Monday, October 3, 2011

October 3rd update

Incredible comebacks top Week 4 of NFL storylines

Generally speaking, if you're down by 20 or more in the NFL in the second half, you're likely to be going home with your tail between your legs. But this season has shown that no lead is safe (and we're not just talking about football) and no game should be phoned in until the clock reads o.oo.
• 2 weeks after the Cowboys lost a game where they had a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter for the first time in team history, they managed to lose to the still undefeated Lions despite the fact that they led 27-3 in the 3rd quarter, assisted by 3 second half interceptions by Tony Romo.
• The Eagles, who many thought would be far and away the best team in the NFC this season, led the 49ers 23-3 but found a way to lose despite a phenomenal game from a banged-up Michael Vick, who snapped at reporters afterwards. The Eagles are now 1-3 while the 49ers are 3-1.
• The Giants trailed the Arizona Cardinals by 10 with less than 4 minutes but took advantage of a controversial call that negated what looked to be an obvious fumble by WR Victor Cruz. On the very next play, Eli Manning threw a TD pass to pass catching machine Hakeem Nicks and the Giants would hold on to win.
• The undefeated Buffalo Bills diverted from their winning strategy of the past 2 weeks, opting not to fall behind by 18+ points and then come back to win as they had in each of those 2 games. Instead, they led the Cincinnati Bengals for most of the game but lost on a late FG 23-20.
• It's only appropriate that the last game to be played this week is Indianapolis at Tampa Bay on Monday Night because the last time these teams played in Tampa (OK, let's see if you've been paying attention to theme of the week so far) the Colts made one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, scoring 21 points in the final 4 minutes to send the game into overtime where they won, 38-35.
• In non comeback-related news, Aaron Rodgers had a "6-Pack" of TDs (4 throwing and 2 rushing) in an offensive explosion for the defending Super Bowl Champions who destroyed the Broncos and the Ravens forced 4 fumbles from Mark Sanchez and scored 3 defensive Touchdowns (which surprisingly, they've never done before) against an overmatched Jets offense. The 34-17 score looked closer than it was simply because the Jets had 2 return touchdowns of their own, one on a kickoff and one on an interception. It was the first game in NFL history with more than 4 return touchdowns.


Big games don't live up to hype in NCAA

• There were a number of big games in the NCAA in week 5, but many of them were blowouts that left TV audiences disinterested. There were 3 matchups that involved 2 top-13 teams and none of them ended closer than 20 points.
• In those 3 games, the Alabama Crimson Tide destroyed Florida 38-10, Clemson continued their terrific run by beating Virginia Tech 23-3 and establishing themselves as a potential title contender and Wisconsin made Nebraska look like they don't belong in the Big 10 (Or the "Legends and Leaders" as they now want the conference to be called) by demolishing the Cornhuskers 48-17.
• Other Big 12 teams had a rough day as Texas A&M lost another big lead, this time to Arkansas in a 42-38 loss, #15 Baylor lost a late lead, losing a heartbreaker to Kansas State 36-35 and Oklahoma dropped from #2 to #3 in the AP poll despite a 56 point trouncing of Ball State because the voters were more impressed by the opposition that Alabama faced.

4 comments:

  1. always taken aback by your ability for writing and precise statistics! -Claire

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  2. Look at Wisconsin's schedule - the only remaining " tough" opponent is OSU! Can you say Rose Bowl?

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  3. Spoken like a truly adoring little sister, but I concur!!!

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  4. I definitely think Wisconsin will beat OSU this year... might be the season they make it all the way, although watch out for Clemson too!

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