There is very little for the Cincinnati Bengals to play for in today’s home tilt vs the Baltimore Ravens.
A Cincy win will only benefit them if the Denver Broncos lose and the Kansas City Chiefs win.
That trio of results would give the Chiefs, the AFC West and the “3” seed and enable Cincinnati to move into the “2” seed.
The Bengals are at least a “3” seed as AFC North winners, and can only be the “2” seed if Denver loses. In fact losses by all three teams also gives Cincy the “2” seed.
All this leads to a prediction.
Bengals 24 Ravens 17
Cincinnati is a 9 plus point favorite.
Elbert “Ickey” Woods pictured above led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in the 1988 season. In that Super Bowl game, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Bengals.
It was a magnificent New Year’s Eve concert at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center featuring Jimmy Buffett preceded by Huey Lewis And The News.
Amidst the celebratory atmosphere one might expect on New Year’s Eve and a Buffett event with his great “parrot head” fans (it was my first) the place really jumped.
Lewis did most of his big hits including “The Power of Love” on which he commented about having to sing over and over again all these years. He was terrific.
Buffett, whose mega hit “Margaritaville” was shown live or at least performed live on the ABC show still named in Dick Clark’s honor also was terrific.
Quite a night and I missed both college football semi-final games, another good happening.
Jimmy Buffett – Margaritaville (1978)
Click above for this tremendous performance.
In the AFC, if the New England Patriots win or if the Denver Broncos lose, then the Patriots are the AFC one seed for the second straight season.
In the NFC, if the Carolina Panthers win or if the Arizona Cardinals lose, the Panthers are the NFC one seed for the second straight season.
Likely tomorrow night, NBC in the person of Bob Costas will offer the venues for the division playoffs.
I will predict NBC to Arizona early on Saturday January 16th, and CBS to New England yet again on a Saturday night in the division round (2001, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2013).
On Sunday January 17th, Fox to Carolina and CBS to either Denver or Kansas City, likely Denver for the second straight season.
What a day for the player yesterday as the unusual happened with 5 of 5 favorites and 4 of 5 over the projected game points total manifesting.
Of course that meant my predictions were off.
Only one prediction today.
Though I believe 13 point Arkansa will win vs Kansas State, I believe “K. State,” coached by the venerable Bill Snyder will keep the game fairly close.
Arkansas 38 Kansas State 28.
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder pictured above.
After being afraid to go out on a limb and declare Tennessee the game winner vs Northwestern which was a certainty, Mark Jones then voiced two strong opinions.
Asked how he felt about Tennessee passing with a (31-6) lead, he used the “old” second and third team guys need work angle to justify rubbing the other teams nose in it.
Then in somewhat atypical abrasive fashion for Jones, a non talent but one who does not shriek as so many others with similar credentials do, he stated “do not play sports if you are afraid to lose.”
That is arguable, but rubbing it in to a team and Jones’ justification thereof is another low mark for college football.
Then again its greatest individual trophy awarded at an austere, likely restricted venue, the Heisman Trophy is named for a coach, John Heisman who presided over (i guess that game went over and as Arnold Wexler of Gambler’s Anonymous said, “without betting football would be soccer.”) a (222-0) “victory.”
John Heisman pictured above. No further comment.
Why the uncertainty Mr. Jones?
Tennessee with the pigskin, near midfield, ahead (31-6) and Mark Jones on the ESPN telecast says “if this holds up.”
Later with an even greater probability of a Tennessee win, he said it is improbable Northwestern will pull an upset.
Improbable, try virtually impossible.
Mr. Jones you could not take a stand?!!
In an effort to bounce back here are some New Year’s Day bowl predictions.
Northwestern has never made the NCAA basketball tournament, but are off to a good start this season.
Some momentum to the football team.
Tennessee is a 9 point favorite.
Tennessee 27 Northwestern 20
Another Big Ten team I will pick is Iowa.
They had a (12-0) regular season.
I doubt they would have been as non competitive as Michigan State, the team that beat them (barely) in the Big Ten title tilt, was vs Alabama.
Today Iowa is a 6 point underdog in the Rose Bowl vs Stanford.
Iowa 29 Stanford 28.
It was Christmas Day 1971 when the Miami Dolphins won a 6 quarter game from the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
The late Garo Yepremian, another we lost far too soon, in 2015, booted the game winning field goal.
Karl Noonan, pictured above, evokes nice memories for Iowa supporters from his/their days at that fine university. (Surely Stanford is at least a fine, if not great university)
He was the holder on Yepremian’s historic field goal.
I believe it was the only time Brad Nessler was the lead television announcer on a national title game.
It was the last time Oklahoma claimed the title back after the 2000 season in a BCS title tilt vs Florida State.
As I write this, Oklahoma is playing in a semi-final/Orange Bowl game vs Clemson.
Brad Nessler is the lead announcer.
He is not very good but great compared to some of the others.
Already today Florida State lost as Houston completed a fine season with a (38-24) win vs the Noles (Florida State).
One wonders how much the Cincinnati Bengals will try in Sunday’s game at home vs the Baltimore Ravens.
Thanks in part, to the Ravens’ upset win vs the Pittsburgh Steelers lst week, the Bengals clinched the AFC North and likely will be the AFC “3” seed and host a wild card round game next week.
The Denver Broncos field goal win as three plus point favorites last Monday night, means “Cincy” can only be the AFC “2” seed and get the first round bye that goes with it, if Denver loses this Sunday at home vs the (4-11) San Diego Chargers.
The only meaning to a Cincinnati win is if they win and Denver loses, they will not need the Kansas Chiefs playing at home vs the Oakland Raiders to win.
It is complicated and will be explained in further detail before Sunday’s tilts, but for now Cincy as a 9 point favorite SEEMS too high a spread. The operative word is SEEMS!
I am not happy with the playoff system in place in college football.
On top of that, the monolith that is ESPN has deemed New Year’s Eve the day and night for the two semi-final games today but apparently for 7 of the 10 years ahead.
They think that they control us. I will venture to a concert with Jimmy Buffett and Huey Lewis and not watch. You can do the same.
In those two games, three predictions.
Oklahoma, 4th in the rankings but 4 point favorite, to win.
Say Oklahoma 29 top ranked and the lone unbeaten, Clemson 19
Alabama is second and 10 point favorites vs Michigan State.
50 years ago, in separate bowl games, Alabama won and climbed ahead of Michigan State which lost, and vaulted to number one.
Tonight they clash.
Alabama 20 Michigan State 14
Third prediction, though their ratings will be down from last year when these games if they had to be played, were properly played on New Year’s Day not Eve, ESPN will still, unfortunately get good ratings.
Steve Sloan, who was the Alabama quarterback between Joe Namath and Ken Stabler, the latter whom we lost this year, led ‘Bama (already with 3 titles in the Obama administration) to an Associated Press 1965 national title clinching win in the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1966.
Alabama received help that New Year’s Day when not only as mentioned above, their semi-final opponent tonight, one day shy of 50 years later, Michigan State lost (to UCLA in the Rose Bowl) but also when unbeaten Arkansas lost in the Cotton Bowl to LSU.
Sloan then led the Crimson Tide to a (39-28) win over previously unbeaten Nebraska in the second night Orange Bowl.
