Patriots coach Bill Belichick hasn’t done a whole lot to ever help the Jets over his career. But his decision to go for the first down instead of punting on fourth-and-two against the Colts Sunday night has completely changed the Jets season and the complexion of the AFC East. If Belicheat, I mean Belichick, punts the ball away and his defense stops Peyton Manning and the Colts from scoring a touchdown, not only are the Patriots in the driver’s seat for home field advantage, but New England all but clinches the division. Now, with the loss, home field advantage is gone and, best yet for Jets fans, the division race is once again up in the air. Of course, it could all be over a week from now, but due to Belichick’s decision, that is one week more than the Jets had earlier that afternoon. After losing to the Jaguars, the Jets’ season was simply over. But if the Jets can somehow beat the Patriots on Sunday – which is entirely possible – they will be just one game back and, on top of that, would own the tiebreaker. With the Patriots playing at the Saints and Dolphins the following two weeks and the Jets playing the Panthers and Bills, the Jets could actually find themselves all alone in first place. Shocking, I know. This all depends on the Jets actually winning some games, which has proven to be almost impossible since starting 3-0. And, as most Jets fans realize, if they do beat the Patriots this week, a devastating loss to the Panthers and/or Bills could easily follow and ruin everything once again. But, thanks to Belichick, that is a chance any Jets fan would take.
The picture above is of Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who is playing a bum in the new movie “The Other Guys.” Apparently, according to the New York Post, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg play cops who are taken off the streets after Wahlberg’s character wrongly shoots Jeter in the leg after seeing him walk around with a bat. Jeter’s career obviously spins out of control afterward. Sounds like it could have some potential.
Vote now on all of the Thanksgiving week football matchups on the right side of the blog. Post your comments here as well to let us know who you think will win and why.
For the college picks, I didn’t have the bounce-back performance that I hoped for – thanks Miami and Notre Dame – but I’ll take the two-game improvement from last week. Craig finally bounced back from two straight 2-5 weeks to post a winning mark. The lead in the season race for yours truly is four games.
Now, on to College GameDay Rewind:
My Weekend: 3-4 (spread); 6-1 (overall); 0-0 (upset picks)
My Season: 39-37-1 (spread); 60-17 (overall); 6-4 (upset picks)
My Money:
DOWN $170 (season)
Craig's Weekend: 4-3 (spread)
Craig's Season: 35-41-1 (spread)
Craig's Money:
DOWN $1,010 (season)
No. 7 Georgia Tech -12.5 at Duke
My Pick: Georgia Tech 38, Duke 20
Actual Score: Georgia Tech 49, Duke 10
Sometimes there are those so-called lucky moments when a game like this comes around and you could almost bet the farm on the game and be completely confident you’d have somewhere to live afterward. That was the case here as I thought Georgia Tech was the easiest pick of the week and, perhaps, the entire season. Why the Yellowjackets were giving so little is still a question, but hey, I’ll take it. After Duke took an early 10-7 lead, Georgia Tech rolled off 42 straight points to make it a great start to the day. Both Craig and I start off 1-0.
No. 15 Iowa -16.5 at No. 10 Ohio State
My Pick: Ohio State 41, Iowa 17
Actual Score: Ohio State 27, Iowa 24
Well, I thought Ohio State would use the momentum of its upset victory over Penn State to roll to an easy win over an Iowa team led by a backup quarterback. Of course, I was wrong. Looking back, 17 points is a lot to ask for from a Big 10 team, so I probably should have gone in the opposite direction. With that said, however, the Buckeyes still led by 14 with 11 minutes to go. But the Hawkeyes answered an OSU score with a kickoff return for a touchdown that sunk my hopes rather quickly. Ohio State won the game in overtime. So, I even my record at 1-1, while Craig improves to 2-0.
No. 1 Florida -17.5 at South Carolina
My Pick: Florida 28, South Carolina 20
Actual Score: Florida 24, South Carolina 14
As everyone knows, I’m rooting hard for Florida to get upset before the SEC Championship game against Alabama, and this one came really close. South Carolina played great on defense, but just didn’t have the offense to complete the deal. The game changed completely when the Gamecocks had the ball at the Gators’ 22-yard-line down by just a field goal in the fourth quarter. But a tipped-pass interception by Florida ruined the South Carolina momentum and the game was quickly lost when the Gators went downfield and scored the put-away touchdown. Still, even though there was no upset, I improve my record to 2-1. Craig is bouncing back in a big way from two straight 2-5 weeks, moving to 3-0 on the day.
No. 12 Miami -3 at North Carolina
My Pick: Miami 23, North Carolina 14
Actual Score: North Carolina 33, Miami 24
Not much to say about this game, as North Carolina was never really in trouble. Miami is quickly becoming one of the teams on my “hate list,” the ones that always seem to give me a loss no matter the circumstances. At least I got to bask in the glory of watching Craig’s Hurricanes lose again. My record evens at 2-2 while Craig drops his first game of the day, 3-1.
No. 3 Alabama -12.5 at Mississippi State
My Pick: Alabama 27, Mississippi State 10
Actual Score: Alabama 31, Mississippi State 3
Just like the Georgia Tech game, I thought this matchup was very close to a so-called lock pick. Luckily, Alabama came through in a big way, rolling to an easy win over Mississippi State. While it’s unfortunate that Florida and Alabama will make it to the SEC title game undefeated – as I really want TCU to make it to the BCS championship – at least I won’t have to see Florida in the title game, as the overrated Gators should get stomped by the Tide. The real Top 25 rankings should have Alabama at No. 1, Texas at No. 2, TCU at No. 3, Florida at No. 4 and Cincinnati at No. 5. Craig and I both get the win with Alabama, so I improve to 3-2 and Craig moves to 4-1.
No. 16 Utah +20 at No. 7 TCU
My Pick: TCU 35, Utah 28
Actual Score: TCU 55, Utah 28
Even though I want TCU to slip into the national championship game, I just didn’t think the Horned Frogs would be able to roll over a very good Utah team at home. But they did. Utah still had plenty of chances to keep the score within 20 points, but TCU just never stopped coming and ended up beating the spread by a touchdown. The Frogs proved in this game how good they are and, as I said earlier, should be ranked ahead of Florida. Craig and I both take another loss and he drops to 4-2 and I fall o 3-3.
Notre Dame +6.5 at No. 8 Pittsburgh
My Pick: Pittsburgh 30, Notre Dame 23
Actual Score: Pittsburgh 27, Notre Dame 22
I thought this game was going to be the closest of the day – and the tightest pick against the spread – so I was thrilled when Pittsburgh controlled play for more than three quarters and led 27-9 with less than 10 minutes to go. I marked this one down as a victory and didn’t even check in on the score until after it went final. So, imagine my surprise when the final score read Pittsburgh 27, Notre Dame 22. What happened? Apparently the Irish made a huge comeback and actually had the ball in their hands with a chance to win the game outright, but Jimmy Clausen through an interception to end it. Not good for Notre Dame, Charlie Weis or my Panthers pick. What should have been a great win to close out the day for both Craig and I actually ends with a loss. Craig finishes with a 4-3 mark, while I finish 3-4 for the day.
Executive Sports Editor Brad Carroll takes a look at the top games of the day
