Upsets, upsets and more upsets! From close calls to near meltdowns, last week saw many surprises as the country witnessed Heisman candidates go to work. QB Josh Rosen led UCLA to a game-winning drive over BYU last week after an abysmal first half with three interceptions. Another Heisman candidate came in the form of LSU RB Leonard Fournette. He ran for 228 yards and 3 TD's in a winning effort over Auburn. One upset came in the SEC as Ole Miss traveled to Tuscaloosa and took down the Crimson Tide 43-37, uprooting their #3 ranking and becoming the favorite to win the SEC west. LSU made their own statement (mainly Fournette) in taking down Auburn in Baton Rouge 45-21. Now let's take a peek outside of the SEC. Ohio State is the heavy favorite to win the Big 10 conference and they were this close to being taken down by lowly Northern Illinois in Columbus. Cardale Jones was 4-9 with 36 yards and 2 touchdowns before being replaced by J.T. Barret. So as talented as a team Ohio State has become, there is plenty of room to improve. Just be thankful, Buckeye fans, that your season schedule is one of the easiest in the country, especially for a number one seed. This week the Buckeyes have Western Michigan at home. Look for an all-out assault from the Ohio State offense as they look to improve from last week. Here are the notable games for the week:- #22 BYU at Michigan, Noon ET, ABC
- #9 UCLA at #16 Arizona, 8 ET, ABC
- #18 Utah at #13 Oregon, 8:30 ET, FOX
- #19 USC at Arizona St., 10:30 ET, ESPN
The NFL has its own story lines, but it is mostly injuries heading into week 3, which is a good thing following an offseason filled with player misconduct and team controversy (Patriots, cough cough). Drew Brees of the Saints has a bruised rotator cuff this week and may be benched for Luke McCown. Brees has started every game for the Saints since arriving from the Chargers in 2005.Which rookie will step up this week? Will Jameis Winston improve on his performance of last week or will it be Marcus Mariota who shows his true form of week 1? Also, there are many teams that have had slow starts this year such as the Colts. Can Andrew Luck lead them to the promised land? With an 0-2 start, he will need to show the inner Peyton Manning if he is going to lead Indy to the playoffs. The AFC is up for grabs, so why not emerge out of an 0-2 start and be the ones to represent the conference in the super bowl?
The NBA starts up soon as well with many training camps scheduled to open up within the next few days. Meta World Peace has signed a one year deal with the Lakers again. Hopefully he can calm his character after a career filled with controversial hits and fouls. The Cavaliers are close to an agreement with their young forward, Tristan Thompson, who was essential in helping the Cavs reach the finals last year. However, it looks like the west is going to be packed again with the Warriors leading the Charge. ESPN analyst Brad Daugherty ranks his western conference top-four heading into this year:1. Warriors: With defending MVP Steph Curry on any team, it immediately makes that team playoff-caliber. With him still on the Warriors and with many pieces still intact from last year, look for the Warriors to make a charge at yet another championship year.
2. Spurs: With the addition of Lamarcus Aldridge, this team has gained some much needed youth with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli all coming to the end of their careers.
3. Clippers: With DeAndre Jordan staying in LA, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin could be the favorites to uproot the Warriors in the west. With a deep bench to help bail out the injured and tired (including the addition of Paul Pierce), look for the Clippers to go deep into the playoffs.
4. Thunder: With Kevin Durant fully healthy and Russel Westbrook an MVP candidate, the Thunder are much improved from last year. This could be a potential Cinderella pick to beat the top three in the west.
In the wonderful world of baseball, the Royals, Cardinals and Pirates have all clinched playoff spots. It is looking like the Cubs will clinch tonight or tomorrow as well for their first postseason appearance since 2008 thanks to the star production of Kris Bryant, Addison Russel, Jake Arrieta and more. The Padres close their season in about 10 games starting tonight when they take on the D-Backs at Petco park. A couple of dramatic wins over the Giants has given this team some needed confidence going into the offseason and hopefully next year. As I have mentioned before, many changes will need to take place in order to improve this team. Well that should do it this week. Keep in touch by creating a post as to how I can improve. Have a good week!
