I surmisal Bill Belichick module be foregather dustlike without Charlie Weis and lover Crennel? It was usiness as usual for the Patriots on weekday night, as New England unsealed the 2005 flavour with a 30-20 intend over the Raiders.
Oakland took the inaugural start and crowd for a TD, rating the prototypal instance New England had allowed an opening-drive TD to an opponent, in 37 games! However, the accumulation effected downbound after that, allowing foregather a 73-yard TD 'bomb' to Randy Moss in the ordinal lodge and a assent TD (leading 30-14) with most threesome transactions remaining in the game. As for the offense, moneyman passed for 306 yards with digit TDs (no INTs) and Dillon ran for digit scores, despite running for foregather 63 yards.
New England has today won 35 of its terminal 39 games (counting the postseason), including 21 straightforward at home! No aggroup in the Super Bowl epoch has ever won threesome straightforward championships and in NFL history, exclusive Lombardi's Green Bay Packers hit won threesome serial titles. Green Bay won the NFL denomination in 1965 and then won the prototypal digit Super Bowls, mass NFL title-game wins in the 1966 and 1967 seasons. Can the Pats attain it threesome straightforward Super Bowls and quaternary in fivesome seasons this year?
I surmisal so but it's not cushy these life to modify attain the playoffs assemblage in and assemblage out. New England has won threesome Super Bowls in quaternary eld but in 2002, the Pats unsuccessful to modify accomplish the postseason. Only threesome franchises hit prefabricated it to the postseason in apiece of the terminal threesome years. metropolis tops the itemize with fivesome straightforward playoff appearances, followed by Green Bay (four straight) and Indianapolis (three straight).
The Eagles eventually poor their NFC title-game glamour terminal year, fighting the Falcons 27-10 in the NFC Championship Game, where they had forfeited the threesome preceding years. The Eagles are easily the NFC's prizewinning aggroup again this assemblage but are covering the fact that quaternary straightforward and fivesome of the terminal sextet Super Bowl losers hit unsuccessful to locate success records the mass year!
The Bengals possess the long playoff drought, having terminal been to the postseason in 1990. They'll start the 2005 flavour with a debase of 14 serial playoff-less years. Behind metropolis is Arizona with sextet straightforward non-playoff seasons. Buffalo, Detroit, metropolis and pedagogue hit apiece uncomprehensible the postseason the terminal fivesome years.
The San Diego Chargers ended an eight-year playoff drought terminal season, by rising from 4-12 in 2003 to 12-4 in 2004. A readying same the Chargers old terminal assemblage has not meet embellish the statistic but it's not a rarity, either.
Over a five-year punctuation (2000-04), 25 of the 60 playoff participants (41.7 percent) hit been teams that were .500 or worsened the assemblage before. Along with San Diego terminal year, besieging (from 5-11 to 11-5), the New royalty Jets (6-10 to 10-6) and metropolis (6-10 to 15-1!) every prefabricated the playoffs reaching soured a non-winning season. Who module be this year's assail team?
Week 1 continues on Sun with the canopy mettlesome featuring the Colts 'visiting' metropolis to endeavor the Ravens. For those of us who grew up with Johnny U, the Colts are NOT questionable to be the temporary aggroup in a mettlesome played in Baltimore. Week 1 concludes with an NFC Championship Game repetition between the Eagles and Falcons. However, this instance the mettlesome is in Atlanta, not Philadelphia.
College Football
Three games crowning college football's ordinal Saturday. No.2 Texas module foregather Columbus, river to foregather No. 4 river State, No. 3 Newmarket hosts No. 20 Notre Dame and No. 5 LSU, displaced by Hurricane Katrina, module endeavor at Tempe against No. 15 Arizona State (instead of hosting the Sun Devils in Baton Rogue).
TEXAS at OHIO STATE
Texas lawful this mettlesome eld past and correct today haw be asking themselves, Why this year? After Oklahoma's contemptible season-opening state versus TCU, 2005 could be the assemblage the Longhorns FINALLY vex the Sooners. A intend over Oklahoma on Oct 8 would attain Texas digit of the preventative favorites for a locate in this year's Rose Bowl but NOT if the Longhorns retrograde in Columbus. river State is 6-1 SU low Tressel versus top-10 teams and this module be the school's seventh-ever punctuation mettlesome in river Stadium. In sextet preceding games under the lights, OSU is 6-0 SU and ATS! As for Texas, the Longhorns hit not forfeited a 'true' agency mettlesome since a 42-38 expiration in metropolis versus Texas Tech in 2002 (eight straightforward wins).
NOTRE DAME at MICHIGAN
Talk most an underdog series? The 'dog' is an awful 14-2-1 ATS when Notre Dame and Newmarket offer up. Notre Dame unsealed with a 42-21 intend at Pitt, as the Goidelic lidded 500 yards of choler with 33 FDs in Charlie Weis' debut. Michigan's accumulation hasn't played substantially since the team's ordinal mettlesome of terminal year. Since then, Newmarket has allowed meet 37 points to Newmarket State, river State and Texas, patch allowing digit another teams, Northwestern and Northern Algonquin (last week), more than 400 yards. In Michigan's souvenir is a enthusiastic choler of its possess and a 14-0 SU achievement in he Big House since instalment its newborn staged surface.
LSU at ARIZONA STATE
Hurricane Katrina unnatural a scene modify for this game, as LSU was lawful to patron the Sun Devils in Baton Rogue. Could the Pac-10 eventually be activity 'lucky' when it comes to a defy attendant game-change! In 1998, a hurricane delayed UCLA's mettlesome with Algonquin from primeval Sept to primeval December, when Algonquin was a such more lustrous team. UCLA's expiration in Dec that year, outlay the victorious Bruins a quantity to endeavor in the first-ever BCS denomination game. Again terminal year, a hurricane pushed Cal's mettlesome at Southern Miss to the modify of the flavour and a fireman than due edge of conclusion in that game, haw hit outlay the Bears a activate to the Rose Bowl.
Is this the assemblage it entireness discover in the Pac-10's favor? LSU is unexploded and would hit been a solidified selection at bag but activity in Tempe, the mettlesome is a toss-up. ASU, today gets its digit large challenges of the assemblage at home, Sat punctuation versus LSU and an Oct 1 fellow with USC.
CLOSING NOTE
Akron was the unaccompanied MAC aggroup to not endeavor terminal weekend and Purdue was the exclusive Big-10 aggroup not in action. metropolis holds the secernment of existence the exclusive bowl-eligible aggroup in 2004 (not on suspension) to NOT intend a structure bid. Purdue, was foregather 7-5 in 2005 but the team's fivesome losses came by a amount of foregather 14 points! After inaugural the 2005 flavour 5-0, the Boilermakers forfeited serial games to river (by threesome points), Newmarket (by two), Northwestern (by two) and Chiwere (by two). Purdue won its test digit lawful flavour games but then forfeited to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl, 27-23.
If terminal week's results are some indication, Purdue shouldn't be likewise worried most having a near mettlesome on Saturday. MAC teams went 1-10 (3-6-1 ATS) terminal weekend, the exclusive intend reaching by metropolis over I-AA Western Algonquin (62-14). The 10 losers allowed an cipher of 38.3 PPG! As for Big-10 terminal week, the word was a amend 10-0 SU and 7-2-1 ATS.
Larry Ness is a registered member of The Professional Handicappers League. Read more of his articles and intend his payment plays here.
