By Robert Perea and Tony Erquiaga
Robert
In a viral clip that circulated on social media this week, a high school football game featured one of the ultimate “never celebrate too early” lessons. During a high-stakes play, a quarterback threw a pass that was tipped into the air. Believing the play was over and that his team had secured the defensive stop to win the game, one of the safeties completely stopped playing and sprinted in the opposite direction to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the ball never hit the turf. Instead, it bounced right into the hands of an offensive player, who realized the whistle hadn’t blown. The receiver broke a couple of desperate tackle attempts and ruan right where the safety used to be to score the game winning touchdown.
I can relate, because I did almost the same thing when the Chiefs scored what appeared to be the game-wining touchdown to give me a 6-0 week on the picks. Instead, a flag for a false start nullified the score and Patrick Mahomes was sacked on the next play to end the game.
It was rich afterward to see Chiefs fans complaining online about a call they disagreed with, after the last few years when most fans of opposing teams have believed the Chiefs get every favorable call. That’s two weeks in a row I was one win away from a 6-0 week, only to see the last game slip away when it looked like a win.
The lesson as always, is that Yogi Berra was right, like he was so often, when he said “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Nevada (+10) over New Mexico: As a Lobo fan since I was 10 years old, my heart is crying as I type this, but the logic here is simple. New Mexico has been a historically terrible program that is suddenly good, at least by Mountain West standards, and. This is the first time the team has been ranked in the Top 25 in school history. A program that has never had expectations before suddenly has the spotlight on them, and every game that have won has only made the burden heavier, which showed when they had to come back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to win 21-10 as -14 ½ at Hawaii, and needed a 4th down stop at their 37-yard line to hold on to beat San Jose St. 21-16 last week. The passing offense has not been very good, so much so that I expect backup quarterback Luke Moga to get some snaps in this game. The Lobos lead the country in takeaways, so if Nevada turns the ball over like it did last week, this game could become a blowout. But the Lobos also have only 9 touchdown passes to 7 interceptions, so they won’t pull away offensively without help from Nevada.
Minnesota (+5 ½) over UCLA: Here come the undefeated Bruins to play a 9 a.m. body clock game. Whatever heartbreak Minnesota felt from last week’s overtime loss to Indiana will be gone if they can pull this one off. And considering the Gophers’ strong defense, the UCLA offense playing without quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and running back Wayne Knight’s rushing average per carry is less than half of what it was when Iamaleava was there presented a passing threat, I see no reason why Minnesota won’t be partying after this one.
UNLV (-6) over Wyoming: Even with the departure of Boise St., San Diego St. and Fresno St. from the Mountain West, I don’t think anyone expected to see Wyoming in second place on the first weekend of November. But I don’t think they’ll still be there for the second week of the month. Wyoming is 219th in the country in yards per game on offense and 238th in scoring. Since there’s 136 FBS teams, that means half of FCS teams average more per game than the Pokes, and that’s despite the fact that the four teams they’ve beaten are the bottom four teams in the MWC, and the one they lost was a shutout to North Dakota St. This is a short price to back the significantly better team at home.
Panthers (+3) over Broncos: Road game for the Broncos, against a nonconference opponent after beating the Chiefs on Sunday night. Sign me up.
Texans (-4 ½) over Chargers: At 2-5 it might seem like the Texans have no shot at the playoffs, but consider the teams right ahead of them are the Patriots, Browns, Raiders and Ravens without Lamar or Tyler Huntley. Win here and a couple of those lose this week, and they’re actually still in position to make a run. Coming off a bye after that overtime loss to the Giants, the Texans should be hungry and focused, and if they are, that’s enough to win this one solidly.
Vikings (+3 1/2) over Bills: Despite being the last unbeaten team in the NFL until the loss to the Lions last week, the Vikings are not the best team in the league. But they might be the best defense, and if you give me the better defense getting 3 ½ points at home, I’ll take it almost every time.
Last week
College: 3-0
NFL : 2-1
Season
College: 18-12
NFL: 16-7-1
Tony
It was another rough week. Let’s try again.
Kentucky at Tennessee (-6.5): The first CFP rankings are out and everyone is mad. This is where the SEC starts eating their own. Kentucky has been a surprise but the fun ends here. The Volunteers are tough to beat at home. Tennessee 31, Kentucky 23
Oregon at Ohio State (-7.5): Ohio State is currently the first team out of the CFP. What? They are much better than their ranking. Oregon is in shambles. Long trip as well. Ohio State 28, Oregon 13
Boise State (-17.5) at Colorado State: How in the heck is Colorado State going to stop the offense of the Broncos. This is a lot of points to give up on the road. I don’t see how the Rams keep it close. Boise State 56, Colorado State 20
Giants (-3.5) at Eagles: Philadelphia fans once booed Santa Claus. There have been many boos toward the Eagles this year. Philadelphia signed Joe Milton from the Cowboys practice squad to play QB. If the Giants keep JJ McCarthy upright, they should win. Giants 20, Eagles 10
Buccaneers at Bears (-5.5): Dare I say the Bears may be the best team in the NFL. Are the Monsters of the Midway back? Caleb Williams is playing outstanding. Note to Tampa, you will have to pass the ball this week. Bears 28, Buccaneers 17
Last week
College: 1-2
NFL: 0-3
Season
College: 12-18
NFL: 7-15-1
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