Well our National Championship game is set – Notre Dame and Ohio State will face off in Atlanta on January 20th for all the marbles. A Ryan Day and Lou Holtz rematch where the loser dies. Just kidding, but is Lou still alive? Can we check on that?
We’re now a week into the new year, and I feel more and more thankful for this hugely massive platform you guys have given me. As a member of the media and a big J Journalist, I can tell you guys that this is a dog eat dog world, where a mindset of hard work and consistency is the only way to have success in this field. You have to embrace the ups and downs, and remain true to yourself or you’ll get eaten alive. Unless of course you’re Joy Taylor, in which case I think the only “hard” part about her meteoric rise was the few inches of man-meat she had to endure to get her payday. More on that later though, first – we football.
Penn State takes care of business in Arizona
PSU 31
BOIS 14
Well, I decided to back the Broncos here and I regret nothing. That game went exactly as I expected; with Penn State dedicating 7-8 men every down to stopping the run, forcing Maddux Madsen to beat them through the air (spoiler: he didn’t), and Penn State ran for nearly 250 yards. It pained me physically to see my boy Ashton Jeanty bottled up all game, but he stilled managed to run for over 100 yards on 30 carries, breaking tackles left and right. Boise hung with the Tittany Lions for 58 of those 60 minutes, but the remaining 2 minutes resulted in a few long TD runs to seal the game, and ones that ended up blowing the cover for the Broncos (pain).
We saw Penn State flex their defensive muscles once again, despite missing future Top 10 pick Abdul Carter for the majority of the game. The elite edge rusher and do it all linebacker left early in the 2nd quarter with a lower leg injury, and did not return. It didn’t matter. The strategy of stacking the box to start Jeanty worked beautifully, and Maddux was under pressure all night. Offensively, the Tittany Lions were doing whatever the hellllll they wanted. That involved rushing for 229 yards on the ground, and Drew Allar throwing for 3 TDs (only 171 yards on 51% completion though).
They move on to face the Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl tomorrow night.
Texas nearly pisses away a double digit lead
TEX 39
ASU 31
Well, this one LOOKED like a stinker, but just as I started to day dream about Sydney Sweeney and her God-given talents (2 of them to be exact), the Sun Devils mounted a comeback. Star RB and known psychopath Cam Skattebo was Superman all game. The young man finished with 143 yards rushing, 99 yards receiving and 45 yards passing. Oh, and 3 TDs. He single handedly dragged them back into this game, while the ASU defense made a few huge stops down the stretch. The real MVP of the game though was Texas kicker Bert Auburn. The troubled and unfortunate looking kicker was B A D. He did start the game hot by hitting a lengthy 22 yarder (hell yea Bert!) and then proceeded to miss two 40 yarders, one of which would’ve been the game winner, nice Bert. After a 16 point 4th quarter from the Sun Devils and a few Bert Auburn misses, the two teams headed to OT.
In overtime, it started with a long methodical drive by the fighting Cam Skattebo’s, and led to a 31-24 lead with Texas having to score. They did just that, in only 3 plays, as the Ewers to Matthew Golden connection was on fire all night (7 rec 150 yards 1 TD). One play later, Ewers found his big TE for a 25 yard strike, and they got the two point conversion making it 39-31. ASU drove down to the 10 but QB Sam Leavitt forced a throw outside and it was intercepted by Andrew Mukuba, sending the Longhorns to the Semi’s.
Ohio State goes West and smells the Roses
OSU 41
UO 21
Yikes, this one got out of hand FAST. Ohio State looked like world beaters, again, and jumped out to a 34-0. The defense was nails, snuffing out everything Oregon was trying to do. Dillon Gabriel couldn’t get in a rhythm and no RB could find any space. It really was a complete suffocation by the senior heavy Buckeye defense. Oregon got one drive together finally, and was able to put up 8 points right at the buzzer to enter the half 34-8. Let’s not sugarcoat this any longer, this was an asskicking in all facets of the game.
Let’s look at the numbers: OSU QB Will Howard – 17/26 319 yards & 3 TDs. WR Jeremiah Smith – 7 receptions 187 yards & 2 TDs (YIKES). RB TreVeyon Henderson & Quinshon Judkins – 25 carries 179 yards & 3 TDs. Well fuck me running, you have your stars putting up THOSE kinda numbers and I don’t think anyone can stop you. Even scarier is the defense, with 7 starting seniors on that side of the ball. They were ALL OVER Gabriel and this prolific Oregon offense, sacking him 8 times (YIKES) and recording 13 tackles for loss.
Oregon, heads up, you had a great season and now you have plenty of time to tamper and get Quinn Ewers to transfer in. Go ahead and get that NIL deal cooked up for the young man and we will see you guys next year. Speaking of Quinn Ewers, he and the Longhorns will face this red hot Buckeye team tonight.
Notre Dame goes to NOLA and pops Gunner Stockton’s cherry
ND 23
UGA 10
In a Catholics vs. Convicts type of matchup here, are we really surprised that the luck didn’t fall to UGA? Before I glaze Marcus Freeman and this Irish team too much, let me first address the shenanigans that went on in this game. A rather slow start, as expected, quickly turned on it’s head when Notre Dame scored 17 points in a matter of 38 seconds of game time. Yes, you read that right. As the back and forth 6-3 ND led slugfest of a 1st half came to an end, we saw UGA back up QB Gunner Stockton get blindsided by Irish edge rusher RJ Oben and lose the ball. The hit came just one play after the ND FG and ensuing touchback, with just 33 seconds left on the clock. A typical Kirby Smart led football team would just knee it and go to half, especially against a defense as notable as the Irish’s, but for some reason he opted for aggressive play. Needlessly to say that decision went about as poorly as it could’ve as quickly as it could’ve. This fumble recovery game ND the ball at the UGA 10 yard line and led to a Riley Leonard TD pass to Beaux Collins. Bam, 13-3 at the half. The Bulldogs bleeding didn’t stop there however, as the opening 2nd half kickoff was returned 97 yards for a TD, BAM 20-3, just like that. It was at this point that I and most others pronounced this team to be DEAD. With a backup QB, a 17 point 2nd half deficit was a lot to ask for.
To his credit, Stockton played well (much better than Drew Allar did holy shitttt that guy might stink big old ass). Stockton finished 20/32 for 234 and 1 TD, not too bad for a first career start. Where his inexperience showed was his lack of pocket presence, getting sacked 4 times and fumbling twice. UGA couldn’t lean on the run, as it’s been horrific all season long and they were facing a Top 10 unit, so that just put more pressure on Gunner. It was a recipe for disaster once they were down 20-3 so suddenly, and it ended up being insurmountable.
Saturday
Chargers -3 @ Texans: Justin Herbert has arrived. The young man has been kicked for not yet winning a playoff game, and for blowing a double digit lead to the Jags back in 2022. He is more than ready to redeem himself and I think that determination paired with a crazy Harbaugh as your head coach is a recipe for success. I think Ladd McConkey will have himself a big game and that defense will be too much for CJ Stroud.
Steelers +9.5 @ Ravens: I hate this pick, I really do, because I want nothing more than the Ravens and Action Jackson to win the Bowl this year, but +9.5 is a lot of points. These teams hate each other and Mike Tomlin has a successful history as a road dog of 7 points or more, especially in a divisional game. I think the Ravens win, but it’s a rock fight. Defensively they have really flipped the switch in the last two months, ranking top 10 in most categories. In order for the Steelers to keep this close, they will need DangeRuss to be in full manwich mode, and he has to get George Pickens going and lean on that outside threat.
Sunday
Broncos @ Bills -8: Josh Allen has been playing football like a man possessed this year, and may win the MVP. The Bills are a machine seeking revenge against the Chiefs for the last few years of bullying, and if there is any year to do it, it’s this year. On the other side is rookie Bo Nix and head coach Sean Payton, who have put together an impressive year 1 together. The defense has been unbelievable this year, ranking in the Top 8 in every statistical category, led by the best CB on the planet, Pat Surtain II. What should be a great matchup here but I think Buffalo is just too determined, so I’m taking them. Bo Nix is likely to have some rookie bumps and mistakes, and you can’t do that against Josh Allen and win. P.S. I will be ALL OVER Josh Allen’s rushing yards via PrizePicks.
Packers @ Eagles -5: I hate Philly like Yhwach hates the rain, but they are a wagon. Jalen Hurts cleared concussion protocol yesterday and is ready to go. Packers star WR Christian Watson just suffered a torn ACL, which is a massive blow, as he is a crucial part of the Packers success this season in the downfield pass game. Without him, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs will have to step up bigtime. Despite taking the Eagles here, I do think Green Bay has a great chance to pull the upset. Saquon/Hurts and Josh Jacobs’ effectiveness on the opposing defense will likely determine the outcome here. More success on the ground = more opportunities through the air.
Commanders @ Bucs o50.5: Points, points and more points. Player Baker and Jayden Daniels are here and I think this game has a chance of being the best of the weekend. Daniels leg’s could be a huge difference maker here, but I think Todd Bowles will use his athletic linebackers to try and mitigate that damage. Baker has had a career year, and Mike Evans meets his old friend Marshon Lattimore, what more could you want? I’m all over Mike Evans receiving yards here, and will be taking him to score a touchdown as well, BIG GAME MIKE. Pretty easy to see this one being a fun explosive game, which means it won’t be and I’ll be dead wrong, but I like points soooo OVER!
Have a grand weekend everyone.
Meme of the week is an oldie but a goodie since it’s been announced that Deshaun Watson has re-torn his Achilles and will be out for another 9-10 months. So sad 🙁
Love you guys,
TWD
Say something, I dare you