Before Week 7 of the College Football and Week 6 of the NFL seasons kick off tomorrow night, I didn't want to let any additional time pass before commenting on the smorgasbord of football delights we all experienced this past weekend. I cannot think of a weekend where we were treated to so many terrific games.
- For me, it began with watching undefeated Pitt take on the University of North Carolina Belichicks. It began with Pitt reeling of a long time consuming drive in the first quarter to take a 7-0 led, and it looked like Pitt was going to control the game. However, some head scratching clock management and play calling by Pitt at the end of the first half, combined with Coach Bill coming up with some defensive schemes that stymied Pitt in the second half led to Pitt suffering their first loss of the season, 21-17. Post game quote of the weekend from the loquacious HC Pat Narduzzi was stating that North Carolina "has a pretty good coach over there." Bill Belichick, a "pretty good coach"? Keen observation there, Pat.
- There then followed two amazing rivalry games. Oklahoma defeated #1 ranked Texas, 27-24, and in the prime time game, #2 Georgia defeated #6 Alabama, 20-17. If you put a gun to my head, I wouldn't know which game I would say was better, and both were highly entertaining.
- There were lots of other significant college games. Penn State loses to USC on White Out Night, heir third loss in a row, and one would think that the Matt Campbell Honeymoon is over in Happy Valley. Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Indiana all win, and Kentucky upsets #10 LSU and their highly dislikable head coach, Lan Kiffin.
- One college football observation from The Grandstander. I haven't seen every game he's played, of course, but when I have seen Arch Manning play for Texas, I am not seeing a reincarnation of his uncles and his grandfather. Not sure that him being the overall Number One pick in the NFL draft is a sure thing. Anyone with me on that?
Then the NFL took over on Sunday.
Jaylon Warren up the middle for a 50 yard touchdown run
The highlight for me, of course, was the Steelers 34-22 win over the Colts. The game featured two enormous touchdown plays by Jaylon Warren. One was a check down pass from Aaron Rodgers that Warren broke for 80 yards, and the second was 50 yard burst where Warren ran right up the middle, virtually untouched. I can't remember the last time a Steelers running back broke off a run like that.
Fun fact about this Steelers game. Aaron Rodgers threw three TD passes in this one for the third consecutive game. The only other Steelers QBs to do that were two guys you may know: Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger.
The 4:30 game was the 49ers 32-29 win over the Seahawks. The game was tremendous, and I can't with to see the rematch between these teams later this year.
The Sunday Night game was an 30-23 overtime win by the Ravens over the Falcons, and the week concluded with that unbelievable overtime 37-34 win by the Bills over the Rams that featured a fourth quarter where the two teams combined to score 35 points. That was great for those who might have wagered (a'hem) on OVER 54.5 points for the game, a wager that seemed very much in doubt at the end of the third quarter.
Amid all of that there were some games that featured boneheaded clock management that caused the Eagles to lose to the Jags with only :01 second on the clock, this after the Eagles took the lead with only :08 seconds to play, and the Giants-Commanders game that ended in a 21-21 tie when Jayden Daniels called a running play with :12 left in OT and no time outs remaining that made it impossible for the Commies to clock the ball and attempt a game winning football. People smarter than me are saying that these gaffes were fireable offenses for head coaches Nick Siriani and Dan Quinn.
Some big college games coming up this weekend: Ohio State at Indiana, Alabama at Tennessee, and Notre Dame at BYU are matchups between ranked teams. There are no marquis matchups that jump out at you in the NFL this weekend, but there will no doubt be a few games that will keep us glued to our television screens.
Oh, and Major League Baseball's League Championship Series are taking place over this weekend as well. It is a good time to be a sports fan.
I will close out with a look at Jaylon Warren sprinting down the sidelines on his 80 yard touchdown.
Jaylon Warren
AFC Offensive Player of the Week
