The first BCS rankings of the year are less than a week away from being released and college football didn’t help matters with another crazy, upset filled weekend.
The marquee matchup on Saturday (no offense Florida-LSU) was the Red River Rivalry game featuring the No. 5 ranked Texas Longhorns against the then consensus No. 1 team in the nation, the Oklahoma Sooners.
The game is also known as the Red River Shootout and it lived up to the billing.
Going into neutral-site Dallas listed as a 7-point underdog, the Texas Longhorns stuck it to their Big 12 rivals giving Oklahoma its first conference loss and first loss this year in a 45-35 win; the total score of 80 surpassed the Over/Under of 56.5.
Texas pole vaulted to the top of both the Associated Press and USA Today polls by virtue of the win.
I guess we already let the cat out of the bag by revealing that Texas is the new consensus No. 1 which means higher ranked teams like LSU and Missouri blew their opportunities of becoming the nation’s new top team.
Unlike their state rivals, the Oklahoma State Cowboys were able to win, defeating the Missouri Tigers by a final of 28-23; Mizzou was a 14-point home favorite and dropped to 11th and 12th respectively in the Associated Press and USA Today polls by virtue of the loss; the Tigers were third and second respectively in the same polls going into the weekend.
The LSU Tigers’ chances of repeating as BCS champions were dealt a blow when, listed as 7-point road ‘dogs, they failed to beat the Florida Gators in “The Swamp” in a 51-21 loss, an upset win would have definitely benefited the Tigers, but it was not to be.
- MLB: At home and down 1-0 in the ALCS, the Tampa Bay Rays managed to even things up on Saturday night, covering as -126 faves on the Money line; mind you it took a little longer than expected.
It took 11 innings, but the Rays managed to win a Game 2 barn burner by a final of 9-8, going Over the Vegas posted Total of 8.
A hockey game almost broke out in Game 3 of the NLCS as the L.A. Dodgers began heeding the words of Twisted Sister by “not taking it anymore.”
Some questionable pitches from the Dodgers’ Hiroki Kuroda—or purposely placed pitches depending on your P.O.V.—enraged the Philadelphia Phillies dugout and both benches cleared; Los Angeles’ Manny Ramirez even had to be restrained
The end result? The Dodgers covered as -160 home faves in a 7-2 victory, cutting into Philadelphia’s series lead, which currently sits at 2-1.
Could this be the year, the Arizona Cardinals actually win the NFC West?
They’ve been picked to the win the division before but have fallen short every time.
On Sunday the Cards pulled off the most improbable of upsets against the Dallas Cowboys.
Down 24-14 late in the fourth, the Cowboys scored twice with less than three minutes on the clock to tie the game at 24 and sent it into overtime.
In OT, they went three and out but had a punt blocked, which was recovered by Arizona and returned a short distance for the major and the win.
With the 30-24 win, the Cards cashed in as 4.5-point underdogs.
In other notable NFL news, the San Diego Chargers not only covered as 6-point favorites, they soundly thrashed the New England Patriots in a 30-10 victory. And the Browns finished the week off with a big upset on Monday night over the Giants. Cleveland has been bet up from +7 to +9 by kick-off, but all the Giant backers were wishing they kept their money in their pocket as the Browns rolled at home on National TV.
The BCS standings are about to come out and based on the past wild weekend, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.
May your week be less turbulent. Have a good one.
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