Football Friday 12/18/20

Notwithstanding the complete lack of clamor for another rendition of Football Friday, here comes this week’s edition – – ready or not.  The French author, André Gide once offered this advice to others:

“If a young writer can refrain from writing, he shouldn’t hesitate to do so.”

I feel no need to follow that advice since I am not young…

As usual I shall begin with a review of last week’s Six-Pack:

• College:  1-3-0
• NFL:  3-1-0
• Combined:  4-4-0

Those results bring the season totals to:

• College:  15-20-1
• NFL:  22-28-1
• Combined:  37-48-2

 

College Football Commentary:

 

The Rose Bowl Game – the Granddaddy of them all – may have to be played at a different venue this year because of potential restrictions in Pasadena, CA.  If that is the case, they are going to call the game something else and leave the name “Rose Bowl Game” behind for this year.

[Aside:  That may be a tad persnickety; the Granddaddy of them all was moved to the East Coast – – to the campus of Duke University – – during World War II because of concerns that the stadium with a large crowd might be a target of the Japanese Air Force or of sabotage elements operating on the West Coast.  That game is remembered as a “Rose Bowl Game”. ]

As of this morning, the Rose Bowl Game is still slated to happen in Pasadena on January 1^st, 2021 at 5:45 PM EST and it will be one of the semi-final games in the CFP for this season.  There is still time to move the game if need be but there is no word at the moment as to where it might go.  The other semi-final CFP game on New Year’s Day will be at the Sugar Bowl so that is one venue that is unavailable for a relocated Rose Bowl Game.

This is the time of the year when college football coaches with less than fully successful results find themselves at loose ends.  Here are some coaches at major schools who are out of work for now and the school that fired them:

• Gus Malzahn – – Auburn
• Derek Mason – – Vandy
• Lovie Smith – – Illinois
• Kevin Sumlin – – Arizona

Last week, Rutgers beat Maryland 27-24 in OT.   The annual “Big-10 Irrelevancy Game” went to overtime.  How appropriate is that for 2020?  Nonetheless, there is an interesting angle arising from that result.

• Rutgers goes into the last week of the season with a 3-5 record and a chance to get four wins for the first time since 2017.  That will not get Greg Schiano any recognition as Coach of the Year – – but it should get a lot of folks to tip their hat to him.

Last year, Rutgers was shut out 4 times; on a national level, they were a laughingstock; they belonged in the MAC not the Big-10.  Yes, they lost 5 times this year, but one loss was on a last second field goal (Illinois) and another was a triple OT loss (Michigan).  Rutgers transformed itself from doormat to competitive in a season; can Greg Schiano sustain that status?

Penn State beat Michigan State 39-24.  The Spartans led 21-10 at the half and then everything turned against them in the second half.  Michigan State could not run the ball gaining only 64 yards on 31 carries for the day.  It is difficult to maintain a lead when you cannot run the football…

Northwestern beat Illinois 28-10.  The Wildcats will take on Ohio State in the Big-10 Championship Game this week.

Minnesota beat Nebraska 24-17.  Fans and alums of Nebraska want everyone to think that they are uniquely responsible for creating the pressure that led to the shortened college football season in 2020.  I do not know if that was the case, but if so, those folks got everyone up in a lather to play football this year just so the Cornhuskers could go 2-6 to this point in the season.  Hi ho!

Iowa beat Wisconsin 28-7.  The Hawkeyes ended the season with 6 straight wins after losing the first two games of the year.  Wisconsin lost its last 3 games and only scored a total of 20 points in those 3 games.

In the SEC, Georgia beat Missouri 49-14.  If Georgia has a competent offense building, they could be seriously difficult to beat in a bowl game or next season because their defense is top-shelf.

Alabama beat Arkansas 52-3.  The Razorbacks only gained 188 yards of offense for the day; this was simply a beat-down game.  Halfway through the first quarter the score was 3-3; that was the high point of the day for Arkansas…

Tennessee beat Vandy 42-17.  The Commodores were on track for an 0-10 season in 2020 (their game this week against Georgia has been cancelled) and maybe – just maybe – this win as big enough to allow Tennessee coach, Jeremy Pruitt, to keep his job.  Sarah Fuller kicked again for Vandy in this game; she made two PAT attempts.  Vandy also made a 39-yard field goal but it was not Fuller doing the kicking in that situation.  Fuller will be transferring next year to continue her soccer career at another school as a graduate transfer so the kicking circus at Vandy will not be a carryover.

LSU beat Florida 37-34.  Maybe the Gators were looking ahead to their meeting with Alabama this week?  Or, maybe the Gators are not quite as good as Gator Nation would have had us believe?  LSU is a mediocre team in 2020; this loss is a black eye for Florida, and it means that Alabama is probably the only SEC team that will be part of the CFP.

By now, you must have seen the bizarre play late in the 4^th quarter of the game that gave the game to LSU.  After stopping LSU on third down and forcing a punt with less than two minutes to play, a Florida DB celebrated that achievement by picking up a shoe that the LSU ball carrier had lost and tossing it about 20 yards downfield.  That was his “look at me moment”.  The problem is that the referees were looking at him and flagged him – properly – for unsportsmanlike conduct giving LSU a first down.  The score was tied at 34 when that happened, and LSU proceeded to get into field goal range and won the game by that field goal.

Auburn beat Mississippi State 24-10.  Auburn RB, Tank Bigsby, had 192 yards rushing on 26 carries.  Mississippi State ran the ball as a team 16 times for a net gain of 19 yards.  Ouch!   This win was not sufficient for the Auburn boosters and alums; they were sufficiently fed up with Malzahn that they came up with $21M to buy him out of his contract.  I had his name on the “departed coaches list” above; you need not feel so sorry for him and his family…

The $21M buyout involved in Malzahn’s firing is money being paid for the purpose of having him not render his services.  It is sort of like paying alimony when a relationship breaks up; the money is paid to have the parties stay apart.  Here is what Groucho Marx had to say about alimony

“Paying alimony is like feeding hay to a dead horse.”

In the ACC, UNC beat Miami 62-26.  The Hurricanes arrived at the kickoff with only a loss to Clemson (no shame there) on their record.  Now they have a significant blot on their record.  The score was 34-10 at the half and then things got worse…  The stat sheet is an embarrassment for the Miami team.

• UNC total offense = 778 yards
• UNC rushing offense = 554 yards  (10.1 yards per carry)
• UNC 3^rd down conversions  =  6 of 11
• UNC 4^th down conversions  =  2 of 2.

Those are the sorts of numbers you expect to see when a good – or very good – college football team schedules a Homecoming Game against Division III “Disco Tech”.

Out west in the PAC-12, USC beat UCLA 43-38.  The game is not particularly consequential but at one point early in in the 2nd quarter, UCLA led by a score of 28-10 AND the Bruins led 38-36 with less than a minute to play in the game.  The winning drive for USC took 2 plays and 36 seconds…

Arizona State beat Arizona 70-7.  Rivalry games are not supposed to be that lopsided.  The stat sheet certainly favors Arizona State, but not to the degree you would expect from the score.  Here is the “problem” for Arizona:

• 7 turnovers (4 lost fumbles and 3 INTs)

Arizona fans probably knew early on that this was not their day:

• Arizona State returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a TD
• Arizona lost a fumble 2 plays later after holding the ball for 18 seconds
• Arizona State scored a TD on the next play to lead 14-0 after 56 seconds had elapsed.
• Arizona State intercepted a pass on the next Arizona possession.
• You get the idea…

Army beat Navy 15-0.  If you watched the game, you know that you have seen better football played by better talent levels in other college games.  If you watched the game, you also know that every player gave everything they had on every play here.  There were no show ponies on the field.

 

College Games of Interest:

 

(Fri Nite) Nebraska – 7 at Rutgers (54):  I think Rutgers is an interesting story this year (see above).

(Fri Nite) Oregon vs. USC – 3 (64):  This is the PAC-12 Championship Game.  Oregon has 2 losses this year and is in the game only because Washington had a COVID-19 outbreak and had to scratch out of the game.  Oregon was supposed to play Colorado this week but got “promoted” to the Championship Game; Colorado will sit out the weekend.

Air Force – 3 at Army (37):  This game does not have the history of Army/Navy, but this game is always interesting too.

Minnesota at Wisconsin – 13 (47):  As noted above, Wisconsin has lost 3 games in a row and scored a total of 20 points in those 3 games.  And, here they are as a 13-point favorite?

Illinois at Penn State – 15 (52):  At least Lovie Smith will not have to freeze his butt off on the sidelines for this one…

Northwestern vs. Ohio State – 19 (56.5):  This is almost a 3 TD spread on a Championship Game.  This morning, you can find Northwestern at +800 on the Money Line.  A win by the Wildcats would be more than shocking.  Northwestern has been 6-1 against the spread so far this year and they covered both times they were underdogs this year.  Ohio State needs a win here to be part of the CFP – and the Big-10 mavens are pulling for them to make it to that playoff for financial reasons.  I am tempted to take the UNDER in this game but will resist that temptation.

Oklahoma – 6 vs. Iowa State (57.5):  This is the Big-12 Championship Game.  The Cyclones beat the Sooners 37-30 back in early October and they meet again here.  The last time Iowa State was a conference Champion was in 1912; that was the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association.  Oh, by the way, they tied for first place in that conference way back then.

Clemson – 10.5 vs. Notre Dame (59.5):  This is the ACC Championship Game.  Notre Dame beat Clemson earlier this year in South Bend; Trevor Lawrence did not play in that game due to COVID-19, but he will be on tap here.

Tulsa vs. Cincy – 14.5 (44.5):  This is the AAC Championship Game and Cincy arrives here with an undefeated record.  I know that Cincy has an exceptionally good defense, but I still think the Total Line here is awfully low because both teams have shown they can put the ball in the end zone.  I like this game to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack.

Alabama – 17 vs. Florida (74.5):  This is the SEC Championship Game.  Both teams can and will score – – but the Bama defense is better than the Florida defense…

Texas A&M – 14 at Tennessee (51):  There are some scenarios wherein the Aggies can insert themselves into the CFP.  This game is not nearly as meaningless as some others on the card this weekend.

Ole Miss – 2.5 at LSU (75.5):  Here is an example of a “less-than-meaningful game” this weekend.  Expect plenty of offensive fireworks here.  Ole Miss has not beaten LSU in Baton Rouge since 2008; this is a down year for the Tigers, so maybe this is an opportunity for the Rebels to break that road losing streak.  I like Ole Miss to win and cover here; put it in the Six-Pack.

Missouri – 1.5 at Mississippi State (49):  One more example of a “less-than-meaningful game on the card for this weekend.  After a big win over LSU in Week 1, Mississippi State has won only once – and that win came over Vandy which should not count for much.  Missouri has quietly won 5 games so far this year.  I like the Tigers on the road to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

Boise State – 7 vs San Jose State (55):  This is the Mountain West Championship Game.  San Jose State gets here on the strength of a defense allowing only 17.5 points per game.  I’ll go with the adage that defense wins championships and take San Jose State plus the points here; put it in the Six-Pack

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The Houston Texans have a 4-9 record this year and have been eliminated from the AFC Playoffs.  Someone asked Romeo Crennel if he was thinking of shutting down Deshaun Watson for the rest of the season.  Here is the meaningful part of his response:

“That question has been asked. My deal is, we’re in this game, we play this game to win and there’s a season to be played.  If you shut down Watson, then should you shut down the rest of the team and everybody pack up and go home for three games left?”

I am not surprised by the substance of his answer but there may have been a better way to phrase it given that the Texans have two QBs on the depth chart behind Watson – – AJ McCarron and Josh McCown.  You can take Crennel’s statement and make it seem as if he considers both of those guys as chopped liver.  What the hey; Romeo Crennel is 73 years old; get off his lawn…

Chris Spielman has left his job as a color analyst for FOX to become one of the senior advisors to the Lions’ CEO, Rod Wood.  Spielman will be part of the search for a new coach and a new GM.  Spielman had a long and successful career in Detroit as a linebacker; the team hopes that success will carry forward in this role.  There is a cautionary note to be sounded here.

• About 20 years ago, the Lions hired a linebacker turned TV color analyst to be their GM.  That would be Matt Millen and – there is no delicate way to say this – Millen was abjectly horrible when it came to assembling a competitive team.

I know; this is different; Spielman is not going to be the GM; he is just going to help choose the GM.  Nevertheless…

Here is what Lions’ CEO, Rod Wood had to say about why they wanted Spielman now instead of waiting until his broadcast season was finished with FOX:

“That was why it was so critical to get him involved early because I wouldn’t want to bring him in after we’ve hired a general manager or after we’ve hired a coach and have them wonder what his role is.  That will be very clear to them while we’re interviewing the candidates, and he’s part of the process of hiring them, so he’s going to be invested in their success.”

Bonne chance, Chris Spielman…

Last week, the Bills beat the Steelers 26-15.  That makes it two losses in a row for the Steelers.  Their offense is really one-dimensional; they do not run the ball and they do not throw the ball down the field; it is dink-and-dunk with hope for yards after the catch.  The Bills are far more diverse on offense than the Steelers are; the Bills are fun to watch – – much more fun than the Steelers.

The Packers beat the Lions 31-24.  Aaron Rodgers had a “normal day at the office”.  He threw for 3 TDs and ran for another one.  Do the math, that means he was involved in every Packers’ TD for the day.  The Packers held the ball for 35 minutes in the game; normally, that  means they dominated the game but here it was the Lions who made more first downs in the game (27 for the Lions and 26 for the Packers).  The Lions never got a running game going amassing only 51 yards for the day on 15 carries.

The Eagles beat the Saints 24-21.  Two backup QBs played this game and Jalen Hurts came out on top.  The Eagles RB, Miles Sanders, eclipsed Alvin Kamara for the day.

• Sanders had 115 yards (on 14 carries) and 2 TDs.
• Kamara had 50 yards (on 11 attempts) and 1 TD.

In addition to Sanders gaining more than 100 yards on the ground, so did Jalen Hurts.  That is interesting because the Saints had gone 56 consecutive games without allowing an opponent to gain 100 yards on the ground; last week, they allowed two opponents to do that in a single game.

The WTFs beat the Niners 23-15.  The Niners dominated the stat sheet gaining 344 yards for the day to 193 for the WTFs.  The Niners gave up a scoop and score TD in the first half and a Pick Six TD in the second half.  The Washington offense created only 3 FGs for the day.  This win put the WTFs in first place in the NFC East; it is their fourth win in a row.

The Seahawks beat the Jets 40-3.  The offensive numbers describe a non-competitive game; the Seahawks had 410 yards of offense and the Jets only 185.  This was an old-fashioned beat-down; the Seahawks pulled Russel Wilson at the end of the third quarter because the game was in the bag.  Adding insult to injury, the Jets managed to miss 3 field goal tries in the game – – not that it would have changed the outcome.

The Chargers beat the Falcons 20-17.  The margin of victory was a last second field goal meaning the Chargers actually won a one-score game this time.  Naturally, it came at the expense of the Falcons.  [Aside:  Given the propensity each team here has had for blowing big leads, maybe they should be given an award for those failures.  Maybe we should name the award for Hillary Clinton as the master of blowing a big lead?]  Austin Eckler had himself  quite a day for the Chargers.

• He was the leading rusher with 79 yards on 15 carries – – and – –
• He was the leading receiver with 67 yards on 9 receptions.

Matt Ryan had himself a rather bad day.  He threw 3 INTs in the second half that led to 10 of the Chargers’ 20 points for the day.

The Colts beat the Raiders 44-27.  The Raiders winning formula for 2020 has been to run the ball down their opponents throats to the point that the opponent just cannot take it any longer.  Not last week, the tables were turned.  The Colts ran the ball 31 times and gained 212 yards on those carries.  Welcome to the spotlight, Jonathan Taylor; he carried the ball 20 times for 150 yards and 2 TDs.

The Bucs beat the Vikes 26-14.  Kirk Cousins was never able to master the normally porous Bucs’ pass defense.  That was the basic storyline from this game.  The Bucs are in a good position relative to the NFC playoffs; the Vikes are still mathematically alive for the playoffs.  Vikes’ kicker, Dan Bailey missed 3 field goals and a PAT.

The Bears beat the Texans 36-7.  That is not a typo; the Bears scored 36 points in a single game.  Mitchell Trubisky threw for 267 yards and 3 TDs with 0 INTs.  The Bears totaled 410 yards of offense – – in a single game not two games or 3 games.  The Bears defense took advantage of the Texans’ lack of a run game to pressure Deshaun Watson all day and sacked him 6 times.

The Cowboys beat the Bengals 30-7.  The Cowboys were outgained on offense 314 yards to 272 yards.  Brandon Allen’s stat line was just as good as Andy Dalton’s:

• Allen was 24 of 36 for 217 yards with 1 TD and 0 INTs.
• Dalton was 16 of 23 for 185 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs

The Cowboys sprinted off to a 17-0 lead and the Bengals never really threatened to overcome that disadvantage.  The Cowboys recovered 3 fumbles in the first quarter of the game, and one was a scoop and score.

The Chiefs beat the Dolphins 33-27.  This result came after the Dolphins ran out to a 10-0 lead in the middle of the 2^nd quarter.  However, Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce were too much for the Dolphins’ defense to contain forever.

The Cards beat the Giants 26-7.  This game was dominated by the Cards’ defensive front seven; they sacked Daniel Jones and Colt McCoy seemingly at will; Hassan Reddick recorded 5 sacks all by himself.  All in all, this game could have been much more lopsided.

The Broncos beat the Panthers 32-27.  Drew Lock threw 4 TD passes in the game.  The Panthers scored twice in the 4^th quarter to make the score respectable, but this game was decided early on.

The Titans beat the Jags 31-10.  Darrick Henry ran the ball for 215 yards and the Titans as a team rushed for 249 yards.  This game was never seriously in doubt.  The Jags benched Mike Glennon in the middle of the game and went back to Gardner Minshew as the QB.  Big deal; the scoreboard only saw 10 points from the Jags all day.

The Ravens beat the Browns 47-42.  The 4^th quarter of the game unfolded as it were scripted for a Hollywood movie.  The fundamental takeaway from this game was that the Browns played well except for one thing; they could not contain Lamar Jackson when it came to crunch time.  The Browns came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to take the lead – – until Jackson went into super-hero mode.

Last night, the Chargers beat the Raiders 30-27 in OT.  Derek Carr suffered a groin injury in the first half, but Marcus Mariota was more than efficient in his relief role.  The Raiders’ defense did not have an answer for Justin Herbert, however.  He threw for 314 yards and 2 TDs and then he scored the winning TD in OT on a QB sneak that everyone on the planet knew was coming.  The Raiders at 7-7 are still alive for the playoffs but there are 4 teams aiming for the wildcard slots with better records in the AFC.  The Raiders’ playoff chances need a Dolphins’ loss this week and then for the Raiders to beat the Dolphins next week.  We shall see…

 

NFL Games:

 

(Sat. Afternoon) Buffalo – 6 at Denver (49):  The Bills played Sunday night last week and now have a long trip to play this game on Saturday afternoon.  Nevertheless, they are the better team with the better QB – – although Drew Lock is highly motivated to play well in order to convince the Denver decision makers that he can be their franchise QB going forward.

(Sat. Evening)  Carolina at Green Bay – 8 (52):  The Panthers record is 4-9; they have lost 7 of their last 8 games; here they go and visit a team that has already clinched its division title and is currently the team that would have the single playoff BYE in the NFC.  The panthers rank 21 in the league in total defense and 20^th in the league in points allowed.  That is not a good omen having to face the Packers who lead the NFL in scoring with 31.5 points per game.

Houston at Indy – 7.5 (51):  The Colts have been on the road for the last two weeks and they won both games.  The Colts are 9-4 and trail the Titans in the AFC South based on record against division opponents.  The Texans are simply a mess; their run defense ranks 31^st in the NFL and the Colts can run the ball effectively.

Detroit at Tennessee – 11 (51.5):   As of this morning, we do not know if Matthew Stafford can play this week; if not, it will be Chase Daniel at QB for the Lions.  A healthy Matthew Stafford could make things interesting here given the Titans’ less than fearsome defense; Chase Daniel is not likely to do anything like that.  Everyone knows that the Titans will run the ball with Derrick Henry; the question is to what extent can the Lions shut him down.  Here are stats that might be interesting:

• Lions rank 29^th in the NFL in rushing defense
• Lions give up 132.8 yards per game on the ground
• Titans rank 2^nd in the NFL in rushing offense
• Titans gain 157.8 yards per game on the ground.

Jets at Rams – 17.5 (44):  This will be ugly-squared.  Clearly this is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week notwithstanding the Rams positive record and playoff contention.  You cannot bet on the Jets; they are a talent-deficient team that is going through the motions for a not-so-good coaching staff.  And you cannot bet an NFL game by giving away 17.5 points.  Just say, “No!” …

Tampa Bay – 6 at Atlanta (49):  The spread opened at 3.5 points and has been expanding slowly all week long.  The Falcons only hope here is for Matt Ryan and company to exploit the Bucs’ porous pass defense.  They have the weapons to do that – – but the Falcons have been off key for most of the season.  In fact, the Falcons have not scored more than 20 points in three of their last four games.  The Falcons’ pass defense is lame; it ranks 30^th in the NFL giving up 281.8 yards per game.

New England at Miami – 1.5 (41.5):  The Dolphins are the better team here but the reason the spread is as low as it is comes down to two things:

• A loss for the Pats would put their playoff appearance streak in the ICU.
• Bill Belichick feasts on rookie QBs

Moreover, the Pats usually play one of their poorest games of the year in Miami.  However, you do not have to dig too deeply into NFL history to find the last time a rookie QB went up against the Pats.  It happened a few weeks ago when Justin Herbert and Chargers took on the Pats and the Pats prevailed in that game 45-0.  I think this game will be a defense dominated game and the winner will be the first team to 20 points; I’ll take the game to stay UNDER; put it in the Six-Pack.

Seattle – 6 at Washington (44):  The WTFs have won 4 in a row by leaning on their defense; the Seahawks win games by outscoring opponents; this game will be an interesting contrast in styles.  Alex Smith suffered a calf injury last week and may not be able to play here; if he cannot go it will be Dwayne Haskins at QB for the WTFs.  If Russell Wilson gets time to throw, DK Metcalf should have a big day against the Washington secondary.  I think the Total Line here is off base; I see both teams being able to score on the other guys; I’ll take the game to go OVER – – even if the WTFs have to play Dwayne Haskins for the whole game; put it in the Six-Pack.

Chicago at Minnesota – 3 (46):  Both teams are hanging on to faint playoff hopes with their fingernails; it is perfectly possible that neither will make it to the playoffs; the loser here will be up to their eyebrows in yogurt.  Mitchell Trubisky played well last week; can he do that two weeks in a row?  I think the Vikes are in a state of confusion; their QB play is inconsistent; their defense is middling at best; their kicker has missed 5 field goals in the last two games (plus a PAT last week).  I like the Bears to pull an upset here with that defense keeping Dalvin Cook from running amok; give me the Bears plus the points; put it in the Six-Pack.

Jax at Baltimore – 13 (47):  The Ravens need this game badly for playoff contention.  The Ravens like to run the football.  The Jags do not stop the run well at all; they yield 145.5 yards per game and rank 30^th in the NFL in that department.

(Sun Nite) Cleveland – 6 at Giants (44):  This is a gut-check game for both teams.  The Browns lost last week in a dispiriting fashion; so did the Giants (see above).  Which team can rebound and win this one?  A Giants’ win  along with a loss by the WTFs would put the Giants back on top of the NFC East.  A Browns’ win will not guarantee them a playoff slot – – but it would make them prohibitive favorites to make it there.

Philly at Arizona – 6.5 (49.5):  Jalen Hurts will start at QB again for the Eagles.  The Cards defensive braintrust will have one game’s worth of film to analyze in order to come up with their game plan; that is 1 more game than the Saints had last week.

KC – 3 at New Orleans (52):  Here we have the Game of the Week.  The combined record for the two teams is a gaudy 22-4.  The Saints have been coy about Drew Brees’ availability for this game; they would not rule it out, but they said they would only allow him to play if he were 100%

SF – 3 at Dallas (45):  The spread opened the week with the Cowboys as a 1-point favorite.  Both teams are still mathematically alive for the playoffs; in reality, both teams are toast.

(Mon Nite) Pittsburgh – 13 at Cincy (40):  The Steelers have lost two games in a row and have not looked good in either outing.  The NFL schedule maker has provided them with the Bengals this week – – the perfect antidote for whatever is ailing them.

• The Steelers defense is very good; the Bengals rank 29^th in the NFL on offense.
• The Steelers allow 18.2 points per game (best in the NFL); the Bengals score 18.8 points per game (30^th in the NFL).

Are you confident that the Bengals can score more than 10 points here?  I am not.  Even though I hate double-digit spreads in NFL games, this one looks like a monster blowout to me with a good team that needs the game dumping it all on a bad team that is not well coached.  I’ll take the Steelers and lay the points; put it in the Six-Pack.

So, let me review the Six-Pack which once again contains 8 selections:

1. San Jose State + 7 vs Voise State
2. Ole Miss – 2.5 over LSU
3. Missouri – 1.5 over Mississippi State
4. Tulsa/Cincy OVER 44.5
5. Seahawks/WTFs OVER 44
6. Bears + 3 versus Vikes
7. Pats/Dolphins UNDER 41.5
8. Steelers – 13 over Bengals

Finally, it always leaves me happy to finish a Football Friday.  I mention that because it contradicts to some degree this observation by H. L. Mencken:

“Every man is thoroughly happy twice in his life; just after he has met his first love, and just after he has left his last one.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………