FOLIO
by Tom Weppel
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
For the longest time, I have heard NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell express how important parity is in his League. To have all teams doing well enough to be in contention as long as they can throughout the season has always seemed a priority.
With that said, we can look at the current standings and see that only two teams (GB, SF) have records with one loss or less, while NINE teams have only three losses (and at least six wins), and eleven teams have a record at either 5-4 or 4-5!
Now, should I consider that parity? Should I consider that intriguing? Honestly, I have no clue.
What I can tell you is this…that isn’t necessarily a draw.
When you look at the nine squads with three losses, it is very easy to see some differences in their current status. Both the 6-3 Bears and the 7-3 Texans are on four-game winning streaks, proving their wherewithall in making things happen. Then you see two other 6-3 teams (Lions, Ravens) take bad losses last weekend, and it makes you wonder what those guys are all about.
And with the eleven teams who are close to .500, my feeling is that is it easier to see their weaknesses, as opposed to their strengths. Case in point…the Bucs were doing fine at 4-2 before going on a three-game losing streak, jumping to 4-5. And they go to Green Bay on Sunday! And the Chargers…they were 4-1 a while back, but have now lost four straight, and they play at Chicago this weekend! Damn!
My point is this…whether that makes for entertaining football or not is anyone’s guess. I can understand the parity stance…teams that are still in the ‘hunt’ for the postseason will continue to draw the attention and interest of their fans, as opposed to teams who are simply down-and-out.
But that doesn’t mean the overall desire for football fans on a national scale will continue to build! In some ways, it could end up with people dropping their team following or whatnot, and that is not a good thing whatsoever.
And so the next few weeks should be interesting. It is very possible we will see some separation by a couple of teams who might feel an upswing of confidence, in trying to get set up for the playoffs. In my mind, there aren’t any real games that stick out, as far as overall matchups. Just realize this though, when checking these games out…in the last two weeks, the home team has been favored to win in 22 out of 30 games! Now, for all intents, that is not out of the ordinary. What IS out of the ordinary is that the VISITING team overall record in those 30 games is 20-10!
Keep that in mind when watching the games on Sunday…makes things that much more interesting!
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Heading into this weekends’ games, it seems the main topic of conversation continues to be the Penn State deal. As expected, items of information continue to emerge, almost on a daily basis, which allows the spotlight to continues to shine on this whole ordeal. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is purely discretional.
If nothing else, I will be more interested in seeing how Penn State gets treated this weekend, when they go to Columbus to face Ohio State. I think there will again be a confluence of interaction and opinion. You will see a number of people out there knocking the school and the team with a slightly negative bent at the least. They will push and cheer every time Penn State does something that goes against the grain and works towards them losing.
Then you will also see another group that will simply let them go and be the Nittany Lions we are slightly familiar with. Those fans simply will feel no need or reasoning in displaying opinion or emotion of any sort, especially involving a situation that continues to be played out.
And of you watched the Nittanys lose to Nebraska last week, you will know that these guys certainly seem affected by this whole debacle. They didn’t seem to have much spark or angst to do what was necessary to pull out a win, and they certainly had their chances against the Cornhuskers.
The Buckeyes are a seven-point favorite going into this ball game. I would guess they will hit that number and give Penn State another loss. It would seem, though, that all the goings-on surrounding the game itself are of slightly more importance than the game itself. We’ll see…
Otherwise, the college football schedule is not really showing us any real strong, competitive matchups! The most interesting game I see on the slate is out West, involving USC going up to Oregon to face the Ducks. Oregon is favored in that one by 15 points, which I find a little high and slightly surprising! Also out West, Cal and Stanford play in what is considered a more traditional game, and Arizona takes on their rivals at Arizona State.
Watching the LSU Tigers in some of their games can make you very understanding in why they are the consensus #1 at this time. They certainly have things in place for offense, defense, and special teams. Head Coach Les Miles has done a good job in getting his boys ready for this schedule. LSU is a four-touchdown favorite in their game at Mississippi. They should have no problem.
And finally, if you could’ve ever imagined, the Miami Hurricanes will travel to Tampa to take on the South Florida Bulls. Going into the contest, Miami is only a ONE-point favorite! Now, tell me what that line would’ve been ten or fifteen years ago! Amazing…
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