More Classic Conference Previews

Three more Classic college football conferences with each team's preseason ranking on CBS Sports.  Here's the Classic Big Eight:

9.  Oklahoma

23.  Missouri

33.  Nebraska

34.  Kansas St.

44.  Oklahoma St.

56.  Kansas

65.  Colorado

69.  Iowa St.

Here's the Classic Southwest:

4.  Texas

8.  Texas Tech

11.  Texas A & M

20.  S.M.U.

26.  Houston

31.  T.C.U.

49.  Arkansas

53.  Baylor

121.  Rice

And, finally, here's the Classic Pac-10:

2.  Oregon

14.  U.S.C.

19.  Washington

30.  Arizona

41.  Arizona St.

42.  U.C.L.A.

50.  California

74.  Stanford

88.  Washington St.

94.  Oregon St.

Here are the six major conference Champions last year:

SEC:  Georgia (3d time in the last 4 years)

ACC:  Virginia (1st time since 2004)

SWC:  Texas Tech (1st time ever as outright champion)

Big 8:  Oklahoma (1st time since 2019)

Big 10:  Indiana (1st time since 1967)

Pac 10:  Oregon (2d year in a row)

Week 18

Last week of the NFL Regular Season, which is always sad to me.  There are 18 teams who will disappear after today, and we won't get to see them play a real game again until next September.  Also, we lose the NFL Red Zone for nine longs months.

The NFL has everyone play Divisional Games in Week 18.  I don't like this rule, because most of the games in Week 18 are meaningless, and I'd rather have meaningful Divisional Games in November and December.

Anyway, here are the current scores:

Atlanta 7 - 0 New Orleans (1st)

Cincinnati 6 - 7 Cleveland (2d)

Houston 6 - 10 Indianapolis (1st)

Jacksonville 7 - 7 Tennessee (2d)

Minnesota 3 - 0 Green Bay (2d)

N.Y. Giants 6 - 3 Dallas (1st)

And here are the scores from yesterday:

San Francisco 3 - 13 Seattle (F)

Tampa Bay 16 - 14 Carolina (F)

Seattle was ranked Number One in ESPN's final Power Rankings of the year, which came out last week.  So we are declaring them to be the Number One team for 2025-26 in terms of the polling.  Now we will see if they can complete the double by winning the playoffs.

Here's a list of the Number One teams since we started keeping track in 2012.  Only three of these teams won the Super Bowl:

2012:  Denver (13-3) (lost to Baltimore in the AFC Divisional Playoffs)

2013:  Seattle (13-3) (WON THE SUPER BOWL OVER DENVER)

2014:  Seattle (12-4) (lost to New England in the Super Bowl)

2015:  Carolina (15-1) (lost to Denver in the Super Bowl)

2016:  New England (14-2) (WON THE SUPER BOWL OVER ATLANTA)

2017:  New England (13-3) (lost to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl)

2018:  New Orleans (13-3) (lost to the Rams in the NFC Title Game)

2019:  Baltimore (14-2) (lost to Tennessee in the AFC Divisional Playoffs)

2020:  Kansas City (14-2) (lost to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl)

2021:  Green Bay (13-4) (lost to San Francisco in the NFC Divisional Playoffs)

2022:  Kansas City (14-3) (WON THE SUPER BOWL OVER PHILADELPHIA)

2023:  Baltimore (13-4) (lost to Kansas City in the AFC Title Game)

2024:  Kansas City (15-2) (lost to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl)

2025:  Seattle (14-3) (?????)

Final KHSAA Ratings for 2025

MaxPreps finally figured out that Boyle County beat Franklin County in the 4A final, so their KHSAA football ratings are now correct.  Here is the final top 20:

1.  Lou. Trinity:  13-2 (6A Champion)

2.  Boyle Co:  14-1 (4A Champion)

3.  Christian Academy-Louisville:  15-0 (3A Champion)

4.  Lou. St. Xavier:  10-4

5.  Owensboro:  13-2 (5A Champion)

6.  S. Warren:  13-1

7.  Cov. Catholic:  9-4

8.  Lou. DuPont Manual:  9-3

9.  Ft. Thomas Highlands:  10-3

10.  Johnson Cent:  11-1

11.  Pulaski Co:  12-3

12.  Lex. Frederick Douglass:  8-5

13.  Corbin:  10-4

14.  Ryle:  10-4

15.  Woodford Co:  12-2

16.  Lex. Christian:  12-3 (2A Champion)

17.  Pad. Tilghman:  12-2

18.  Franklin Co:  14-1

19.  Lou. Male:  8-5

20.  Madison Cent:  8-5

Power Eleven for 2025

Here is the final Power Eleven, which includes the eleven highest-rated football teams in Western Kentucky.  We didn't get a State Champion this year, but Murray did reach the 3A Final:

17.  Paducah Tilghman:  12-2

25.  Murray:  14-1

30.  Mayfield:  10-2

32.  Logan Co:  10-3

41.  Madisonville-N. Hopkins:  8-3

55.  Hopkinsville:  7-5

62.  Union Co:  7-6

65.  Henderson Co:  6-7

66.  McCracken Co:  6-6

78.  Graves Co:  4-7

110.  Crittenden Co:  8-4

Steelers v. Dolphins

That's the Monday Night Game.  Feels very 1978.

The Steelers are 13-12 against Miami in the regular season, and they are 2-2 in the playoffs.

Here are the four playoff matchups:

12/31/1972:  In one of the best AFC Title games ever played, the Dolphins beat the Steelers 21-17 in Pittsburgh to win the trip to Super Bowl VII.  This game featured what is probably the most famous fake punt in NFL history.

12/30/1979:  The Steelers buried the Dolphins 34-14 in Pittsburgh in the Divisional Playoffs on their way to winning Super Bowl XIV.

01/06/1985:  In Chuck Noll's last AFC Title game, the Dolphins crushed the Steelers 45-28 at the Orange Bowl in Dan Marino's national coming out party.

01/08/2017:  In Pittsburgh, the Steelers rolled 30-12 over the Dolphins in a Wild Card Game.

NFL Week 15

The byes are done, the European games are finished, high school football tournaments are over, the college basketball teams will be taking their exams, and it's time to return our attention to the NFL.  We appear to be in a transition season, with long-time powers in the AFC -- the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills -- yielding to more traditional powers -- Denver and New England.  As for the NFC, the Eagles could be going into the type of mysterious swoon that sank their season in 2023, while the Rams look very strong.  Here's ESPN's top ten:

1.  Los Angeles;  10-3

2.  New England:  11-2

3.  Seattle:  10-3

4.  Denver:  11-2

5.  Green Bay:  9-3-1

6.  Buffalo:  9-4

7.  San Francisco:  9-4

8.  Jacksonville:  9-4

9.  Philadelphia:  8-5

10.  Chicago:  9-4

Miami (6-7) is Number 21.  Washington (3-10) is Number 25.

The Game of the Week is in Foxboro, where the Patriots have the chance to virtually clinch the AFC East by beating the Bills.  That's a noon Central game.  In the afternoon, we have another great matchup:  the Number 4 Broncos hosting the Number 5 Packers in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXII.  Those are our only top ten matchups, but the afternoon also features what should be an entertaining game between the Number-1 Rams and the Number-11 Lions.  So you really should stay inside on Sunday and watch the NFL.

KHSAA Football Finals

Here were the finals in the KHSAA football playoffs:

Class 6A:  Lou. Trinity 28, S. Warren 14

Class 5A:  Owensboro 35, Pulaski Co. 7

Class 4A:  Boyle Co. 34, Franklin Co. 0

Class 3A:  Christian Academy-Louisville 42, Murray 7

Class 2A:  Lex. Christian 33, Owensboro Catholic 28

Class 1A:  Kentucky Country Day 20, Raceland 16

And so Louisville Trinity finishes Number One in MaxPreps' rankings.  The Shamrocks have finished at Number One 13 times since 2004, and they have been Number One in each of the last two years.  Here's a summary of Number One teams since 2004 (as far back as MaxPreps goes):

Lou. Trinity:  13 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2024, 2025)

Lou. St. Xavier:  2 (2009, 2021)

Boyle Co.: 1 (2023)

Lex. Frederick Douglass:  1 (2022)

Cov. Catholic:  1 (2019)

S. Warren:  1 (2018)

Lou. Male:  1 (2015)

Bowling Green:  1 (2013)

Ft. Thomas Highlands:  1 (2004)

There's a problem with the rest of the MaxPreps rankings, because for some reason MaxPreps thinks that Franklin County beat Boyle County in the 4A final.  We'll check back in another week and see if that gets fixed.

Classic ACC and Big 10 Standings

Here is how CBS ranked the Classic ACC teams:

17.  Virginia:  10-2

36.  Wake Forest:  8-4

40.  Duke:  7-5

44.  N. Carolina St:  7-5

46.  Clemson:  7-5

76.  S. Carolina:  4-8

86.  Maryland:  4-8

90.  N. Carolina:  4-8

Here is the Classic Big 10:

1.  Ohio St:  12-0

2.  Indiana:  12-0

19.  Michigan:  9-3

27.  Iowa:  8-4

35.  Illinois:  8-4

51.  Minnesota:  7-5

57.  Northwestern:  6-6

81.  Wisconsin:  4-8

84.  Michigan St:  4-8

110.  Purdue:  2-10

Each of these conferences has three teams that are ranked lower than the lowest team in the Classic SEC.

KHSAA Update

Here are the results of last week's KHSAA football semi-finals (home teams listed first):

Class 6A:

S. Warren 36 - 20 Ryle

Lou. St. Xavier 7 - 50 Lou. Trinity

Class 5A:

Pulaski Co. 17 - 0 Lou. Atherton

Owensboro 49 - 6 Woodford Co.

Class 4A:

Boyle Co. 34 - 33 Corbin

Franklin Co. 21 - 14 Pad. Tilghman

There was a terrible call by the officials in the Boyle County game -- a late fumble that appeared to give the ball to Corbin was awarded to Boyle County instead.

Class 3A:

Christian Academy-Louisville 56 - 20 Bell Co.

Erlanger Lloyd 20 - 27 Murray

Class 2A:

Owensboro Catholic 41 - 40 Beechwood

Lex. Christian 34 - 29 Belfry

Beechwood tried a two-point conversion to win late, but didn't make it.

Class 1A:

Raceland 17 - 10 Pikeville

Kentucky Country Day 31 - 13 Campbellsville

Here are the finals, with MaxPreps rankings in parentheses (all times CST) (all games at Kroger Field in Lexington) (top 20 teams in bold):

Friday, December 5:

11 A.M.:  (27) Raceland (12-1) v. (30) Kentucky Country Day (12-1) (1A Championship)

3 P.M.:  (16) Owensboro Catholic (13-1) v. (20) Lex. Christian (11-3) (2A Championship)

7 P.M.:  (2) Boyle Co. (13-1) v. (12) Franklin Co. (14-0) (4A Championship)

Saturday, December 6:

11 A.M.:  (3) Christian Academy-Louisville (14-0) v. (23) Murray (14-0) (3A Championship)

3 P.M.:  (9) Pulaski Co. (12-2) v. (6) Owensboro (12-2) (5A Championship)

7 P.M.:  (5) S. Warren (13-0) v. (1) Lou. Trinity (12-2) (6A Championship)

U of L Gets It Done

Yesterday, the University of Louisville crushed the University of Kentucky in a football game by the score of 41 to 0.  A few hours later, Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio called for the replacement of UK football coach Mark Stoops.  Jones also called for UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart to resign at the end of the school year.  As I've said before, to the folks in Lexington, losing to U of L is just on a different level than losing to anyone else.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt beat Tennessee 45-24 to finish with a record of 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the Southeastern Conference.  2025 is the first season in which Vanderbilt won ten football games, and it's also the first season in which Vandy won six SEC games.  Vandy won't make the playoff, but Coach Clark Lea and quarterback Diego Pavia should win every possible award.

NFL Update

Now that we're past the World Series, we've got college basketball underway, and we are about to wrap up the regular season for college football, it's time to catch up with the National Football League.  For most of the last two months, NFL teams have been enjoying bye weeks and going to Europe.  After 12 weeks of play, with six weeks to go, the ESPN Top Ten looks like this:

1.  Los Angeles:  9-2

2.  New England:  10-2

3.  Denver:  9-2

4.  Philadelphia:  8-3

5.  Seattle:  8-3

6.  Indianapolis:  8-3

7.  Green Bay:  7-3-1

8.  Detroit:  7-4

9.  San Francisco:  8-4

10.  Buffalo:  7-4

They're back!  The Patriots, Broncos, and Colts -- franchises that dominated the AFC through the first two decades of the century -- have displaced the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills at the top of the conference.  Meanwhile, the NFC looks like a battle between the Eagles and the NFC West.

The Game of the Week is on Thanksgiving Day at noon Central, as the Number-8 Lions host the Number-7 Packers.  No traditionalist could ask more.  You may want to re-read Run to Daylight to get yourself in the right frame of mind.  That's the only Top Ten game this weekend, but of course there will be lots of other sports going on.

KHSAA Update

Here are the Quarter-Final results in the KHSAA Football playoffs.  Home teams listed first:

Class 6A:

S. Warren 49 - 21 Henderson Co.

Lex. Frederick Douglass 27 - 28 Ryle

Lou. St. Xavier 31 - Lou. Male 14

Lou. Trinity 64 - Madison Cent. 27

Class 5A:

Pulaski Co. 49 - 14 W. Jessamine

Lou. Atherton 49 - 21 Bowling Green (at Lou. Waggener)

Owensboro 41 - 7 Lou. Fairdale

Woodford Co. 45 - 31 Scott Co. (at Falling Springs Park, Versailles)

Class 4A:

Boyle Co. 49 - 14 Cov. Catholic

Ft. Thomas Highlands 21 - 35 Corbin

Franklin Co. 42 - 25 N. Oldham

Pad. Tilghman 48 - 27 Logan Co.

Class 3A:

Christian Academy-Louisville 48 - 7 Union Co.

Bell Co. 16 - 6 Lawrence Co.

Erlanger Lloyd 28 - 13 Russell

Murray 20 - 14 Lex. Catholic

Class 2A:

Owensboro Catholic 27 - 19 Somerset

Beechwood 42 - 0 Prestonsburg

Lex. Christian 35 - 16 Mayfield

Belfry 41 - 14 Breathitt Co.

Class 1A:

Raceland 27 - 5 Paris

Pikeville 42 - 14 Middlesboro

Kentucky Country Day 37 - 6 Newport

Campbellsville 28 - 0 Newport Cent. Catholic

Those results set up the following semi-finals (MaxPreps rankings in parentheses, home teams listed first, top 20 teams in bold).  Please note that this week's game between St. X and Trinity will almost certainly decide who will be MaxPreps's number one team at the end of the season.  Tilghman and Murray are the only two Power Eleven teams still in the competition:

Class 6A:

(5) S. Warren (12-0) v. (13) Ryle (10-3)

(2) Lou. St. Xavier (10-3) v. (1) Lou. Trinity (11-2)

Class 5A:

(10) Pulaski Co. (11-2) v. (24) Lou. Atherton (12-1)

(14) Owensboro (11-2) v. (11) Woodford Co. (12-1)

Class 4A:

(3) Boyle Co. (12-1) v. (15) Corbin (10-3)

(20) Franklin Co. (13-0) v. (12) Pad. Tilghman (12-1)

Class 3A:

(4) Christian Academy-Louisville (13-0) v. (16) Bell Co. (12-1)

(37) Erlanger Lloyd (13-0) v. (27) Murray (13-0)

Class 2A:

(22) Owensboro Catholic (12-1) v. (25) Beechwood (11-1) (at Steele Stadium, Ky. Wesleyan Coll.)

(26) Lex. Christian (10-3) v. (18) Belfry (12-1)

Class 1A:

(29) Raceland (11-1) v. (28) Pikeville (10-3)

(39) Kentucky Country Day (11-1) v. (32) Campbellsville (11-1)

KHSAA Update

OK, now we're down to the quarter-finals.  Forty-eight teams are left -- eight teams from each class.  All games below will be played on Friday, November 21.  The home teams are listed first, unless otherwise noted.  Each team's number is its MaxPreps ranking.  Top 20 teams in bold:

CLASS 6A:

(3) S. Warren (11-0) v. (72) Henderson Co. (6-6)

(2) Lou. St. Xavier (9-3) v. (23) Lou. Male (8-4)

(1) Lou. Trinity (10-2) v. (20) Madison Cent. (8-4)

(12) Lex. Frederick Douglass (8-4) v. (15) Ryle (9-3)

CLASS 5A:

(10) Owensboro (10-2) v. (94) Lou. Fairdale (8-4)

(35) Lou. Atherton (11-1) v. (25) Bowling Green (6-6)

(11) Pulaski Co. (10-2) v. (53) W. Jessamine (9-3)

(13) Woodford Co. (11-1) v. (16) Scott Co. (9-3) (at Falling Springs Park, Versailles)

CLASS 4A:

(18) Franklin Co. (12-0) v. (60) N. Oldham (10-2)

(14) Pad. Tilghman (11-1) v. (26) Logan Co. (10-2)

(7) Boyle Co. (11-1) v. (5) Cov. Catholic (9-3)

(6) Ft. Thomas Highlands (10-2) v. (21) Corbin (9-3)

CLASS 3A:

(4) Christian Academy-Louisville (12-0) v. (66) Union Co.(7-5)

(27) Murray (12-0) v. (37) Lex. Catholic (9-2)

(39) Erlanger Lloyd (12-0) v. (56) Russell (10-2)

(17) Bell Co. (11-1) v. (31) Lawrence Co. (11-1)

CLASS 2A:

(22) Owensboro Cath. (11-1) v. (34) Somerset (11-1)

(29) Lex. Christian (9-3) v. (24) Mayfield (10-1)

(19) Belfry (11-1) v. (55) Breathitt Co. (10-2)

(30) Beechwood (10-1) v. (33) Prestonsburg (12-0)

CLASS 1A:

(42) Kentucky Country Day (10-1) v. (105) Newport (8-4)

(41) Campbellsville (10-1) v. (83) Newport Cent. Cath. (8-4)

(28) Raceland (10-1) v. (91) Paris (7-4)

(36) Pikeville (9-3) v. (54) Middlesboro (11-0)

Here's what happened to the two top 20 teams not listed above.  They were both defeated last weekend:

Number 8 Johnson Central lost to Covington Catholic, 36-29.

Number 9 Lou. DuPont Manual lost to Lou. Male, 15-14.

KHSAA Update

As usual, we won't really pay attention to the KHSAA Football Playoffs until they get down to the quarter-finals, which will be next week.  This week is the Round of 16.  Here is the current Top 20 KHSAA football programs, according to MaxPreps:

1.  Lou. Trinity:  9-2

2.  Lou. St. Xavier:  8-3 (On Sept. 26, Trinity beat St. X 35-24)

3.  S. Warren:  10-0

4.  Christian Academy-Louisville:  11-0

5.  Lou. DuPont Manual:  9-2

6.  Johnson Cent:  11-0

7.  Boyle Co:  10-1

8.  Ft. Thomas Highlands:  9-2

9.  Cov. Catholic:  8-3

10.  Pulaski Co:  9-2

11.  Owensboro:  9-2

12.  Woodford Co:  10-1

13.  Lex. Frederick Douglass:  7-4

14.  Pad. Tilghman:  10-1

15.  Bell Co:  10-1

16.  Owensboro Catholic:  10-1

17.  Franklin Co:  11-0

18.  Belfry:  10-1

19.  Ryle:  8-3

20.  Corbin:  8-3

Trinity leads the all-time rivalry with St. X, 51-41-2.  In the 21st century, Trinity leads 28-11.  KHSAA football would be more interesting if that rivalry was more competitive.

Here is the Power Eleven, for the best teams in the Commonwealth west of Owensboro:

14.  Pad. Tilghman:  10-1

28.  Murray:  11-0

29.  Mayfield:  9-1

44.  Madisonville-N. Hopkins:  8-3

54.  Hopkinsville:  7-4

66.  McCracken Co:  6-5

81.  Graves Co:  4-7

87.  Union Co:  6-5

90.  Henderson Co:  5-6

112.  Calloway Co:  6-5

116.  Crittenden Co:  8-3

Madisonville was eliminated last week in the first round of the 5A playoffs by Greenwood, 21 to 18.

U.C.F.C. Update

Here's a complete list of all the Unofficial College Football Championship Games played so far this season.  When the year began, Florida held the U.C.F.C.:

(Home teams listed first):

08/30/25:  Florida 55 - 0 Long Island U.

09/06/25:  Florida 16 - 18 S. Florida

09/13/25:  Miami (Fla.) 49 - 12 S. Florida

09/20/25:  Miami (Fla.) 26 - 7 Florida

10/04/25:  Florida St. 22 - 28 Miami (Fla.)

10/17/25:  Miami (Fla.) 21 - 24 Louisville

10/25/25:  Louisville 38 - 24 Boston Coll.

11/01/25:  Virginia Tech 16 - 28 Louisville

11/08/25:  Louisville 26 - 29 California (OT)

California becomes the fifth team to hold the U.C.F.C. this year.  Four separate holders have lost the Big Gold Trophy this season, and three of them lost at home.  That is extremely unusual.

Cal holds the U.C.F.C. for the first time since 1993.  The Bears will take the Big Gold Trophy to Stanford on November 22 for The Big Game, which will be an even bigger game this year with the U.C.F.C. on the line.

NFL Week 10

Here is the current top ten from ESPN's power rankings:

1.  Buffalo:  6-2

2.  Philadelphia:  6-2

3.  Indianapolis:  7-2

4.  Tampa Bay:  6-2

5.  Los Angeles:  6-2

6.  Detroit:  5-3

7.  Denver:  7-2

8.  New England:  7-2

9.  Seattle:  6-2

10.  Kansas City:  5-4

No team appears to be dominant so far, although it's hard to bet against Buffalo and Philadelphia.

We're still working through bye weeks, and European football, and those things are not good for the schedule.  Still, there are some good games.  The Game of the Week is in Tampa, where the Number-4 Bucs are hosting the Number-8 Pats at noon Central on Sunday.  There are also some decent rivalry games -- the 49ers host the Rams on Sunday afternoon, the Packers host the Eagles on Monday night.  So it will be a fine weekend.  But if you wanted to take a weekend off to recover from the World Series and get ready for the holidays, this would be a good week to pick.

NFL Week 8

No baseball until Friday, so here is ESPN's current top 10 in its NFL power rankings:

1.  Detroit:  5-2

2.  Indianapolis:  6-1

3.  Philadelphia:  5-2

4.  Tampa Bay:  5-2

5.  Los Angeles:  5-2

6.  Buffalo:  4-2

7.  Kansas City:  4-3

8.  Green Bay:  4-1-1

9.  Seattle:  5-2

10.  San Francisco:  5-2

There are only three AFC teams in the top ten.  I've never seen it this unbalanced between the two conferences before.

Washington is at 19 and falling.  The Dolphins are at 30.

We have six teams on bye this week, including the Lions, Rams, and Seahawks.  There are no top ten matchups this week -- the best game on the board is probably the Sunday night game, where the Steelers are hosting the Packers.  If you need to miss an NFL Sunday Afternoon at some point during the season, this is probably the best one to miss.

MaxPreps KHSAA Top 20

Here is the latest MaxPreps top 20 for KHSAA Football:

1.  Lou. Trinity:  6-2

2.  Christian Academy-Louisville:  8-0

3.  Lou. St. Xavier:  4-3

4.  Boyle Co:  6-1

5.  Ft. Thomas Highlands:  6-2

6.  Cov. Catholic:  5-3

7.  S. Warren:  7-0

8.  Johnson Cent.:  8-0

9.  Lex. Frederick Douglass:  4-3

10.  Woodford Co:  6-1

11.  Lou. DuPont Manual:  4-3

12.  Ryle:  4-3

13.  Pad. Tilghman:  6-1

14.  Cooper:  4-3

15.  Franklin Co:  8-0

16.  Lou. Male:  4-3

17.  Corbin:  4-3

18.  Owensboro:  5-2

19.  Pulaski Co:  5-2

20.  Scott Co:  6-2

Trinity's two losses are both to teams from Ohio.  On September 5, Cincinnati Moeller beat Lou. Trinity 24-21.  On October 3, Cincinnati St. Xavier beat Lou. Trinity 17-14.  But Lou. Trinity is undefeated in the Commonwealth, with a 35-24 win over Louisville St. Xavier on September 26.

I'm Out of Survivor Pool

 I spent the last week traveling, so I didn't get to post my Survivor pick.  But I picked the Cardinals to beat the 0-4 Titans in Arizona.  At halftime, the Cardinals led 21-6.  With one quarter to go, the Cardinals still led 21-6.  In the last quarter, the Titans scored a touchdown to make it 21-12, but missed the PAT.  With 4:39 left in the game, the Titans recovered a fumble in the end zone to make the score 21-19.  And on the last play of the game, the Titans kicked a field goal to beat the Cardinals 22-21.  Unbelievable.  Don't ever gamble, kids.

NFL Power Rankings and Survivor Pool, Week 4

Here are the top ten teams in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings:

1.  Philadelphia:  3-0

2.  Buffalo:  3-0

3.  Detroit:  2-1

4.  San Diego 3-0

5.  Green Bay:  2-1

6.  Tampa Bay:  3-0

7.  Baltimore:  1-2

8.  Los Angeles:  2-1

9.  Kansas City:  1-2

10.  Washington:  2-1

Miami is currently number 28.

This is the week the NFL starts to play games with the schedule, as we get our first European game on Sunday morning.  Soon the byes will start up.  On the other hand, the Game of the Week is a good one, as the Number-1 Eagles will visit the Number-6 Bucs as part of the noon lineup on Sunday.  I always like it when they play the Game of the Week in the noon hour.  At 3:25 PM on Sunday, we get the Number-7 Ravens visiting the Number-9 Chiefs.  That's a full day of good professional football.

Buffalo pulled out a tough win over Miami last Thursday, so we survived for another week.  Buffalo is heavily favored over the Saints this week, but we already took them so we can't use them again.  Of the remaining games, Detroit jumps out as an obvious favorite to beat the Browns in Detroit on Sunday.  So we are going with the Lions.  Survivor games so far:

Week One:  Denver 20 - 12 Tennessee

Week Two:  Baltimore 41 - 17 Cleveland

Week Three:  Buffalo 31 - 21 Miami