum will carry them to their fourth weekend sweep in five tries. Prediction: 3-1 LSSU; 4-2 LSSU


The Merrimack Warriors (6-0-0) remain undefeated after two victories over the Vermont Catamounts this past weekend. They slid up two spots in the NCAA standings to #7 in the country. Continuing off a solid season last year, the Warriors are poised to perform well in Hockey East in the 2011-12 season. The undefeated streak will continue this weekend, as they play a struggling Northeastern Wildcats squad (1-4-1). Merrimack has already beat NU once this year, 4-1. Prediction: 5-0 MU; 4-1 MU


Boston College holds on to their #1 NCAA ranking for yet another week, defeating UMass-Lowell handily this weekend by scores of 4-2 and 6-3. Despite a disputedly weak schedule, the BC Eagles (7-1-0) have gotten the job done, including an impressive 6-2 victory over the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. The Eagles take on the #20 Maine Black Bears (3-2-1) and an unranked UMass hockey squad. Maine, though potentially a trap game, also tied North Dakota 3-3, after falling to the Sioux 3-1.Boston College should have little trouble with UMass.   BC will stay on top this weekend. Prediction: 4-2 BC; 6-1 BC


There's the latest on this week's USCHO.com rankings for NCAA Div. 1 hockey.
 Expect all four of these featured teams to move up over the weekend.

St. Louis Cardinals Help Inspire Rams to Upset Win

The St. Louis Rams were 0-6 entering Sunday. Rising star Sam Bradford was out of the lineup with an injury, so for the second week in a row they had to turn to A.J. Feeley at quarterback.

Feeley hadn't one a game since 2004 and playing with a team like the Rams, his odds seemed mighty slim. After all, his team was going up against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.

During the pregame ceremony, the St. Louis Cardinals were recognized, and they showed off their trophy. I am sure this and a chance to watch Brees work his magic were the reasons many fans attended the game.

Feeley played a decent game, but then Steven Jackson decided to reveal some of his old self. Jackson rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns. It was his first 100 yard rushing day in three years.

Brees and the Saints were coming off a annihilation of the Indianapolis Colts last week, by the score of 62-7. However, the Rams defense stepped up their play and sacked Brees six times. The Saints didn't even score an offensive touchdown until their was ten minutes remaining in the game!

How did the Saints manage to go from scoring 62 points one week to scoring none on offense for 7/8 of their next game? I am not sure, but they better figure it out soon because next week they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who already beat the Saints once this year, by shutting down Brees and picking him off three times. As for the Rams, they should enjoy this win and focus on getting Sam Bradford healthy once again.

Roethlisberger Shines and Steelers Defense Dominates

The Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff was prepared for the New England Patriots this week.

They had Roethlisberger throw the ball 50 times. He finished with a statline of 36/50, 365 yds., 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Big Ben used an interesting strategy to help pick apart the seemingly inept Patriots pass defense. 39 of his 50 attempts for 10 yards or less. He was amazingly able to complete 79.5% of them for 18 first downs (46.2% of the team's total).

This strategy helped the Steelers to control the tempo and flow of the game. Pittsburgh's time of possession was nearly 39 minutes. This gave Tom Brady little time with which to operate.

Brady had a 6-1 record all time against the Steelers. In those games, he had put up some very impressive stats. However, in today's game the Steelers defense hounded Brady and only allowed him to pass for a season low 198 yards.

Pittsburgh controlled the game from the start and never let up. They have now won four games in a row. They hold a half a game lead over the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.

Next week, the Steelers play host to that very same Ravens team who embarrassed them in a blowout win in Week 1. However, this is very different Steelers team, who has chip on their shoulder they would like to shed against their archrival. And in case you didn't think this game was big enough, it is also a primetime game on Sunday night in front of national television audience. Expect to see two teams that hate each other immensely go all out in what is always expected to be one of the best games of the year.