Where Maryland Basketball Stands: Revisited

Remember this post? In it, I laid out exactly how Maryland was going to make the NCAA Tournament this year. More than three weeks later, you're probably chuckling to yourself, saying, "Well that all got blown up." In retrospect ... it didn't. Let's take a look.

Oh, and if you don't really care about all my logic, just skip to the bottom of the post. 

The Elite Teams: Nothing has changed about the teams at the top of the ACC; there is still clearly a top 4: UNC, Duke, Wake and Clemson. I said from the very beginning the Terps would have to go 2-4 against these top teams. At the time, they were 0-1, since then they've gone 0-2, putting them at a not-so-stellar 0-3. 

Did you honestly expect that, when you play 3 road games and 3 home games against these teams, that you would have to win one of the road games? I wouldn't. I still hold by my position they will either beat UNC or Duke. I also said in my original post that would leave us having to beat Clemson on the road or Wake at home. Well, they lost to Clemson on the road. That leaves Wake at home with perhaps the season on the line. 

The Really Good Teams: Nothing has changed about these guys either. Outside of the four locks, there are 4 other strong teams in the ACC that have been getting tournament talk. In fact, in ESPN's recent bracketology, all four of these teams were slated to be in the Big Dance: VT, BC, Miami and FSU. I said in my original post the Terps would have to go 2-3 against these guys; heartbreaking losses against Miami and FSU ensued, and the Terps would have to go 2-1 against them. The night of that post, the Terps blew the lead against BC, leaving them with two must-win games against Miami and VT.

They won both of those games. In this regard, the Terps did everything they needed to do. 

The Bottom Teams: Once again, in three weeks, nothing has really changed about the ACC pecking order, as GT, UVA and NCST are still at the bottom. I said the Terps would have to go 4-1 in their five games against these teams. When I published the original post, the Terps needed to go 2-1. By virtue or a harrowing victory against GT, the Terps now only need to go 1-1. 

Their two games remaining are the two toughest games they will face against these bottom teams: the road games against Virginia, who always plays them tough, and an underrated NC State team. They should come away from those with one victory, though, probably at Virginia. 

Bottom Line: To have a shot at making the NCAA tournament, the Terps need to ...

1. Win one of their next games. If they lose both, the Terps would need to win at least 4 games in a row to close out the season. If they win both, the Terps only need to win one game the rest of the year. 

2. Win two of their next three games after that. If they beat NCST and UVA, they will need a good show in the ACC tournament. If they win the Wake game plus one other, they should be good. 

3. Not lose by 20+ anymore. It's really gotten embarrassing. 

Where Maryland Basketball Stands

Despite how badly things have gone at times this year - you know, the loss to Morgan State, the blown 17 point lead to Miami, losing by 41 to Duke - Maryland is still somehow in a relatively favorable position to make the tournament. With one great non-conference win (Michigan State), one good one (Michigan), and one decent one (American), and only one bad loss (and Morgan's moving up the RPI standings themselves), 8-8 in conference with a tournament win may still get the job done. 

It does depend on what teams make up each 8, however. So, I'm going to categorize the remaining 11 conference games based on conference standings right now. 

The Elite

The Teams: There are clearly four elite teams in the conference - UNC, Duke, Wake and Clemson. Maryland has a total of six games against these opponents. They already played the away game of a home-and-away with Duke, they have two games with UNC, they have a home date with Wake, and an away game at Wake.

Bottom Line: You will have to go 2-4 in these six games (2-3 the rest of the way). 

How to do it: A 41-point loss still only counts as one loss, so you have to go 2-3 the rest of the way out. It obviously didn't look like it last Saturday, but a penchant of teams coached by Gary Williams is the ability to show up for the big game. There has only been one year since the 1999-2000 season when the team didn't win at least one game against Duke or Carolina. I'm calling a home win against Duke on February 25th. The players have heart, and they will be looking toward that game for a long time. All that leaves is to get a home win against Wake or a road win against Clemson. I don't like it either, but it's what you're faced with. 

The Really Good

The Teams: There are four teams besides Maryland that are in the middle of the conference, and will more likely than not be bubble teams at the end of the year - Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College. Maryland has already played Florida State in their only match of the season, and dropped the away part of a home-and-away with Miami. They play a home game against Boston College (tonight), and an away game at Virginia Tech. 

Bottom Line: You will need to go 2-3 against these teams (2-1 the rest of the way). 

How to do it: The silver lining of the Terps' failed trip to Florida was that the games at Miami and Florida State are the two toughest games during this stretch. Away against Virginia Tech will be extremely difficult as well, unless you believe in sayings like "we're due" and the law of averages. So, what that means is that the game tonight against BC is a must-win, which isn't too bad because they typically play BC pretty well. It also means that they will probably need to beat Miami in College Park. They should have beaten Miami in Miami this year, so that is also plausible. 

The Bottom Teams

The Teams: And then, there are the three teams that are still quality opponents, but are definitely the three bottom teams of the ACC - Virginia, North Carolina State and Georgia Tech. The Terps won their home part of home-and-away series with UVA and GT. They face North Carolina State on the road later in the team. 

Bottom Line: You will need to go 4-1 in these games (2-1 the rest of the way). 

How to do it: This is the exact opposite scenario as the category before. The two easiest games of these three were the home dates against Georgia Tech and Virginia, and the Terps took care of business and won both of those games. Now, they need to go 2-1 on the road against these three teams. They should be able to beat GT in Atlanta. NC State might give them trouble because of Brandon Costner inside, so that would leave Virginia at Virginia for the last game of year - again. They may want to beat NC State. 

(Photo Credits: AP)

ACC Is Making Me Look Bad

For all the blustering I've done about the ACC being college football's second best conference (this post plus numerous text conversations) they haven't done much to back me up come bowl season. 

The conference finished up at 4-6 in bowl season, hardly enforcing my claim. Florida State posted the conference's most impressive win, laying a beat-down on Wisconsin in the Champs Bowl. Meanwhile, GT was by far the conference's most perplexing and embarrassing loss, as they were dropped by LSU 38-3. GT had already beaten Ole Miss and Georgia out of the SEC, so it seems odd they would pick such a time to fall apart to another mid-level SEC team. Nonetheless, there it was, though.

Some notable conference records in bowl games so far:

Pac 10: 5-0, with 0 to play

Big 12: 3-1 with 3 to play

SEC:  3-1 with 4 to play

Big East: 3-2 with 1 to play

MWC: 2-2 with 1 to play

ACC: 4-6 with 0 to play

Big 10: 1-5 with 1 to play

The Humanitarian Bowl

I could be that guy. I could be that guy who sits here and writes about how Maryland - an ACC school with a long, rich athletic history - was forced to play in the Humanitarian Bowl. In Boise. Against Nevada. And they gave us all we could handle, as we won by only seven.

That would be extremely disrespectful towards my school, though, and not how I honestly feel about the situation at all. 

To be frank, I was thrilled about the victory. I thought Maryland was going to go into Boise and absolutely get their brains beaten out. First of all, I never expected Maryland to come out and play the game with the passion and intensity they did. When your whole campus seemingly forgets about you, I imagine it would be easy to lose some of your focus. I feared that my thoughts were affirmed when I learned of the seven players suspended for the first part of the game. 

Then, Chris Turner stepped up, flashing his potential as a terrific quarterback once again (before becoming his inconsistent self in the second half again). Ronnie Tyler (FR), Torrey Smith (FR, pictured), and Adrian Cannon (SO) all stepped up, showing that the passing game can have life without Heyward-Bey and Oquendo next year. Morgan Green and Davin Meggett showed that the offense doesn't need to have Da'Rel Scott to have a big game to win.

Then Scott showed how much easier it is to win when he does have a big game. 

Defensively, they gave up 35 points, but what did you expect? They had a new defensive coordinator, and they were facing one of the top quarterbacks in the country (that's serious; I am of course talking about WAC player of the year Chris Kaepernick, who, even hobbled, managed 370 yards). The defense truly did a remarkable job in shutting down Nevada's rushing attack, holding the number two rushing team in the country to a mere 114 yards. 

I'm not saying the performances were sterling all around, but as a Maryland fan, you have to be happy to send the senior class out with a win. You also have to be happy with how many underclassmen really played well.

As we know quite well, though, it's the talent that Maryland lacked this year. Hopefully, next year, something clicks and the team can play up to its potential every game. If they can, they can certainly be in contention to win the ACC championship game. 

It all starts with a little momentum. That's hopefully what the Terps got with this win out in Idaho. God only knows, 8-5 sounds a lot better than 7-6. 

(Photo Credit: umterps.com)

The ACC is the Second Best Conference in the Land

Well, we already know they're the second best in basketball; nobody's going to dispute that. I'm talking about football, because I have something to prove here.

The ACC is better than every conference in college football except for the Big 12.

I've been told the Pac 10, the SEC, the Big 10 and the Mountain West are all equal to, if not better than, the ACC.

Jeff Sagarin disagrees. If you don't know who Jeff Sagarin is, he is one of the most respected sports analysts of our time. He is usually uncanny with his rankings.

SI.com's Bill Trocchi disagrees. He's been the SEC's biggest supporter all year. It's not like he's an ACC homer; these were his week 1 rankings. He saw what happened this weekend though.

CBS Sports disagrees. The average ranking of ACC teams? 41. The average ranking of SEC teams? 44.75. The average ranking of Big 10 teams? 46.36. Pac 10? 57.7. Mountain West? 60.1. (The Big 12 incidentally? 45.25. Maybe Sagarin is onto something.)

But why should I let all the experts who know twice as much about college football as any of us make up your mind for you? That just wouldn't be like me. Here are my reasons as to why the ACC is the second best college football conference.

1. The bottom four teams in the ACC are twice as good as the next best "bottom four" in the country. The ACC has 10 bowl-eligible teams, two more than the next guy, the SEC. Of the two non-bowl eligible ACC teams, UVA was one win away and Duke was two. UVA, like NCST and so many other ACC schools, got off to a terrible start. Everyone remembers that 52-7 waxing by USC. They rebounded, though, to save their season and their coach's job. What other team in the country has a losing record, but has two wins against ranked opponents? Meanwhile, Duke continued to be the ACC bottom feeder, going 1-7 in conference. Duke is getting better, though, as evidenced by their victories over bowl-eligible Navy and Vanderbilt (who, by the way, finished 5th in the SEC). They are vastly superior to, say, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Indiana, Washington and San Diego State.

Bottom line: If NC ST, Clemson, UVA, and Duke played Tennessee, Arkansas, Auburn and MS ST, respectively, there's a good chance the ACC might come out with a four game sweep.

2. Outside of your top 2 teams, the ACC will beat you in almost every single matchup. What I mean by that is this.

Everyone knows nobody in the ACC will be playing in the national championship. The ACC doesn't have a Florida, Alabama, USC, Penn State, Ohio State, Utah or TCU. We will readily admit that. Give everyone a +2 in their match-ups against the ACC. I mean, after all, would a USC-BC game even be fun to watch? No. So all four of the leagues we're debating here (SEC, Pac-10, MWC, Big-10), with the exception of the Pac-10, whom VT would beat, can give themselves a +2.

You want to debate number 3 now? GT just beat Georgia. They would drub Michigan State, whose best out of conference win was against Notre Dame, of all teams. BYU wouldn't stand a chance; the only two good teams they've played all year have killed them. Oregon State? I have my doubts, but I suppose they would be the only ones out of this list to do it.

Number 4? Florida State, who just was walloped by Florida. Florida's one loss ironically came to the number 4 team in the SEC, Ole Miss, who I will admit would beat FSU. Mississippi played some real tough games this year. Their only real non-conference game was against Wake, who they lost to, but FSU lost to them, too. Outside of that, tell me FSU would not absolutely trample Cal (who lost to Maryland), Air Force (who lost to Navy) and Northwestern (who lost to Indiana).

Number 5? I'll take UNC over Vanderbilt (0-2 vs. the ACC), Iowa, Colorado State (would Colorado State get a first down in that game?) and Arizona any day. The closest of the bunch would be Arizona.

I would go on with 6 and so forth, but I think you got my drift.

3. The ACC is young. The league's best quarterback (Russell Wilson of NC ST) is a freshman. The league's three best running backs - as voted on by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association - are Jonathan Dwyer, Da'Rel Scott and Darren Evans. Dwyer and Scott are sophomores; Evans is a freshman. You can see it from all over, and it explains a lot about the ACC. At the beginning of the year, the ACC was terrible. As the season progressed, though, the young guys obviously got more experience, and every team in the league dramatically improved.

I could get into records against non-conference BCS opponents (ACC's 15-9 vs. SEC's 6-9), but I think I made my point. When you watched two ACC teams play each other, you never knew what was going to happen. You can't say that about any other conference in the land.

7-5

7-5. 

The team you cheered on this year that had enough talent to beat four ranked opponents. 

The team that was 6-0 at home going into the final home game which was going to get them one step closer towards an anticipated ACC Championship Game berth.

The team that always shrugged off a disappointing loss with an awesome win. 

The team that will have one first round pick, and multiple other players that will be taken in the next few drafts.

The team that was 7-0 in games played in the daytime. 

7-5.

The team that lost to Middle Tennesee State.

The team that got shut out by rival Virginia.

The team that had negative rushing yards for an entire game against Virginia Tech.

The team that couldn't play in the national spotlight.

The team that was 0-5 in games played in the dark. 

The Maryland Terrapins ended their roller coaster season with a loss at Boston College, who has now won their last three, and who put themselves in position to make the ACC Championship Game by beating the three teams in the Atlantic Division that were above them.

I'm not going to give all of the Terps' units grades, because Around the Harbor blog does that, and does it very well. I will give one, though. The offensive line this year failed. Four seniors and one junior, and they were absolutely terrible. The only reason the Terps were able to run some games was more a product of having real depth there with Scott and Meggett. The FSU game was truly ridiculous for the line. Turner was terrible that game, but most quarterbacks will be terrible when they are being sacked as they drop back. 

The Terps may still end up with a decent bowl. They are one of the 6 teams in the ACC with a 4-4 conference record. They could end up in Idaho too, though. In any case, they're not going to get in the Orange, Chik-Fil-A, Gator or Champs Sports Bowls, the top four bowls for ACC teams. 

This season should make any Maryland sports fan sick to their stomach. The basketball team can be criticized for not having the talent necessary to succeed in the ACC - the second best conference in college basketball. The football team had the talent to succeed in the ACC - the second best conference in college football - and just flat out didn't. Say what you want about the basketball team, but they play hard every game. They have a fiery leader in Vasquez. Perhaps more important, they have a fiery leader in their coach. The football team has neither. They played undisciplined. 

Middle-of-the-pack should not be enough to satisfy a team with this talent, but it did. That's what they were. Mediocre.

7-5. 

(Photo Credits: AP)

Looking Back

With so many sports going on at once, how can you keep track of them all? You don't have to, but I will. Every Tuesday I will look back and hit briefly upon the five story lines that stuck out from the previous weekend.

1. Iowa deserves a huge thank you. They cleared up the brewing BCS disaster to make it about as easy as it ever has been to determine the national championship. It's pretty simple: Big 12 champion vs. SEC champion. If Texas Tech goes undefeated through the Big 12, obviously they make it. If they lose to Oklahoma, you can bet it's going to be Oklahoma in the big game. If Alabama runs through the SEC, obviously they get in; if Florida beats them in the SEC championship, Florida will get in. 

That's of course barring any huge upsets. 

2. The ACC is going to be the most fun conference to watch in college football for the rest of the season. The SEC is now a two team race. You know exactly who's a contender in the Big 12. The Pac-10 has the worst two teams in college football, and nobody cares about the conference past USC. The Big-10 is the Big 1. Nobody cares about the Big East. Meanwhile, in the ACC, UMD, FSU, WF, UNC, GT, VT, and UM all have a legitimate shot for the title. Every week is a huge week.

3. That being said, football is already starting to be overshadowed in the conference by basketball. 

The papers down in North Carolina have all but given up talking about UNC and Duke football; it's basketball season. Duke led off the season with a typically easy win versus Presbyterian. You can even see it in Maryland. The NCST game, a must-win game for the Terps in the ACC, had the same percentage filled in the student section as a basketball exhibition against Northwood, and Maryland basketball isn't even supposed to be good.

4. Out with the new, and in with the old in the AFC. The feel-good stories of the year in the AFC were the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. All four are still very much in the thick of things. They can't help but look over their shoulder and see that the Patriots, Colts and Chargers all won on Sunday, though. (Ignore the fact the Chargers beat KC. Hang with me here.) It looks like the playoffs could be a situation where you have maybe the Patriots and the Colts in, along with some of the upstart teams from this year. It will be interesting to see what plays out.

5. Meanwhile, the NFC playoff picture is looking pretty clean-cut. The East, South, and West races are pretty close to being decided. The North is still a three-team race. The Wild Card will come down to the Falcons, Bucs, Redskins, Eagles, and Cowboys battling it out for two spots. 

(Photo Credits: AP)

Maryland Basketball: Better Than You Think

A week from now is the commencement of the Maryland basketball season as they host Northwood on the afternoon of Nov. 8. The Terps are coming off a disappointing season - again - as they were again chosen to play in the NIT instead of the NCAA tournament. Early season losses to Ohio and American (they play American again, by the way) really hurt the Terps at the end of the year, as did losing both games to fellow bubble team VT. Perhaps most important of all was the collapse at home to Clemson - blowing a 20+ point lead with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

It wasn't all bad, though, and that should be duly noted. The Terps beat UNC at UNC. Despite all of the above, the Terps were perhaps a win away from the NCAA tournament. Positive notes from last year include the elevation of play from Greivis Vasquez, who, as a sophomore, was Second Team All-ACC and had numbers to be on the first team. Landon Milbourne took a big step forward last year, too. As a freshman, he only averaged 1.0 ppg and 0.8 rpg, but last year upped his totals to 8.2 ppg and 3.5 rpg. Of course, when you think of Landon Milboune, you tend to think of this. 

However, because of last year's finish, coupled with the loss of starting power forward James Gist and center Bambale Osby, the Terps are officially projected to be 7th in the ACC (see where all the conference teams stack up here), and lower in other publications. In ESPN's Dick Vitale's preseason top 40, the Terps do not make an appearance. 

Questions abound about the program. Sportline.com's college basketball writer Gary Parrish has Gary Williams on his list of top 10 coaches to be fired. Many people are beginning to grow tired of upper-echelon recruits from Maryland leaving to go to other schools (Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, and Ty Lawson are only a few examples). Many people are beginning to grow tired of the NIT appearances (3 of the past 4 years) after the team's 2002 national championship. Many people are beginning to grow tired of the top recruits that Maryland gets (Mike Jones, for example) not panning out. Many are considering this to be a make or break year for the longtime coach.  

However, after extensive thought and watching the team's intrasquad scrimmage, I've decided that Maryland turns it around this year. Here's why. 

Backcourt: One of the best in the ACC

- Eric Hayes has played the best out of every member of the team this offseason. He could always shoot, but some questioned his ability to get open and his ball control, especially during big games. The big games part we won't know about until it happens, but I can tell you that this will be a Eric Hayes we haven't seen before. He has perfected the one-hand floater and can still bomb from deep. In addition, he can take defender off the dribble, something he hasn't been able to do before. I saw him do it multiple times against Adrian Bowie, one of the Terps' fastest players and bester defenders. 

- If Hayes can successfully run the point like he has done during practice, Greivis Vasquez will be allowed to play his more natural position: shooting guard. This will take the ball out of his hands less, meaning less turnovers. However, this will also mean that his assists (he was tops in the ACC last year) might also decrease. Nonetheless, this is the better position for Vasquez because of how well he slashes to the basket. He is not a terrific shooter, but when he gets hot, he can knock 'em down. 

- The bench is what makes this backcourt so great, though. Besides Hayes, the best player in the scrimmages has been Cliff Tucker. He has not been solid defensively, which irks - to say the least - Gary Williams. He has shown quickness and athleticism I didn't know he had, though, and has been knocking down his jumpers from everywhere.

- Adrian Bowie is still afraid to shoot the ball, and doesn't run the offense that well. However, his quickness allows him to be lethal in transition, and one of the Terps' better defenders.

- Sean Mosley is the real question mark. He hasn't done too much in the scrimmages, but will certainly get better throughout the season. Right now, he is one thing that the Terps really lack: a solid, reliable player. He won't have many turnovers, he'll stick to his guy defensively, and he'll knock down a jumper. He needs to get more involved in the offense.

Frontcourt: They won't score, but you may have a tough time scoring against them.

- Of course, this group took a huge hit with the losses of Osby, Gist, and top recruit/transfer Gus Gilchrist. Those losses hurt less than you think, though, when you look closely at the numbers. 

- Jerome Burney this year will play the role of Bambale Osby. Osby had 11.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg, as well as 69 blocks. Jerome Burney will match those numbers. He has looked like a monster on the defensive end, blocking 6 shots in the latest scrimmage. His height (6'9) and athleticism will allow him to be near double digit rebounds every game. 

- Landon Milbourne and Braxton Dupree will play the role of James Gist. Gist put up big stats last year: 16 ppg, 8 rpg, 77 blocks. Gist, and this went largely unnoticed, largely disappeared when it mattered, though. Consider his 8 points against Ohio. Consider his 3 points and 4 rebounds against American. I will give him credit for his strong performances against UNC and the first time against Duke, but where was he at the end of the year? 7 points vs. VT, 10 points at Miami, a 31 point explosion against Wake, and then shooting less than 50% for 15 against Clemson. 

Meanwhile, Milbourne has impressed me. He's 6'7, but plays taller because of how tall he can jump. He can also knock down the outside jumper much better than Gist. If they put Milbourne as a power forward, he will also be much quicker than those he's matched up against and should be able to drive past them from the perimeter. 

He'll hold his own defensively, but that is where Braxton Dupree steps in. Nobody will make bigger strides this season than Braxton. He was making progress towards the end of the first semester last year, but then dropped off after showing up well overweight after Christmas. He's in shape, now, however, and Gary Williams has made sure of it. In the previous scrimmage, the team played four 10-minute segments of the black team having 7 players and the red team having 5. Gary kept switching the teams so some players could get rest. The only player who he kept on the red team all four times? Braxton Dupree. He'll be a force defensively, and if he develops some moves offensively, it will just be a bonus.

- Newcomer Steve Goins has size, but is unpolished and probably won't get much playing time.

- Dave Neal will be Dave Neal. Don't make fun; he will play a key role on this team. 

Intangibles: All of them

- Gary Williams is feeling the heat.

- This isn't the first, and won't be the last, time that Gary will overachieve with his talent.

- This is an embarrassed team. They came to play for Maryland, not Florida State. They know they need to be better. 

- Comcast Center will rock it this year. Everyone knows how important of a season this is. 

Bottom Line: You heard it here first, the Terps get back in the dance. 

- There is little lost from last year's team that won't be adequately replaced this year.

- A very young team last year is a whole year more experienced.

- Vasquez won't have to play point, and will be the leader that Gist should have been. 

- Projected starting lineup: 

PG: Hayes, backed up by Bowie

SG: Vasquez: backed up by Mosley

SF: Milbourne, backed up by Cliff Tucker

PF: Dupree, backed up Neal

C: Burney, backed up by a rotation

- Other lineups I see involve three guards with Vasquez at the 3; a three guard lineup with Milbourne at the 4 and Dupree at the 5; 4 guard lineup with Burney at center. Not lying. 

- The keys will be if Hayes can play a solid point guard for the entire year, and whether Milbourne can defend against power forwards in the ACC. I think they will.

Prediction: 21-9 (9-7)

(Photo Credits: AP and The Washington Post)

Looking Back

With so many sports going on at once, how can you keep track of them all? You don't have to, but I will. Every Monday I will look back and hit briefly upon the five story lines that stuck out from the previous weekend.

1. Maryland proved - again - that it has the talent to win the ACC. Yes, the entire ACC. As we know, though, we won't really have learned anything about the Terps until after this coming week, after another classic trap game. This time it's against NC State, 0-3 in the conference. Please don't lose.

2. The AFC Wild Card race is going to be a good one. The Patriots got a leg up on the competition just a minute ago with a 41-7 thrashing of Denver. The Jets, Ravens, Jags, and Colts all sit right behind them at 3-3, and the Chargers confuse at 3-4. 

3. Meanwhile, the NFC Divisional races look to be the hot thing. In the East, all four teams have shown definite strengths and weaknesses, and any of the four could be there at the end of the year. In the North, the Packers and the Bears stepped forward with huge wins this weekend. In the South, the Bucs and Panthers both look extremely strong, but don't count out the Falcons. In the West, the Rams - yes, the Rams - may be charging, and you can't say with certainty that the Cardinals won't choke. 

4. The Rays earned their trip to the World Series. The odds were stacked against them.

 After letting down from a 7-0 lead in game 5, the Rays lost in game 6, and had absolutely 0 momentum in game 7. But thanks to a pitching gem by Garza, they somehow did it. I've been riding the Phillies bandwagon the entire postseason, but they're going to have to overcome a Rays team with an absolutely unreal amount of spunk.

5. For lack of anything else, have you seen Colt McCoy's stats? This guy is so by far and away the Heisman trophy winner through the halfway point it's not even fair. The numbers: 81% passing, 1894 passing yards, 19:3 TD:INT, 371 yards rushing, 6 TDs

The only one close is Bradford, but he doesn't have the rushing yards, and he doesn't play for the number one team in the nation.  

Looking Back

With so many sports going on at once, how can you keep track of them all? You don't have to, but I will. Every Monday I will look back and hit briefly upon the 5 story lines that stuck out from the previous weekend.

1. The Big 12 officially has the depth to compete with the SEC as college football's best conference. What a huge Saturday, and nobody made more noise than these two conferences. To say that another conference is even close is absolutely absurd. What we are witnessing happen is teams beating each other up in conference play. This will lead to teams getting worse bowl games than they deserve, which will lead to the Maryland's of the world being absolutely torched.

Consider:

Texas is now the number one team in the country after beating Oklahoma, but if you don't think Oklahoma is still a top 5 team, you didn't watch that game.

Kansas looked dominant. They're 16 and should be higher.

Oklahoma St. is undefeated. It really wasn't that huge of an upset over Missouri.

2. Wake Forest is the best team in the ACC. Which means that Maryland will probably beat them Saturday. If Maryland does, the Coastal is there for the taking, because the next three best teams (VT, GT, and UNC) are all in the Atlantic.

3. The MLB playoffs are fun again. After some boring divisional series, the championships series are already heating up. Tampa Bay proved their mettle - again - by outlasting the Sox in game 2 after being blanked by Dice-K in game 1. And the Dodgers certainly made things interesting last night in their beat-down of the Phillies, especially Hiroki Kuroda, who threw the ball on a line at Shane Victorino's head.

I love the Dodgers player, who, after the game said: "It wasn't at his head, it was over his head."

Yea, he ducked.

4. Contender or Pretender? 

Contender: Colts, Jags, Chargers, Bucs, Cardinals

Pretender: Pats, Dolphins, Ravens

5. Matt Ryan is already better than a lot of starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Did you see that throw he made with 6 seconds left to put the team in field goal range? Terrific throw. Every time I see a Falcons highlight, it's Matt Ryan heaving the ball 40 yards downfield right on the money. 

Meanwhile, Joe Flacco is playing like ... a rookie from Delaware who should be the third string quarterback on his team this year but, due to a couple injuries, is forced to start behind a young offensive line and with a new head coach.

He will get better, but it may not be this year.