If you were a bettor this week...

I’m not sure if a lot of you sports fans noticed it this week but there was some massive upsets. Some of them were mildly surprising while others were down right shocking. The upsets and surprises were not limited to just college and professional football either. World Cup Soccer offered up several sacrifices for our collective enjoyment as well. In all, there were some broken hearts and broken dreams littering the sporting world landscape. While we enjoyed and slight break from life’s trials and tribulations for Thanksgiving week the games and competitions continued on with all their glory. For many it was rivalry week. Auburn vs. Alabama, Michigan vs. Ohio State, USC vs. Nortre Dame. These are the games we wait all year for and we were not dissapponted.

As predicted, several of colleges top teams bit the dust this weekend. I’m pretty sure we knew all along that this would happen we just didn’t know who it would be.

Michigan was arguably the biggest winner of the week. They traveled on the road to the home of their arch rival Ohio State and thrashed The Buckeyes both literally and figuratively 45-23. I say Good Show. Both teams entered the game undefeated. Both teams will most likely end up in the College Football Playoffs. Will there be a rematch?. Hard to say at this point but it would certainly make for interesting viewing. My guess is that yes, there will be a matchup, and yes, the country will eat it up.

It’s hard to understand what’s going on in The South Eastern Conference. Once again, the teams I picked to win, lost. The teams I picked to loose, won. I see an alarming trend here. My picks are getting crushed like an old orange. Last week’s darlings, The LSU Tigers, were beaten by a lack luster Texas A&M team lead by Head Coach Jimbo Fisher and his 94 million dollar contract that had pretty much folded for the year.(Remember that tall mountain and deep valley I talked about several weeks ago?). LSU now owns a record of 9 and 3. Next week they play undefeated Georgia (also the #1 team in the country). Could beating Georgia keep them in the playoff hunt? Last week they had a chance, I’m not so sure at this point. LSU beating Georgia may enable Alabama to get into the College playoffs thru the back door. Considering that Alabama Quarterback Bryce Young is a Heisman Trophy favorite this could be a highly likely possibility. It makes for a great TV/Media story line. “Come from behind quarterback wins second Heisman and National Title”. I can see the headlines now. It’s another wait and see from my end folks but I’d bet my last dollar that Alabama finds a way to squeeze into the championship series.

Once again, South Carolina has defied the odds makers. They entered the game a 14 point underdog and beat a trash talking Clemson team by one point 31-30 in a huge intra state rivalry. Personally I was happy to see it happen as I’ve grown tired of seeing Clemson in the College Football Playoffs every year. Clemson now sits at 10-2. Will they still get in? Doubtful but statistically possible but then so is winning the Power Ball Lottery

Although the end of the college football season is turning into a hot mess, there remains three undefeated teams in contention, TCU, Michigan and Georgia. All three are playing well however all three have one final game. Michigan plays Purdue in The Big Ten Championship, Georgia plays LSU in The SEC Championship and TCU plays Kansas State in The Big 12 Championship. My prediction is there will be at least one upset in these three games. Get your picks in folks it’s gonna be interesting!

The college ranks were not the only ones who laid claim to upsets as there were several in The NFL as well. As usual some were a complete surprise and yes my picks went down the drain with each of them.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers(loss to Browns), The Seattle Seahawks(loss to Raiders) and The Tennessee Titans(loss to Bengals) all suffered losses to teams they should have beaten. Why this is allowed to happen I have no idea. As the season comes closer to the playoffs games such as these become critically important for Divisional standings.

As for some other teams with playoff aspirations it seems their season may be over. Some teams just play poorly, other teams have serious injury issues especially with their quarterbacks The Green Bay Packer’s fall this year has been visable to all. It’s over for Green Bay. They should just throw in the towel and concentrate on beers and bratwurst. Arron Rogers looked like he is 300 years old in the post game press conference. He plays like it too. It’s like watching your Grandpa get beat up by a street gang. Is this maybe the beginning of the Jordan Love era in Green Bay? Only Father Time will tell. The LA Rams, last years SuperBowl Champ, are in much the same situation being roundly defeated by The Chiefs 26-10. Who would have thought the Rams would be 3-8 going into the month of December? Not me!

For some other teams, the wait is nearly over as we enter the holiday season. The Chiefs, The Eagles, The Vikings, The Cowboys and The Bills all look strong. The Bills however are driving the highway blind as they will eventually be crushed (again) by those titans of the AFC East division, The Miami Dolphins. Of course The Eagles at 10-1 are a given for the playoffs. The Bengals have also made an excellent late season surge despite starting 0-2. All these team have a great shot at making the playoffs and should be there at the end. Unlike some, all these teams are winning the games that they should win. Other teams get stronger as the weeks go by. The Dolphins, The Jets (not without a quarterback controversy and a last-game-of-the-season date with infamy) and The 49ers need to stay healthy and focused to make a drive for the end of the season. We have several weeks to go in the season but a picture is starting to emerge of how the playoffs should form up. The fat lady has not yet sung folks! You can expect the unexpected!

For the sports fans out there who don’t spend every moment of their free time watching football (do these people even exist?) there was The World Cup Soccer Tournament. The Tournament lasts almost an entire month until the finals yet the early stages provided a high degree of entertainment and drama. The world class soccer heavyweights like France, Germany, Spain, Argentina and Brazil are all in attendance. Several teams such as Argentina, Germany and Belgium suffered from early round upsets but are still in the tournament. The team from The United States managed a tie at 0-0 against England. Teams can loose more then one game before elimination, so many teams will play on despite a loss. Shockingly, powerhouse teams are being upset by smaller programs from Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Japan. It’s an international version of our own experience with upsets and surprises! Stay tuned as this tournament moves along, it may not be participating in the pick em pool but it’s always fun to watch! Of course, I’m picking the USA to win it all!

Kev