NFL Week 15 and NCAA Bowl Season Recap: Lions Roaring in December!
College Bowl season has officially started and after only a couple of days in, we already have nine contests in the books. As I have said in the past, this is the time of year when you start hearing about colleges that you never even knew existed before. Take the North Texas Mean Green for instance. They played Boise State and ended up losing 32 to 35.
The good thing about that game is since it was a bowl it was likely played at a different location, so we all didn't have to look at that crazy blue playing field for a full two hours!
BYU just edged out SMU in the New Mexico Bowl beating them 24 to 23. I have to be honest, with NFL football being on both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend, my attention was mostly focused on that. I did get a chance to watch some of the Louisville/Cincinnati game and I honestly thought it was going to be a lot closer. Especially given the Bearcats recent trip to the College Football Playoffs. They only scored one touchdown and fell to the Cardinals 24 to 7.
Think of these games as the appetizer. The real action is coming after Christmas when we start to see more of the ranked teams go head to head. If you needed something tied you over until those games start... Check out Wake Forest versus Missouri on the 23rd at 6:30 PM EST. That could be a good game. The Christmas Eve game between Middle Tennessee and San Diego State could be good as well.
Once the first of the Holidays are out of the way, make sure you check out Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Oregon/North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl could be good as well.
Honestly, you never know what is going to happen during college bowl season, so you really can't lose by parking yourself in front of the TV and watching any of the games.
It's a holiday tradition!
Things are really heating up in the NFL. I really can't think of a crazier season that what we have seen so far this year. I was watching the Minnesota/Indianapolis game on Saturday and I couldn't believe my eyes when the Colts were throttling the Vikings in the first half. Sure, the Lions had done something similar a couple of weeks ago, but it was still surprising to watch.
Sadly, the Colts offense went home after half time and they weren't able to do anything. This allowed the Vikings to mount the largest comeback in NFL history and eventually win the game in overtime. I honestly stopped watching part way through the fourth quarter. I had work to do in the kitchen and it was pretty clear the Colts didn't want to win as badly as I thought they did.
I was really hoping for a Vikings loss. That paired with a Lions win would be a really good thing for them in the standings. Unfortunately, that wasn't how it played out.
The Lions did their part. Talk about a nail biter. I just kept waiting for our defense to collapse and the Jets to pull ahead and snatch the victory from us. I'll always be a Lions fan, there isn't much that is going to change that, but I can't think of a time when I have been more impressed with them than this season.
They are finally digging down and showing just how much grit they have. It's been pretty amazing to see how few penalties they have gotten over the past couple of months as well. It's almost like the officials are finally willing to give them a fair shot.
You gotta feel bad for Houston. They try so hard, but they just can't seem to get things to fall their way. They took Kansas City of all teams to overtime this past weekend, but ended up falling short 30 to 24.
I've said this before, but as a Lions fan, I know all too well what the Houston fans are going through. It might be like this for a while, but it won't always be like this. I promise!
Buffalo used some massive football IQ to snatch the victory from Miami. Instead of scoring with less than a minute left their player purposely fell down just short of the goal line. This allowed them to run the clock down to just a second or two and kick the game winning field goal.
As you will see in a couple of days, Atlanta really screwed me over by not beating the Saints. I can't say as though I am very happy about that. With the momentum that Dallas has been having over the past couple of weeks, I can only refer to their overtime loss to Jacksonville as an absolute shocker.
Tampa Bay continues their slide on the season losing to Cincinnati 34 to 23. Likewise, the Rams fell to Green Bay 12 to 24.
So how are the playoffs looking?
Buffalo clinched a spot in the playoffs after this weekend. Kansas City did as well in the AFC. In fact, Kansas City clinched the entire division. Tennessee and Cincinnati should still be in the running. Other than that, it's hard to say.
In the NFC, Philadelphia and Dallas both snagged playoff spots. Minnesota grabbed the whole division as well as San Francisco. That doesn't give me a lot of hope for Detroit to make it into the playoffs. You still have the Giants with a one game lead over them. We did beat them in head to head competition on November 20th though.
Those two games they added to the schedule are going to play a huge roll in how the playoffs look. I just hope the Lions can keep winning. Even if they got knocked out in the first round, they need this. The whole state of Michigan needs this after suffering for so long!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
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