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Sunday’s 6-pack
NFL leaders in receiving yardage:
601— DeAndre Hopkins, Az
566— Robby Anderson, Car
555— Stefon Diggs, Buff
546— Calvin Ridley, Atl
537— Justin Jefferson, Minn
503— Amari Cooper, Dal
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 224,771
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“One play to win it. We’ve been close, and I’m sick and tired of being close.”
Indiana coach Tom Allen, on why he went for two points after a TD in OT Saturday
Sunday’s quiz
Which two starting QB’s in the NFL played college football at NC State?
Saturday’s quiz
Eight teams have played in a Super Bowl, but have never won one.
Friday’s quiz
Four NFL teams have never played in a Super Bowl: Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville.
**************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
13) Indiana 36, Penn State 35 OT— I could write about this game for an hour.
— Hoosiers snapped a 41-game losing skid to top 10 teams, which dated back to 1987.
— Penn State led 21-20, had the ball with 1:40 left and could’ve run out the clock, but Indiana let them score a TD and Penn State stupidly did so- take a knee, win 21-20. Then they didn’t go for 2, when that would’ve put them up 29-20 and ended the game.
— Indiana tied the game with 0:22 left in regulation.
— Both teams scored a TD in OT; when Indiana scored to make it 35-34, they went for two- their QB scrambled and appeared to be stopped short of the goal line, but the linesman called it good, replay declined to overturn the call and the Hoosiers had their upset.
— If I was James Franklin, I would’ve found the replay official after the game and given him a piece of my mind. To me, the ball hit out of bounds before it hit the pylon.
— Anyway, Penn State outgained Indiana 488-211, outrushed them 250-41. Game shouldn’t have gotten to overtime.
— Penn State had ten penalties for 100 yards, Indiana four for 36.
12) Middle Tennessee 40, Rice 34 OT— You have to find a replay of this on the Interweb; Owls tried a 45-yard FG to win the game earlier in OT, the ball hits:
— the right upright
— the crossbar
— the left upright
— the crossbar again, and bounces out, no good.
I’ve never seen that happen before; rough way to start your season- this was Rice’s first game.
11) Auburn 35, Ole Miss 28
— Rebels are only 1-4, but they’ve been fun to watch.
— Auburn threw a 58-yard TD pass with 1:11 left for the win.
— Teams combined to convert 21-32 third down plays.
Watching these games with teams that didn’t play any non-conference games, you understand why teams schedule stiffs to play before conference play begins— they get the kinks out, gain some continuity, so they don’t look terrible when conference play begins.
10) Rutgers 38, Michigan State 27
— Spartans turned ball over seven (7!!!) times; hard to win that way.
— Switching head coaches from Mark D’Antonio to Mel Tucker is not an upgrade. Tucker was 5-7 in his only season as a head coach, at Colorado LY.
— Rutgers turned ball over three times themselves; they were outgained 369-276.
9) Nevada 37, Wyoming 34 OT
— Nevada’s punter was a star of the game; had a 75-yard punt, then a 72-yarder that pinned Wyoming back on their 2-yard line. Of course, if Wyoming’s punt returner would actually catch a punt, he would’ve helped his team’s cause a lot.
— Cowboys kicked a 42-yard FG with 0:23 left to send the game to OT; freshman walk-on kicker made 4-4 field goals, while wearing a red shoe. Give the kid a scholarship; make sure he keeps using the red shoe.
— Nevada led 28-6 with 3:00 left in third quarter, before Wyoming stormed back to tie it.
— Fun to see Mountain West football on TV again; this was a wild game.
— Nevada coach Norvell lost his father earlier this week. Our condolences to him.
8) They’re building the Aztecs a new football stadium on the site of what used to be Jack Murphy Stadium, so San Diego State is playing home games in a soccer stadium in Carson, where the Chargers played home games the last few years.
7) Upsets of the Day:
— Rutgers (+11) 38, Michigan State 27
— Wake Forest (+10.5) 23, Virginia Tech 16
— Jacksonville State (+10) 19, FIU 10— Gamecocks are a I-AA team
— San Jose State (+7.5) 17, Air Force 6
— Indiana (+6) 36, Penn State 35 OT
— Purdue (+4) 24, Iowa 20
— Missouri (+3.5) 20, Kentucky 10
6) Clemson 47, Syracuse 21— Clemson was favored by 46 or 47 points, but Syracuse had the ball, down 27-21 in third quarter, before reality set in. Clemson coasted here, and star RB Etienne left with an injury.
5) Missouri 20, Kentucky 10: Random observation: Week-to week, teams are having wildly erratic performances. Mizzou outgained Kentucky 421-145 in this game, after Wildcats won their previous two games by a combined score of 58-9. Missouri ran 92 plays in this game, Kentucky ran only 36 plays.
4) North Carolina 48, NC State 21:
— Tar Heels ran the ball for 326 yards, gained 578 yards on the day.
— NC State’s receivers were terrible in this game; they’re juggling backup QB’s with the starter breaking his leg. One of the WR’s dropped an easy TD, juggling it until a defender picked it off.
— State threw the ball for 358 yards; 11 different kids caught a pass, but they were useless when the game was close.
3) If you bet first half lines in college football, you probably know that Liberty is 26-7 ATS in their last 33 first halves. Independent Flames are 6-0 SU this season.
2) This is a very 2020 thing: Army already accepted a bowl bid, to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, where they’ll play a Pac-12 opponent.
The thing is, Pac-12 won’t even start their football season for a couple more weeks, and one of their teams’ bowl opponents has already been decided. Very unusual. Very 2020.
1) Rays 8, Dodgers 7 (series 2-2)
— Brett Phillips, with a .202 lifetime average, had the game-winning hit.
— Seager/Turner both had four hits for LA.
— There was a run scored in eight consecutive half-innings, setting a World Series record.
— This was third World Series game ever that, with today’s save rules, there were 3+ saves blown in the same game- the others were in 1960, 2011.
— Hunter Renfroe finished this game at 1B, where he had played for an entire 9 innings in his entire big league career.
NFL leaders in receiving yardage:
601— DeAndre Hopkins, Az
566— Robby Anderson, Car
555— Stefon Diggs, Buff
546— Calvin Ridley, Atl
537— Justin Jefferson, Minn
503— Amari Cooper, Dal
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 224,771
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“One play to win it. We’ve been close, and I’m sick and tired of being close.”
Indiana coach Tom Allen, on why he went for two points after a TD in OT Saturday
Sunday’s quiz
Which two starting QB’s in the NFL played college football at NC State?
Saturday’s quiz
Eight teams have played in a Super Bowl, but have never won one.
Friday’s quiz
Four NFL teams have never played in a Super Bowl: Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville.
**************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
13) Indiana 36, Penn State 35 OT— I could write about this game for an hour.
— Hoosiers snapped a 41-game losing skid to top 10 teams, which dated back to 1987.
— Penn State led 21-20, had the ball with 1:40 left and could’ve run out the clock, but Indiana let them score a TD and Penn State stupidly did so- take a knee, win 21-20. Then they didn’t go for 2, when that would’ve put them up 29-20 and ended the game.
— Indiana tied the game with 0:22 left in regulation.
— Both teams scored a TD in OT; when Indiana scored to make it 35-34, they went for two- their QB scrambled and appeared to be stopped short of the goal line, but the linesman called it good, replay declined to overturn the call and the Hoosiers had their upset.
— If I was James Franklin, I would’ve found the replay official after the game and given him a piece of my mind. To me, the ball hit out of bounds before it hit the pylon.
— Anyway, Penn State outgained Indiana 488-211, outrushed them 250-41. Game shouldn’t have gotten to overtime.
— Penn State had ten penalties for 100 yards, Indiana four for 36.
12) Middle Tennessee 40, Rice 34 OT— You have to find a replay of this on the Interweb; Owls tried a 45-yard FG to win the game earlier in OT, the ball hits:
— the right upright
— the crossbar
— the left upright
— the crossbar again, and bounces out, no good.
I’ve never seen that happen before; rough way to start your season- this was Rice’s first game.
11) Auburn 35, Ole Miss 28
— Rebels are only 1-4, but they’ve been fun to watch.
— Auburn threw a 58-yard TD pass with 1:11 left for the win.
— Teams combined to convert 21-32 third down plays.
Watching these games with teams that didn’t play any non-conference games, you understand why teams schedule stiffs to play before conference play begins— they get the kinks out, gain some continuity, so they don’t look terrible when conference play begins.
10) Rutgers 38, Michigan State 27
— Spartans turned ball over seven (7!!!) times; hard to win that way.
— Switching head coaches from Mark D’Antonio to Mel Tucker is not an upgrade. Tucker was 5-7 in his only season as a head coach, at Colorado LY.
— Rutgers turned ball over three times themselves; they were outgained 369-276.
9) Nevada 37, Wyoming 34 OT
— Nevada’s punter was a star of the game; had a 75-yard punt, then a 72-yarder that pinned Wyoming back on their 2-yard line. Of course, if Wyoming’s punt returner would actually catch a punt, he would’ve helped his team’s cause a lot.
— Cowboys kicked a 42-yard FG with 0:23 left to send the game to OT; freshman walk-on kicker made 4-4 field goals, while wearing a red shoe. Give the kid a scholarship; make sure he keeps using the red shoe.
— Nevada led 28-6 with 3:00 left in third quarter, before Wyoming stormed back to tie it.
— Fun to see Mountain West football on TV again; this was a wild game.
— Nevada coach Norvell lost his father earlier this week. Our condolences to him.
8) They’re building the Aztecs a new football stadium on the site of what used to be Jack Murphy Stadium, so San Diego State is playing home games in a soccer stadium in Carson, where the Chargers played home games the last few years.
7) Upsets of the Day:
— Rutgers (+11) 38, Michigan State 27
— Wake Forest (+10.5) 23, Virginia Tech 16
— Jacksonville State (+10) 19, FIU 10— Gamecocks are a I-AA team
— San Jose State (+7.5) 17, Air Force 6
— Indiana (+6) 36, Penn State 35 OT
— Purdue (+4) 24, Iowa 20
— Missouri (+3.5) 20, Kentucky 10
6) Clemson 47, Syracuse 21— Clemson was favored by 46 or 47 points, but Syracuse had the ball, down 27-21 in third quarter, before reality set in. Clemson coasted here, and star RB Etienne left with an injury.
5) Missouri 20, Kentucky 10: Random observation: Week-to week, teams are having wildly erratic performances. Mizzou outgained Kentucky 421-145 in this game, after Wildcats won their previous two games by a combined score of 58-9. Missouri ran 92 plays in this game, Kentucky ran only 36 plays.
4) North Carolina 48, NC State 21:
— Tar Heels ran the ball for 326 yards, gained 578 yards on the day.
— NC State’s receivers were terrible in this game; they’re juggling backup QB’s with the starter breaking his leg. One of the WR’s dropped an easy TD, juggling it until a defender picked it off.
— State threw the ball for 358 yards; 11 different kids caught a pass, but they were useless when the game was close.
3) If you bet first half lines in college football, you probably know that Liberty is 26-7 ATS in their last 33 first halves. Independent Flames are 6-0 SU this season.
2) This is a very 2020 thing: Army already accepted a bowl bid, to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, where they’ll play a Pac-12 opponent.
The thing is, Pac-12 won’t even start their football season for a couple more weeks, and one of their teams’ bowl opponents has already been decided. Very unusual. Very 2020.
1) Rays 8, Dodgers 7 (series 2-2)
— Brett Phillips, with a .202 lifetime average, had the game-winning hit.
— Seager/Turner both had four hits for LA.
— There was a run scored in eight consecutive half-innings, setting a World Series record.
— This was third World Series game ever that, with today’s save rules, there were 3+ saves blown in the same game- the others were in 1960, 2011.
— Hunter Renfroe finished this game at 1B, where he had played for an entire 9 innings in his entire big league career.
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