TUCFC: 2015 Week 8

Texas Christian (9 TUCFC) defended the TUCFC with a 45-21 win over Iowa State (77). Next they play West Virginia (46) on a Thursday night the 29th.

With Michigan (6) blowing their win in dramatic fashion to Michigan State (10) we have a new number 1 team according to the TUCFC power rating, Utah.  Utah travels to USC (44) this weekend and so far being the number one rated TUCFC team has not done teams any favors, so could we see an upset?

But week 8 in the 2015 college football season is all about one game.  At 7pm on Saturday, October 24th Western Kentucky (27) goes to Baton Rouge to take on LSU (4).  The SEC has struggled this year out of conference so we have to hope for the best for Western.  GO TOPS!!

Games to Watch This Week

Temple (6-0) at East Carolina (4-3)
     So the AAC has 3 undefeated teams:  Houston (24), Memphis (12), and Temple (20).  Memphis this past weekend pounded Mississippi (14), so the AAC at this point has to be considered for putting a team in the playoff.  Assuming one of them comes out undefeated and other teams all have multiple losses.  At this point the AAC just needs these undefeated teams to keep winning.  This will be a fun one to watch on a Thursday night.

Georgia Southern (5-1) at Appalachian State (5-1)
     We have these two teams also on Thursday night fighting it out for the top on the Sun Belt conference.  Appalachian State (23) has adjusted well to the FBS.

Western Kentucky (6-1) at LSU (6-0)
     I don't know a lot about Western Kentucky football history.  They have only played for the TUCFC once in 2007.  Outside of that I don't know what their big football moments are, they have been more of a basketball power.  But if they could pull off the upset in LSU on Saturday, well that would probably become their biggest moment.


TUCFC Power Rating

Rank	Team	Record	WP	WDiffP	LP	LDiffP	Power
1	Utah	6-0	159.344	261.150	0.000	0.000	420.494
2	Ohio State	7-0	121.969	265.725	0.000	0.000	387.694
3	Iowa	7-0	116.938	244.063	0.000	0.000	361.000
4	Louisiana State	6-0	134.000	218.513	0.000	0.000	352.513
5	Alabama	6-1	113.875	266.463	4.250	28.250	347.838
6	Michigan	5-2	106.000	250.200	2.500	11.000	342.700
7	Florida	6-1	111.469	229.038	1.000	7.000	332.506
8	Baylor	6-0	44.531	284.550	0.000	0.000	329.081
9	Texas Christian	7-0	83.344	242.250	0.000	0.000	325.594
10	Michigan State	7-0	128.000	194.825	0.000	0.000	322.825

Top KY Team

27

Western Kentucky

6-1

42.875

196.100

10.563

42.000

186.413

Eight teams left

Quick question:  When was the last time the First Region won at least one game in the State Tournament for three years in a row?

Answer:   1951-53.  Cuba reached the final in 1951 and 1952, and then Tilghman reached the final in 1953.  But last night, Calloway County upset Knott Co. Central, meaning that we have a Jackson Purchase team in the quarter-finals for the third year in a row.


Quick question:  When was the last time that Regions 1, 2, 3, and 4 -- the four westernmost regions -- all advanced to the quarterfinals of the State Tournament?

Answer: 1960.  To give you a sense of how long ago that was, check out these scores:

Symsonia 69, Meade Memorial 60
Hopkinsville Crispus Attucks 64. Clinton Co. 62
Owensboro 77, Lincoln Institute 75
Beaver Dam 61, LaRue Co. 56

That's right:  three of the four Western Kentucky schools that went to the quarter-finals in 1960 no longer exist.

So live it up, Western Kentucky!  We don't get too many chances like this one.  Plus, the four Western Kentucky teams will be playing each other, so our end of the Commonwealth will have two teams in the semi-finals.  That hasn't happened since Tilghman and Henderson County reached the semi-finals in 1999.

Our gain is Appalachia's pain.  The 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th regions have all been eliminated prior to the quarter-finals.  This is the first time that's happened since 1989.

OK, here are the scores from yesterday:

(1) Lou. Ballard 83, Johnson Cent. 69
Boyle Co. 60, Lex. Catholic 59
Bowling Green 86, Elliott Co. 44
Calloway Co. 73, (4) Knott Co. Cent. 68 (2 OT)

And that sets up the following quarter-finals today (all times Central):

11 A.M:  (7) Owensboro (28-4) v. (8) Hopkinsville (27-5)
12:30 P.M:  (9) Cov. Catholic (30-5) v. Lou. Doss (27-6)
5:30 P.M.:  (1) Lou. Ballard (32-2) v. Boyle Co. (27-6)
7 P.M.:  Bowling Green (29-5) v. Calloway Co. (30-3)

Oh, Kentucky

"Our definition of the seasons is no longer determined by when they actually start, but by when our idea of them starts."

The 1979 and 1980 KHSAA Class 3A football champions are getting ready:

Since moving back to Kentucky six years ago, I have come to learn--it wasn't exactly a surprise, just something I hadn't ever thought about--that local farmers markets are often flash points of competitive tension and arguments about issues such as specific regulations or the broader question of government's role in the marketplace. For example, maybe Bloomfield ...

Good jobs news in Auburn and Mount Sterling.

Rebounding from the bad in Glasgow.

The bad jobs news in Paducah and the rise of #StangNation has the McCracken County housing market in flux. Change is coming for the local hotel game, too.

"Another important step toward completion of I69 in western Kentucky."

Maybe the Graves County school board wants back in the Cuba school to save the 1952 state-championship trophy.

The Christian County Chess Initiative Committee has a big year in the works.

"Came home from Bible school tonight (Wednesday, July 23, 2014); missed getting picture of a mink but caught this owl."

Bad Jobs News From Paducah

"For 60 years, Paducah employees and the community have supported our national security and energy security. For now, at least, that mission is ending, but we are committed to working with the community and DOE for the smoothest possible transition that positions the plant site for its future role in the area's economy."

'Undoubtedly the Greatest High School Basketball Player' from Western Kentucky and More

As of 1952, per John C. Miller of the Evening Citizen of Cairo, Ill., "undoubtedly the greatest high school basketball player to come out of this four state area of Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and West Tennessee" was Phil Rollins of the Wickliffe High Tigers.

"Coaches, players and sportswriters have been singing his praises since he earned a regular position on his team as a freshman and every bit of the praise and more is deserved," Miller wrote in an article posted at the (fantastic) West Kentucky Genealogy Facebook page (5 stars, highly recommended). "One sports editor dubbed him 'Mr. High School Basketball' as a junior and in his final year he most definitely has lived up to this rating."

Wrote Miller, Rollins was "the best floor man ever seen in high school or college in this area," the holder of the state's four-year scoring record (2,478 points) and the only junior ever selected to Chuck Taylor's All-American high-school squad. The only off key in the entire article is that Rollins's Wickliffe teams never played in a Sweet Sixteen. The Tigers advanced to the First Region final each of Rollins's last three seasons--but lost to Paducah Tilghman in 1950, state-runnerup Cuba in 1951 and state-champ Cuba in 1952. According to the (fantastic) Bob Mays/Ideal Rocket Oil Company Kentucky prep-sports-history site (5 stars, highly recommended), Wickliffe consolidated with Bandana, Barlow-Kevil, Ballard County and Blandville highs to form Ballard Memorial High before the 1952-53 academic year. 

After his amazing career at Wickliffe, Rollins went on to an amazing career at the University of Louisville and three seasons of pro basketball. He captained the 1955-56 Cardinals squad that finished 26-3 and beat its three National Invitation Tournament opponents by 12, 10 and 13 points back when the NIT was still considered a rival to the NCAA tournament in terms of determining the true national champion. In 2000, U of L retired Rollins's jersey (but, I think I'm understanding this correctly, not his jersey number, 26).

I feel like an idiot for never having heard of Phil Rollins. He's 79 and, as of 2011, anyway, remained an ardent follower of the Cardinals. Here's hoping Mr. Rollins is getting ready to enjoy a very, very happy weekend.

We're Number Three

Kentucky fell to number three in the AP Poll after the loss at Indiana on Saturday. The Hoosiers entered the poll at number 18. U of L is at number 4, while Murray State cracks the poll for the first time since March 10, 1998. The Racers are number 24 -- with a bullet.

By the way, according to this web page, Murray's highest AP ranking ever is 16 -- a rank they reached in both 1951 and 1952.

UK's all-time record as the nation's number 3 team is 144-32.

Oh, and Kentucky and Louisville have never played a game when both teams were ranked in the top five.